Category Archives: BioEngineering

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) announced today that the organization will hold its 9th Annual World Congress on Brain, Spinal Cord Mapping, and Image Guided Therapy from June 2-4, 2012 in Toronto, Canada.  The world's top brain and spinal cord scientists and surgeons will converge on the Toronto Metro Convention Center to find solutions to some of the most difficult to treat neurological disorders, including traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, and neurological cancers. 

The 2012 World Congress of SBMT is jointly supported by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Government of Canada, the University of Toronto, and MaRS innovation; it is endorsed by the International Society for Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Medicine.

The theme of this year's World Congress is "Nano-Bio-Electronics," which focuses on the integration of nanotechnology, stem cell research, and biomedical engineering, and imaging of the brain and spinal cord to make progress in the fight against neurological diseases. The aim of the Congress is to provide a multidisciplinary forum for health professionals in the fields of neurosurgery, neurology, psychiatry, radiology, neuroscience, engineering, as well as policymakers, to collaborate as a global alliance to rapidly advance treatment of neurological disorders.

"The meeting will help us kick start a unique and efficient consortium, which will unite scientists and consolidate resources in order to help us quickly come up with solutions for the devastating neurological diseases affecting millions and costing billions in the US alone," said Babak Kateb, Chairman of the Board of SBMT, President of the Brain Mapping Foundation, and Director of the National Center for Nano-Bio-Electronics (NCNBE). Dr. Kateb states, "The purpose of the Nano-Bio-Electronic alliance is to facilitate integration of nanotechnology, Stem cell and cellular therapy with medical devices and imaging. This consortium will impact global biomedical science and healthcare delivery through national and international partnerships with governments, universities, leading organizations and industries."

Among the notable participants of the 2012 World Congress includes Canadian Surgeon General Hans W. Jung, U.S. Navy Surgeon General Matthew Nathan, and Canadian Parliament Member Kirsty Duncan.  Dr. Duncan, an advocate for brain research in Canada and a global voice for neuroscience initiatives, stated "I am honored to participate in this important conference.  It is vital that we work to enhance our understanding of brain health through research and collaboration."  She added, "We must also affirm our commitment to improving the quality of life of those who live with a brain condition and of their families and informal caregivers."

Toronto was chosen for this year's meeting because of the city's strong and globally-connected network of neuroscientists, biomedical engineers, and investors in the biomedical and nanotechnology fields.   Michael Fehlings, chairman of the local organizing committee, Professor of Neurosurgery, and Director of the Neuroscience Program at the University of Toronto, said "The meeting will showcase Canadian and international neuroscience talent in a broad range of disciplines and will highlight the latest advances in imaging, molecular and cellular mechanisms, bioengineering and surgical intervention."

Parimal Nathwani, Vice President of MaRS Innovation, added, "Forums like this represent an excellent opportunity for reviewing technologies and supporting collaboration across different institutions for more effective translation and commercialization opportunity."

The 9th Annual World Congress is still accepting abstract proposals for the meeting's workshops, lectures, and presentation sessions. Abstract submission  is open now until March 15th 2012.

For the full list of 2012 speakers to register, or support of the 9th Annual World Congress of SBMT on Brain, Spinal Cord Mapping, and Image-Guided Therapy, please visit http://www.worldbrainmapping.org  or call (310) 500-6196.

Society of Brain Mapping and Therapeutics
SBMT is a non-profit society organized for the purpose of encouraging basic and clinical scientists who are interested in areas of Brain Mapping and Intra-operative Surgical planning to improve the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients afflicted with neurological disorders.

This society promotes the public welfare and improves patient care through the translation of new technologies into life saving diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The society is committed to excellence in education, and scientific discovery. The society achieves its mission through multi-disciplinary collaborations with government agencies, patient advocacy groups, educational institutes and private sector (industry) as well as philanthropic organization. http://www.IBMISPS.org

University of Toronto Neuroscience Program
The University Of Toronto Faculty Of Medicine established the U of T Neuroscience Program (UTNP) as a new academic program and appointed Professor Michael G. Fehlings as its first Director on September 1, 2008. The UTNP is a robust, integrated and collaborative academic program in neurosciences that leverages the unparalleled health science network at the University of Toronto, which includes U of T's many departments and institutes, health science faculties, 9 fully-affiliated research hospitals and 20 community-affiliated hospitals and clinical care sites.

