R & D articles from January 2007

R & D archives from January 2007

When will the rain stop?(Editorial)
January 1, 2007... When the 109th Congress concluded business on Dec. 9, 2006, only two FY2007 appropriation bills (Defense, +4.8%, and Homeland Security, -22%) had been signed into law, leaving funding for the remaining bills (and their respective agencies) on...

Investigating nanotoxicity.(MICRONANO)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The debate on nanotech safety still rages on with a new line of experiments at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, showing that although carbon nanotubes have great promise for industrial use, they also show a propensity for dispersal...

Building powertrains with PSAT.(Powertrain System Analysis Toolkit)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Designing cars has become a software-intensive process. Indeed, most of the vehicles seen on the roads today have, at some point in their lifetimes, been modeled on a computer, with the help of powerful technologies such as CAD or computer...

Trafficking light on a chip.(LASERS/OPTICS)
January 1, 2007... Researchers have known that the use of optical instead of electrical signals for transferring data within a computer chip might result in performance enhancements since light signals can carry more information faster. Yet, "buffering" or...

New step for Bayer Schering.(Bayer AG acquired Schering AG)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Berlin, Germany-based pharmaceutical company Schering has now been officially renamed Bayer Schering Pharma AG. This is the latest step in the nearly $20 billion dollar acquisition of Schering by Bayer last July, edging out other giants such as...

R&D tax credit extended.(Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... In one of its last official acts in 2006, the U.S Congress finally renewed the R&D tax credit, almost a full year after it had expired. The extension will allow U.S. tech companies to receive a tax credit equal to 20% of the company's qualified...

Fly me to the moon.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Google and NASA recently unveiled plans to enable Internet users to take virtual trips to the moon and Mars. "NASA and Google will soon allow every American to experience a virtual flight over the surface of the moon or through the canyons of...

Battelle wins defense center contract.(Battelle National Biodefense Institute)(National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Officials from the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security recently announced that Battelle, Columbus, Ohio, has been chosen to manage the government's new National Biodefense Analysis & Countermeasures Center (N BAGG), Ft. Dietrick, Frederickm Md. The...

Mapping out influenza.(LIFE SCIENCE)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... At first glance, it may seem to be an innocuous sphere bathed in green, yellow, and blue. But, in fact, this image is that of one of mankind's more pervasive illnesses, influenza. Working with a version of the seasonal H3N2 strain of influenza,...

7th Framework gets a 'go'.(BULLETIN)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The European Parliament has approved the EU's research and development funding for 2007-2013. This programme, the EU's main instrument for funding scientific research, will have a budget of more than $70 billion over its seven-year life. ...

Assessing the engineering impact of Microsoft's Windows Vista: more than five years in the making, Microsoft's new operating system will benefit researchers-depending on the area of specialty.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
January 1, 2007... Engineers and scientists increasingly use commercial off-the-shelf PC technology in both research and industry to bring new products to market faster and at lower costs. As a result, the introduction of new PC technologies often has unforeseen...

To innovate you have to determine value: numerous statistical techniques are available to assist you in developing new products, but first you have to determine if your new product actually has value.(TEST & MEASUREMENT)
January 1, 2007... Factor analysis(def)-a statistical technique used to (1) estimate factors or latent variables, or (2) reduce the dimensionality of a large number of variables to a fewer number of factors. U.S. automotive manufacturers seem to have been...

XLSTAT 2007 now available.(Tools of the Trade)(Addinsoft)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Addinsoft, announces version 2007 of XLSTAT. XLSTAT is a Microsoft Excel add-in developed in 1993. While adding new functionalities (discretization, deduping, joins, Excel sheets management), this new version brings full compatibility with...

Minitab 15 Statistical Software.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Minitab 15 Statistical Software provides users with tools to analyze data and make informed decisions about how to improve business. With nearly 50 enhancements that increase Minitab's functionality and enable it to be more user-friendly,...

SystemTest 1.0.1.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... SystemTest provides a software framework for developing tests that exercise MATLAB algorithms and Simulink models. It includes predefined test elements that let users build and maintain standard test routines. Tests can be saved and shared...

