GLITR Friday, September 25, 2009

Your report for Friday, September 25, 2009

Fall tech tour begins at Lawrence Tech
When it comes to the Great Lakes IT Report's annual Fall Tech Tour of university technologies, Detroit-area schools sometimes complain that they get short shrift. So we decided to kick off Fall Tech Tour 2009 with a local stop at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. But unlike other Tech Tour stops, this wasn't just me in some labs. Nope, this was one of our monthly Last Thursdays Unwired At Lawrence Technological University networking meetings, so the school got to show off its job-creating research in front of a crowd of 70. More.

Oakland County warned of Craigslist rental scam
Criminals are using Craigslist to scam potential renters in a “Nigerian” style scheme that asks them to send money overseas, warned Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson and the Berkley Police Thursday. “We have so many people who have lost their homes to foreclosure and are desperate to find a home to rent,” said Johnson. “Some of these families, vulnerable and already in financial crisis, could really be hurt by this scam.” More.

Neogen profits up 18% on 12% revenue increase
The Lansing biotech firm Neogen Corp. Thursday announced a 12 percent increase in revenue for the first quarter of its fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31. Revenue hit $32.3 million. Net income rose 18 percent to $4.4 million or 29 cents a share, from $3.7 million or 25 cents a share a year earlier. More.

MSU scientist helps map potato genome
It's been cultivated for at least 7,000 years and spread from South America to grow on every continent except Antarctica. Now the humble potato has had its genome sequenced. "The potato is the most important vegetable worldwide," said Robin Buell, an MSU associate professor of plant biology. She was part of the consortium that released the first draft sequence of the potato genome. "This first draft that is being released will help breeders improve yield, quality, disease resistance and nutritional value," she said. More.

UM team begins first mapping effort to forecast Great Lakes' future
A University of Michigan-led research team is creating a comprehensive analysis and mapping of threats to the Great Lakes that will guide decision-making in the United States and Canada for years to come. The mapping and analysis project will produce the first regional synthesis of human impacts on the Great Lakes, thereby helping regional planners and conservation groups to prioritize their activities. The Erb Family Foundation funded the $500,000, two-year project. More.

St. Joseph Mercy opens high-tech $60 million operating rooms

St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Thursday unveiled its new, two-story Surgical Pavilion, on the east side of the hospital at 44405 Woodward Ave. in Pontiac.

The new pavilion marks the culmination of Phase I of a two-phase project. The 50,000-square- foot expansion will eventually accommodate 12 technically advanced operating suites, which are being relocated from an existing part of the main building, constructed in 1927. Eight operating rooms are ready for the first surgeries to be performed on Oct. 5.

“The opening of the new Surgical Pavilion allows us to better serve our patients, be more competitive in the marketplace and provide a further incentive in recruiting additional top medical staff to our hospital,” said Jack Weiner, SJMO president and CEO. “The design of the pavilion encompasses wish lists from surgeons and staff, making it a more comfortable work environment and leading to better outcomes for our patients.”

The pavilion houses surgical suites nearly double the size of the current operating rooms. The suites will be fully integrated with video capabilities, allowing for diagnostic imaging to be displayed in the operating suites and transmitted to other areas for teaching and consulting. Medical records, pharmacy, telephone paging systems and more will be electronically linked to the suites for immediate access by surgical teams.

The new facility includes safety features such as ceiling-mounted surgical booms to eliminate the risk of tripping over cords or accidentally unplugging equipment, along with improved ergonomic conditions to provide an enhanced work environment for surgeons. Environmentally friendly features include the use of LED “cool lights” to provide energy efficient, brilliant white lighting that produces less heat, and heating and cooling systems that automatically regulate temperature when rooms are not in use. Other environmentally friendly processes include less waste and reduction in water and energy usage.

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U.S. Army gives Automation Alley $1.6 million to find rare parts
Automation Alley announced Thursday that it was awarded a $1.58 million contract to provide industrial base support for the United States Army's Tank Automotive Command Life Cycle Management Command Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) program. The DMSMS program will identify manufacturers capable of producing replacement parts the Army needs, but that are no longer in production. These parts will be used to maintain the Army's 3,000 key weapon systems. More.

