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Challenges Focus on Quantification, Measurements of Metals

Two challenges posted today (30 June) on InnoCentive seek solutions to problems involving quantification or measurements of properties of metals. InnoCentive, in Waltham, Massachusetts, is a company that conducts challenge competitions for sponsors, who for these challenges have decided to remain anonymous.

One of today’s challenges seeks a method for in-line quantification and real-time reporting . . . → Read More: Challenges Focus on Quantification, Measurements of Metals

Grant Funds Research on Developing Corn for Warmer Climate

(USDA.gov)

A $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund Iowa State University researchers in Ames developing a corn variety that maintains the region’s high yields as temperatures rise. Professor Alan Myers and Tracie Hennen-Bierwagen, associate scientist, will join with colleagues from University of Wisconsin, Madison and the University of . . . → Read More: Grant Funds Research on Developing Corn for Warmer Climate

Pharmas, BioPontis Alliance Partner on Translational Science

(Research.gov)

BioPontis Alliance, a hybrid investment fund and product development company in Raleigh, North Carolina, and global pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. agreed to collaborate on translational technology development supported by BioPontis. The companies announced the deal at the 2011 BIO International Convention in Washington, D.C.

BioPontis establishes research alliances with academic-research institutes, where . . . → Read More: Pharmas, BioPontis Alliance Partner on Translational Science

Computerized Outpatient Prescriptions Still Have Errors

(Photos8.com)

Researchers from three Boston, Massachusetts medical centers, Harvard Medical School, and CVS Pharmacies analyzed records from automated prescription systems and found error rates similar to prescriptions written manually. The team’s findings appear online in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (paid subscription required).

The panel of clinicians reviewed 3,850 prescription . . . → Read More: Computerized Outpatient Prescriptions Still Have Errors

Survey: Public Wants Informed Consent for Biobanks

A survey and focus groups on public attitudes toward informed consent for participation in collections of tissue samples, show a preference for giving consent in advance, balanced with convenience for the contributors. The findings from researchers at the University of Iowa College of Medicine appear in the online issue of the journal Genetics in Medicine . . . → Read More: Survey: Public Wants Informed Consent for Biobanks

Integrated Robotic Tactile Skin Sensitivity Developed

Array of tactile skin sensors (Andreas Heddergott / TU München)

Researchers at Technical University Munich (Technische Universität München, TUM) have built small hexagonal plates, which when joined together, provide a tactile-sensitive skin for autonomous robots. A paper describing these developments appears in the June issue of the journal IEEE Transactions on Robotics (paid . . . → Read More: Integrated Robotic Tactile Skin Sensitivity Developed

Biotech, NGO Partnership Advances Sleeping Sickness Drug

Tsetse fly (Agricultural Research Service, USDA)

A consortium of two biotechnology companies and non-government organization have completed preclinical studies of a potential treatment for sleeping sickness. The partners — Anacor Pharmaceuticals in Palo Alto, California, SCYNEXIS Inc. in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in Geneva, Switzerland . . . → Read More: Biotech, NGO Partnership Advances Sleeping Sickness Drug

Ink-Jet Printing Method Tested to Make Solar Cells

Thin-film solar cells can be fashioned into roof-top tiles or shingles. (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

Engineers at Oregon State University in Corvallis have devised a method of producing a type of solar cell using ink-jet technology. The process, for which a patent has been applied, is described in an upcoming issue of the . . . → Read More: Ink-Jet Printing Method Tested to Make Solar Cells

Rollerball Pen Enables Hand-Drawn Electrical Circuits

Silver electronic circuit pen (Bok Yeop Ahn, University of Illinois)

Materials scientists and engineers at University of Illinois in Champaign have developed a rollerball pen (pictured left) capable of writing electrical circuits and interconnects on paper, wood, and other surfaces. The team of faculty, postdoc, and students published their findings in the online . . . → Read More: Rollerball Pen Enables Hand-Drawn Electrical Circuits

BARDA Gets SIGA Smallpox Antiviral Drug, Protest Withdrawn

(USA.gov)

SIGA Technologies Inc. in New York says the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will acquire 1.7 million courses of SIGA’s smallpox antiviral drug ST-246. SIGA competitor Chimerix Inc. of Durham, North Carolina dropped its protest of Barda’s sole-source contract award in . . . → Read More: BARDA Gets SIGA Smallpox Antiviral Drug, Protest Withdrawn