Tag: software
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Smart Laser Device Tracks, Kills Mosquitoes
23 May 2016. Tests with two species of insects show an electronic device called a photonic fence can identify, track, and kill harmful bugs while in flight. Results of the tests, conducted by Intellectual Ventures Laboratory in Bellevue, Washington, developer of the photonic fence, appear in this week’s issue of Optics Express, published by the…
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Grid Computing Power Applied to Zika Research
Carolina Horta Andrade at Federal University of Goiás in Brazil, the lead researcher on the OpenZika project. (Ana Fortunato, IBM) 19 May 2016. A consortium in Brazil and the U.S. is employing distributed grid computing to provide processing power for research on prospective compounds for treating Zika virus infections. The OpenZika project is using World…
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Fast, Inexpensive Test for Water Bacteria Developed
18 May 2016. A team at York University in Toronto designed a water-testing kit connecting to a smartphone that makes testing for water-borne bacteria faster and less expensive. The Mobile Water Kit, from the lab of engineering professor Sushanta Mitra, is described in a recent issue of the journal Analyst (free registration required). Developers of the…
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ReWalk, Wyss Institute Developing Soft Exoskeleton Robot
17 May 2016. A robotics company is licensing technology from a bioengineering lab at Harvard University to develop systems for people needing help with mobility, such as those with multiple sclerosis or suffering a stroke. Financial aspects of the deal between ReWalk Robotics Ltd. in Yokneam Ilit, Israel and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired…
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Smartphone App Helps Deal with Negative Moods
13 May 2016. A smartphone app created at two university psychology departments in the U.K. was shown to reduce the intensity of negative moods among its users. The team from University of Liverpool and University of Manchester reported its findings in the May 2016 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry Open. The app, called…
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Personalized Heart Model Devised for Treatment Decisions
11 May 2016. A medical engineering team developed three-dimensional computer models of the heart that better predict heart rhythm problems requiring an implanted defibrillator than current guidelines. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University led by biomedical engineering professor Natalia Trayanova published its findings yesterday in the journal Nature Communications. Trayanova and colleagues from the Johns Hopkins…
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Genomics, Data Tools Track MRSA Outbreaks in Europe
6 May 2016. A combination of whole-genome sequencing and data visualization tools now makes it possible to track the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in European health facilities. A Europe-wide team led by Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Imperial College London described their software and service yesterday in the journal mBio. The authors call the spread…
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Autonomous Robot Shown Better at Soft-Tissue Surgery
5 May 2016. A robotic arm, programmed to work autonomously under direction of a surgeon, was shown superior at soft-tissue surgery with pigs than human surgeons and robot-assisted surgery. Results of these tests, conducted by a team from Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., appear in yesterday’s (4 May) issue of the journal Science…
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Lung Function App Service Expanded to Any Phone
3 May 2016. A computer science lab extended the abilities of its smartphone app that measures lung function to a call-in service for any phone in the world. The team led by engineering and computer science professor Shwetak Patel at University of Washington will discuss the new service at the ACM Computer-Human Interaction (CHI) 2016…
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Drug Pricing Reform Even Big Pharma Might Like
2 May 2016. At a press event in Washington, D.C. last week, Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas, a champion of lower prescription drug prices, took aim at drug companies and their business practices. “An unaffordable drug is 100 percent ineffective,” Doggett told an audience at Center for American Progress on 26 April. He noted that…