Donate to Science & Enterprise

S&E on Mastodon

S&E on LinkedIn

S&E on Flipboard

Please share Science & Enterprise

Health Data, Analytics Firms to Boost Cancer Trial Access

DNA molecule display (Christian Guthier, Flickr)

29 May 2015. A health data company and genetic analytics firm are beginning a service that they say will make it easier for cancer patients to take part in clinical trials of new drugs. Financial details of the collaboration between Guardian Research Network in Spartanburg, South Carolina . . . → Read More: Health Data, Analytics Firms to Boost Cancer Trial Access

Smartphone Vision App Found Accurate as Clinic Test

Visual acuity test on smartphone (peekvision.org)

29 May 2015. An inexpensive smartphone-based test was found to measure visual acuity as well as the familiar standard eye chart used in clinics. The team that developed the Portable Eye Examination Kit or Peek at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and other institutions . . . → Read More: Smartphone Vision App Found Accurate as Clinic Test

Synthetic Spider Silk Developed with Customized Properties

(GLady, Pixabay)

28 May 2015. Materials scientists and engineers developed and produced samples of synthetic spider silk, with a process that can adjust the silk’s properties to meet special demands of users. The team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, led by MIT engineering professor Markus Buehler, published its findings earlier . . . → Read More: Synthetic Spider Silk Developed with Customized Properties

Genome Interpretation Database, Quality Effort Underway

(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH)

28 May 2015. A program to improve diagnostics and research based on genomic variations is underway that collects genetic data and implements standards for their interpretation. A description of the Clinical Genome Resource or ClinGen program appears in yesterday’s issue of the New England Journal of . . . → Read More: Genome Interpretation Database, Quality Effort Underway

Patent Awarded for Plant Gene Sequence Engineering

Soybean field (Agricultural Research Service, USDA)

27 May 2015. A patent for a genetic sequence derived from soybeans, but applicable through engineering to a range of plants, was granted to Ceres Inc., an agricultural biotechnology company in Thousand Oaks, California. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted patent number 9,024,004, Sequence-determined DNA fragments . . . → Read More: Patent Awarded for Plant Gene Sequence Engineering

Alliance Building Platform Against Drug-Resistant Infections

Klebsiella pneumonia bacteria (CDC.gov)

27 May 2015. A coalition of health care providers, academic labs, and a pharmaceutical company formed an organization to develop a common research platform for countering multi-drug aesistant infections. The group known as Share ID — short for sharing hospital data to advance research and enhance patient care in . . . → Read More: Alliance Building Platform Against Drug-Resistant Infections

Software Companies Integrate Cancer Analytics, Patient Mgmt

Carcinoid lung tumor (Yale Rose, Flickr)

26 May 2015. Two companies with software addressing different perspectives of cancer care agreed to offer an integrated version of their products. Flatiron Health in New York, a developer of cancer analytics, and Varian Medical Systems in Palo Alto, California, a provider of decision support software for . . . → Read More: Software Companies Integrate Cancer Analytics, Patient Mgmt

Memorial Day 2015

25 May 2015. Today is Memorial Day in the U.S., and Science & Enterprise is observing the holiday. We will return to our regular postings tomorrow. (Photo: A. Kotok)

* * *

Space Object Taxonomy Sought in $50K Challenge

Computer-generated image of space debris in orbit around the earth (NASA.gov)

22 May 2015. A new challenge on InnoCentive seeks a scientifically-based method for describing orbiting space objects with the fewest characteristics possible, but still predicts the objects’ behavior. The competition has a total purse of $50,000 and a deadline for submissions of . . . → Read More: Space Object Taxonomy Sought in $50K Challenge

Study IDs Advanced Prostate Cancer Genome Mutations

Micrograph of prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma, the most common form of prostate cancer (Nephron, Wikimedia Commons)

22 May 2015. An analysis of biopsy samples from men with prostate cancer that spread to other parts of their bodies identifies genomic anomalies found in nearly 90 percent in men with the condition, for which treatments may . . . → Read More: Study IDs Advanced Prostate Cancer Genome Mutations