Counting your single NIR photons: engineers get a new tool for easy near-infrared photon counting/timing.(SU-02-SPC, analytical bench instrument)
January 1, 2007... It is well known that the ultimate sensitivity in detection of weak optical signals is obtained by counting the arrival of individual photons at the detector. Although photon counting is a relatively well-established technique at optical...

Sifting proteins out of the MuD: Multidimensional Protein Identification Technology (MuDPIT) is advancing proteomics research in the area of complex protein mixtures.(ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTS)
January 1, 2007... One of the main goals of proteomics, the large-scale study of proteins and their structures, is to identify proteins that interact with one another. To identify proteins amid complex mixtures, they first need to be separated. Gel-based methods...

MALDI TOF/TOF capabilities.(Tools of the Trade)(mass spectrometer)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Shimadzu has launched the AXIMA-TOF2, its new high performance MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectrometer, ideal for a variety of applications from high energy MS/MS of proteomics and other biological samples, to uncompromised analysis of high mass intact...

Two silica-based columns.(Tools of the Trade)
January 1, 2007... Dionex Corp. announces the addition of two new columns to the Acclaim[R] bonded silica family: the Acclaim Explosives E1 and E2 columns. These reversed-phase columns baseline resolve all 14 explosive compounds listed in the U.S. EPA SW-846...

Accela high speed LC system.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Thermo Scientific Accela High Speed Chromatography System optimizes 1.9[micro]M column particle technology. Accela delivers fast, efficient chromatographic separations from conventional to ultrahigh pressures of up to 15,000 psi. Ready for use...

Unlocking a cell's inner secrets: MIT scientists are on the road to creating 3-D images of the internal workings of cells-including how they communicate.(MICROSCOPY)
January 1, 2007... Anton Van Leeuwenhoek, considered the father of modern microscopy, created a way for humans to see beyond the boundaries of the naked eye and observe the teeming life within a drop of water or that within the human circulatory system. Van...

Luxo's 23mm microscopes.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Luxo's new System 273 Binocular and System 373 Trinocular microscopes offer 25% greater magnification, 15% greater field of view and 20% greater working distance than traditional models. The working distance is 2" greater than that of...

SPOT Xplorer XS.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The SPOT Xplorer XS high speed, high sensitivity, deeply cooled digital camera system from Diagnostic Instruments delivers 14-bit megapixel images at up to 11 full frames/sec, and as low as 4.5 electrons read noise for fast event tracking. The...

Nano-R2[TM] .(Tools of the Trade)
January 1, 2007... Pacific Nanotechnology, Inc. announces their new generation AFM system. It uses enhanced hardware and software to deliver a productive, easy-to-use system. The Nano-R2[TM] including dual LCD monitors, advanced image acquisition software and a...

Transforming TFTs: thin-film transistors (TFTs) continue to enjoy a wealth of popularity and intensive research interest--some of which is leading to the next-generation of TFTs.(MATERIALS SCIENCE)
January 1, 2007... Chances are that if you turned on your laptop this morning, or your LCD (liquid crystal display) TV, you turned "on" a thin-film transistor. These tiny giants have been a pivotal addition to the consumer electronics space, revolutionizing image...

CombiLine Pumping Stations.(Tools of the Trade)
January 1, 2007... Pfeiffer Vacuum, Nashua, N.H., has recently unveiled its new CombiLine Roots Pumping Stations for industrial applications with pressure ranges from atmosphere to high vacuum. The CombiLine pumping stations are a combination of a Roots pump or...

SpecEl-2000.(Tools of the Trade)
January 1, 2007... Mikropack GmbH, a division of Ocean Optics, Dunedin, Fla., has released the spectroscopic ellipsometer SpecEL-2000. This compact (52 x 33 x 24 cm) bench-top tool is designed for thin-film measurement on flat samples like wafers or glass plates,...

