Patch Fights Migraines Through Skin

NuPathe Inc. out of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, won FDA clearance for its novel ZECUITY sumatriptan iontophoretic transdermal system to help address acute migraines.
According to Medgadget, Sumatriptan is a popular drug for fighting migraines, but taking it orally is not easy if you’re also nauseous due to the headache.
The ZECUITY is a single use battery powered patch that delivers sumatriptan through the skin at the press of a button. It uses an electric current to pull ionized drug particles through the skin while monitoring the skin’s resistance to the transfer of sumatriptan during the four-hour dosing.
Zecuity was approved based upon an extensive development program with phase 3 trials that included 800 patients using more than 10,000 Zecuity patches.
In these trials, Zecuity was proven safe and effective at treating migraine and relieving its cardinal symptoms (headache pain, migraine-related nausea and sensitivity to light and sound) two hours after patch activation.
In the phase 3 pivotal study, twice as many patients treated with Zecuity achieved freedom from headache pain at two hours compared with placebo (18 percent and 9 percent, respectively).

Sandables Mold Into Any Shape For Precise Woodwork

Finding the perfect tool for any job can sometimes be a daunting task, especially when that job requires precision such as with woodworking.
So what could be a better tool than one that you can mold specifically for the task at hand? That’s why several collaborators recently created Sandables, a set of sanding tools that can be reshaped like gritty modeling clay for more accurate woodworking, Gizmag wrote.
Sandables are made out of polycaprolactone (PCL), a material that becomes more elastic at moderately high temperatures. All it takes is three minutes in the microwave, and they can be shaped like modeling clay into any form you need.
One package of Sandables will contain three sanders in three distinct grits for different sanding jobs. PCL also has the added benefits of being non-toxic and biodegradable.
Aside from bending them to smooth out unusual wooden shapes, having the ability to remold a sander opens the door for some more inventive uses. A Sandable could be wrapped around a stick to sand hard-to-reach areas, for instance, or even attached to a drill to make a customized power sander,
Sandables were created through Quirky, a website that brings various collaborators together to make changes to an invention until it’s ready to be sold as a complete product.

Iranian Identifies Dusty Clouds, Stars

The center of our Milky Way galaxy is a wondrous place full of huge star clusters, dust clouds, magnetic filaments and a super, massive black hole.
But it can be a confusing place, too, posing challenges to astronomers trying to image these exotic features and learn more about where they are located in the galaxy, ScienceDaily reported.
Northwestern University’s Farhad Yusef-Yusef-Zadeh has discovered a new tool for detecting dusty clouds and stars: simply take a picture using radio waves. He is the first to identify what he calls radio dark clouds and stars. Stars in the early and late phases of their evolution are shrouded by huge dusty envelopes in the form of dust and gas outflows.
“When you see these dark stars or clouds in radio wavelength images, it tells you something very interesting,” Yusef-Zadeh said. “We immediately know there is a cold gas cloud or dusty star mixing with a hot radiative medium and that an interaction is taking place. Knowing details of these clouds is important because the clouds can produce stars and also provide material for the growth of black holes.”
Yusef-Zadeh is a professor of physics and astronomy in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a member of Northwestern’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA).
Unlike in the optical, X-ray and infrared wavelengths, it is unusual to see a dark feature with radio waves. Radio is a long wavelength and therefore does not get absorbed easily and typically passes through whatever is in its way.
Initially, Yusef-Zadeh thought maybe the dark features he saw on the radio images he was studying were nothing, but then he connected the features to five known dense molecular and dusty clouds located in the center of our galaxy, some near Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the black hole.
“This technique provides very good sensitivity of faint dusty features and it can produce images with even higher resolution than many other telescopes,” Yusef-Zadeh said. “It is an initial observation that tells you something is there that needs to be studied more closely.”
In addition, astronomers can measure the size of dusty stars using this new technique.
Yusef-Zadeh will present his results at 11:30 a.m. PST (Pacific Standard Time) Tuesday, Jan. 8, at the 221st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Long Beach, Calif. He also will participate in a press conference on the galactic center at 12:45 p.m. PST the same day.
The interaction of a cold dust cloud with a hot radiation field results in a loss in the continuum emission and appears as a dark feature in the radio wavelength image, Yusef-Zadeh said. The dark features that trace the embedded molecular clouds provide astronomers with the size of the cloud in three dimensions.
Although not part of the work he is presenting, Yusef-Zadeh said a good example of a dusty cloud that could be imaged with his technique is G2, the tiny cloud that is fast approaching Sgr A*, our galaxy’s black hole.

New World Record for Solar Cell Efficiency

Scientists based at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have set a new efficiency record for thin-film copper indium gallium (di)selenid (or CIGS) based solar cells on flexible polymer foils, reaching an efficiency of 20.4 percent.
According to Electronics News, this is an increase from a previous record of 18.7 percent set by the team back in 2011.
Flexible thin film solar cells boast the advantages of both increased flexibility, and a more cost-effective roll-to-roll manufacturing process, when compared to more widespread crystalline silicon-based solar cells. However, they are typically considered relatively inefficient.
The scientists, led by Ayodhya N. Tiwari at Empa’s Laboratory for Thin Film and Photovoltaics, cite the breakthrough as a key step to making CIGS-based thin film solar cells more practicable for future widespread use.
“We have now--finally--managed to close the ‘efficiency gap’ to solar cells based on polycrystalline silicon wafers or CIGS thin film cells on glass,” said Tiwari.
The efficiency of Empa’s flexible polymer foil-based thin solar cells bests the record of 20.3 percent efficiency for CIGS solar cells on glass substrates, and also equals that of the most efficient polycrystalline silicon wafer-based solar cells.
The next step is to scale-up the technology to be suitable for large scale, roll-to-roll manufacturing, and Empa is collaborating with a start-up company named Flisom to help bring this about.
The research is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Commission for Technology and Innovation, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and the EU Framework Programs.

