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Simple Solar Water System Devised to Kill Pathogens

(Greg Riegler/Flickr)

Engineering and food science faculty at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana designed a solar device to kill waterborne bacteria that the inventors say can help provide clean drinking water to millions of people in developing countries. Civil and environmental engineering professor Ernest “Chip” Blatchley and food science biologist Bruce Applegate, . . . → Read More: Simple Solar Water System Devised to Kill Pathogens

3-D Printer Maker Lands $19 Million in First Venture Funds

Form 1 printer (Formlabs)

Formlabs, a developer of three-dimensional printing technology in Somerville, Massachusetts, secured $19 million in its first venture funding. The financing round was led by venture capital company DFJ, with Pitango Venture Capital, Innovation Endeavors, and returning angel investors.

Formlabs is a spin-off from MIT’s Media Lab, founded in 2011 . . . → Read More: 3-D Printer Maker Lands $19 Million in First Venture Funds

Consortium Funds Bio-Semiconductor Component Research

3-D brain wiring illustration (NIH)

Semiconductor Research Corporation in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina is supporting research at six universities on components performing electronic functions, but based on biological models. The $2.25 million Semiconductor Synthetic Biology research studies will be conducted at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Yale, Georgia . . . → Read More: Consortium Funds Bio-Semiconductor Component Research

Network Analysis Shows Drug Resistant Infection Factors

Sean Barnes (University of Maryland)

Operations researchers and computer scientists at University of Maryland in College Park and American University in Washington, D.C. identified interpersonal network interactions that help spread antibiotic resistant infections through a hospital. Maryland business professors Sean Barnes and Bruce Golden, with American University information technology faculty Edward Wasil, published . . . → Read More: Network Analysis Shows Drug Resistant Infection Factors

Panel Recommends Steps for Sharing Patient Trial Data

A study group of academics and pharmaceutical industry experts recommends expanding access to data from clinical trials, including data on individual participants, under tight protocols and conditions. . . . → Read More: Panel Recommends Steps for Sharing Patient Trial Data

Tighter Home Weatherizing Standards Can Save $33 Billion

(A. Kotok)

Weatherizing U.S. homes to tighter international standards can save up to $33 billion in energy bills each year, according to calculations by engineers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in California, part of the U.S. Department of Energy. The team led by environmental engineer Jennifer Logue published its findings in this month’s . . . → Read More: Tighter Home Weatherizing Standards Can Save $33 Billion

Consortium Formed for Antibiotic Resistance Drug Discovery

(Bill Dorman, Department of Defense)

A collaboration of Anacor Pharmaceuticals in Palo Alto, California with Colorado State University and University of California in Berkeley is researching new types of antibiotics to treat a broad range of infections, including those resistant to current antibiotics. The $13.5 million, 3.5 year project is funded by the . . . → Read More: Consortium Formed for Antibiotic Resistance Drug Discovery

Challenge Seeks Better Insecticide Performance Test Methods

A new challenge on InnoCentive is looking for new methods or processes for tracking the interactions between insecticides and the pests they aim to kill. The competition has a total purse of $10,000 and a deadline of 18 November 2013 for proposals (free registration required).

InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing competitions for corporate . . . → Read More: Challenge Seeks Better Insecticide Performance Test Methods

Heat, Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles Improve Cancer Drug Delivery

Oleh Taratula (Oregon State University)

Pharmaceutical and engineering researchers at Oregon State University in Corvallis developed a technique with heated iron-oxide nanoparticles that in lab tests was shown to kill ovarian cancer cells with chemotherapy drugs. The team led by Oregon State pharmacy professor Oleh Taratula published its findings this month in an advance . . . → Read More: Heat, Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles Improve Cancer Drug Delivery

Software Written to Guide Yoga for Vision Impaired

Tree: one of the six poses in Eyes-Free Yoga (Umberto Salvagnin/Flickr)

Computer scientists at University of Washington in Seattle wrote software for Microsoft Kinect game modules that provides spoken feedback for yoga students with little or no vision. The team led by doctoral student Kyle Rector describes the software known as Eyes-Free Yoga . . . → Read More: Software Written to Guide Yoga for Vision Impaired