Finding hotspots: an autonomous sensor developed by NASA proves its worth in firefighting.(PHOTONICS)
January 1, 2007... In the early morning hours of Oct. 26, 2006, an arsonist started a small fire in Riverside County, Calif., (Esperanza), and 18 hours later, 24,000 acres were involved. Later that same day the Governor declared a state of emergency, citing...

Avalanche photodetector.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Princeton Lightwave, Inc. introduces the first indium phosphide single photon counting avalanche photodiode (SPAD) designed for optimum performance at 1.06 [micro]m. The PLI 1.06 [micro]m SPAD bridges the performance gap between silicon and...

ESDI's new CaliBall.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... CaliBall is a 25.4mm-diameter silicon nitride ball and kinematics mount used to calibrate phase-measuring interferometers by determining the errors in the transmission-sphere reference surface. The CaliBall is randomly positioned with its...

Customizable variable density functions in a compact footprint.(Tools of the Trade)(Circular Variable Neutral Density Filters)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Reynard Corporation, a global supplier of optical components and thin-film coatings announces complete customization of their Circular Variable Neutral Density (CVND) Filters. This technology is best used in high quality optical systems to...

Teachable Series 9000 photoelectric sensors.(Tools of the Trade)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... These new additions to the Series 9000 family incorporate the latest in application specific integrated circuit technology. Both new models have improved LED functionality. The 42GSP-9000 provides a teach function which eliminates the need to...

Next-generation lasers for 100 Gb optical networks.(Apogee Photonics)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Apogee Photonics is introducing new laser sources designed to meet the rapid demand for very high speed optical data links. In support of standards currently under development by the IEEE 802.3 Higher Speed Study Group, Apogee Photonics is...

Training informatics investigators.(R&D INFORMATICS)
January 1, 2007... For more than 30 years, the National Library of Medicine (NLM), Bethesda, Md., part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has been the primary sponsor of biomedical informatics research training in the U.S. Continuing in this vein, the...

Computers name images.(R&D INFORMATICS)(Automatic Linguistic Indexing of Pictures Real-Time)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Researchers at Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, have "taught" computers how to interpret images using a vocabulary of up to 330 English words. The new system can automatically annotate entire online collections of photographs as they...

Red Storm rising.(supercomputer)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The Red Storm computer at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM., received a $15 million upgrade which has increased its peak speed from 41.5 to 124.4 teraflops. The machine, built by Cray, Inc., Seattle, Wash., is now rated the second...

Asian immigrants key to U.S. startups.(R&D ASIA)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Of all the engineering and technology companies started in the U.S. from 1995 to 2005, at found was foreign born born in 25.3% of them. And of those immigrant-founded U.S. companies, Indian immigrants (26%) were involved in more of the...

Race to the moon, again.(R&D ASIA)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... China, Japan, India, and the U.S. plan to launch lunar satellites over the next two years. The first moon reconnaissance is planned by China--its first ever--for an April 2007 launch with a large moon orbiter launch by Japan this coming summer....

Intel closes Korean R&D site.(R&D ASIA)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., recently announced that it will close its only R&D site in South Korea. The Korean government jointly operates the Intel R&D site and has indicated that it will continue research on its own. In mid-2006,...

China overtakes Japan in R&D.(R&D ASIA)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Paris, France, recently announced the results of a study indicating that R&D spending in China in 2006 exceeded that of Japan, $136 to $130 billion. China's R&D has grown...

India concerned over Nuclear IP.(R&D ASIA)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The U.S. and India have been in discussions for some time over technical support to India's Atomic Energy Commission over building new nuclear power plants in the creation of their nuclear plants. India plans to have 20,000 MW of nuclear power...

Does EU's REACH go too far?(Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A controversial new legislation proposed by the European Parliament encourages the replacement of hazardous chemicals with safer ones. The legislation, dubbed REACH or Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals, seeks to tidy up...

WHO makes worldwide IMPACT.(International Medical Task Force Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... One might think that the crime of hawking counterfeit drugs would levy a severe punishment. However, in some industrialized countries, being caught selling forged T-shirts and handbags receives a harsher punishment. As a result, the U.N.'s...

