Tag: Europe
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U.K. University to Build Advanced Manufacturing Facility
University of Sheffield in the U.K. says it secured funding for an advanced manufacturing lab to study the needs of the aerospace industry and other high-value manufacturing industries. The £43 million ($US 66.3 million) lab, part of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), is supported by Boeing — which has its name on the official…
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Health Organizations Form Genetics Data Standards Alliance
Some 70 health care organizations worldwide are forming an alliance to develop common standards for collecting and sharing genetic data. The organizations — representing health care providers, government agencies, academic and research institutes, foundations, and advocacy groups — seeks to create a common interoperable framework, with associated regulatory and practical guidelines, for the interchange of…
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Bill Gates, VC Finance Science Collaboration Network
ResearchGate, an online network to encourage collaboration among scientists and sharing of research data, based in Berlin, closed a $35 million series C financing round, the third cycle of venture funding after start-up. The round was led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and later-stage venture capital (VC) company Tenaya Capital. ResearchGate is a five-year old…
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GSK Licenses Biotech Antibody for Arthritis, MS Drugs
The biotechology company MorphoSys AG in Germany says the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline is licensing its targeted human antibody drug candidate MOR103 to treat rheumatoid arthritis. The deal has a potential value to MorphoSys of €445.5 million ($US 579 million), not counting future sales royalties. MorphoSys develops engineered antibodies for therapies and diagnostics. One of its…
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New Contrast Dyes Improve Medical Images, Reduce Prep Time
Chemistry researchers at University of Copenhagen in Denmark, with colleagues from two Texas universities, developed a new type of contrast dye for medical imaging that the inventors say cuts the time and labor needed for preparation. Their discoveries are described in a series of publications over the past five months, the most recent appearing in…
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Nimbus, Shire Partner on Rare Genetic Disease Drug Discovery
Nimbus Discovery, a biotechnology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts will discover and develop new small-molecule drug candidates to treat a set of rare genetic disorders, for the specialty pharmaceutical company Shire plc based in Ireland. Under the deal, Shire will provide Nimbus with periodic milestone payments, and while financial details of the agreement were not disclosed,…
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Silk, Cellulose Provide Useful Scaffold to Repair Cartilage
Researchers at the universities of Bristol and Cambridge in the U.K. found natural silk and cellulose fibers effective as scaffolding to rebuild damaged cartilage with stem cells. The team led by Wa’el Kafienah in Bristol’s School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published its findings in a recent issue of the journal Biomacromolecules (paid subscription required).…
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Consortium to Examine Digital Games Social, Health Benefits
A consortium of academic researchers and digital game developers in the U.K. are studying ways to harness the creative energy in digital games for social and health goals. The £1.2 million ($US 1.86 million) project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council, both science funding agencies…
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Synthetic Biology Census Shows Company Growth, Consolidation
A census of organizations, agencies, and companies involved in synthetic biology shows rapid growth of the field in the past four years, but also some retrenchment, particularly in the private sector. The study was conducted by the Synthetic Biology Project, an initiative of Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The Wilson Center…
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Shape-Changing Capability Developed for Mobile Devices
Computer scientists at University of Bristol in the U.K. developed the ability for mobile devices made with flexible materials to change their shape to better fit their uses at the moment. The team from Bristol’s Interaction and Graphics lab is scheduled today to present a paper on what they call Morphees at the ACM SIGCHI…