Monday, March 16, 2015

Weekly Links March 16 ,2015


TOOLS/TECHNIQUES
o    The survey captures the purchasing, budget, application, and technology trends of research antibody use. Additionally, the survey determines customer ratings of suppliers, supplier usage, unmet needs, and challenges.

HEALTH/MEDECINE
o    The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is investing $52 million in CureVac, a German company involved in making vaccines. It is the largest ever investment by the foundation in a company, reflecting a new strategy of not just giving grants but supporting and having a stake in businesses.
The  investment, part of a round of $76 million round for CureVac, will allow the construction of a manufacturing plant

COMPANIES
o    Arrowhead Research CEO Christopher Anzalone thinks he just got a massive bargain. For just $35 million, his company grabbed Novartis’ last remaining RNA interference assets: a group of patents and preclinical drug candidates that give Arrowhead more technological tools to play with
o    Thermo Fisher will utilize the technology to develop and market new CRISPR  reagent kits, bringing new tools to researchers working in the rapidly  growing field. The kits will augment Thermo Fisher’s strong portfolio in  the complementary transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN)   technique .


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Monday, March 9, 2015

Weekly Links March 9 ,2015

“MUST READ”
tags: weeklylinks
o    The junk DNA wars are being waged at the frontiers of biology, but they’re really just the latest skirmish in an intellectual struggle that has played out over the past 200 years. Before Charles Darwin articulated his theory of evolution, most naturalists saw phenomena in nature, from an orchid’s petal to the hook of a vulture’s beak, as things literally designed by God.
DISRUPTION, REVOLUTION
o    At AGBT 2015 the big splash was clearly 10X Genomics and their new technology the GemCode "toaster"; presumably so called because of its diminutive size, and not because your microtitre plate is launched out the top nice and warm! The system is available to order now costing $75K, with a $500 per sample price. Using an input of just 1ng means users can test this even with precious clinical samples. Hopefully the improved structural variant detection 10X are promising will have a significant impact on cancer research, perhaps making translocation   discovery easier.
TOOLS/TECHNIQUES
o    dPCR applications were recently showcased at two CHI events, the Digital PCR Conference in La Jolla and the Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference in  San Francisco. Both events served to highlight the growing importance of this platform in clinical diagnostics.
COMPANIES
o    The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is investing $52 million in CureVac, a German company involved in making vaccines. It is the largest ever investment by the foundation in a company, reflecting a new strategy of not just giving grants but supporting and having a stake in businesses.
The  investment, part of a round of $76 million round for CureVac, will allow the construction of a manufacturing plant
o    Form 10-K/A for THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC.
o    Annual Report
o    Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) today announced it has extended its distribution channel through a new relationship with Albiogen Ltd., a life science distributor that specializes in next-generation sequencing (NGS), headquartered in Moscow. Albiogen will expand the reach of Illumina's array of next-generation sequencing platforms and solutions across the Russian Federation and Commonwealth of Independent States.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
o    Setting goals is easy, but prioritizing them is hard. Humans suck at properly weighing what we need to achieve our goals. We take on too much, skip steps, and often, as a result, we give up. Once you commit to a framework to prioritize your goals and cut the junk, achieving your goals gets a lot more realistic. Here's one way to do it.

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Monday, March 2, 2015

Weekly Links March 2 ,2015

“MUST READ”
·         Why do FBS prices fluctuate constantly? - YouTube
tags: weeklylinks
o    This video explains the market dynamics of the FBS/Sera industry on how there are many aspects (ie climate) that impact the industry especially the price.
·         How To Qualify A CMO's Capabilities And Benchmark Its Performance
tags: weeklylinks
o    Choose the wrong CMO and your project could easily be derailed, costing your company billions. But how do you avoid making such a mistake? To help answer that question, Life Science Leader brought together a panel of outsourcing experts at the inaugural Outsourced Pharma West conference and exhibition in San Francisco last November. Our panelists share some personal experiences and lessons learned on the topic.

DISRUPTION, REVOLUTION
·         Omics! Omics!: #AGBT2015 Preview
tags: weeklylinks
·         Omics! Omics!: Illumina Launches NeoPrep (#agbt15)
tags: weeklylinks
o    Tonight's dispatch is from a chat with Illumina focused on their now launched NeoPrep library preparation instrument
Library preparation has been an ongoing issue for anyone wanting to dive into high throughput sequencing systems, particularly with the Illumina platform.
·         10X Genomics Unwraps Its 'Toaster Oven' For Better DNA Sequencing - Forbes
tags: weeklylinks
o    Pleasanton, Calif.-based 10X Genomics, which raised $55.5 million in venture capital last month, is providing its first technical look at the technology that drew the investment. The company and its scientific collaborators are discussing its method for assembling tough “long-read” stretches of DNA into whole genomes at the Advances in Genome Biology & Technology conference in Marco Island, Fla.

TOOLS/TECHNIQUES
·         How Will Library Prep Keep Pace With NGS Innovation?
tags: weeklylinks illumina sequencing
o    For most labs, the greatest amount of time  involved in doingnext  generation sequencing is spent prepping samples. More of their dollars, in terms  of headcount and what people that work in the lab actually do, is spent on  preparing samples for sequencing than actually doing the sequencing. Innovation  in automation to enable very minimal hands-on time to do these complicated  library prep protocols is on the horizon, and this will allow labs to be more  productive with their headcount.
·         Illumina .::. Investor Relations News Release
tags: weeklylinks illumina sequencing
o    The NeoPrep System is the first commercially available product that performs  library prep, quantification and normalization, in a single, self-contained  instrument. Innovative digital microfluidics technology decreases hands-on time  from several hours to 30 minutes

HEALTH/MEDECINE
·         Gene-Altered Apples Get U.S. Approval - NYTimes.com
tags: weeklylinks
o    The government on Friday approved the commercial planting of genetically engineered apples that are resistant to turning brown when sliced or bruised.

COMPANIES
·         Harvard Bioscience posts 4Q loss - Yahoo Finance
tags: weeklylinks
o    HOLLISTON, Mass. (AP) _ Harvard Bioscience Inc. (HBIO) on Thursday reported a loss of $19,000 in its fourth quarter.
·         Agilent Launches Innovative Molecular Cloning Kit | Agilent Technologies Blog
tags: weeklylinks
o    Agilent has just introduced SureVector, the world’s first  modular vector kit for researchers involved in molecular  cloning and DNA assembly. 
·         Map - LaBiotechMap.comLaBiotechMap.com | The European Biotech Database
LaBiotech Map is the First Free, Elegant and Focused European Biotech Database. “Finally a great way to discover amazing European Biotech companies”
tags: weeklylinks biotech database
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
·         Advice From Leonard Nimoy: Don't Smoke - Forbes
tags: weeklylinks
o    Leonard Nimoy, famous for playing the half-Vulcan, super-logical alien Spock on “Star Trek,” died this morning of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), caused by years of smoking tobacco — even though he gave up the habit three decades ago.
·         You Don’t Have to Be the Boss to Change How Your Company Works - HBR
tags: weeklylinks
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