MaRS Innovation
MaRS Innovation provides an integrated commercialization platform that harnesses the economic potential of the exception discovery pipeline of 16 leading academic institutions in Ontario. MaRS Innovation is a not-for-profit organization with an independent industry- led board of directors, funded through the Government of Canada's Networks of Centres of Excellence, the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Research and Innovation, and contributions of its member institutions. Designed to enhance the commercial output of Toronto's outstanding scientific research cluster, MaRS Innovation will make a significant contribution to Canada's economic outlook and the quality of life for Canadians and others around the world. MaRS Innovation will advance commercialization through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation. The MaRS Innovation mission is to put Canada on the global innovation stage, by better connection of research with industry and strengthening Canada's competitive capacity in the knowledge based business – in short, to launch a new generation of robust high growth Canadian companies.  www.marsinnovation.com

American Association of Neurological Surgeons
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is the organization that speaks for all of neurosurgery. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to promote the highest quality of patient care.  http://aans.org

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U.S. and Canadian Scientists Form a Global Alliance for Nano-Bio-Electronics in Order to Rapidly Find Solutions for ...

Brand Marvel Worldwide Consumer Products Corporation (the "Company") (TSXV symbol: BMW.V) is pleased to provide updates in the Company in the following areas:

1. OEM Contracts

The Company wholly owned subsidiary, Beijing Marvel Cleansing Supplies Co. Ltd. ("BMC") recently signed a master OEM contract with a subsidiary company of Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. for producing different types of wet wipes under their private label for two years. Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. has two subsidiaries listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. integrates pharmaceutical manufacturing, trade, and scientific research as a whole, covering the seven industrial fields of antibiotics, chemical pharmaceutical preparations, non-prescription drugs and health-care products, traditional Chinese medicines, bioengineering medicines, animal vaccines and veterinary drugs, and pharmaceutical circulation. Its products are of more than 1,000 varieties, over 20 kinds of dosage formulations, and 7 major series, involving antibiotic bulk drugs and powder for injection, Chinese patent drugs, Chinese medicine powder for injection, and comprehensive preparations.

The first order with an amount of RMB805,400 (approximately C$129,903) was received and is now in production.

The Company is currently in negotiation with other companies to produce OEM wet wipe products for them. The Company expects to sign the final agreements in the next few weeks.

2. New Production Line

The new automatic production line of large size wet wipes was delivered to our new factory. These machinery and equipment were installed and has been set up for testing and fine tuning. The Company expects that this new automatic production line will be in normal production in around a week's time.

The total number of production lines is now increased to seven. As compared with the production capacity before, overall total production capacity will increase by 300% when running at full capacity.

3. Company Website

Due to the regulatory controls in China, the Company experienced delay in having its new website goes alive. The Company expects the new website will go alive in around one week's time. The website address is http://www.brandmarvel.com or http://www.beijingmarvel.com .

About Brand Marvel Worldwide Consumer Products Corporation ("BMW")

Beijing Marvel Cleansing Supplies Co. Ltd. ("BMC"), the wholly owned subsidiary of BMW, was incorporated as a wholly foreign owned enterprise in Beijing, China in 2003. The Company was the first to introduce wet wipes to the Chinese market and has traditionally manufactured and sold a family of non-woven wipe products for personal and household applications. BMC currently develops and produces non-woven wet wipes for both domestic and international markets under the brand name "Dreamboat". BMC produces unique wipe products in a range of sizes and containers and the current product line includes universal and generic wipes, sterilizing wipes, baby wipes, cleaning wipes and feminine hygiene wipes. BMC is a leading brand in China with a national distribution network of approximately 132 distributors and a portfolio of wipe products sold in approximately 22,000 retail outlets including Wal-Mart and Carrefour.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Liao Yongliang"

Liao Yongliang,

President and Director

Cautionary Statements

Statements in this press release other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, constitute forward- looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statement. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward looking statements or information. We do not expect to update forward-looking statements or information continually as conditions change, except as may be required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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Brand Marvel Worldwide Consumer Products Corporation Update

University of Queensland scientists have developed a world-first method for producing adult stem cells that will substantially impact patients who have a range of serious diseases.

The research is a collaborative effort involving UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and is led by UQ Clinical Research Centre's (UQCCR) Professor Nicholas Fisk.

It revealed a new method to create mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which can be used to repair bone and potentially other organs.

?We used a small molecule to induce embryonic stem cells over a 10 day period, which is much faster than other studies reported in the literature,? Professor Fisk said.

?The technique also worked on their less contentious counterparts, induced pluripotent stem cells.

?To make the pluripotent mature stem cells useful in the clinic, they have to be told what type of cell they need to become (pre-differentiated), before being administered to an injured organ, or otherwise they could form tumours.

?Because only small numbers of MSCs exist in the bone marrow and harvesting bone marrow from a healthy donor is an invasive procedure, the ability to make our own MSCs in large number in the laboratory is an exciting step in the future widespread clinical use of MSCs.

