Category Archive for "Bioscience" |

First molars provide insight into evolution

The timing of molar emergence and its relation to growth and reproduction in apes is being reported by two scientists at Arizona State University's Institute of Human Origins in the Dec. 28 online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

From the smallest South American monkeys to the largest African apes, the timing of molar development and eruption is closely attuned to many fundamental aspects of a primate's biology, according to Gary Schwartz, a researcher at the Institute of Human Origins and an associate professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Study links real-time data to flu vaccine strategies

Adaptive vaccination strategies, based on age patterns of hospitalizations and deaths monitored in real-time during the early stages of a pandemic, outperform seasonal influenza vaccination allocation strategies, according to findings reported Dec. 3 by researchers, including two from Arizona State University, in the online journal PLoS ONE.

Using data from the A(H1N1) influenza outbreak in Mexico earlier this year, the authors conclude that a modeling approach that targets specific age groups for vaccinations, could help countries develop policies to mitigate the impact of ongoing and secondary pandemic waves.

Mesa firm gets FDA approval on ultrasound device

A Mesa startup company has developed a medical device that uses ultrasound technology to treat everything from sagging eyebrows to liver cancer.

Guided Therapy Systems of Mesa said the device allows doctors to see and treat tissue without using traditional surgery.

The device will be used initially for cosmetic purposes, but backers say the technology has the potential to treat tumors without invasive surgery.

Scientists improve chip memory

Scientists at Arizona State University have developed an elegant method for significantly improving the memory capacity of electronic chips.

Led by Michael Kozicki, an ASU electrical engineering professor and director of the Center for Applied Nanoionics, the researchers have shown that they can build stackable memory based on "ionic memory technology," which could make them ideal candidates for storage cells in high-density memory. Best of all, the new method uses well-known electronics materials.

SPARKy devices helps amputees return to normal lives

Arizona State University researchers have developed a prosthetic device that literally puts the spring back into an amputee's step. The ASU scientists have developed and refined SPARKy (for spring ankle with regenerative kinetics) into a smart, active and energy storing below-the-knee (transbitial) prosthesis.

SPARKy is the first prosthetic device to apply regenerative kinetics to its design, which resulted in a lightweight (four pound) device that allows the wearer to walk on grass, cement and rocks, as well as ascend and descend stairs and inclines.

SPARKY operates by employing a spring to store energy as the wearer walks during normal gait, said Thomas Sugar, an ASU associate professor of engineering at the Polytechnic campus who led the research. Sugar and his colleagues -- ASU doctoral students Joseph Hitt and Matthew Holgate, as well as Barrett Honors College student Ryan Bellman -- have been developing and refining SPARKy for three years as part of a U.S. Army grant.

Biodesign Institute raising funds for startups

The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University is in the process of securing $5 million to $10 million to provide funds for the first startup companies expected to move later this winter into its new Biodesign Impact Accelerator.

Those startup companies — to be selected from proposals now under review by the accelerator's executive committee — will be designed to commercialize the institute's research discoveries and technologies, he said.

The startups will have access to up to 8,000 square feet of research space at the Biodesign Institute, located on ASU's Tempe, Ariz. campus — as well as an entire approximately 25,000-square-foot floor a five-minute drive away at SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale (Ariz.) Innovation Center. The center, co-developed with the city of Scottsdale, is designed to provide expanding companies entering or expanding within the US with services that include access to new technologies, capital networks, business education and skilled workers.

HHS provides $22M for biomarkers for radiation tests

The Department of Health and Human Services through its special projects research arm has awarded a total of $35 million to several universities and companies to fund development of biomarker technologies that could determine how much radiation a person has absorbed after radiological incidents such as a 'dirty' bomb or a nuclear explosion.

Those awards include $22 million for gene expression and protein expression biomarker-based tools that could be used in the field.

The funding, which could reach up to $400 million over five years, will support research at Duke University, Arizona State University, Stanford University, Meso Scale Diagnostics, SRI International, and Visca, among others.

Federal agencies announce STEM education grants

Here are several STEM-related grant opportunities for you to review and consider: Department of Homeland Security Office of Procurement Operations (Grants Division); DHS HS–STEM Career Development Grants (CDG) Grant. Details here: http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=50776 National Science Foundation; Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Grant. Details here: http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=50629 Department of Health and Human Services, Office of […]

ASU team gets grant for nuclear detection

An Arizona State University-led research team has secured a $40.8 million federal award to develop a radiation-measuring device that could be used in the event of a nuclear accident.

The researchers plan to develop a device that emergency medical workers can use to quickly gauge who needs timely medical treatment because of harmful radiation exposure.

ASU lures latest heavy hitter for biodesign

Arizona State University has hired another high-profile professional at its Biodesign Institute.

Lee Cheatham, executive director of the Washington Technology Center in Seattle, will begin his new job at ASU Jan. 11.

He will have two new titles: general manager of a new entity called the Biodesign Impact Accelerator and operations director at the institute.