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Trial Shows Catheter-Based Therapy Reduces Hypertension
Data from a clinical trial of a hypertension therapy using a catheter indicates the device significantly reduced the treated patients’ blood pressure compared to a control group. Results of the HTN-2 trial of the Symplicity system made by Ardian Inc. of Mountain View, California were reported at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2010 and…
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University Spins Off Biomarker Targeting Company
The University of Liège in Belgium announced the first spin-off company, called Targetome, from GIGA, the university’s applied geno-proteomics center. The company is led by Vincent Castronovo (pictured left), a university faculty member on whose research the company is based. The company is developing a new technique to identify biomarkers which are over-expressed in certain…
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Univ. Researchers Develop Dry Powder HPV Vaccine
A new targeted, inhalable dry-powder human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, according to its developers, can help overcome resistance from needle avoidance and offer better logistics than the current commercial HPV vaccine used worldwide. HPV is the number one cause of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer in women around the globe. According to…
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Machine Learning Helps Decipher Consumer Medical Searches
Many consumers turn to Web sites like WebMD for comprehensive health and medical information, but they cannot help as much if visitors searching the sites use unclear or unorthodox language to describe their conditions. A group of Georgia Tech researchers in Atlanta have created a machine-learning model that enables the sites to learn visitors’ dialect…
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Univ. Nanotech Center Opens Collaborations in Japan
The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany in New York has established partnerships with three educational and technological institutions in Japan. These collaborations in nanoscale education and research and development are the first for CNSE in the Pacific Rim. Joint programs are underway between CNSE and Japan’s National Institute…
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Engineers Test Fire’s Effects on Structural Steel
Researchers in engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana are studying the effects of fire on steel structures, such as buildings and bridges. The research uses a unique heating system and a specialized laboratory for testing large beams and other components. Building fires may reach temperatures of 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit), say…
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Foundation, Company Partner on Diabetes Clinical Study
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in New York, N.Y. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. in San Diego, California said today they entered into an agreement to provide financial support for a clinical proof-of-concept study to investigate the effects of Amylin’s metreleptin, an analog of the human hormone leptin, in patients with type 1 diabetes. Researchers…
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Intermittent posting today
I will be attending meetings of the Public Diplomacy Alumni Association today, so further posting of items will continue this afternoon.
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Pfizer and UCSF Sign R&D Collaboration, More Planned
Pfizer Inc., the New York, N.Y. pharmaceutical manufacturer, said today it will establish a network of partnerships with academic medical centers to access the talents of university researchers. Called the Global Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, the University of California, San Francisco is the first university in Pfizer’s network. Pfizer plans to establish a presence at…
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Lighting Technology Helps Combat Hospital Superbugs
A lighting system that can kill hospital bacteria resistant to antibiotics called superbugs has been developed by researchers at University of Strathclyde in Glascow, Scotland. The superbug bacteria killed by this technology include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile (c. diff). A team of professors from the university’s engineering, physics, and biology departments discovered…