Internet2, Google, BGI, and More: News from October 2016
October 28, 2016 | News, products, and partnerships from around the bio-IT community including news from Internet2, Google, BGI, and more.
ZEISS introduced a new inverted microscope platform for life science research. The ZEISS Axio Observer family consists of three stable and modular microscope stands for flexible and efficient imaging. Scientists benefit from reproducible results from their experiments and high quality image data from a whole range of samples in a variety of conditions. ZEISS Axio Observer combines the proven quality of ZEISS optics with new automation features, allowing researchers to perform demanding multimodal imaging of living and fixed specimens. Press release
Benchling announced that is has raised $7 million in new funding. This latest funding round was led by Thrive Capital and included participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator partner Geoff Ralston, Sequoia partner Matt Huang, CXO of Tencent David Wallerstein, and actor/tech investor Ashton Kutcher. The company has now raised over $13 million from investors who have collectively funded SpaceX, Tesla, Facebook, and Airbnb, among other seminal technology companies. Press release
Internet2 announced that Google has joined its community. Google plans to work with Internet2 and its member institutions to explore higher education technology opportunities with Google Cloud Platform, which enables developers to build, test, and deploy applications on Google’s highly-scalable and reliable infrastructure. Internet2 is comprised of over 300 higher education institutions working together alongside leading corporations, government agencies and research facilities. On behalf of its member institutions, Internet2 operates the nation’s largest and fastest, coast-to-coast research and education (R&E) network and also operates trust, identity and cloud service programs. Press release
QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, located in Brisbane, Australia, and the Chinese genomics organization BGI have entered into an agreement that will promote collaboration on a genomics-based research and education program. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at a meeting between the two world-leading research bodies in Shenzhen today. Press release
Congenica has announced that its whole genome analysis platform Sapientia is detecting clinically relevant variants in over 35% of diagnostics reports returned to the NHS Genomic Medicine Centers (GMCs) for the Pilot and Main Phase studies. The anticipated diagnostic rate for such a large population study would be closer to 25%. Press release
New refrigerated incubators with thermoelectric Peltier technology are designed to provide stable temperatures for the secure incubation of bacteria, yeast, cell cultures, storage of vaccines and more, without the hazardous refrigerants or large energy consumption that are common with traditional units. The new Thermo Scientific Heratherm refrigerated incubators provide a consistent temperature environment for incubation applications from 5 to 70 degrees centigrade, with enhanced accuracy in the range of 15 to 25 degrees. The instrument’s interface can store up to 10 temperature protocols set by the user, with up to 10 steps in each, and includes an advanced timer function, an automatic temperature alarm and adjustable over-temperature protection. Press release
The number of datasets discoverable through the Repositive platform has now reached over one million, making Repositive the world’s largest portal for accessing human genomic data. Repositive has expanded the number of datasets now available on its free platform to include 1,006,914 datasets from 32 different global data sources. The Repositive team has been expanding the range of datasets available by incorporating public data, privately held data, and has continued to add specialist dataset collections including Chinese control data, Methylation data and Expression data. This latest news builds on a number of other key developments during 2016. Bio-IT World covered Repositive’s consortium news earlier this year. Blog post
The new Thermo Scientific SMART Digest Immunoaffinity (IA) Kits deliver fast, simple and highly reproducible digestion of proteins for characterization and quantification applications. Researchers undertaking quantitation studies typically increase sensitivity by purifying low level proteins from complex biological matrices, followed by protein digestion. The SMART Digest Immunoaffinity Kit design combines immunocapture and the digestion process in a single well. This simple and easy approach not only increases reproducibility but also significantly decreases sample preparation time from overnight to a few hours. Enabling laboratories using the kit to increase sample throughput and quality of results while receiving improved return of investment. Press release
Dotmatics announced Version 5.0, a new release of the company’s informatics suite. The new suite contains major enhancements that enable scientific teams to become more productive and better communicate between biologics and small molecule in-house, and externalized collaborative research teams. The new release allows IT departments to integrate Dotmatics into existing informatics landscapes while minimizing the total cost of ownership through ease of maintenance, minimized user training, and optional cloud deployment. Press release
LabAnswer announced that it is collaborating with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to deliver cloud based scientific discovery solutions. The power of Google cloud computing and LabAnswer can be brought to any organization seeking a scientific and laboratory informatics solution to create insight, drive innovation, and support development, helping to improve the efficiency and success of their product pipelines. LabAnswer’s entry into cloud computing is built on the experience it has gained by designing and deploying hundreds of scientific information systems across both government and a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology, oil and gas, and consumer goods. Press release
Egenera announced that Odyssey Validation Consultants (OVC) is offering a new compliant GxP Cloud Service built using Egenera’s Xterity Cloud. The OVC GxP Cloud delivers cloud services to regulated companies in the life sciences sector and in the connected health / IoT space, ensuring data integrity in an audit ready environment. OVC has worked with international regulatory authorities to develop its GxP cloud offering to ensure it meets and exceeds the requirements in this space. Press release
Quanticate today announced that it has named Alan Morgan as the company's Chief Operating Officer. Reporting to Quanticate's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Underwood, Morgan will work across Quanticate's global office network (US, UK, India, South Africa, and Poland) to build and expand upon the company’s reputation for outstanding customer service and expertise across clinical data services. Press release
Cigital released BSIMM7, the latest version of the industry’s first and only software security measurement tool built on real-world data reflecting the current state of software security. This year’s iteration of the annual report shows that software security is becoming mainstream and organizations across all industries are now deploying software security initiatives to address ongoing software security challenges. The BSIMM facilitates building security in by assessing, comparing and contrasting software security initiatives with others in the industry. Press release
Medicinal Genomics (MGC) is partnering with a preliminary group of twelve leading cultivators and processors to develop fully-validated, genomics-based safety and quality standards for medical cannabis. Using technology created by MGC and specifically validated for use with cannabis and hemp, conscientious growers, processors, and third-party testing laboratories are implementing strain verification and stability programs to ensure product safety and consistency. Press release
Dell EMC Enterprise Content Division (ECD) announced the introduction of InfoArchive as a Service (IAaaS), the newest addition to ECD’s roster of managed service solutions, as well as the general availability of InfoArchive 4.1 and Clinical Archiving 2.0. “We really take the time to listen to our customers’ challenges and incorporate them into our approach. Today’s announcement, and the growth and popularity of the InfoArchive family as a whole, is the direct result of that feedback,” said Andy Crowne, VP Industry Solutions & InfoArchive. Press release