Collexis, a leading developer of semantic search and knowledge discovery software, announced today that it has partnered with Health Sciences South Carolina to launch the first virtual knowledge directory of health science research being conducted across the state by HSSC partner institutions. This is a major advancement, making South Carolina the first state in the nation to create a searchable directory of medical research and biomedical expertise.

Global Moisture Management Systems has a wireless sensor that attaches to water heaters, washing machines, refrigerators and dishwashers. If the device detects a water leak, it sends out a signal and the water to the appliance is shut off.

Not one but two heavy-hitting developers from Texas — and another from New York — are proposing to build large-scale industrial parks near Summerville. A 97 acre tract purchased by Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. is the first phase of the firm's planned 315-acre Omni Commerce Park. If fully built out, the site would house seven cavernous structures with nearly 3 million square feet of space for warehouses, distribution centers and light manufacturing, according to plans filed with Berkeley County.

Most industrial land with proximity to the Port of Charleston has been absorbed, and defense contracts are continuing to drive the industrial market, according to Colliers Keenan’s midyear report. Southeastern ports expect to increase container throughput by 4% yearly for the next two decades — perhaps by more as fuel and trucking costs push more vessel traffic through East Coast water routes.

Based in Charleston, S.C., Garden and Gun, a bimonthly magazine, appeals to well-heeled Southerners with a mix of articles about music, art, literature, food, the land and, of course, hunting and fishing. It’s printed on glossy paper and features sumptuous photography and evocative writing from big-name authors like Reynolds Price, Clyde Egerton, Winston Groom and Roy Blount Jr.

U.S. News and World Report has ranked the College of Charleston as one of the best universities in the South. The magazine also named the College as an “Up and Coming” school.

The State Ports Authority's reported record revenue and earnings for its recently ended fiscal year, and that they would not need any additional taxpayer funding for two projects: a harbor widening completed in 2004 and an access road needed for the new terminal under construction at the former Navy base in North Charleston.

SGIS, a defense contractor with an office in North Charleston, has been named to Military Training Technology magazine’s 2008 Top Simulation Companies list. The list is made up of companies that have made a significant impact in the military training industry throughout the current fiscal year, whether in flight simulation, distributed learning, visual systems or various other training programs.

The S.C. Research Authority and the Israeli-based Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Initiative have signed an agreement to collaborate on alternative and renewable energy initiatives. The collaboration could involve research companies and institutions of higher learning in South Carolina and Israel and could significantly improve the economic development in both areas.

Ridgeville-based Global Moisture Management was named the 2008 Innovator of the Year. The company makes devices that automatically shut off water leaks and then, once the leak is fixed, allow service to resume with the touch of a button. The product was independently judged on originality, power, challenge and value.

The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center has rocketed to the No. 10 overall ranking among the nation's 155 VA hospitals.

The Charleston Trident Urban League recently celebrated the completion of a six-week employment program for its Youth Leadership Development Academy where more than 30 foster care youth from around the tri-county area participated in this year's work-site program.

In the new issue of National Geographic Adventure magazine, Charleston is named one of "the fifty next great adventure towns" — one of five Southern cities in the east. The magazine refers to the Holy City as the "jock in the Southern belle set," and compliments the metro area on myriad outdoors activities.

The Atlas Worldwide Syndication and Distribution's film and television production studio, located in downtown Hollywood, S.C. is complete. The four-stage, three-acre site is equipped with one of the best HD camera packages and, upon completion of the second phase of development, will include an additional 20,000-square-foot soundstage, making it the largest studio in South Carolina.

A pilot program established in 2003 as a long-term response to al-Qaida, Project SeaHawk puts federal, state and local law enforcement together — in the operations center, in weekly briefings and in boats. And while the paramount task for officers attached to the project is preventing dirty bombs from coming through Charleston's port, some days prove more mundane.

The Clemson University Restoration Institute hired a Washington-based firm to develop a master plan for renovating the former Navy base in North Charleston, the university announced today.

Navistar, Inc. and American LaFrance, LLC today announced plans to launch a joint venture that will combine the strengths and resources of both companies to manufacture and distribute vocational trucks for domestic and global markets.

MUSC continues to race down the road of discovery for new treatments, procedures and cures thanks to record-breaking research funding. Despite a declining federal budget for biomedical research, MUSC announced today that research-related funding is at an all-time high of $202,082,662 for fiscal year 2008, with $101,177,121 of that amount received from prestigious National Institutes of Health grants and awards.

Charleston Development Academy is a charter school nestled in one of the city's oldest housing projects, and this small, 100-student school has earned a reputation for the progress it has made serving elementary schoolchildren from high-poverty families.

The South Carolina State Ports Authority is participating in a national program to develop and maintain the best environmental practices in its operations.

The owners of Firefly Distillery, located 30 miles south of Charleston on Wadmalaw Island, have created a new cup of tea for the Lowcountry bar scene and beyond: Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka.

Some of the most ecologically significant land in the U.S. will be protected permanently from development through a conservation easement donated by Norfolk Southern to the Lowcountry Open Land Trust. The easement is thought to be one of the largest in the Southeast and the largest ever by a corporation in South Carolina.

