An early prototype concept for a smart contact lens. This wearable tech would measure glucose levels in tears, using a tiny wireless chip and miniaturised sensor embedded between layers of soft contact lens material. When glucose levels fall below a certain threshold, tiny LED lights will activate themselves to function as a warning system for the wearer. Credit: Google
Google's Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) has announced a partnership with British pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), to form Galvani Bioelectronics – a new company focused on the research, development and commercialisation of bioelectronic medicines. Verily (owned by Google's parent company, Alphabet) has announced an agreement with GSK to form Galvani Bioelectronics to accelerate the research, development and commercialisation of bioelectronic medicines. GSK will hold a 55% interest in the new jointly owned company and Verily will hold 45%. Galvani Bioelectronics will be headquartered in the UK, with the parent companies contributing existing intellectual property rights and up to £540 million of investment over seven years, subject to successful completion of various discovery and development milestones. Bioelectronic medicine is a relatively new scientific field that aims to tackle a wide range of chronic diseases using miniaturised, implantable...
Google and GSK invest £540M to create bioelectronic medicines
Indian firm develops ‘world’s first’ Zika virus vaccine
Dr Krishna Ella, Bharat Biotech chairman
Suresh Dharur & Aditi Tandon, Tribune News Service, Hyderabad/New Delhi, February 3In a major breakthrough, Hyderabad-based biotechnology research company Bharat Biotech has announced that it has developed the world’s first vaccine for Zika virus. The company has submitted two vaccine candidates — one inactivated and one recombinant — to the Government of India and is waiting for regulatory approvals to produce the vaccine on a large scale. The company officials are confident of producing one million doses of the vaccine, if clinical trials are completed as per the plan and approvals are given swiftly. Zika virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which also transmits diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. Bharat Biotech submitted the necessary
@ flickr.com/photos/thespeakernews/24253989800 by cc by 2.0 licence
information to the Indian Council of Medical Research four days ago. The government today called researchers for discussions on the vaccine quality to see if its development can be fast-tracked. Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Secretary, Health Research, and Director General, ICMR, said, “Bharat Biotech has taken a lead in the possibility of developing a Zika vaccine. They applied for a patent for the vaccine almost a year...
VR startup adds new skin to real world
Tech startup Wild has become the latest company to blend virtual reality with the physical world. The project uses a dedicated environment that serves as a physical framework that the user can explore while interacting with a virtual overlay as seen through a VR headset. WILD is initially aiming its creation at the marketing and visitor attraction markets.
Merging real and virtual environments is a popular concept at the moment, with several companies such as Surreal Vision - a company recently acquired by Oculus Rift – and VOID (Vision Of Infinite Dimensions) developing similar projects. US-firm Wild’s prototype has been built in its offices in Oregon and allows a user to open a door into a world where they can speed up and slow down traffic outside the office’s virtual window and change the weather with the flick of a 'real' switch. The explorers can interact – or in some cases eat – things that exist in both the real and virtual world such as popcorn. Wild’s prototype uses a Samsung Gear VR headset with integrated smartphone. Multiple sensors track the whereabouts of the user, and establishes their interaction with the items in the space. It is these interactions with real world objects that ‘grounds’ the experience for the user, developers believe, and ultimately makes it more believable. Wild describes itself...
Google launches new mapping and analysis tool for potential solar customers
BY: PV MAGAZINE STAFF: The tech giant's latest foray into renewable energy involves aggregating information for customers looking to set up a new pv system, complete with shading analysis, financials and information on local installers. Project Sunroof is currently limited to San Francisco, Fresno and Boston. On Monday Google launched Project Sunroof, a new tool to provide information for prospective solar customers. The product utilizes Google Maps' vast data and a host of other resources, in a bid to make the choice to install PV “easy and understandable for anyone”. When an individual interested in installing PV provides his or her address, the program will provide a complete shading analysis, including trees and other obstructions that could lead to complications in output, as well as cloud patterns. The program is currently limited to San Francisco, Fresno and Boston, however Google plans to extend it to the entire nation. The program then asks for information on customer electricity usage, in order to calculate the optimal system size, with an aim towards 100% coverage. The program also provides information on federal, state and utility rebates and incentives, as well as renewable energy credits and net metering. Finally, Project Sunroof provides potential customers with information on solar providers in their...
Isro's PSLV-C28 successfully places 5 British satellites in orbit
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Friday successfully launched five British commercial satellites aboard its PSLV-C28 launch vehicle from its space port in Sriharikota, marking its heaviest commercial mission ever. ISRO's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C28, in its 13th flight, placed the five satellites, including three identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites, in sun synchronous orbit about 20 minutes after lift-off at 9.58 PM from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The three DMC3 satellites, each weighing 447 kg, were launched into a 647 km sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) using the high-end version of PSLV (PSLV-XL). ''It's been a wonderful mission… an extremely successful mission,'' a beaming ISRO chairman Kiran Kumar said from the Mission Control Centre. The three identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites were built by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) of the United Kingdom. The PSLV-C28 also carried two auxiliary satellites from the UK, viz, CBNT-1, a technology demonstrator earth observation micro satellite built by SSTL, and De-OrbitSail, a technology demonstrator nano satellite built by Surrey Space Centre. PSLV-C28 will be the ninth flight of the launch vehicle in 'XL' configuration. With the overall lift-off mass of 1,440 kg of the five satellites,...
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