“MUST READ”
tags: weeklylinks
- The CRISPR-cas9 system makes gene editing in many organisms and cells — like our own egg, sperm or embryo — more efficient, accessible and simple than ever before. These groundbreaking capabilities have spawned discussions surrounding the ethics and applications of the new system, and have garnered significant attention around the world to ensure ethically correct usage.
tags: weeklylinks
pcr
- dPCR is a simple and accurate technique for quantifying NGS libraries that helps avoid the potential miscalculation of library concentrations that may occur when using other techniques, such as microfluidic electrophoresis or spectrophotometry. dPCR uses library-specific assays that span both the forward and reverse adapters within a given library, measuring only those constructs that contain both library adapters.
- BioTechniques - Fingerprinting the Fingerprints: The Past, Present, and Future of Molecular Forensics
tags: weeklylinks
forensics
- Since its first use as a forensic tool in the 1980s, DNA analysis has become the gold standard of evidence in criminal justice. Early forensic scientists used Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis to compare profiles of likely suspects. More recently, improvements in nucleic acid purification and amplification techniques made it much easier to obtain reliable DNA profiles from minimal sample material. And next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are identifying new targets that will yield markers more specific for individual suspects, as well as allow the collection and sharing of these data through centralized databases.
tags: monsanto
weeklylinks
- The latest in a new generation of genetically engineered crops is poised to enter widespread use—and critics think they’ll cause more problems than they solve.
- Project Sheds Light on What Drives Genes - NYTimes.com
tags: weeklylinks
- More than 200 scientists working on an ambitious federal project have begun to understand the complicated system of switches that regulates genes, turning some on and others off, making some glow brightly while others dim. They hope these discoveries, described in two dozen papers released on Wednesday, will eventually lead to a deeper understanding of diseases and new ways to treat or cure them.
tags: weeklylinks
- The big idea at Adaptive is in immune sequencing, and figuring out what to make of the ever-shifting DNA sequences in that make up the immune defense repertoire. Unlike other cell types, which operate on a fixed set of code from the human genome, immune system cells rearrange their DNA constantly in response to the environment, providing infinite possibilities for defense against an infinite number of threats. That phenomenon calls out for repeated sequencing to see how an individual’s immune response adapts over time. Sometimes things go haywire and the immune system starts attacking healthy tissues (autoimmune disease) or certain immune system cells start proliferating out of control (cancer).
- Alexion to Buy Synageva BioPharma in $8.4 Billion Deal - NYTimes.com
tags: weeklylinks
- Alexion Pharmaceuticals became one of the most valuable companies in the biotechnology industry on the strength of a single drug that treats two extremely rare diseases. Its secret: charging about $500,000 a year for the drug for each patient and scouring the planet for every potential patient. Now, the company hopes to repeat this process with a new drug.
Alexion said on Wednesday that
it would pay about $8.4 billion to acquire Synageva BioPharma, another company
specializing in rare diseases with one drug expected to come to market this
year.
tags: weeklylinks
- The conglomerate Danaher Corporation said on Wednesday that it would acquire the Pall Corporation, a water filtration systems company, for $13.6 billion in cash and split itself into two publicly traded companies.
- Billionaire Rales Brothers Revamp Danaher Empire As Part Of $13.8 Billion Pall Deal - Forbes
tags: weeklylinks
- The Rales brothers, who work hard to avoid publicity and each own about 6% of Danaher, are capital allocation masters, building their fortunes through leveraged acquisitions and tax-efficient business restructurings. In addition to building Danaher, which has a market capitalization of $62 billion,
tags: productivity weeklylinks
- We all want to work smarter—that’s why productivity is such a hot topic—but are we getting ahead or just spinning our wheels? Tracey Foulkes, CEO of Get Organised South Africa, says too many of us are in the "busy business of busyness."
"We’re always rushing
from meeting to meeting and drowning in work," she says. "It’s not
about doing more; it’s about making wiser choices."
- People think they’re adding value, but if they aren’t doing what they need to do, in reality they’re not. You’re only valuable to your organization when you are doing what you’re hired to do."
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