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International Team Develops Optical Packet Router
Researchers from Spain, the Netherlands, and Canada have developed an optical router chip, capable of operating up to 100 times faster than currently available chips. The router, that incorporates the principle of directing packets of data, are described in the latest issue of the journal Optics Express. The new chip is capable of routing optical…
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Venture Company to Invest in Early-Stage Science Enterprises
True North Venture Partners, a venture capital company in Chicago, unveiled today its $300 million investment fund and strategy. The company plans to invest in early stage companies in the energy, water, agriculture, and waste sectors — where products and services are often based on scientific research findings — with amounts invested ranging from $100,000…
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Council Recommends Steps for Home Medical Devices, Health IT
The National Research Council has recommended a series of actions to meet the likely increased demand for home use of medical devices and health information technology. The study was sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. The 11 recommendations for other agencies…
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Gov’t Agencies, Companies Partner on Better Wind Forecasts
Two U.S. companies are working with the Department of Energy and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to improve wind forecasting that can help wind power providers better plan and deliver electric power. AWS Truepower in Albany, New York and WindLogics Inc. in Saint Paul, Minnesota won grants last fall to deploy atmospheric measurement systems…
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Cleveland Clinic Enrolling Fighters for MRI Brain Study
The Cleveland Clinic has begun a study with professional fighters to help determine if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain can detect changes in brain health that correlate with impaired thinking and functioning. The clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas is working with the Nevada Athletic Commission and fight promoters…
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Grad Student Improves Solar Collector, Starts Company
A masters degree candidate at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands developed a new type of hybrid solar collector with higher efficiency and longer lifespan than the current hybrid systems. Stefan Roest, who recently completed his degree in sustainable energy technology at Delft, also helped start Eternal Sun, a company to bring solar test…
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Wood Products Offered As Part of Carbon Control Strategy
Taking advantage of the full life-cycle of forests and wood products offers opportunities for greater control of carbon emissions, according to an analysis by a team of researchers from the U.S. and Sweden. Their paper appears in the June issue of the journal Carbon Management. The review, by Bruce Lippke, University of Washington professor emeritus…
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Researchers Develop Low-Energy Cardiac Defibrillation
Scientists from Germany, France, and the U.S. have developed a new process to regulate dangerous fluctuations in heart rhythms with far less energy and pain than current methods. The team’s findings appear in the current issue of the journal Nature (paid subscription required). The regular human heartbeat is controlled by the heart’s electrical system. An…
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Grant Awarded for Mind-Machine Engineering Research Center
National Science Foundation announced an $18.5 million grant to establish an Engineering Research Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering based at University of Washington in Seattle. The grant is for five years of funding, with an option for another five years. The new center is expected to research robotic devices that interact with, assist, and understand…
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Challenge Seeks Sensor to Monitor Ligament, Tendon Repair
A new challenge from InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts offers a $30,000 prize for a design of an implanted micro-sensor that reports displacement and mechanical load on healing ligament or tendon tissues. The deadline for submissions is 22 September 2011. InnoCentive conducts open-innovation challenge competitions for company or organization sponsors. The sponsor of this challenge is…