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Farmer Networks Key to Agricultural Innovation in Mexico
Researchers at Stanford University in California have documented the vital role played in Mexico by farmers’ support networks in encouraging agricultural sustainability. Ellen McCullough, now at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Pamela Matson of Stanford’s Program on Food Security and the Environment, published their findings online in the Proceedings of the National Academy…
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Diagnostic Company to Partner with Scripps on Drug Discovery
Molecular Response, a diagnostic services company in San Diego, California says it has an agreement with Scripps Genomic Medicine, part of the Scripps Translational Science Institute also in San Diego, for joint discovery of oncology and cardiovascular drugs. Molecular Response develops molecular diagnostics as a companion to targeted and personalized therapeutics. Under the terms of…
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Software Developed to Generate Neural Brain Maps
Computer scientists at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island have written software that generates two-dimensional maps of neural pathways in the brain. Their findings appear in a recent issue of the journal IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. While 2D imaging may seem like a step back from more sophisticated 3D images, computer science…
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Grant to Fund Research on Ice-Resistant Coatings
University of Illinois at Chicago engineering professor Constantine Megaridis recently received a $320,000 National Science Foundation grant to investigate coatings that can resist the build up of ice. Megaridis’s research is expected to continue his previous research on coatings that are both superhydrophobic — have the ability to repel water — and self-cleaning. At UIC,…
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Hybrid Construction Vehicles in Development Cut Fuel Use
Engineers at Aalto University in Finland are developing hybrid combustion/electric versions of heavy off-road work vehicles that can cut the amount of fuel they consume by half. This new technology, says the university, captures energy, which up to now has been lost by the machinery when working, and uses it instead of fuel. The engineering…
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Noisy ORs Associated with Infections After Surgery
Medical researchers and psychologists from Neuchâtel and Berne universities in Switzerland found that surgical patients are more likely to suffer surgical site infections (SSIs) if the operating room is noisy. The team published their findings in the July issue of the British Journal of Surgery. The researchers studied 35 patients who underwent planned, major abdominal…
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Programming Protocol Cuts Computer Energy Use
Researchers at University of Washington in Seattle have created a software programming protocol called EnerJ that reduces energy consumption in simulations by up to 50 percent. The computer scientists and engineers will present their research next week in San Jose, California at the Programming Language Design and Implementation annual meeting. The team led by UW…
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Diagnostics Company Gets State Grant for Blood Platelet Test
Immunetics Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts, received a Small Business Matching Grant (SBMG) to commercialize its BacTx test for detecting bacterial contamination in blood platelets. The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center made the $500,000 award. Platelets enable clotting, and patients suffering from trauma, surgical procedures, cancer, or chemotherapy must receive platelet transfusions to survive. The company says…
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Patients’ Mobile Phones Found to Carry Resistant Bacteria
Researchers at Inonu University in Turkey found many mobile phones used by hospital patients and visitors to carry potentially dangerous bacteria, with some of those bacteria considered resistant to antibiotics. Their findings appear in the June issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (paid subscription required). Inonu University’s Mehmet Sait Tekerekoglu and six colleagues…
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Adverse Effects Found with Permanent Hair Dye, Moisturizers
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health issued its first report of adverse effects from cosmetic products and found permanent hair dyes and face and body moisturizers to register the most severe or highest number of reports from health professionals. The institute defines cosmetic products as “all products that are applied to the external parts of…