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| Latest Science News | Introducing the Next Next Gen
It took nearly two decades to go from the release of the first semi-automated genome sequencer in the mid-1980s to the launch of Roche’s flagship 454 FLX next generation sequencer in 2005. The 454 is now one of three major players in the next gen market whose impact on the world of genomics cannot be underestimated. Just five years later we are poised to embrace another new wave of sequencing technology.
Professor Craig Cary, Director of the Sequencing Unit at Waikato University in New Zealand, says every time you move to a new platform you have to learn how to use it and that takes time. “There are punctuated steps in the evolution of technology. We are moving towards a whole new level of sequencing technologies where there are multiple affordable platforms; but all have inherent strengths and weaknesses.” ....More | Life Tech, In Competitive Frenzy for Cheap DNA Sequencing, Buys Ion Torrent for $375M
Life Technologies just made a very aggressive move in the ultra-competitive world of fast and cheap gene sequencing.
The Carlsbad, CA-based maker of life sciences instruments (NASDAQ: LIFE) said today it has agreed to acquire Ion Torrent Systems for a whopping $375 million in cash and stock. And that’s not the end of the deal. Shareholders of Ion Torrent, which is based in Guilford, CT, and South San Francisco, could receive an additional $350 million in cash and stock if the company can reach certain technical milestones through 2012.
This is a blockbuster deal for Life Technologies, as it seeks to take away market share from the industry-leading maker of gene sequencing machines—San Diego-based Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN)—and fend off fierce competition from upstarts like Menlo Park, CA-based Pacific Biosciences and Mountain View, CA-based Complete Genomics. These companies are all pursuing the lofty goal of super-fast, super-cheap sequencing of entire human genomes. The original Human Genome Project took 13 years and cost $3 billion, but the prize will go to the company that can offer reliable sequencing for $1,000 per genome or possibly less, which could help crack open a market worth an estimated $3.6 billion by 2014.....More | Moms who don't breastfeed more likely to develop type 2 diabetes
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 27 – Mothers who did not breastfeed their children have significantly higher rates of type 2 diabetes later in life than moms who breastfed, report University of Pittsburgh researchers in a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
"We have seen dramatic increases in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes over the last century," said Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. "Diet and exercise are widely known to impact the risk of type 2 diabetes, but few people realize that breastfeeding also reduces mothers' risk of developing the disease later in life by decreasing maternal belly fat."....More | India biopharma will be $200 billion; industry by 2020
The biopharma market in India is growing at an annual growth rate of 15 percent. By 2020, the market is projected to be worth over 938,688 cr ($200 bn), driven largely by a shift in usage from conventional drugs to biopharma products, the relatively high cost of biopharma products, the launch of biosimilars and a new generation of biotherapeutics.
This was stated by Ashok Kumar, secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Government of India, while inaugurating the National Convention on Biopharma, organized by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in association with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) in New
Delhi on July 12, 2010. On the occasion, Ashok Kumar released the 'Vision 2020' document titled 'Leadership in Affordable Therapeutic Products: A BioPharma Strategy for India', prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers and ABLE.....More | Fertilizer chemicals linked to animal developmental woes
Fertilizer chemicals may pose a bigger hazard to the environment – specifically to creatures that live in water – than originally foreseen, according to new research from North Carolina State University toxicologists.
In a study published in the Aug. 27 edition of PLoS One, the NC State researchers show that water fleas take up nitrates and nitrites – common chemicals used primarily in agriculture as fertilizers – and convert those chemicals into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide can be toxic to many organisms.
The study shows that water fleas introduced to fertilizer chemicals in water were plagued with developmental and reproductive problems consistent with nitric oxide toxicity, even at what would be considered low concentrations.
This raises questions about the effect these chemicals may have on other organisms, says Dr. Gerald LeBlanc, professor of environmental and molecular toxicology at NC State and the corresponding author of the paper describing the results. He adds that additional research will be needed to explore those questions.....More | More News |
| | Message from Dr. Abhay Jere | 
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| | Biotech Education Market in India garners over Rs 1,050 crore
The Biotech Education Market in India in 2009 wasworth 1,050.72 crore with over one lakh students studying in more than 500 institutes. According to BioSpectrum estimates, about 380 private institutes are offering under graduate, post graduate, MPhil and PhD courses and 120 public institutes are offering post graduate and PhD courses. The private institutions are collecting an average fee of 3.2 lakh per course per student except few institutions that are charging higher fees-in some cases over three times the average.
While a student pursuing masters from a public institute pays just 49,200 for the two-year course, students opting to study biotechnology at private institutes pay as high as six-and-a-half times the fees the public institutes are charging, according to the results of the 6th BioSpectrum Top 20 BT Schools Survey. Forty nine public and private institutes actively participated in the 2010 survey....More | | | 
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