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Personal Genetic Information Vulnerabilty Exposed

(Genome.gov)

Researchers from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts were able to identify some 50 people who submitted samples as part of genetic studies with publicly accessible online resources. The team led by Yaniv Erlich of the Whitehead Institute, with colleagues from MIT, Harvard, Baylor College of Medicine . . . → Read More: Personal Genetic Information Vulnerabilty Exposed

Semiconductor Research Corp, DARPA, Launch University Nets

(National Science Foundation)

Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Virginia unveiled their support for six U.S. university research centers. STARnet, as the program is called, will devote $194 million microelectronics research over five years.

SRC is university-company research consortium . . . → Read More: Semiconductor Research Corp, DARPA, Launch University Nets

FDA Approves Flu Vaccine Based on Engineered Viruses

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new seasonal flu vaccine using a technology that engineers flu virus proteins, rather than the traditional methods of growing inactive viruses in eggs. Flublok, developed by Protein Sciences Corp. of Meriden, Connecticut was approved by the FDA for adults age 18 through 49.

Flublok is based on . . . → Read More: FDA Approves Flu Vaccine Based on Engineered Viruses

Imaging Technique Identifies Brain Adaptive Functions

(Research.gov)

Psychologists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and University of Washington in Seattle developed neural imaging methods to understand the way human brains adapt to injury. The team led by Carnegie Mellon’s Marcel Just, director of the university’s Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging, published its findings online this week in the journal . . . → Read More: Imaging Technique Identifies Brain Adaptive Functions

Nanotech Coating Provides Liquid-Repellent Surface

Liquid repellent coating (Joseph Xu, University of Michigan)

Materials scientists at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Air Force Research Lab at Edwards Air Force Base in California developed a new coating material that can repel virtually any liquid from a surface. The team led by Michigan engineering professor Anish Tuteja reported . . . → Read More: Nanotech Coating Provides Liquid-Repellent Surface

Universities, Companies Study Oilseed Camelina as Biofuel

Xiuzhi Susan Sun (Kansas State University)

Bioscientists at Kansas State University in Manhattan, with colleagues at two other universities and four companies, are studying the economic potential of the oilseed plant camelina as a commercial biofuel feedstock. The project, led by K-State agricultural engineering professor Xiuzhi Susan Sun (pictured right), is funded by . . . → Read More: Universities, Companies Study Oilseed Camelina as Biofuel

Chemical Treatments Can Reduce Carbon Nanotube Toxicity

Carbon nanotube illustration (National Science Foundation)

Researchers at University College London, with colleagues in the U.K., France, Italy, and Spain found ways to reduce the toxicity of carbon nanotubes, which are structurally similar to asbestos. The findings of the team led by UCL chemical engineer and pharmacy professor Kostas Kostarelos appear online in . . . → Read More: Chemical Treatments Can Reduce Carbon Nanotube Toxicity

Cancer Data Start-Up Lands $8 Million in Venture Funds

Flatiron Health in New York, developing data analytics for cancer research and therapeutics, secured $8 million in series A funding, the first round of financing after initial start-up. The investment round was led by Google Ventures, with First Round Capital, Laboratory Corporation of America, Great Oaks Capital, The Social+Capital Partnership, SV Angel, IA Ventures and . . . → Read More: Cancer Data Start-Up Lands $8 Million in Venture Funds

Generic HIV Drugs Save Money, But Could Impair Effectiveness

(FDA.gov)

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and Yale University in New Haven calculate that switching generic for branded HIV drugs would provide substantial financial savings, but could impede the treatments’ effectiveness. The team’s findings appear in today in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine . . . → Read More: Generic HIV Drugs Save Money, But Could Impair Effectiveness

Clinical Trial of Early Stroke Stent Device Underway

Solitaire FR Revascularization Device (Covidien)

Covidien, a medical device company in Mansfield, Massachusetts, began enrolling paitents in a clinical trial to test its stent-based technology used with standard clot-dissolving techniques for patients in early stages of a ischemic stroke. The first of 800 patients in the trial was recruited at University at Buffalo . . . → Read More: Clinical Trial of Early Stroke Stent Device Underway