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Computer Model Tests Effects of Heart Rhythm Drugs

Colleen Clancy (University of California, Davis)

Researchers at University of California in Davis have led the development of a computer model to test the effects of medications for arrhythmia — abnormal heart rhythm — before they are given to patients. The work of the team led by biophysicist Colleen Clancy is described in . . . → Read More: Computer Model Tests Effects of Heart Rhythm Drugs

Eight Teams Funded for Research on Gulf Oil Spill Impact

Aircraft spraying dispersants on the BP oil spill (U.S. Coast Guard)

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GRI) announced it will fund eight research groups to investigate the effects of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The grant awards, selected by GRI’s research board, total some $112.5 . . . → Read More: Eight Teams Funded for Research on Gulf Oil Spill Impact

More Planning Needed for Water Use in Biofuel Crops

Miscanthus (Oak Ridge National Lab)

An overlooked factor in planning for prairie grasses as biofuel feedstocks is their use of water, according to a new study by researchers in the U.S. and Germany. Their findings appear this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required).

Engineers Praveen . . . → Read More: More Planning Needed for Water Use in Biofuel Crops

Nanotech-Enhanced Graphene Can Propel Optical Communications

Graphene molecular illustration (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Physicists and engineers from the universities of Manchester and Cambridge in the U.K. have devised a method for improving graphene devices as photodetectors in future high-speed optical communications. Their findings appear in the 30 August issue of the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required).

Graphene is . . . → Read More: Nanotech-Enhanced Graphene Can Propel Optical Communications

Engineers Build Compact, Inexpensive Microscope

Aydogan Ozcan (UCLA)

Researchers at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have built a compact, light-weight microscope that uses holograms instead of lenses. The device is described in a paper published today in the journal Biomedical Optics Express, and a company has been formed to take it to market.

The team developing . . . → Read More: Engineers Build Compact, Inexpensive Microscope

Satellite Measures Show Ozone Reducing Soybean Yields

Soybean field (Agricultural Research Service/USDA)

Researchers from NASA, Department of Agriculture, and several universities have used satellite measurements to show that ozone levels above 50 parts per billion along the ground could reduce soybean yields by about 10 percent. Their findings were published recently in the journal Atmospheric Environment (paid subscription required).

The . . . → Read More: Satellite Measures Show Ozone Reducing Soybean Yields

Trials Show Potential Benefits of Remote ICD Monitoring

Two clinical trials in France suggest that remote monitoring of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) — which use electrical pulses to control irregular heartbeats — is a safe alternative to regular doctors’ office visits. Results of the trials were presented at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology now underway in Paris.

ECOST trial

Salem . . . → Read More: Trials Show Potential Benefits of Remote ICD Monitoring

University of Utah Spins-Off 23 Companies in 2010-2011

Great Salt Lake

The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, named the top institution for creating start-up companies, says the school spun-off 23 new companies in its 2010-2011 fiscal year, most of which are based on scientific or engineering discoveries. The new figures were released in the annual report of the university’s . . . → Read More: University of Utah Spins-Off 23 Companies in 2010-2011

Cancer Monitor Chip Implant in Development

Cancer monitoring chip (Sven Becker/TUM)

Biomedical engineers at Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) in Germany are developing an electronic sensor chip capable of monitoring tumors that are difficult to remove with surgery or growing slowly. The chip operates by determining the oxygen content in a patient’s tissue fluid.

A team headed by Bernhard Wolf, . . . → Read More: Cancer Monitor Chip Implant in Development

Small Business Grant Funds University Biodiesel Start-Up

(PRA/Wikimedia Commons)

NextCAT Inc., a Wayne State University start-up company in Detroit, has received a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) of nearly $500,000. The company commercializes catalysts for the production of biodiesel developed at the National Biofuels Energy Laboratory at Wayne State.

NextCAT plans . . . → Read More: Small Business Grant Funds University Biodiesel Start-Up