Dust Donut Adds Weather Seal to Camera Lenses

Dust and moisture are the natural enemies of digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras.
According to CNET, if they get into you camera, they can cause all sorts of problems ranging from dust on the sensor and image degradation, to fungus growing inside a lens.
The Dust Donut is a simple idea, which has been launched on Kickstarter and aims to solve the problem of non-weather-sealed lenses by adding a seal between your camera and lens.
Designed for Canon EF lenses (the majority of those sold lack any form of weather sealing), the Dust Donut is essentially a rubber gasket that attaches to the mounting surface of the lens and provides a seal between the lens and camera. By blocking dirt and moisture from collecting around this connection, it reduces the risk of damage being caused to your sensor.
Once applied directly to the mounting surface of the lens, the Dust Donut is said to require no further attention. Obviously this is unlikely to offer you the same level of protection as a weather-sealed L-series lens, but some protection is always going to be better than none.
A separate Dust Donut will be required for each lens that you want to add a level of weather sealing to.
Dust Donut creator, California-based photographer Tyler Sterbentz, says it “fits as if it were made by Canon” and will be manufactured to a level of precision found only in aerospace engineering. This means no overhangs or gaps that could allow leaks, and the thin rubber disc will not make it any harder to attach or remove a lens from your DSLR.
Having already exceeded its Kickstarter goal with 35 days to go, the Dust Donut is due to start shipping to backers in April. A pledge of $20 will get you one to fit a Canon EF mount lens, including third party brands.
The creators say that Nikon, Olympus and Sony versions are on the way and a Kickstarter pledge of $3 will get you on the priority mailing list for future versions.

Iran to Hold Nanosafety Symposium

The Nanotechnology Committee of Food and Drug Organization of Iran plans to hold a Specialized Symposium on Nanosafety in Humans and Environment in February.
The symposium has special re-educational benefits for pharmacists and physicians, Fars News Agency reported.
Among the objectives of the symposium, mention can be made of the promotion of knowledge of specialists and people interested in nanotechnology in the fields of nanomaterials and creation of interaction between the researchers in this field.
Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council, Iran Environmental Mutagen Society, Nanotechnology Safety Network, Nanotechnology Standardization Technical Committee and Islamic Azad University of Pharmaceutical Sciences will cooperate with Nanotechnology Committee of Food and Drug Organization in holding the symposium.
The scopes of the conference are as follows:
Work safety and immunity with nanomaterials;
Biomarkers to evaluate nanomaterials safety;
Novel techniques to investigate nanomaterials risk;
Policymaking and ethics in nanosafety field;
Nanomaterials safety and immunity in environment;
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of nanomaterials toxicity.

Iranian Herbal Ointment For Skin Mycosis

An Iranian science-based company of National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology has produced a herbal ointment for treating superficial mycoses.
Kamran Khalili, a researcher of the project, told Mehr News Agency about the use of Pterocarya fraxinifolia (commonly known as Caucasian wingnut or Caucasian walnut) in the project.
“The plant grows in forests and prairies, and contains antifungal compounds,” he said.
“In this research project, we investigated the herb’s properties, produced the hydro-alcohol extract and tested its in-vitro effects on three strains.”
Khalili added that after antifungal effects were confirmed, the herb’s antifungal compounds were determined through special procedures.
“Antifungal compounds in the Caucasian wingnut extract resist temperatures of up to 95 degrees centigrade and are not deactivated by heat,” he said.
“The cream produced in laboratory was tested on guinea pigs with favorable results.”
Khalili noted that after this phase, they have produced the antifungal cream from the herbal extract.

80% of New Diseases Diagnosed

An Iranian geneticist said Iranian clinics have achieved an 80-percent successful diagnosis of genetic diseases.
Mohammad Taqi Akbari added that clinics still lack the facilities to diagnose genetic diseases, but he said they enjoy high capacities, Mehr News Agency reported.
“New genes have been detected gradually and a challenge is developing test kits, which are highly needed,” he said, adding that 20 genetic clinics operate in the country and meet the demands on genetic diseases treatment.
Akbari pointed to the cost of providing test kits for clinics as another challenge for laboratory sciences in the country.
“A majority of kits are imported from foreign manufacturers and high costs have posed difficulties for laboratory workers, since the laboratory service fees rarely rise,” he said, hoping that domestic manufacturers will help face this challenge.

Smartphone Scanner Brings Film to Digital World

If you were into photography in the 80s or earlier, chances are that you now have a bunch of slides and negatives that have sat forgotten for many years.
Should that be the case, or if you even still use analog film, then the Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner might be for you, IdeaConnection wrote.
It allows you to convert 35mm negatives and slides into digital images, using your smartphone.
First of all, there are already other devices for digitizing analog film. Because it utilizes the phone’s camera and electronics, however, the Lomography scanner is considerably simpler, smaller and cheaper than most.
To use it, you place your phone on top (with the lens pointing down), feed your film into the bottom, then back-illuminate the images with the scanner’s light panel. Individual slides can be inserted, although they will first need to be removed from their cardboard or plastic mount.

Warmer Soils

Warmer temperatures due to climate change could cause soils to release additional carbon into the atmosphere, thereby enhancing climate change--but that effect diminishes over the long run.