News

COLUMBIA, Md. (April 4, 2023) – The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission announces the appointment of Ruchika Nijhara, Ph.D., MBA, as executive director of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF). As executive director, Nijhara oversees all MSCRF activities and seven programs accelerating stem cell research, commercialization and cures.

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission (Commission), which oversees the fund, was established as an independent unit within the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO). It leads the way in identifying and supporting the most promising stem cell technologies in our region.

April 3, 2023 – The battle against Cancer has long been a collective effort, with advances in treatment and prevention made possible through the dedicated work of researchers, caregivers, advocates, and the investment of federal, state, and local governments, as well as private investment. Building on the progress made thus far, the National Cancer Plan represents a bold and ambitious framework to end Cancer as we know it. The National Cancer Plan has been developed to coordinate a comprehensive national response to achieving the goals of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, led by President Biden and First Lady Biden, and to deliver better cancer outcomes to all people​.

Image: https://twitter.com/theNCI/status/1642905180596498433/photo/1

April 3, 2023 – Medcura, Inc., a life science and medical device company based in Riverdale, MD, is experiencing substantial growth in the BioHealth Capital Region. The company has developed a cutting-edge proprietary biosurgical technology demonstrating the rapid arrest of difficult-to-control surgical bleeding. This innovative technology offers the industry-best highly disruptive economics and has been tested in numerous challenging pre-clinical models. In addition to its versatility, the platform can be expanded into highly differentiated product solutions, as seen in Medcura’s emerging surgical and recently commercialized consumer product applications. Notably, the company’s products have garnered recognition for quickly stopping bleeding using naturally abundant and highly economical ingredients.

The regional UMD I-Corps Customer Discovery Workshops introduce teams and individuals with innovations to the concepts of business models and customer discovery.

UMD offers several live (over Zoom), instructor-led I-Corps workshops each year. You may only join these cohorts with instructor approval upon completing the I-Corps Prerequisite, a self-paced, online course.

Venable LLP today introduced Venable Blue, a legal and consulting service that helps clients protect their reputation and manage risk online. The service helps companies build, operationalize, and deploy integrated programs and systems, and manage escalations in all areas of business, including regulatory, compliance, content, child safety, human rights, and privacy online. Venable Blue extends and complements the robust offerings of Venable’s Technology and Innovation practice in data privacy, cybersecurity, and autonomous and connected mobility.

BLACKSBURG, Va. (March 28, 2023) – The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VTCRC) announced today that three companies have been selected to join Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS (JLABS). Under a collaboration between VTCRC and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, LLC, established to support innovators in the Blacksburg-Roanoke region with the aim to accelerate emerging biotech and life science startups, the selected companies will have full access to JLABS programming, resources, and mentorship from experts across The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies virtually.

Acomhal Research, Qentoros, and The Tiny Cargo Company will benefit from the JLABS global life science network and industry connections, along with access privileges to the JLABS @ Washington, DC site, while keeping their businesses located in the region.

It has been known for some time that plants communicate with one another, but Israeli scientists now say they’ve identified “words,” and have found that different species speak in different “languages,” according to a groundbreaking new study published Thursday in the prestigious scientific journal Cell.

Scientists already know that plants communicate in a variety of ways when they are stressed. They might change physically (by wilting or changing leaf color), become bitter to the taste (to deter herbivores), or emit smells (volatile organic compounds) to tell other members of the family that they are under attack, for example by insects.

Image: Tomatoes were among the plants tested for sound by Tel Aviv University researchers. (David Besa, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons)

By Tom Still

MADISON, Wis. — Society has been here many times before. A little more than 200 years ago, a group of English textile workers called the Luddites took to destroying mill machinery — not because they were inherently anti-technology — but mainly to protest labor conditions at the time. The movement faded in a few years and the textile industry continued down an inevitable road to automation.

The history of technology reveals many such examples of innovation being met with suspicion and worries that mankind would lose its moral compass. From Gutenberg’s printing press to the dawn of the computer age, people have fretted that new ways and machines would erode the ability of people to discern good from bad while dangerously accelerating change.

$600,000 invested into 3 new ventures and $1.6Million awarded to 12 project grants

COLUMBIA, Md. (March 29, 2023) – TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent round of funding through the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII).

Established in 2012, the MII program was created as a partnership between the State of Maryland and five Maryland academic research institutions: Johns Hopkins University; Morgan State University; University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and University of Maryland, College Park. The program’s mission is to accelerate and support the commercialization of promising technologies from bench to market through investments in innovation, entrepreneurship and venture creation.