News
Georgia Tech News
New Research Complex Encourages Collaboration
Georgia Tech's Biotechnology Complex was designed to facilitate interdisciplinary work
(September 15, 2007) — When materials scientist Ken Sandhage needs to consult with a chemist, biologist or even an electrical engineer, he need only step up or down a few flights of stairs in Georgia Tech's new Molecular Science & Engineering Building (MS&E).
"It's much easier to have productive conversations in the hallways if you are clustered in a building with people who have similar research interests, even if they aren't in the same department," he says. "I don't have to walk across campus to find someone to talk with about an issue outside of my own discipline."
Georgia Tech Profs Recognized by Cancer Coalition
(November 19, 2007) — Four Georgia Tech research scientists — Yuhong Fan, Ph.D., Melissa Kemp, Ph.D., Francesca Storici, Ph.D, and Ming Yuan, Ph.D. — are among the 29 across the state to be selected as Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholars for 2008. As assistant professors, each scientist is funded at $50,000 annually for five years; Coalition support for their research efforts totals $1 million. The Coalition selects scientists engaged in the most promising areas of cancer research.
Georgia Tech Top Producer of African-American Engineers
(July 16, 2007) — The Georgia Institute of Technology is the top overall producer of African-American engineers in the United States, according to Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine's annual college rankings report.
For the 2005-2006 academic year, Georgia Tech was ranked No. 1 in undergraduate degrees in engineering awarded to African-American students with 120 degrees, up from 117 during the 2004-2005 academic year.
Tech Creates New Ph.D. In Computational Science And Engineering
(February 13, 2008) — The Colleges of Computing, Engineering, and Sciences at Georgia Tech today announced the creation of a new doctoral degree in Computational Science and Engineering.
Drug Discovery and Systems Biology
Georgia Tech Creates Integrative BioSystems Institute
(February 7, 2008) — Georgia Tech has created the Integrative BioSystems Institute to explore new technologies and methods to collect and analyze millions of pieces of biological information in order to form a more complete picture of how life works and how the environment affects living things.
Peptide Discovered in Scorpion Venom May Be Key to Secretory Diseases
(February 14, 2008) — Researchers have discovered a peptide in scorpion venom that may hold the key to understanding and controlling cystic fibrosis and other secretory diseases. The novel peptide, called GaTx1, can control the movement of ions and water out of cells by interacting with a crucial chloride channel that is commonly mutated in patients with cystic fibrosis.
Georgia Tech Researchers Help Shut Down Drug Counterfeiters
(February 13, 2008) — Georgia Institute of Technology researchers were part of a three-continent, multi-organizational effort known as "Operation Jupiter" that successfully identified and shut down manufacturers who were flooding Southeast Asia with counterfeit — and ineffective — anti-malarial drugs.
Drug Delivery
Researchers Win $11.5 Million for Vaccine Delivery
Georgia Tech & Emory University to use microneedle patches for painless flu vaccinations
(October 3, 2007) — Flu vaccine delivered through painless microneedles in patches applied to the skin could soon be an alternative to delivery through hypodermic needles, according to researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Using new grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling approximately $11.5 million over five years, researchers from the two institutions plan to develop a new vaccine product using the microscopic needles.
Study Demonstrates Effectiveness of Microneedles
(February 4, 2008) — In what is believed to be the first peer-reviewed human study of its kind, researchers have demonstrated that patches coated on one side with microscopic needles can facilitate transdermal delivery of clinically-relevant doses of a drug that normally cannot pass through the skin.
Nanomedicine
Nanoparticle Could Help Detect Many Diseases Early
Georgia Tech and Emory University researchers first to image hydrogen peroxide in animals
(August 20, 2007) — Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University researchers are the first to create a nanoparticle capable of detecting and imaging trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide in animals. The nanoparticles, thought to be completely nontoxic, could some day be used as a simple, all-purpose diagnostic tool to detect the earliest stages of any disease that involves chronic inflammation — everything from cancer and Alzheimer's to heart disease and arthritis.
Astronomy Technology Brings Nanoparticle Probes into Sharper Focus
(February 19, 2008) — Georgia Tech and Emory University researchers have created a technology based on astronomy software that provides more precise images of single molecules tagged with nanoprobes. The clearer images allow researchers to collect more detailed information about a single molecule, such as how the molecule is binding in a gene sequence, taking scientists a few steps closer to truly personalized and predictive medicine as well as more complex biomolecular structural mapping.
Gold Nanoprobes May Allow Earlier Cancer Detection
(December 28, 2007) — Using tiny gold particles embedded with dyes, Georgia Tech and Emory researchers have shown that they can identify tumors under the skin of a living animal. These tools may allow doctors to detect and diagnose cancer earlier and less invasively.