?We were able to show these new forms of stem cells exhibited all the characteristics of bone marrow stem cells and we are currently examining their bone repair capability."

AIBN Associate Professor and Co-Investigator on the project, Ernst Wolvetang said the new protocol had overcome a significant barrier in the translation of stem cell-based therapy.

?We are very excited by this research, which has brought together stem cell researchers from two of the major UQ research hubs UQCCR and AIBN,? Associate Professor Wolvetang said.

The research is published in the February edition of the STEM CELLS Translational Medicine journal.

UniQuest, The University of Queensland's main commercialisation company, invites parties interested in licensing the intellectual property relating to this discovery to contact UniQuest on 3365 4037 or lifesciences@uniquest.com.au.

Media Contact: Kirsten Rogan, Communications and Media, University of Queensland Faculty of Health Sciences, 07 3346 5308, 0412307594 or k.rogan@uq.edu.au

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UQ researchers make breakthrough in stem cell research

The research is a collaborative effort involving UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and is led by UQ Clinical Research Centre's (UQCCR) Professor Nicholas Fisk.

It revealed a new method to create mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which can be used to repair bone and potentially other organs.

“We used a small molecule to induce embryonic stem cells over a 10 day period, which is much faster than other studies reported in the literature,” Professor Fisk said.

“The technique also worked on their less contentious counterparts, induced pluripotent stem cells.

“To make the pluripotent mature stem cells useful in the clinic, they have to be told what type of cell they need to become (pre-differentiated), before being administered to an injured organ, or otherwise they could form tumours.

“Because only small numbers of MSCs exist in the bone marrow and harvesting bone marrow from a healthy donor is an invasive procedure, the ability to make our own MSCs in large number in the laboratory is an exciting step in the future widespread clinical use of MSCs.

“We were able to show these new forms of stem cells exhibited all the characteristics of bone marrow stem cells and we are currently examining their bone repair capability."

AIBN Associate Professor and Co-Investigator on the project, Ernst Wolvetang said the new protocol had overcome a significant barrier in the translation of stem cell-based therapy.

“We are very excited by this research, which has brought together stem cell researchers from two of the major UQ research hubs UQCCR and AIBN,” Associate Professor Wolvetang said.

The research is published in the February edition of the STEM CELLS Translational Medicine journal.

Provided by University of Queensland (news : web)

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Researchers make breakthrough in stem cell research

TECHNOLOGY being developed by Queensland researchers to turn agricultural waste such as bagasse from sugarcane into biofuels, has captured the interest of the US Navy, which is in Australia on a fact-finding mission on biofuels.

The US Navy intends to have a fleet of warships known as the Great Green Fleet running on biofuels by 2016 and by 2020 it plans to run half of its entire fleet on alternative fuels.

Discussing biofuel technology being developed by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers was on the agenda this week when the US Navy's director for operational energy, Chris Tindal, met on Monday with QUT's Professor Sagadevan Mundree and Dr Ian O'Hara to learn more about the capabilities of QUT's Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant.

The meeting was followed up on Tuesday with a tour of the pilot plant in Mackay.

QUT professor Sagadevan Mun-dree said the US Navy was meeting Queensland institutions involved in research and development that could deliver the technology to industry partners, who would ultimately supply these fuels on a commercial scale.

"QUT is the only institution in Australia with the capability of dem-onstrating a diverse range of waste to biofuel technologies at the pilot scale," Professor Mundree said.

"The pilot plant has now been operational for over 14 months, so Mr Tindal is here to find out more about how the technology is progressing.

"The pilot plant is unique in that most biofuel research and development in Australia is taking place at a lab-scale level.

"However, we have the opportunity of taking biofuel technology from the concept stage to the pilot stage in a very short space of time."

Prof Mundree said the US Navy said it required 80,000 barrels of biofuel for the Green Fleet in 2016.

"We have considerable capability to develop technologies that could potentially be delivered by industry partners to satisfy a significant portion of that requirement," he said.

Researchers at the pilot plant are already working with Australian and international industry partners to develop and demonstrate technology to turn agricultural waste, such as bagasse from sugarcane, into biofuels.

"We have also partnered with a Queensland company which is developing biodiesel technologies, and we are assisting them in the demonstration of these products in the pilot plant. So far we have produced several thousand litres of biodiesel from waste agricultural oils," Prof Mundree said.

The pilot plant has been funded by the Federal Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and the Education Investment Fund, the Queensland Government's Smart State Research Facilities Fund, and QUT with the support of Mackay Sugar Ltd.

QUT's industry partners in this project include the large global agri-business Syngenta, Leaf Energy, The Biofuels Partnership and Mackay Sugar Ltd.

