Now that buying .XXX domain names is an option, universities are snapping them up in an effort to protect their brands. These universities include the University of Kansas, the University of Michigan, Indiana University, Purdue University, Ball State University, Grand Valley State University, Central Michigan University, Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Indiana University, etc. None of these universities will be doing anything at all with the .XXX domain names.

The Memo Touch is a tablet with limited functionality that was designed for senior citizens. The Memo Touch is a reminder tool for those that struggle with short-term memory loss. Family members can add calendar events, phone numbers, and a to-do list. You can also share photos and add personalized messages. The Memo Touch sells for $299 and it has a $174 six-month subscription or a $300 12-month subscription. The tablet has a three month return policy where buyers can opt to receive a refund or have the tablet restored to Android roots. Memo Touch was founded by Michigan State University alumni Merilee Griffin and Carrie Beia. Below is the press release:

Michigan State University professor of civil and environmental engineering Syed Hashsham, Michigan State University professor Jim Tiedje, and University of Michigan professor of Chemical Engineering Erdogan Gulari is working on a low-cost and hand-held device for nations with limited resources to help physicians detect and diagnose cancer. The device is called the Gene-Z device, which can be operated using an iPod Touch or Android tablet.

A group of American universities have banded together to offer their campuses high speed computer networks beyond anything that is currently commercially available. The Gig.U project will offer one-gigabit connections to university campuses and their surrounding areas, which the project hopes will draw companies to the areas. The New York Times reports that in the test program in a small area near Case Western, three startups moved to the neighborhood within three months.

When Sarah Lacy interviewed Spark Capital partner Bijan Sabet about the danger of venture capital firms investing in similar companies, she indirectly found out about some drama between Tumblr and BNTER after doing some follow-up investigation. Lacy found out from three sources that Spark Capital had reneged on a term sheet that was offered to BNTER, a start-up based in New York founded by Lauren Leto.

Earlier this month, Chrysler fired their social media firm New Media Strategies because a tweet was sent out on behalf of the company that said “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to f**king [edited] drive.” This tweet was accidentally sent out by 28-year old Ferndale, Michigan resident Scott Bartosiewicz, who used TweetDeck as his default Twitter client.

Researchers at the Michigan State University Engineering department are working on developing an algorithm that would match police sketches to suspect photos. The algorithm combines artist sketches with crime databases to find suspects based on their physical features. The algorithm identifies the similarities between the sketch and photo like eye, nose, and chin shape. Director of the Pattern Recognition and Image Processing lab at MSU Anil Jain is spearheading the project.

You may know Lauren Leto best as being the co-founder of TextsFromLastNight.com. Now Leto is working on her second start-up called BNTER. Leto raised funding for BNTER from several angel investors that include Founder Collective (Chris Dixon), SV Angel (David Lee), and High Line Venture Partners (Shana Fisher).