Regenerative Medicine
Molecule Delivery Method Improves Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation
(April 9, 2008) — New research shows that delivering molecules within aggregates of embryonic stem cells via biodegradable microspheres enhances the efficiency and purity of differentiation.
Embryonic Stem Cells Thrive When Shaken
(September 10, 2007) — Embryos spend much of their time in the womb bobbing along with a mother's movement, and, surprisingly enough, new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University suggests that embryonic stem cells may develop much better under similarly shaky conditions.
Polymer with Neurotransmitter Promotes Nerve Growth
Strategy encourages regeneration of damaged central nervous system cells
(December 11, 2007) — Research reported December 11 in the journal Advanced Materials describes a potentially promising strategy for encouraging the regeneration of damaged central nervous system cells known as neurons.
Devices and Sensors
Sensor Necklace Aims to Increase Drug Compliance
(March 5, 2008) — Georgia Tech researchers have designed a sensor necklace that records the date and time a pill is swallowed, which could be used to ensure that the elderly and subjects in clinical drug trials take their medications as directed by a physician.
Portable Device Quickly Detects Early Alzheimer's
(January 16, 2008) — Georgia Tech and Emory University researchers have developed a device that may allow patients to take a brief, inexpensive test that could be administered as part of a routine yearly checkup at a doctor's office to detect mild cognitive impairment — often the earliest stage of Alzheimer's.
New Biosensor Detects Avian Influenza Virus
Field-deployable unit detects virus in minutes, not days
(September 27, 2007) — Quick identification of avian influenza infection in poultry is critical to controlling outbreaks, but current detection methods can require several days to produce results.
Fast AFM Probes Measure Many Biomolecule or Material Properties
(April 15, 2008) — Researchers have developed novel atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes that can quickly and simultaneously measure biomolecule or material properties including adhesion, stiffness, elasticity and viscosity, in addition to the standard AFM topography scan.
New Decontamination System Kills Anthrax Rapidly
(January 29, 2008) — A rapid, non-disruptive and less expensive method to decontaminate bioterrorism hazards has been developed. Flat panels producing X-rays and ultraviolet-C light kill anthrax spores, even hidden ones, in two to three hours without lingering effects.
Vest May Help Understand Causes of Asthma Attacks
(January 22, 2008) — A vest containing environmental sensors may help researchers better understand the causes of asthma attacks. The system can determine what children are exposed to at home, at school and outside where they play.
Georgia Tech Researchers Develop RFID Testbed
(May 5, 2008) — Georgia Tech researchers have designed a system capable of simultaneously measuring hundreds of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and rapidly testing new RFID tag prototypes.
Biofuels and Energy
Georgia Tech Takes Comprehensive Biofuels Approach
Interdisciplinary research initiative focuses on converting forest products
(September 15, 2007) — We feel it at the pump. Fuel prices are at record highs and so is the demand for alternative fuels. But major scientific and technological advances are still required before economically viable alternative fuels become a significant part of the U.S. energy supply.
Researchers across the Georgia Institute of Technology campus are focusing their attention on biofuels. And while most experts agree that biofuels are not the silver bullet to solve the world's long-term fuel needs, they see biofuels as a necessary complement to conventional oil and gas.
Georgia Tech Part of New Biofuel Research Center
(June 29, 2007) — The Georgia Institute of Technology is part of a new research team, led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), that has won a bid from the Department of Energy for a $125 million bioenergy research center that will seek new ways to produce biofuels.
Funded by the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the Bioenergy Science Center will be located on the ORNL campus in a new facility funded by the state and owned by the University of Tennessee. The center, one of three funded from more than 20 proposals, will employ the interdisciplinary expertise of the team's partners in biology, engineering and agricultural science and commercialization to develop processes for converting plants including switchgrass and poplar trees into fuels.
Carbon Capture Strategy Could Lead to Emission-Free Cars
(February 11, 2008) — Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a strategy to capture, store and eventually recycle carbon from vehicles. Georgia Tech researchers envision a zero emission car, and a transportation system completely free of fossil fuels.
Business News
Georgia Tech Edison Fund Supports Startup Firms
New fund targets technology companies associated with Georgia Tech
(November 9, 2007) — Thomas Edison often receives credit for inventing the electric light bulb, though his real accomplishment was in making the device — as well as the phonograph and motion picture camera — commercially successful. That focus on commercializing innovation is now providing the foundation for a new venture bearing Edison's name at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Tech Researchers Win 2008 Sloan Industry Studies Best Paper Prize
(May 7, 2008) — Georgia Tech researchers recently won the 2008 Sloan Industry Studies Best Paper Award for their holistic examination of strategies employed by pharmaceutical firms for innovating in the realm of biotechnology.