High tech News: May 2009

MARCH 2009 | APRIL 2009

GPS Could go South, Report Says

A report from the Government Accountability Office made to Congress at the end of April explained how The Global Positioning System faces major challenges as its satellites age. This will have serious implications for US military operations as well as people those who use GPS consumer products.  

GRA/TAG award finalists named
May 8, 2009

The finalists of the GRA/TAG Business Launch Competitions have been announced. The three companies remaining in the competition include a company that develops software for visual computing; one that claims to be the "Google Analytics" for the music industry; and an Internet service that matches talent with advertising projects. This event is organized by the Georgia Research Alliance and the Technology Association of Georgia. 

Venture Capital Update - better times are coming
May 9, 2009

Good news is that better times are coming.  The same positive indicators surfaced in John Yates’ meetings with VCs in Boston.  Funds are interested in finding new deals and actively looking for them (including Boston VCs in Southeastern companies).

Bioscience News: May 2009

MARCH 2009 | APRIL 2009

New Emory Institute for Drug Discovery Combines Research, Training, Global Partnerships
May 19, 2009

Emory University announced the establishment of a new Emory Institute for Drug Discovery (EIDD) which will have the missions of carrying out early-stage discovery and pre-clinical drug research aimed at developing small-molecule therapeutics as well as training new generations of researchers in a multidisciplinary drug discovery environment. 

The program will combine multidisciplinary initiatives with training programs in the sciences in a way that preserves the academic independence of univers

Iron Nanoparticle Tools Could Detect Pancreatic Cancer Earlier
May 5, 2009

Emory researchers have created tools for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, which has a devastatingly low survival rate.  The research was a collaboration between Lily Yang, MD, associate professor of surgery at Emory University School of Medicine, Hui Mao, PhD, associate professor of radiology at Emory, and Shuming Nie, PhD, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

Emory researchers working on diagnostic and alternative flu vaccine method
May 5, 2009

Researchers at Emory University are using a new method of rapidly producing highly targeted monoclonal antibodies to develop a diagnostic test as well as a temporary therapy to stave off the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.

Emory Receives Grand Challenges Explorations Grant for Innovative Global Health Research
May 4, 2009

The Emory School of Medicine has recently received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Exploration grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  The grant will fund an innovative global health research project titled “Development of a Glycan-peptide Vaccine for Tuberculosis.”  The initiative is designed to fund largely unproven ways to improve health in developing countries.