ON NEWS
HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS
HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS
New tech could speed up life-saving drug discoveries
A
team of researchers at the University of Bath has developed a revolutionary new biochip device that will lead to a faster and
more cost-effective way of discovering new life-saving drugs. The ‘PhosphoSense’ technology screens
compounds for use in drugs and has produced a new way of detecting the activity of enzymes called kinases. In normal healthy human cells, kinases
regulate a number of important biological processes important for survival. However, when kinases become over-active or disregulated, it can cause a range of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, Alzheimer’s and diabetes. This patented technology will allow
pharmaceutical companies to measure simultaneously a large number of compounds and select which one can be developed into drugs to fight against diseases. The device was developed at Bath by
researchers Dr Pedro Estrela and PhD student Nikhil Bhalla in the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, Dr Mirella Di Lorenzo in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and Dr Giordano Pula in the Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology. Dr Giordano Pula, Lecturer in the
Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology, said: “This technology has the potential to change the drug discovery process as we know it and facilitate the development of new drugs for diseases like cancer, stroke and dementia.”
The full open access paper ‘Protein phosphorylation detection using dual mode field-effect devices and nanoplasmonic sensors’ can be viewed at
http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150303/srep08687/full/srep08687.html
BYOD – ready or not! By Frank Steiner, Sales and Marketing Manager at the University of London Computer Centre (ULCC)
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy made its first appearance on the Gartner Hype Cycle back in 2012 and was expected to become 'the dominant practice in higher education in the First World'. Two years later BYOD sits well and truly in the 'trough of disillusionment', something Gartner defines as 'a technology [that] does not live up to its overinflated expectations, [and] rapidly becomes unfashionable'. According to Gartner, BYOD strategy
has a two- to five-year mainstream adoption horizon with a 'moderate' impact factor, for comparison 'adaptive learning' and 'big data' are seen as likely having a transformational impact. So where does that leave CIOs and IT
directors working in education? I believe it's not a question of 'if' but 'when', with consumerisation of IT driving student (and staff) expectations, providing the infrastructure that enables device- independent learning and working is becoming ever more important. It shouldn't come as a surprise that
Microsoſt Apps like Word, Excel and Outlook frequently feature in the top productivity apps on the iOS store, people like to use familiar apps on their preferred device. The obvious key issue in all this and
where I see IT departments playing a key role is network and application security. With either business critical data, or more importantly personal data being shared and/or collected (think VLE data, student assignments, marks, etc.) measures need to be in place to do so securely. Gartner sees BYOD as a stepping-
stone to a so-called ‘exostructure strategy’ which it defines as “building an "exoskeleton" of services that support the education institution from the outside rather than from the inside.” Interesting times ahead, no doubt!
@Educ_Technology |
www.edtechnology.co.uk | 33
HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS
HIGHER
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74