• Lasker Awards to Five Scientists, Bill and Melinda Gates

    New York Times | The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation awards were announced today. Winners include three scientists who helped deaf people to hear, two for their work in neurotransmission, and Bill and Melinda Gates for their public service work.

    Sep 9, 2013

  • Right to Ignorance

    New Scientist | Do we have the right to ignorance? Opinions have been swirling around the disclosure aspect of genetic data, and an article in New Scientist argues that we have the right to choose ignorance.

    Sep 6, 2013

  • Natera, Illumina Renew Prenatal Diagnostics Partnership

    Bio-IT World | Natera and Illumina entered a three-year agreement yesterday dictating that Illumina will supply Natera with the HiSeq 2500 sequencing system and associated consumables for Natera’s Panorama noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT).

    Sep 5, 2013

  • Protein Sound and Light Show

    Scientific American | Researchers at the University of Chicago have built the first biotech musical instrument. The instrument relies on proteins from plants that respond to sunlight.

    Sep 4, 2013

  • ImClone's Sam Waksal has IPO Plans

    Bloomberg | ImClone's Sam Waksal is making biotech plans again. Hoping to cash in on biotech's current success, Waksal is planning to spin out two units of his Kadmon Corp.

    Sep 4, 2013

  • Orally-Delivered Syringes

    In the Pipeline | Google is always up for a long shot, and Google Ventures is backing another one. A small biotech is working on a way to orally deliver large protein drugs.

    Sep 3, 2013

  • Eagle Genomics Raises Funds to Complete, Launch SaaS Platform

    Business Weekly | Eagle Genomics completed a funding round worth more than $926,000 (GBP 595,000). The number puts the group a bit more than halfway to its goal.

    Sep 3, 2013

  • Smithsonian's Genome Exhibit

    New York Times | The Smithsonian's "Genome: Unlocking Life's Code" exhibit has been open all summer. Three months in, the New York Times looks at what has succeeded and what has fallen short in the, "smart, playful, and... enlightening" exhibit.

    Aug 30, 2013

  • MIT's 110-Core Chip

    Computerworld | MIT researchers have developed a 110-core chip while looking for power-efficient ways to boost performance in mobile devices.

    Aug 30, 2013

  • Pharma Ventures

    Wall Street Journal Blogs | Pharma is getting more notice from venture capital these days. Clarus Ventures, for example, has backed three specific pharma projects including Phase III studies of an already-approved drug in a new indication.

    Aug 30, 2013

  • BGI's Plans for Complete Genomics, Planned IPO

    Forbes Asia | Forbes Asia checks in with BGI since their Complete Genomics acquisition. The group is readying an IPO of their institutional-client business, and have sequenced 57,000 human genomes to date.

    Aug 29, 2013

  • The Coming Bust?

    Nature | It's been a great year for biotech IPOs, which has everyone wondering when the bubble will burst. In 2000 there were 26 biotech IPOs, but 2001 and 2002 showed almost no revenue from biotech IPOs.

    Aug 29, 2013

  • Behind Third Rock

    Boston Magazine | Third Rock Ventures invests heavily in biotech, now taking on projects for "ultra-orphan" diseases. Though the risks are high, the rewards are too. A recent acquisition could could net Third Rock a 20-fold payout for their investment.

    Aug 28, 2013

  • Far Off Genomics: FarGen 2013

    Bio-IT World | In the high north, the tiny Faroese population has been isolated—physically and genetically—for more than 1,000 years. Now the FarGen Project will be offering whole genome sequencing to all 50,000 inhabitants of the Faroe Islands.

    Aug 28, 2013

  • Three Small Steps Toward Genomically Sensible Healthcare

    Bio-IT World |  A talk at the Clinical Genome Conference resonated with some folks, who suggested sharing it. Crucially, that crowd included doctors, who have much to both teach and learn in the brave new world of genomic medicine. With them on hand, the day’s session loosely echoed a grand rounds, where the case was, soberingly, the tall order of making genomes widely useful in healthcare.

    Aug 27, 2013

  • OpenBEL Joins Linux Foundation As Collaborative Project

    Bio-IT World | OpenBEL—the open source version of the Biological Expression Language released last June by Selventa—announced today that it is now an open source collaborative project of The Linux Foundation.

    Aug 26, 2013

  • Uncertainties in Assembly: Communicating and Managing the Truth About Our Data

    Bio-IT World | Published in late July in GigaScience, the Assemblathon 2 paper has been in the works since June 2011. Three genomes and about 17 GB of compressed data later (doubled if you include the contig files that were extracted from the scaffolds), the findings can be summarized in five words: “We’re doing it all wrong.”  

    Aug 26, 2013

  • N-of-One Analyzes 4,000th Tumor

    Bio-IT World  | N-of-One Therapeutics has analyzed and interpreted its 4,000th cancer patient tumor, providing details on therapeutic options beyond the current standard of care in more than 70% of cases.

    Aug 26, 2013

  • Genomics XPRIZE Canceled

    The Huffington Post | Last week, the X Prize foundation canceled the $10-million Archon Genomics XPRIZE presented by Express Scripts.

    Aug 26, 2013

  • Amgen Inks $10.5 Billion Deal for Onyx

    Los Angeles Times | Amgen agreed to acquire Onyx Pharmaceuticals on Sunday for $10.4 billion. Amgen tried to acquire the in June for $120/share, but was rejected. Yesterday's agreement was for $125/share.

    Aug 26, 2013