Blood test detects Parkinson’s disease | Keeping firefighters safe

Blood test detects Parkinson’s disease early

DURHAM, NC—Researchers at Duke University has developed a blood test that detects Parkinson’s disease, a major advancement for the disease, which afflicts 10 million people worldwide. The blood test would allow doctors to diagnose the disease earlier, before nervous system damage worsens. Led by a team of Duke Health neuroscientists, the study appears Aug. 30 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Drone startup to help keep firefighters safe

LINCOLN, NE—Startup Drone Amplified, started by two University of Nebraska-Lincoln professors, creates drones that firefighters can operate to set prescribed burns. Prescribed burns are meant to burn the brush on the bottom of a forest floor, so the wildfire lacks fuel and can’t get more severe once it reaches the prescribed burn area. The tech helps battle wildfires while keeping firefighters safe.

Small business owners compete for $1 million

INDIANAPOLIS, IN—Small business owners from across the country were in Indy this week to compete for $1 million to help grow their companies. Elevate Ventures’ Rally IN-Prize pitch competition resulted in  five startups winning a chance to win the funding. One of the startups included Louisville-based GoodMaps.  The winnings come with strings attached—to receive funding, each company must agree to establish a “significant” Indiana presence for at least one year.

St. Louis startup to study muscle generation tech on pigs

LOUIS, MO—Startup GenAssist Inc., has been awarded a $275,000 SBIR grant from the National Science Foundation to begin studying its muscle generation tech on pigs. The company was spun out of the Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering Laboratory at Saint Louis University and uses implantable biomimetic sponges for skeletal muscle regeneration were developed and tested in animals.