Minister for Agriculture, Tim Mulherin and Mackay Sugar hosted the US Navy delegation on Tuesday.

"Queensland has an opportunity to capture the interest of the US Navy with its biofuels technology development," Mr Mulherin said.

"Queensland is a big sugar producer and the state is well placed with a number of research institutions working in the biofuels area.

"There is an opportunity for Queensland to lead the way working with the US Navy in the development of next stage (demonstration-scale) commercial production of biofuels."

The US Navy also met biofuels researchers and industry leaders at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland in Brisbane this week.

University of Queensland vice-chancellor, Professor Deborah Terry, said Mr Tindal's visit to Queensland was a credit to local researchers who were making advances in areas including new-generation 'drop-in' biofuels.

Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) business manager for systems and synthetic biology, Dr Robert Speight, said the aviation fuel research had a clear focus on "delivering real benefits to Queensland".

"Microbial fermentation is used to turn sucrose from sugarcane into advanced biofuel," he said.

Researchers are applying systems and synthetic biology to improve microbes and assess the technical and economic potential of the technology in Queensland.

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US Navy eyes Aussie biofuel research

Finalists for the 2012-2013 Hertz Fellowship Below

Name               

General Field of Study        

Present or Recent School

Cheri Ackerman    

Chemistry              

University of California, Berkeley

Benjamin Altheimer   

Physical Chemistry              

Oberlin College

Scott Barenfeld            

Astronomy/Astrophysics       

University of Rochester

David Barth        

Mechanical Engineering             

University of California, Berkeley

Nicholas Boyd       

Computer Science                  

University of California, Berkeley

Allen Yuyin Chen      

Bioengineering                 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Allen Cheng        

Biophysics                

Harvard University

Paul Christiano             

Computer Science             

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Sean Collins          

Chemistry                 

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Anna Craig          

Mechanical Engineering               

California Institute of Technology

Britni Crocker       

Biotechnology                    

Johns Hopkins University

Anjali Datta         

Electrical Engineering             

University of Texas-Austin

Matthew Edwards   

Aeronautics/Astronautics       

Princeton University

Tal Einav          

Physics                               

Rice University

George Emanuel     

Quantitative Biology, Applied Math  

University of Colorado, Boulder

Samouil Farhi   

Quantitative Biology              

University of California, Berkeley

Peter Fiflis       

Nuclear Engineering             

University of Illinois, Urbana

Aaron Gorenstein     

Computer Science               

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Olivia Hendricks    

Chemistry                         

Wellesley College

Jonathan Huggins    

Computer Science            

Columbia University

Arvind Kannan         

Chemical Engineering            

California Institute of Technology

Zachary King       

Biotechnology                  

University of California, San Diego

Philip Knodel       

Mechanical Engineering              

United States Air Force Academy

Brian Lawrence            

Mathematics                     

California Institute of Technology

Sean Lubner        

Mechanical Engineering                 

University of California, Berkeley

Christopher Madl     

Bioengineering                   

Harvard University

Max Mankin      

Chemistry                       

Harvard University

Thomas Markovich   

Physics                             

University of Houston

Daniele Monahan   

Physical Chemistry            

Yale University

Kelly Moynihan     

Biomedical Engineering               

University of Texas, Austin

Joseph Muth         

Materials Science, Engineering           

Purdue University, W. Lafayette

Marat Orazov         

Chemical Engineering             

University of California, Berkeley

Daniel Perry        

Electrical Engineering        

University of California, Los Angeles

Dan Piraner       

Structural Biology               

Purdue University, W. Lafayette

Vyas Ramanan           

Bioengineering             

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Grant Remmen              

Physics/Astrophysics        

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Jonathan Russell    

Biotechnology                  

Harvard University

Jacob Sargent      

Quantitative Biology                

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ethan Secor           

Materials Science                  

Drake University

Hamsa Sridhar        

Applied Mathematics          

Harvard University

Jacob Steinhardt       

Computer Science              

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Eric Stout            

Bioengineering                       

Arizona State University

Spencer Tomarken     

Physics                          

University of Chicago

James Valcourt            

Quantitative Biology, Bio-Engineering

Princeton University

Ameya Velingker       

Computer Science          

Carnegie Mellon University

Sacha Verweij       

Applied Physics                    

Stanford University

Laura Vogelaar           

Computer Science             

Georgia Institute of Technology

Yi Wang        

Mechanical Engineering                   

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Christian Wentz       

Bioengineering                    

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Yun Yu                

Applied Mathematics           

Imperial College London

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The Hertz Foundation Selects 50 Finalists for 2012-2013 Hertz Fellowship Supporting Gifted Young Leaders in Applied ...