Posted: 15 Mar 2010 07:37 AM PDT

In the life science world, there has been a strong focus on next-generation sequencing and the $1,000 genome. The excitement in this nearly $30 billion life science tools industry should not be taken lightly; however, other segments of this market are also noteworthy. Cellular biology, for example, has demonstrated strong, sustained growth despite the sour economy.

Cellular biology encompasses a plethora of research-focused technologies, from basic laboratory petri dishes to ultra-automated robotics for high-content screening. Cellular biology is currently the biggest revenue contributor to the life science tools industry, accounting for approximately 30% of total sales. It is expected to grow to a $14 billion market of its own by 2012.

Two major factors are driving growth in cellular biology: a recent surge in NIH/NSF funding and the ongoing need for biological relevance in drug discovery. The anticipated infusion of nearly $38 billion in funding for the NIH/NSF by the Obama administration this year is certain to keep academia busy and shareholders interested.

Despite a budget freeze for most nonmilitary discretionary activities in 2011, President Obama's announcement of a $1 billion NIH budget increase indicates sustainable future growth for cellular biology.

In addition, the rapid discovery of cellular pathways and molecules is providing pharmaceutical and biotech firms with a large number of potential drug targets. Despite improvements in analysis technologies, however, the ability to thoroughly understand a potential drug's biological profile remains difficult.

As a result, predicting the effects of drug candidates early in the pipeline is problematic. In fact, most existing drugs today exhibit clinically unforeseen, albeit harmless, pharmacological profiles that were unobserved until advanced stages of drug development or, in some cases, after commercialization. Whenever these side effects prove to be harmful, pharmaceutical companies lose significant market share.

With increasing drug development costs, researchers are seeking ways to eliminate candidates with dangerous toxicity and metabolic profiles early on. For example, unforeseen metabolism issues not determined in cell and rodent models account for 30% of all Phase I trial failures. The promise of coupling the existing target-based drug discovery model with a cell and systems biology approach promises to decrease the number of failures and lower costs early in the drug discovery pipeline.

Exorcising "Sin" from Synthetic Bio - Genetic Engineering News

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 07:37 AM PDT

Synthetic biology has arrived. In recent years, the subject has been bandied about through blogs, on science and opinion pages, and in trade publications and niche magazines across the globe. Debaters from every conceivable point of view have hailed it as a scientific breakthrough for rebuilding and re-factoring life, demonized it as "playing God" with the forces of nature, extolled it as a solution for everything from world hunger to climate change, or sown fears of it bringing about the deadliest pathogen ever seen.

All in all, it's a subject of intense—if not always well-founded—debate, but usually relegated to the periphery of discussion. But we can now say that synbio (as it's commonly called) has landed squarely in the public forum of ideas. One of its most visible advocates—molecular biologist Lee Silver—was recently invited to appear on The Colbert Report, a popular satirical interview show. In a spirited exchange with the Report's eponymous host, Professor Silver argued the case for fewer restraints on synbio, at one point implying humans need all the assistance they can muster because, in its rawest form, "Mother Nature is a real nasty bitch."

As if to confirm that synbio has become a central topic in public discourse, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies has released a landmark poll on attitudes about nanotechnology and synthetic biology. One key finding was that Americans' awareness of synthetic biology has increased substantially in the past year, with the percentage of respondents saying they have heard at least a little about synbio rising from 31% in 2008 to 50% in 2009.

Equally impressive was the finding that fully 90% agreed with the statement, "More should be done to inform the public about this research." But, perhaps the most telling aspect of the poll, was the range of responses to the question, "What do you think synthetic biology is?" A sample of comments from the poll's focus group:

"Growing human replacement parts comes to mind. I think of mice with human ears growing out of them."

"I think of things being created, chemical reactions, and scientists in a lab playing God."

"If this is truly possible and not pie-in-the-sky dreaming, it would be great."

"I am not sure I love the idea of creating new plants and organisms and messing with nature. But the benefits warrant further investigation."

So there you have it: Americans are intrigued with the promise of synbio, but are unclear on the nature of it and hesitant about leaving scientists unsupervised in their labs. This is where we begin our effort to hear the public's concerns regarding safety and ethics, and then integrate those concerns going forward.

Synthetic biology is both evolutionary and revolutionary. Evolutionary because it advances the field of genetic engineering not through some brilliant breakthrough technology, but rather a modular approach to the manipulation and repackaging of genetic parts.

