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$50M Grant Funding Research to Improve Vaccine Effects

Oral polio vaccine being given in Democratic Republic of the Congo (USAID.gov)

30 January 2015. Researchers at Stanford University in California are beginning an interdisciplinary project to improve the way vaccines harness the immune system for protecting against disease. The initiative, which will establish a Human Systems Immunology Center at Stanford, is funded . . . → Read More: $50M Grant Funding Research to Improve Vaccine Effects

Gene Therapy Biotech Raises $161M in IPO

(Michael Daddino/Flickr)

30 January 2015. Spark Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company in Philadelphia, is raising $161 million in its initial public stock offering. The company, developing genetic therapies for inherited diseases, priced 7 million shares of its common stock at $23.00 a share. The stock trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol . . . → Read More: Gene Therapy Biotech Raises $161M in IPO

Cancer Progress Indicators Devised

Value matrix for melanoma. Treatment goal is arrayed on the left axis and disease state on the right. Circles in each cell indicate treatments, showing their strength of evidence and availability. (Rose Li and Associates)

29 January 2015. Researchers in public health and cancer medicine developed statistical tools that capture findings on cancer . . . → Read More: Cancer Progress Indicators Devised

AstraZeneca Begins Four Gene-Editing Collaborations

CRISPR illustration (AstraZeneca)

29 January 2015. The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is taking part in collaborations with research institutes and a company in the U.S. and U.K. to discover new drug targets based on an emerging genome-editing technology. Financial and intellectual property details of the partnerships with Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Innovative Genomics Initiative, . . . → Read More: AstraZeneca Begins Four Gene-Editing Collaborations

Trial to Test Drug to Delay Early-Onset Alzheimer’s

(National Institute of Mental Health)

28 January 2015. A clinical trial is planned to test a current drug for epilepsy as a way to delay the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The late-stage trial undertaken by AgeneBio Inc., a start-up pharmaceutical company in Baltimore, is funded by a $900,000 grant from Alzheimer’s Drug . . . → Read More: Trial to Test Drug to Delay Early-Onset Alzheimer’s

Material Developed to Prevent Li-Ion Battery Fires

The aramid-nanofiber membrane is stable at high temperatures and resists igniting, even when subjected to a direct flame. (Joseph Xu, University of Michigan)

28 January 2015. Materials scientists and engineers at University of Michigan designed a new material to better protect lithium-ion batteries from starting fires like the kind on Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The . . . → Read More: Material Developed to Prevent Li-Ion Battery Fires

Trial Shows Drug Reduces Depression in One Day

(NIH.gov)

27 January 2015. A clinical trial testing a new drug to treat major depressive disorder shows the drug improved symptoms in patients after a single dose within one day. The intermediate-stage trial was conducted by Naurex Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Evanston, Illinois and a spin-off from Northwestern University.

Naurex develops drugs . . . → Read More: Trial Shows Drug Reduces Depression in One Day

Cartilage 3-D Printed to Repair Windpipe

Todd Goldstein, right, with Daniel Grande and the MakerBot 3-D printer used to create windpipe cartilage. (Stratasys Ltd.)

27 January 2015. Researchers at Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, New York devised techniques using a commercial three-dimensional printer for creating cartilage to repair or replace a human trachea or windpipe. Doctoral candidate . . . → Read More: Cartilage 3-D Printed to Repair Windpipe

Stem Cells Shown Effective with Autism in Lab

(HHS.gov)

26 January 2015. The biotechnology company BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. reports that tests in laboratory mice show its stem cell technology derived from bone marrow is effective in reducing behaviors associated with autism. The study was conducted by Daniel Offen, a neuroscientist at Tel Aviv University in Israel, but no peer-reviewed publication was . . . → Read More: Stem Cells Shown Effective with Autism in Lab

XPrize Awards $5.25M for Lunar Technologies

(NASA.gov)

26 January 2015. A competition to develop new technologies for landing and robotic exploration of the moon awarded $5.25 million in 9 prizes to 5 private companies, as part of the Google Lunar XPrize challenge. The companies — from the U.S., Germany, Japan, and India — received the prizes for their design . . . → Read More: XPrize Awards $5.25M for Lunar Technologies