Weekly Links January 23rd , 2017

DISRUPTION, REVOLUTION

• Facebook launches incubator for data-driven startups in Paris' Station F campus | VentureBeat | Business | by Chris O'Brien

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• Paris has always been a place where people come together to break new ground,” Sandberg said today in a press conference at Station F. “Now Paris has a thriving tech scene. Entrepreneurs are the engine of economic growth all over the world

TOOLS/TECHNIQUES

• Explainer: Structural Variation | Broad Institute

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• Outsourcing Research: Should Your Experiment Spend Some Time Away from You? - Bitesize Bio

As a researcher, it’s satisfying to manage your own projects and do the bench work yourself. After all, if you don’t have experience with a technique, you’re usually expected to figure it out (with or without direct supervision). via Pocket

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HEALTH/MEDECINE

• www.nytimes.com

In 2001, President George W. Bush issued an executive order banning federal funding for new sources of stem cells developed from preimplantation human embryos. The action stalled research and discouraged scientists. via Pocket

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COMPANIES

• Omics! Omics!: Gen9 Vanishes

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• Undoubtedly there will be additional startups in gene synthesis space.  I do remain a huge believer that radically altering DNA synthesis costs would transform biology, but as I noted before radically will mean 1-2 logs from where Gen9 and Twist were pricing (and perhaps, at least for Gen9, losing money on every base but trying to make it up in volume).  George Church and
• others want to write entire mammalian genomes; that would be $30M a genome at $0.01/basepair
• German Microscopy Tech raises funds to take over Imaging in Biology

Luxendo has raised €8M to start international sales of its unique microscopy technology aiming to take over confocal microscopes in biology research. via Pocket

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• Omics! Omics!: Bio-Rad Sips Up RainDance

Monday evening brought news that Bio-Rad has further consolidated its grip on the droplet microfluidics space by acquiring RainDance Technologies for an undisclosed price. via Pocket

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SOMETHING DIFFERENT

• Congress moves to give away national lands, discounting billions in revenue and millions of jobs | Environment | The Guardian

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• Though recreation on public lands creates $646bn in economic stimulus and 6.1m jobs, Republicans are setting in motion a giveaway of Americans’ birthright

Weekly Links January 17th , 2017

“MUST READ”

• You Wouldn’t Be Lying About That, Would You? | In the Pipeline

Biocentury has a really good interview with John Jenkins, who’s departing the FDA this week after 15 years as director of the Office of New Drugs at the agency’s CDER (Center for Drug Evaluation and Research). via Pocket

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• Rewriting the Code of Life - The New Yorker

Early on an unusually blustery day in June, Kevin Esvelt climbed aboard a ferry at Woods Hole, bound for Nantucket Island. via Pocket

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TOOLS/TECHNIQUES

• Genetic Engineering and Crops: The CRISPR Conundrum | GEN

In both the U.S. and the EU, transgenic genetically modified (GM) crops must be approved by regulatory agencies before they can be marketed. Both the U.S. and EU have mandatory GM labeling requirements, though the structures of the U.S. via Pocket

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HEALTH/MEDECINE

• www.theguardian.com

Nearly 40 years since the first ‘test-tube baby’, how close are we to editing out all of our genetic imperfections – and should we even try to do so? Comfortably seated in the fertility clinic with Vivaldi playing softly in the background, you and y…

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COMPANIES

• HiSeq move over, here comes Nova! A first look at Illumina NovaSeq |

Illumina have announced NovaSeq, an entirely new sequencing system that completely disrupts their existing HiSeq user-base.  In my opinion, if you have a HiSeq and you are NOT currently engaged in planning to migrate to NovaSeq, then you will be out…

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• Qiagen acquires Multi Omics Company to boost its Bioinformatics services

Quiagen is entering the promising field of multi-omics data analysis with the acquisition of a bioinformatics company from the US. via Pocket

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• Genomics Pioneer Craig Venter Relinquishing CEO Role at HLI | San Diego Business Journal

Local genomics legend J. Craig Venter is stepping aside from his post as chief executive officer of Human Longevity Inc., turning over the helm to former GE Healthcare executive Cynthia Collins. via Pocket

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• Forbes Welcome

Grail, a San Francisco startup that aims to invent a blood test that can detect cancer early, announced this afternoon that it plans to raise $1 billion in venture capital in its second financing round, a sum that puts the biotech startup in a class…

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SOMETHING DIFFERENT

• Hooked on Our Smartphones - The New York Times

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• “What really matters?” in life. In her enlightening new book, “The Power of Off,” Nancy Colier observes that “we are spending far too much of our time doing things that don’t really matter to us.”

Weekly Links January 16th , 2017

“MUST READ”

• These Foods Aren’t Genetically Modified but They Are ‘Edited’ - The New York Times

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• Hundreds of acres of gene-edited crops have already been grown in several states, unencumbered by oversight or regulations. And a few people have eaten them already. “This is not Frankenfood,” said André Choulika, chief executive of Cellectis, one of the companies developing gene-edited crops.

In October, Cellectis hosted a dinner at Benoit New York, the Alain Ducasse Manhattan restaurant, and served dishes made from its gene-edited soybeans and potatoes. Guests included professors, journalists and celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris, the actor.

TOOLS/TECHNIQUES

• This Year in Genomics and Next-Gen Sequencing

It’s been an interesting year for the field of genomics as next-gen sequencing technologies continue to emerge, evolve, and in some cases, fade to obscurity. This year also brought some big career and life events for yours truly. Let’s look at some …

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HEALTH/MEDECINE

• Why an Alzheimer's Risk Gene Still Exists - The Atlantic

Despite its dangers, the gene appears to protect the brain from parasites. When the former nurse Jamie Tyrone learned that she carried two copies of a gene called ApoE4, she “lost hope and direction,” and her “days were filled with fear, anxiety and…

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COMPANIES

• Forbes Welcome

Illumina, the largest maker of DNA sequencers, is launching a new DNA sequencer with new architecture it says could push the cost of decoding a human genome from $1,000 to $100–although that decrease will not come for years. via Pocket

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• Omics! Omics!: Illumina Unveils HiSeq Successor NovaSeq

At today's J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Illumina made a number of small announcements -- some new partnerships, Firefly on track for launch later this year, launch of the single cell workflow partnered with Bio-Rad. via Pocket

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• Illumina’s announces new sequencers: NovaSeq Series

Illumina announced new sequencers, NovaSeq 5000 and 6000, that could potentially reduces the cost of human genome sequencing to $100 in the future. via Pocket

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• Omics! Omics!: University of California Cries "Thief!" on Genia Patents

Hokay, that's plenty of law for me. I don't have any plans to hang out a Robison & Shih Tzu, Specialists in Patent Law sign; I'm done with formal schooling. Again, all we have seen is UC's side of the story. via Pocket

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• Edico Genome’s Deal with Dell EMC Fits Partnership Strategy | Xconomy

San Diego’s Edico Genome is now in its fourth year as a startup, and well into the hard slog of striking partnership deals, generating revenue, and building a business. via Pocket

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• Venneos launches a device for faster, better imaging of individual cells in biotech | TechCrunch

The imaging technologies used in the medical and biotech fields may be powerful and indispensable for research and diagnosis, but they can also be slow and clumsy — relics of techniques that go back decades. via Pocket

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SOMETHING DIFFERENT

• Decline of the dentist's drill? Drug helps rotten teeth regenerate, trial shows | Science | The Guardian

Need for fillings could be reduced in future as study reveals natural ability of teeth to repair themselves can be enhanced using Alzheimer’s drug Dentists have devised a treatment to regenerate rotten teeth that could substantially reduce the need …

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