News Archive

According to Johns Hopkins researchers, every year due to birth defect, trauma or cancer, more than 200,000 people will need replacement bones in their face or skull. Typically, doctors would remove a part of the patient’s fibula and try to carve it into the required shape and implant the bone back into the patient’s face. While the procedure typically results in the bone regrowing and healing the damage in the face, it isn’t the ideal solution. Depending on the damage being corrected, the bone fragment often can’t be shaped to fit the face very well, which leaves the patient with significant scarring. The removal of part the fibula also creates trauma in the patient’s leg which, when combined with the ongoing trauma in their face or skull, can be quite stressful.

UMBC and IBM Research have announced an exciting new collaboration to create the Accelerated Cognitive Cybersecurity Lab (ACCL), opening at UMBC in fall 2016. Housed within the College of Engineering and Information Technology, the ACCL will advance scientific frontiers in cybersecurity and machine learning. The new lab is supported by a multi-year commitment from IBM.

The move to open an accelerator is part of the health system’s goal to create a place for personalized health ideas to “percolate,” says CEO Todd Stottlemyer.

Lockheed Martin wants to inspire the next generation of American space innovators with a major Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education project.

Launched last month, Generation Beyond aims to bring the science of space into homes and classrooms. Geared toward middle school students, the program harnesses Lockheed Martin’s experience in deep space exploration.

Speaking at the annual Health Datapalooza conference today, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced a challenge to encourage health care organizations, designers, developers, digital tech companies and other innovators to design a medical bill that’s simpler, cleaner, and easier for patients to understand, and to improve patients’ experience of the overall medical billing process. The “A Bill You Can Understand” design and innovation challenge is intended to solicit new approaches and draw national attention to a common complaint with the health care system: that medical billing is a source of confusion for patients and families.

As I take part in panel discussions on the investor’s perspective on startup financing and growth, it strikes me how formulaic these events tend to be. A group of investors provides insight to a room full of rapt entrepreneur attendees. Sometimes the entrepreneurs get to ask questions, and sometimes they don’t.

Emergent BioSolutions announced April 15 that it has begun the formal process of separating some of its assets to form a separate entity, which will be known as Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. Aptevo will specifically focus on immuno-oncology technology, while Emergent will consolidate its focus on public health.

English-speaking universities continue to dominate the world, according to a new ranking from the Times Higher Education supplement released Thursday.

Of the top 24, 16 were American and six were British.

A new accelerator devoted to agricultural technology startups is launching in Research Triangle Park with $11.5 million in initial funding.

The AgTech Accelerator, which officially opened for business Thursday, anticipates raising a total of $25 million to $30 million from investors by the end of this year, said John Dombrosky, a former Syngenta executive who is CEO of the new venture.