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Cord Blood Bank Service Adds Cases to Research Database

(CDC.gov)

ViaCord, a cord-blood banking service in Waltham, Massachusetts, is collaborating with the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research in Milwaukee to add studies of ViaCord’s stem cell transplants to the Center’s research database. Financial aspects of the agreement were not disclosed.

ViaCord, a division of manufacturer Perkin-Elmer, offers families expecting children . . . → Read More: Cord Blood Bank Service Adds Cases to Research Database

Technique Enhances MRI Images for Cartilage, Brain Tissue

MRI machine (NIH)

Radiologists and chemists at New York University devised a method to improve magnetic resonance images (MRIs) usually obscured by large molecular masses, when using a common method for chemically saturating certain molecules. The team led by NYU radiologist Ravinder Regatte and chemist Alexej Jerschow reported their findings last week in . . . → Read More: Technique Enhances MRI Images for Cartilage, Brain Tissue

Emergency Care Costs Likely Higher than Current Estimates

Emergency physician Michael Lee (Frank Mullin, Brown University)

An analysis of emergency care costs in the U.S. suggests the actual price tag for visiting hospital emergency rooms may be more than earlier thought. A study by economist turned emergency room physician Michael Lee at Brown University, with colleagues from Brown and Harvard Medical . . . → Read More: Emergency Care Costs Likely Higher than Current Estimates

Shape-Changing Capability Developed for Mobile Devices

A Morphee prototype using projection and tracking on wood tiles that change their position with shape-memory alloy wires (University of Bristol)

Computer scientists at University of Bristol in the U.K. developed the ability for mobile devices made with flexible materials to change their shape to better fit their uses at the moment. The team . . . → Read More: Shape-Changing Capability Developed for Mobile Devices

NIH Stops HIV Vaccine Immunizations in Clinical Trial

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, will stop testing an HIV vaccine candidate, after interim results showed the vaccine stopped neither HIV infections nor the amount of HIV in the blood. The HVTN 505 study, a phase 2 clinical trial of safety and efficacy begun in . . . → Read More: NIH Stops HIV Vaccine Immunizations in Clinical Trial

System Creates Ad Hoc Touch-Based Interfaces on Surfaces

Wall surface with touch interface created by WorldKit (chrisharrison.net)

Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh developed a system that can project images to control computer devices on everyday surfaces almost at will. The team of doctoral candidates Robert Xiao and Chris Harrison, with professor Scott Hudson, will discuss their WorldKit system . . . → Read More: System Creates Ad Hoc Touch-Based Interfaces on Surfaces

Lab-On-A-Chip Diagnoses Multiple Tropical Diseases

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore’s main science funding agency, and Singapore clinical chip manufacturer Veredus Laboratories unveiled a new automated lab-on-a-chip device that can diagnose 13 tropical diseases from a single blood sample. Veredus is a subsidiary of STMicroelectronics specializing in medical diagnostics.

The partnership between A*Star and Veredus that developed . . . → Read More: Lab-On-A-Chip Diagnoses Multiple Tropical Diseases

Faster, Automated Test Developed for Sepsis-Causing Fungus

Sample collection module on T2MR system (T2 Biosystems)

A test for Candida, a fungal infection that can lead to sepsis, identified the pathogen in whole blood samples in a few hours, rather than the two to five days needed by current tests. Researchers from T2 Biosystems, a biotechnology company in Lexington, Massachusetts, with . . . → Read More: Faster, Automated Test Developed for Sepsis-Causing Fungus

New Type Battery Designed for Solar, Wind Grid Storage

(National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

Engineers at Stanford University and Stanford’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory developed a lower-cost design for long term storage of wind and solar energy on the power grid. The team led by Yi Cui, a materials science and engineering professor at Stanford and part of a joint materials and energy . . . → Read More: New Type Battery Designed for Solar, Wind Grid Storage

FDA Designates Orphan Drug for Rare Pain Condition

(National Institute on Aging, NIH)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration designated as an orphan drug the compound XEN402 to treat erythromelalgia, a rare disease that causes a burning pain in the feet and hands. XEN402 is being developed Xenon Pharmaceuticals in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

Erythromelalgia is a disorder that affects the . . . → Read More: FDA Designates Orphan Drug for Rare Pain Condition