Tag: Europe

  • Math Model Identifies Network Source of Rumors, Epidemics

    Computer scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) devised mathematical routines to dissect interactions in a network to uncover the source of epidemics and rumors, as well as criminal masterminds. Results of the research led by Pedro Pinto of EFPL’s Audiovisual Communications Laboratory appear today in the journal Physical Review Letters…

  • Renewable Power Storage, Management Modules in Development

    Systems that integrate renewable power sources with battery storage and management modules are being developed for pilot testing at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. The first of the modular systems, with a 50 kilowatt capacity, will be constructed on the Karlsruhe campus by the end of the year. The modular energy systems are being…

  • Targeted Cancer Therapies Result in Fewer Side Effects

    An analysis of data from early-phase clinical trials indicates patients treated with targeted cancer therapies have a lower risk of more serious side effects than with traditional chemotherapy. The findings from researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, U.K., and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust appear in this month’s issue of the journal…

  • 120-Car Fleet Testing Intelligent Vehicle Network

    A fleet of 120 cars began today a field test in Germany of intelligent vehicle technology. Researchers at Munich Technical University (Technische Universität München, TUM) designed the testing scenarios and will process the data, as part of a larger project involving auto manufacturers, technology providers, universities, and research institutes. The Safe Intelligent Mobility – Test…

  • Technology Created to Remove Toxins from Edible Crop Plants

    Researchers in Denmark, Spain, and Germany developed a method for keeping natural plant toxins out of edible parts of food and animal feed crops. The team led by University of Copenhagen plant biologist Barbara Ann Halkier reports its findings in this week’s issue of the journal Nature (paid subscription required). Halkier and colleagues studied glucosinolates,…

  • Biotech Chemical Company Raises $41.5M in Venture Funds

    Genomatica, a developer of chemicals from renewable feedstocks in San Diego, raised $41.5 million in series D financing, the fourth cycle of venture funding after start-up. The round includes the Italian chemical company and new corporate partner Versalis, with existing investors Alloy Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mohr Davidow Ventures, TPG Biotech, VantagePoint Capital Partners, and…

  • Bayer CropScience, Australian Agencies Partner on Wheat R&D

    Bayer CropScience in Monheim, Germany, is collaborating with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia’s science agency) and the Australian Grains Research and Development Corporation to develop new wheat varieties that produce higher yields. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. CSIRO has already designed a new higher-yielding wheat strain using genetic…

  • European Venture Volume Up, Science Company Investments Drop

    Venture capital (VC) investment volume rose in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the second quarter of 2011, but the number of VC deals dropped sharply. The number and volume of investments in European science-based companies, says financial industry research service Dow Jones VentureSource, declined by double-digit percentages in the second quarter of 2012…

  • New Method Devised to Predict Distributed Grid Power

    Computer scientists at University of Southampton in the U.K. have developed mathematical techniques that encourage accurate predictions of distributed electric power contributions to regional power grids. The work of Valentin Robu and colleagues from Southampton’s Agents, Interaction and Complexity Research Group was presented this week at the Twenty-Sixth Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Toronto. As…

  • University, Company to Collaborate on Cancer Imaging

    Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K., is partnering with start-up company Cirdan Imaging Ltd., also in Northern Ireleand, to develop new imaging tools for the detection and treatment of cancer. As part of the deal, QUBIS Ltd., the university’s technology transfer subsidiary, will take an equity stake in Cirdan Imaging. The agreement involves research…