At its most basic level, synbio represents an improvement in protocol that nudges genetic engineering a little more toward the science end of the art-science continuum. It is revolutionary in that its modular approach vastly speeds up development cycles and new technologies to make genetic engineering easier, cheaper, and more feasible for larger projects.

It brings us closer to achieving the biotech version of Moore's Law—exponential growth in gene-synthesis capabilities and innovations. Synthetic biology, for all of its remarkable promise, is a lot like its parent field of genetic engineering—as exciting as one's imagination, but still constrained by stubborn realities.

In his report on the Challenger disaster, Richard Feynman wrote, "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." In other words, before we consider integrating public concerns about safety and ethics into some consistent regulatory structure, we must first lay out a foundation of shared understanding and facts. We have to educate the public about what synthetic biology is and how it relates to ideas and realities that the public has previously seen and experienced—realities like genetic engineering and modified organisms.

This initial investment of time and effort to persuade the public will provide that foundation by demonstrating that many of its concerns about synthetic biology are simple misunderstandings and allaying other worries by putting them in context. This is not to say that synthetic biology is without risk, but that its hazards and concerns are not new at all, when compared to those already seen in genetic engineering. Even the National Institutes of Health agrees that, "Synthetic biology has not yielded concerns that fall outside the current risk-assessment framework."

Renowned biochemist to address role of metal ions - Western Michigan University Magazine

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 08:41 AM PDT

WMU Home > WMU News

Renowned biochemist to address role of metal ions

March 15, 2010

KALAMAZOO--The important biological function of metal ions will be explored Friday, March 19, when Dr. Ivano Bertini delivers the inaugural Life Sciences Lecture at Western Michigan University. Bertini will speak on "Metalloproteomes and Their Place in Mechanistic Systems Biology" at 5 p.m. in Room 1720 of the Chemistry Building. His talk is free and open to the public.

In 1999, Pertini founded the Magnetic Resonance Center, also known as Centro Risonanze Magnetiche or CERM, at the University of Florence, one of the largest centers in the world for structural biology. The center houses an impressive battery of nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers, providing a major NMR infrastructure and becoming the principal research center for NMR in the life sciences in Europe. Ancillary laboratories and spin-off institutions have flourished around CERM in the fields of biotechnology and drug discovery, thanks to Bertini's leadership.

After beginning his research in theoretical and physical inorganic chemistry, he has studied the structure-function relationship of metalloproteins through biophysical methods since 1975. In 1990, he transformed his lab into an NMR lab for structural biology of metalloproteins and eventually pioneered the exploitation of genome data banks. He has studied electron and nuclear relaxation from both experimental and theoretical points of view and has established a molecular biology department for high-throughput protein expression in structural genomics projects on metalloproteins. He has published more than 600 research articles and has solved more than 100 protein structures.

Bertini is a member of the Italian Academy of Sciences, the Academia Europaea and the Italian Accademia dei Lincei. He has been on the editorial staff or advisory board of 20 of the most authoritative journals in chemistry, biochemistry and inorganic chemistry.

For information, contact Dr. David Huffman, WMU associate professor of chemistry, at david.huffman@wmich.edu or (269) 387-2865.

Media contact: Mark Schwerin, (269) 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu

WMU News
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
(269) 387-8400
www.wmich.edu/news

WVU says it's hired 30 faculty toward goal of 100 - Charleston Gazette

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 07:30 AM PDT

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia University has added 30 of the 100 faculty positions President James Clements promised to create by 2012.

Spokesman John Bolt says about half the jobs are in sciences, technology, engineering and math, and many of the new hires will work in the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences.

Interim Dean Rudolph Almasy says the new instructors will help reduce high student-teacher ratios in English, biology and other departments that have been forced to add classes as enrollment has grown.

Bolt says WVU's goal is to reduce the overall ratio, which is listed as 23-to-1 in the undergraduate catalog. Clements has said it's actually closer to 27-to-1.

WVU is also searching for deans in Arts & Sciences and Business & Economics.

___

Information from: The Dominion Post, http://www.dominionpost.com

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Biology

Monday, March 15, 2010

“Cell Biology Market Shows Resilience - Genetic Engineering News” plus 3 more

“Cell Biology Market Shows Resilience - Genetic Engineering News” plus 3 more

Renowned biochemist to address role of metal ions

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