The first of its kind in the state, the Solar Homes Initiative is a rebate program that helps Santee Cooper customers to go green by investing in solar equipment.

Renovation of the former Navy base in North Charleston took a key step Wednesday as the Clemson University Restoration Institute hired an architectural firm to revitalize the first two buildings there. Clemson’s goal is to turn 86 acres at the former base into a state-of-the-art research park that can spawn spin-off businesses and attract public-private partnerships and private development.

The S.C. Research Authority is working with international partners to advance alternative and renewable energy technologies. The authority signed a deal this month to collaborate with the Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Initiative in southern Israel and met with officials in Aqaba, Jordan, to discuss collaborations there as well.

Ladson-based Force Protection Inc. secured a $3.5 million order from the French military to produce five armored vehicles, the company announced today.

The Panama Canal Authority and the South Carolina State Ports Authority have reaffirmed their alliance for a three-year term. The agreement will help the two entities better meet their short- and long-term goals and benefit shipping through increased cooperation and information sharing.

Charleston-based marketing, advertising and public relations firm Rawle Murdy made the list of 35 finalists for the “Top Small Workplaces” award from The Wall Street Journal and the nonprofit Winning Workplaces group.

The Medical University of South Carolina is set to be the site of a new center for stem cell research that could position South Carolina as a leader in bioengineering and biomedicine.

Two years after opening a second manufacturing facility in the Charleston region, Cummins Turbo Technologies has announced an $11 million plant expansion to meet growing worldwide demand for its products. The company will double assembly capacity and greatly increase machining capacity at its existing plant in North Charleston’s Palmetto Commerce Park, with plans to create 100 new jobs.

Clemson University was recognized as a Center of Excellence for Watershed Management by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This is only the third such center to be designated in the Southeast and the first center in the nation that focuses on using remotely sensed monitoring data, enabling scientists to collect and analyze information through this type of data network.

The Medical University of South Carolina has been named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the country's best hospitals in the treatment of digestive and respiratory disorders. The magazine reviewed data from 5,453 hospitals and selected 170 medical centers in 16 specialty areas.

Sabal Medical Inc., a privately held company on Daniel Island, has closed on the second portion of its previously announced institutional investment financing, and will use some of the additional money to expand its production and support operations in the Charleston area. It will also add key staff to critical functional areas as product demand continues to increase.

Dr. Melanie Thomas, a leading expert in gastrointestinal cancers, is the 20th researcher recruited to South Carolina through the state’s Centers of Economic Excellence (CoEE) Program. Thomas is also the first woman appointed as a CoEE endowed chair. She will develop a clinical trials program for liver cancer and will work with others to develop a robust research portfolio and clinical trials in other GI cancers within the CoEE. Currently, she is the principal investigator for 17 clinical trials, several of which are international.

The aviation industry took another step forward in the Lowcountry on Wednesday as Venture Aerobearings unveiled its plant that will supply parts for jet engines. About 100 people are expected to be employed at the Palmetto Commerce Park facility by the end of next year.

A Charleston company specializing in panoramic photography, Olive Three Sixty, is one of 25 featured in an application available upon the launch of Apple’s new iPhone. Pangea Software Inc., based in Austin, Texas, chose 25 independent panoramic photography companies to feature their work within its PangeaVR application.

Mine-resistant vehicle manufacturer Force Protection Inc. has received a new order under an existing contract to provide service, support and spare parts for the Marine Corps System Command.

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina has given $2 million to the SC Launch Industry Partnership Fund, which invests in technology startups in the state, SC Launch! announced Wednesday.

In the United States and Canada, only New York, San Francisco and Chicago are better than Charleston, according to Travel + Leisure magazine readers. They bumped the Holy City up two spots from last year in the World’s Best Awards 2008 reader survey. Three S.C. hotels also made the list of top 100 hotels in the continental U.S. and Canada.

As fossil fuels come closer to exhaustion, reducing the world's dependence on them requires the development of new energy sources. The South Carolina Bioenergy Research Collaborative (SCBRC) has developed a new plan to collaborate with the Clemson University Restoration Institute in North Charleston for a pilot plant to test and demonstrate methods of converting regional crops into clean, locally produced biofuels.

The Army has leased warehouse and office space in a 61,000-square-foot building, that will triple the number of soldiers coming through the Summerville area. The purpose is to provide an efficient, maneuverable and modern military force that can be deployed more effectively in a variety of circumstances. The effort has been touted by military leaders and politicians for several years and includes transitioning from divisions to modular brigade units.

Downtown's Morris Square is the first large-scale urban infill project by developer Vince Graham, who is well known for I'On, a New Urbanist neighborhood in Mount Pleasant, and Mixson development in North Charleston. His traditional design has been featured in National Geographic magazine among other places.

The South Carolina Research Authority and the city of Charleston team up with their plan to transform vacant industrial building in the East Central neighborhood into research and laboratory space, allowing new health care companies to commercialize discoveries at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Work began this week to install 3.5 million feet of wick drains at the port expansion site on the former Navy Base in Charleston, signaling that construction of the new, 280-acre container terminal is moving forward.