Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Nanotech to regrow cartilage

Excerpt from full article available here: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=nanotech-cartilage
Thomas Webster, an associate engineering professor at Brown University, and Brown researcher Dongwoo Khang, along with Grace Park, a research scientist (and one of Webster's former PhD students) at Becton, Dickinson and Company, a Franklin Lakes, N.J.–medical technology firm, say they grew cartilage cells by placing chondrocytes (cartilage-forming cells) and carbon nanotubes together on a polycarbonate urethane surface. As expected, cartilage cells grew around the nanotubes, which are so strong that scientists now use them to reinforce plastic. Researchers say they hastened new cell production by sending electrical surges through the nanotubes, which are also excellent conductors of electricity

Monday, July 14, 2008

Engineering course develops toys for rehabilitation

"Crisco was teaching an engineering course that combined industrial science students from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and engineering studies students at Brown University. The pair believed this was a perfect forum to bring creative minds together to create some prototypes for new therapeutic toys. Thus, Toys and Technology for Rehabilitation was formed."
News story link here:
http://www.lifespan.org/news/2008/07/01/toys-and-technology-for-rehabilitation/

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

NYT highlights CFL tech


The technology developed by Bob Hurt and his student Natalie Johnson in Engineering along with Steve Hamburg in Environmental Studies was written up in today's Science Times in the NY Times. In the print version it is on page D3.

The on-line NYT link here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/science/08obcfl.html?ex=1216180800&en= 0d75d9294da22dfd&ei=5070&emc=eta1
The Brown press release here: http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2008/06/mercurycloth08jun

They have developed a material that can capture the mercury in compact fluorescent bulbs which goes into the environment if they are broken. I think this could be a very important technology and the inventors are getting a lot of interest in the IP.

Congratulations to Bob, Natalie, and Steve.