Novel Small Molecules Targeting the NK Cell/Tumour CD96/CD155 Checkpoint for Cancer Therapy

BC Cancer Background PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4 are the most successful cancer immunotherapy drugs. Many patients however, respond poorly to inhibition of a single checkpoint, thus exploring novel immune checkpoints is necessary. No small molecule‑based immune checkpoint inhibitors are available, despite their potential advantages over biologics such as antibody-based therapies. Utilizing a novel discovery platform, […]

The Next Generation of Golf Ball Design

George Washington University Background Dimples have been extensively used on golf balls for the past 100 years and their aerodynamic performance has reached a plateau. Nowadays golf balls from different manufacturers have almost identical aerodynamic characteristics. Technology Overview Researchers at the George Washington University and Arizona State University have been developing a family of novel […]

PMU-Embedded Analytics for Online Event Detection and Classification in Power Grids

George Washington University Background According to ‘’QYresearch”, the accumulated global market size for PMU devices and techniques is expected to reach $816 Million by the end of 2025. The existing technology, i.e., PMUs located in power substations, measure the voltage and current phasors continuously and report them to the control centers through communication channels. The […]

Oxygen and Nitrogen Functionalization of Activated Carbon Improves Pd Dispersion and Hydrogenation Reactivity

George Washington University Background Pd-based catalytic reduction holds great promise for water purification because it exhibits high efficiency to reduce a broad spectrum of persistent contaminants, including oxyanions (e.g., nitrate, nitrite), N-nitrosamines, and halogenated compounds, and minimizes the production of toxic intermediates and byproducts to eliminate the need of post-treatment. Catalytic reduction can also be […]

CMOS Compatible Light Emitting Tunnel Junction for Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) and Optical Communication

George Washington University Background With the emergence of photonic integration, the challenges (a) to create light from silicon and (b) to realize electronically compact photonics have delayed the anticipated introduction of photonics into electronic consumer products. While a variety of light emitters exist such as LEDs and semiconductor solid-sate-lasers, existing technology is hindered by: specialized […]

In vitro Drug Treatment to Proliferate and Activate Effector Cells for Immunotherapies

George Washington University Background  STAT5 SUMOylation inhibition increases CD4 and CD8 T-cell proliferation and production of immune effector molecules in CD8 T-cells and NK (natural killer) cells. Both attributes address critical limiting factors in applying cell therapies to fighting cancers and pathogens. In vitro drug treatment of effector cells prior to administration of cells to patients can […]

Fungal Attractant to Enhance Termite Bait Stations

Mississippi State University Background Wood-targeting pests are responsible for billions of dollars in damages annually. Infusing bait with blue-stain fungi, whether the bait has been naturally infested or inoculated artificially, improves upon existing bait stations and bait matrix formulas by increasing the attractiveness of the resulting bait. Ultimately, luring wood-targeting pests from target structures and […]

Novel Delivery Method by Grafting

Nagoya University Background Application of biotechnological toolkits, including genome editing to crops and vegetables, are often hampered by difficulties in transformation and/or regeneration. Nagoya University researchers have invented a novel, general method for delivery using Nicotiana species. Technology Overview The researchers have discovered that Nicotiana benthamiana (Tobacco) can be grafted with virtually all vascular plants. […]