HP vows to go green.(REGULATORY UPDATE)
January 1, 2007... Hewtett-Packard (HP), Polo Alto, Calif., has promised, under a joint initiative with the World Wildlife Fund, to cut its carbon dioxide emissions at all its facilities worldwide by 15% over the next four years. The 68-year-old tech giant says...

GE rice gets USDA's nod.(genetically engineered)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), has approved a genetically engineered (GE) strain of rice, called LLRICE601 .The investigation into the safety of this rice began in July, when Bayer CropScience, Monheim am Rhein, Germany, notified the...

FDA: some clones OK to eat.(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a draft risk assessment on the safety of animal cloning. The document states that meat and milk from clones of adult cattle, pigs and goats, and their offspring, "are as safe as food we eat...

Advancing transistor evolution.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: academic)
January 1, 2007... Engineers estimate that within the next 10 to 15 years, silicon transistors will reach their limits in terms of size and performance. To delay that end, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, have...

Probing biomimetic materials.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: academic)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Biomimetics, smart materials that mimic nature, are on the horizon. Researchers at Washington Univ. in St. Louis, Missouri, are using microfluidic devices to probe the biomechanical properties of a plant protein structure called forisome,...

Engineering stem cells.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: academic)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Researchers at Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, Pa. have created and used an ink-jet system to print "bio-ink" patterns that direct muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) from adult mice to differentiate into both muscle cells and bone cells. The...

Enhancing metal composites.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: academic)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Pradeep Rohatgi at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has adapted a conventional foundry process to synthesize aluminum and graphite. This new process boasts the ability to slash the cost of mass-producing cast metal matrix composites (MMCs) and...

Scrubbing nanotubes with light.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: eureka)
January 1, 2007... Before carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can become commercialized and fulfill their promise as ultrastrong fibers, electrical wires in molecular devices, or hydrogen storage components for fuel cells, better methods are needed for purifying raw nanotube...

Library on a disc.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: eureka)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A new technology that will allow users to record and store at least 1,000 Gb of high-definition data in multiple layers on a single disc has been developed by researchers at the Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando. Called Two-Photon 3-D Optical...

Backward-bending visible light.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: eureka)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... A silver-based, mesh-like material is the first material developed with a negative refractive index for visible light. Developed by researchers at Ames Laboratory, Iowa, the new material makes it possible to refract visible light to the left,...

Reversing magnetic vortices.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES: eureka)(Max Planck Institute for Metals Research)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research, Stuttgart, Germany, have discovered a new mechanism with which it is possible to use weak magnetic fields to reverse tiny magnetic structures quickly and with no energy loss. In small...

AAAS Sustainable Well-being conference.(American Association for the Advancement of Science)
January 1, 2007... The theme for this year's AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Annual Meeting, being held Feb. 15-19 in San Francisco, is "Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being". Symposia, plenary and topical lectures,...

Soaring solar.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... By 2010, the demand for photovoltaic (PV) modules is expected to more than triple from its 2005 levels of 164 MW to 531 MW. Advances will be driven by the falling price of solar power, which will stem from technological innovations, growing...

WiMAX grows rapidly.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... WiMAX technology is entering a rapid growth phase, as service providers are now able to buy WiMAX Forum-certified equipment. Worldwide subscribers are estimated to reach 222,000 in 2006 and are forecast to grow to 19.7 million by the end of...

R&D Funding Forecast 2007: CEO's message.(Carl F. Kohrt)(Battelle Memorial Institute)
January 1, 2007... We at Battelle took forward to our annual collaboration with R&D Magazine as, together, we analyze trends in government and industrial research and development and project how those trends are likely to affect us in the coming months. As we...

Industry retakes leadership role: strong industrial investments for 2007 overwhelms weak non-defense government spending.(2007 R&D FUNDING FORECAST)(Cover story)
January 1, 2007... The Battelle/R&D Magazine R&D Funding Forecast for 2007 is the latest installment in a continuous series dating back to the 1950s. Over most of this period of time, one in which the U.S. had generally maintained a position of overall global...