Ex-Pfizer lab becomes Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center
The Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center has formally opened in Plymouth. MLSIC will connect well-funded, experienced entrepreneurs with business accelerator organizations and start-up life science companies. MLSIC is a 57,518-square-foot building that offers office space, in addition to the state-of-the-art laboratory facilities. MEDC, Ann Arbor Spark, Greater Wayne Economic Development Corp. and a private foundation contributed a combined $4.5 million to purchase the facility from Pfizer. Current research and innovation taking place at MLSIC includes focused drug development, clinical research organization, biological processes, and life science services. More.

Azure to sell up to 50 buses in Michigan
The Oak Park hybrid and electric bus developer Azure Dynamics Corp. said Thursday that its Balance Hybrid Electric technology has been approved by the Michigan Department of Transportation for use by state transportation agencies on up to 50 buses. The MDOT contract creates a fixed price for up to 50 buses and will remain in effect for up to three years with a total maximum value of $5.6 million. Midwest Bus Sales is the dealership of record on the agreement and StarTrans Bus is the lead body manufacturer. MDOT will select a transit agency within the state to receive a first run pilot unit by year end. More.

THE WORLD IN TECH

Baidu CEO draws big crowd in Google's back yard
The billionaire founder of a popular search engine drew a big crowd Wednesday at Stanford University -- and it wasn't one of the guys that started Google Inc. just a few miles from the campus they once attended. About 600 students crammed into a lecture room to soak up the wisdom of Robin Li, who owns rare bragging rights over Google and its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Li, 40, is the chief executive and founder of Baidu Inc., a nine-year-old company that dominates Internet search in China like Google dominates the market in just about every other major country in the world. More.

Fairness hearing postponed for Google book deal
A judge noted the many objections to a $125 million deal giving Google Inc. digital rights to millions of out-of-print books as he agreed Thursday to postpone a fairness hearing so the agreement can be rewritten to comply with copyright and antitrust laws. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said the deal reached last year between U.S. authors and publishers and Google "raises significant issues, as demonstrated not only by the number of objections, but also by the fact that the objectors include countries, states, nonprofit organizations, and prominent authors and law professors." He added: "Clearly, fair concerns have been raised." More.

Nielsen: People spending more time on social sites
Americans have been devoting 17 percent of all their Internet time to social networks like Facebook and blogging Web sites like Blogger. The percentage for last month is up from 6 percent a year earlier. The report comes from Nielsen Co. and follows its decision to team up with Facebook on a marketing program that helps advertisers measure how well their ads work on the online hangout. Nielsen estimates that ad spending on leading social-network and blogging sites more than doubled year-over-year, to about $108 million for the month. This happened even as several industries decreased their overall ad spending.

Honda shows small, light 'personal mobility' device
Honda's new "personal mobility" device looks like a unicycle, but all you need to do to zip around on it - sideways as well as forward and back - is lean your weight into the direction you want to go. The U3-X -- available for a test-run for reporters in Tokyo Thursday -- was designed to be small, safe and unobtrusive enough to mingle with pedestrians, according to Honda Motor Co. The single wheel on the U3-X - U stands for "unicycle" and "universal" - is made up of many tiny motor-controlled wheels, packed inside the bigger wheel, allowing the device to swerve in any direction. Honda declined to give details of the U3-X's technology, but said it weighs less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds), runs on a full charge for an hour, and has a lithium-ion battery. More.

Stocks: Drop in home sales, tumbling oil weigh on shares
A surprise drop in home sales and another slide in oil prices pushed investors to sell stocks Thursday. Stocks slid for a second day after the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 2.7 percent in August compared with a 7.2 percent rise in July. Economists had been expecting a fifth straight increase. The report overshadowed news from the Labor Department that the number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third week in a row. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 21,000 last week to 530,000, slightly better than economists expected. Meanwhile, a stronger dollar pressed commodity prices lower. That in turn hurt stocks of energy and materials companies. More. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) fell 23.81 points or 1.1 percent to 2,107.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) fell 41.11 points or 0.4 percent to 9,707.44. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) fell 8.01 points or 2.4 percent to 323.04. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) fell 7.71 points or 1.4 percent to 532 points even. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) fell 1.15 points or 0.4 percent to 283.71. The NYSE Arca Biotech Index (BTK) fell 16.19 points or 1.7 percent to 928.61. Finally, the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) fell 10.09 points or 1 percent to 1,050.78.

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