
Alabama researchers energize efforts to aid search for COVID-19 therapies
Alabama’s bioscience researchers and organizations have mobilized to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to advance urgent work that could lead to new treatments and vaccines. This includes Birmingham-based TriAltus Bioscience LLC, which developed protein purification technology to support research into a new COVID-19 vaccine under development at the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute in Portland,…

Alabama connections run strong in NASA picks for moon lander systems
NASA today selected three U.S. companies to design and develop a human landing system for its return mission to the Moon – and the program stands to have a strong Alabama connection. “With these contract awards, America is moving forward with the final step needed to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024, including the incredible moment when we will see the first woman set foot on the lunar surface,” said NASA Administrator…

Birmingham firm provides high-tech helping hand to companies in COVID-19 crisis
During the COVID-19 outbreak, many companies are wrestling with the challenges of travel bans and social distancing practices, but one Birmingham firm is offering a way to keep business operations going through mobile augmented reality technology. Help Lightning’s high-tech solution allows technicians to remotely guide on-site equipment repairs and perform other mission-critical tasks for customers…

Auburn engineers repurpose CPAP machines into emergency ventilators
Auburn University engineers have developed a way to convert CPAP machines into emergency ventilators, a valuable tool in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The design, called RE-InVENT, is one of several efforts at Auburn to aid healthcare workers in Alabama and beyond. Faculty and staff also have produced hand sanitizer and 3D-printed protective face…

3-D printers join race to produce face shields for healthcare workers
Doctors and nurses caring for COVID-19 patients at Birmingham’s UAB Hospital will soon receive protective face shields thanks to 3-D printing technology and a partnership involving the Alabama Productivity Center at The University of Alabama, Alabama Power and UAB’s School of Engineering. Alan Hill, executive director of the Culverhouse College of Business’s Alabama Productivity Center…

Friends launch Local Distancing to support Birmingham businesses
Three friends in Birmingham were wrestling with a major dilemma created by the coronavirus pandemic: How can you lend support to your favorite restaurants and local businesses while maintaining the proper social distancing practices? Their solution — a pay-it-forward approach. Local Distancing, an online platform, allows customers to help these Birmingham area enterprises pay their…

UAB to participate in global clinical trial for coronavirus treatment
The University of Alabama at Birmingham announced that it will take part in an NIH-sponsored global clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of novel therapeutic agents in hospitalized adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The drug remdesivir will be the first agent evaluated in the trial. The UAB site was activated on Wednesday by the National…

UAH lab joins supercomputing effort to find drugs against COVID-19
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – A researcher at The University of Alabama in Huntsville is joining an effort involving the world’s fastest supercomputer to screen compounds that could be effective against the pandemic COVID-19 virus. Dr. Jerome Baudry, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at UAH, said his lab is involved in a project that…

Alabama researchers join global fight against COVID-19 disease
Scientists and researchers in Alabama are engaged in the global effort to stem threats posed by the COVID-19 disease. Today, Huntsville’s Diatherix announced that it has developed a highly sensitive and specific assay, or test, for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 respiratory infection. Diatherix, located on the Huntsville campus of the HudsonAlpha Institute…

Apple CEO kicks off Ed Farm tech education initiative in Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Ed Farm, a groundbreaking education program supported by Apple to prepare students and communities for jobs of the future, was launched today in Birmingham. Apple CEO Tim Cook – a native of Alabama and a graduate of Auburn University – was on hand at Ed Farm’s Birmingham headquarters to announce the initiative,…


