Twitter is no longer a novelty. It has entered the mainstream in Canada and around the world:

• There are more than 106 million Twitter accounts
• The number of Twitter users increases by as many as 300,000 a day
• Twitter gets 3 billion requests a day
• The average Twitter account has 27 followers
• Genome Alberta has 605 followers
• Twitter users send 55 million tweets per day
• In the 2 1/2 years we have been active on Twitter we have generated rought 4,100 tweets
• Our GenOmics application is linked to our Twitter account so many stories are automatically cross posted
• The 18-34 year old demographic is the largest Twitter group followed by by the 34-49 year old age bracket

If you would like more information on how we use Twitter at Genome Alberta or how Twitter might fit into your organization drop me a line at mspear@genomealberta.ca or  follow @mikesgene
Every 2 weeks we bring you a few of the hi-lites we come across on Twitter and who we feel are some of the more interesting people and organizations to track. Take a look at the postings listed below, follow the hyperlinks for some interesting sites, and click on the @name to find out more from these quality 'tweeters. We've checked the links and you can be assured they won't take you into uncharted territory.

@AccessDNA The importance of complementing Diagnostic Genetic Testing with Genetic COunseling http://ow.ly/2j4cB

@amednews   Judging genetic risks: Physicians often caught between what patients want, what science offers http://bit.ly/a10yX5 classic post

@andrewhessel

  July 29-31, Open Science Summit at Berkeley. Great lineup, super interesting. See you there! http://bit.ly/9G2jua

@bakercom1   Science makes things simpler. Politics makes things simple-minded and religion has a simple premise. Simple, therefore, is anything but.

@edyong209   On the Origin of Science Writers: read tales from world-class writers about how they started & tips for newbies http://bit.ly/sciwriters

@Duncande   At the Open Science Summit at Berkeley @openscience2010 how open should science be?

@fermarsan  PHG Foundation | New Australian guidelines on biobanks and genetic databases:  http://bit.ly/dsjjvb

@GenomeScience "Our success as Americans will be in how we can address health issues worldwide..." #OMalley press conf

@hleman Jason Hoyt of Mendeley says it is looking at maybe measuring the impact on career of a researcher's release of raw data sets #oss2010

@InteractiveBio  Just changed our URL to www.interactive-biology.com   This is one step toward expanding the site with more resources. Very exciting!

 @phylogenomics  Absolutely fascinated by talk at #OSS2010 by Hugh Reinhoff on "my daughter's DNA" 

@SciTechMuseum  Top Ten Reasons Why the Canada Science and Technology Museum is One of the Coolest Family Venues this Summer http://bit.ly/azyH4u

 @shwu  FundScience supports young researchers w untested ideas because NIH won't. Microfinancing - accountable, public, communicative.   #oss2010

@singularityhub  DNA Factory Plans to Open Within 6 Months  http://bit.ly/c2uCSy

@sociallifeofdna   new empirical data on DTC DNA attitudes; "Regional differences in awareness and attitudes regarding genetic testing..." http://bit.ly/9hXTro

@UofC_Science  Gender-bending fish: U of C researchers say cocktail of chemicals skew sex ratios in river populations  http://tinyurl.com/2cuka5r

Here's this edition's stellar cast of characters: 

@AccessDNA is located in Los Angeles and provides genetics counselling and information. http://www.accessdna.com/

@amednews   American Medical News is a news and information source for physicians. Covering business, policy, public health and legal issues that impact medical practices

@andrewhessel   describes himself as Building DIYbiotech Founding Director, CEO at Pink Army Cooperative. Co-Chair, Bioinformatics and Biotechnology at Singularity University

@bakercom1   Pam Baker is a prolific and popular freelance journalist and author. Her work appears in leading print and online publications around the globe. Find out more about her at  http://www.netpress.org/ipg-membership-directory/pambaker

@Duncande  David Ewing Duncan is a journalist,  broadcaster, Director of the Center for Life Science Policy, UC Berkeley and  author. His latest book is the Experimental Man www.experimentalman.com

@edyong209  Ed Yong is science writer & blogger @ Not Exactly Rocket Science and  freelance journalist living in London, England

@fermarsan  Fernando Martin is based in Madrid Spain. He is a Researcher and Professor in Biomedical Informatics, not to mention a Marathon runner, acoustic guitar player, and a skeptic

@GenomeScience  is a non-profit Genome Research Institute located in the BioPark complex on the University of Maryland Baltimore campus. http://www.igs.umaryland.edu/

@hleman  Hope Leman is a is a Research Information Technologist working in Oregon. She also spends time working on the website http://www.scangrants.com/

@InteractiveBio    Leslie Samuel is s  biology teacher in Michigan who loves making biology fun and easier to understand. Visit their website at http://www.interactive-biology.com/

@phylogenomics  Jonathan Eisen is an evolutionary biologist, microbiology & genomics researcher, open science advocate, and professor at UC Davis

@SciTechMuseum   CSTM SciTech Museum is located in Ottawa, Ontario. Find out more at http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/index.cfm

@shwu  Shirley Wu lives in San Francisco and says she is interested in opening up science in more ways and to more people. Love Ultimate Frisbee, cooking, reading, nature, and music.

@singularityhub  Keith Kleiner from Palo Alto, California is behind the Singularity Hub which  which is a blog and twitter feed covering the latest in robotics, human enhancement, genetics, nanotech, longevity, AI, and the brain. More at http://singularityhub.com/

@sociallifeofdna    Alondra Nelson is an Associate Professor in Sociology at Columbia University. Her Twiiter postings  looks at DNA ‘spillover’ she sees between and beyond personal, recreational, genealogical, forensic and medical genetics.

@UofC_Science  belongs to University of Calgary Faculty of Science online at  http://www.science.ucalgary.ca/