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Archive for July 27th, 2009

Nanodiamonds deliver insulin for wound healing

Posted in Healthcare & Pharma, Innovation, Product News, Technology on July 27th, 2009 by Chris Penfold – 7 Comments

27th July 2009    www.nanowerk.com   (Northwestern University)

Bacterial infection is a major health threat to patients with severe burns and other kinds of serious wounds such as traumatic bone fractures. Recent studies have identified an important new weapon for fighting infection and healing wounds: insulin.

Now, using tiny nanodiamonds, researchers at Northwestern University have demonstrated an innovative method for delivering and releasing the curative hormone at a specific location over a period of time. The nanodiamond-insulin clusters hold promise for wound-healing applications and could be integrated into gels, ointments, bandages or suture materials.

Read the full article here: Nanodiamonds deliver insulin for wound healing.

Kimberly-Clark sales down but outlook up on lower costs

Posted in Business News, Cosmetics & Toiletries, Healthcare & Pharma on July 27th, 2009 by Chris Penfold – 5 Comments

Interesting to see how stronger developing markets, such as China & Brazil, seem to ’save the day’ for Kimberly-Clark, where personal care product sales rose by 1 percent, underlining the marked difference between those and the hard hit developed markets where sales have been declining. Chris Penfold

Kimberly-Clark sales down but outlook up on lower costs by Simon Pitman, 27-Jul-2009 www.cosmeticsdesign.com

Personal care giant Kimberly-Clark says net sales fell 6 per cent during its second quarter but says cost savings should boost full year results.

Sales for the period totaled $4.7bn, a figure that was hit by currency translation to the tune of 8 percent on the back of a strong US dollar against international currencies.

Read the full article at: Kimberly-Clark sales down but outlook up on lower costs.

Barcode replacement shown off – Bokodes come to town

Posted in Innovation, Opinion, Technology on July 27th, 2009 by Chris Penfold – 5 Comments
Bokodes, if you don’t already know, are 3mm-diameter, powered tags that currently consist of an LED, covered with a tiny mask and a lens. They can hold thousands of times more information than their striped ‘bar code cousins’ and can be read by a standard mobile phone camera.
In the longer term they could be used to “encode nutrition information on food packaging or create new devices for playing video games”. They certainly sound like a fascinating technology and if they work as planned & promised, I believe that they will be a great ’step forward’. However, I have 2 areas of concern: (a) I find it difficult to believe that they will be read accurately from 4 metres away (let alone 20 metres as hoped) and that (b) the price will come down from the present £3 cost-point to 5 cents! If both of those targets are hit -  fantastic. If not, failure on either count could ‘blow this innovation out of the water’ before it gets launched. So there is a long way to go yet but watch this space for further information, as it becomes available………Chris Penfold

Barcode replacement shown off - By Jonathan Fildes Technology reporter, BBC News

A replacement for the black and white stripes of the traditional barcode has been outlined by US researchers.

Bokodes, as they are known, can hold thousands of times more information than their striped cousins and can be read by a standard mobile phone camera.

To read the full article, just click on the following link http://bit.ly/10P13c

Coca-Cola Enterprises to recover 100% of packaging by 2020

Posted in Drinks Packaging, Environmental Issues, Recycling on July 27th, 2009 by Jane Bear – 9 Comments

Josh Brooks, packagingnews.co.uk, 24 July 2009

Coca-Cola Enterprises CCE has pledged to recover as much packaging as it produces as part of ambitious plans to cut its carbon footprint by 15% in the next 10 years.

via Coca-Cola Enterprises to recover 100% of packaging by 2020 | packagingnews.co.uk.