Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter
Genome Alberta Newsletter GenOmics - February 16, 2010
- February 16, 2010 -
In this Update:
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Genomics News
2010 Alberta Budget
On February 9th The Government of Alberta brought down its budget for the year.
This was a tough budget year as Alberta faces declining revenues while trying to do its part to keep the economy moving. Alberta’s health care system got a shot in the arm but most departments saw cuts. Alberta Advanced Education and Technology was one of those and after some good budget years had a 6% trim .
The department’s budget for innovation and commercialization innovation will be approximately $237 million which includes $188 million in operating support for Alberta Innovates. Grants to the Alberta Innovates Corporations for the coming budget break out this way: (Numbers taken)
- Alberta Innovates - Bio Solution - $19 Million
- Alberta Innovates - Energy & Environment Solutions - $20 Million
- Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions - $75 Million
- Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures - $81 Million
(from the from 2010-11 Government and Legislative Assembly Estimates )
For a more complete look at the actual budget you can check the following links:
- 2010 Budget Speech
- Government of Alberta backgrounder by Ministry
- Advanced Education and Technology Business Plan
- Health and Wellness Business Plan
- Advanced Education and Technology - Government and Legislative Assembly Estimates
Win an iPOD Shuffle
Join Genome Alberta and wherebiobegins.com for a chance to win an iPod Shuffle. All you have to do is create a short video that simply tells us how you became involved in bio – whether it is biotechnology, bioinformatics, biology or any other area of bio.
You can check our blog for some information on how the contest came about and where would we be without a couple of examples from Genome Alberta’s own staff.
The rules are simple:
- You must upload your video before midnight February 27th, 2010
- Your video must be less than 2 minutes in length
- You must upload the video to either the Genome Alberta YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/
GenomeAlberta ) or enter through the ‘Ideas’ section of Facebook GenOmics at http://facebook.genomealberta.ca - Only YouTube or Facebook videos will be accepted. All videos should be tagged with bio, wherebiobegins, and “genome alberta” plus whatever specific tags you feel are appropriate
- You must agree to have your video displayed on Genome Alberta’s YouTube channel and on the Genome Alberta GenOmics site on Facebook
- You must be 16 years of age or older
- The winning names will be drawn at random from all the entries uploaded. You can only win once.
- Genome Alberta reserves the right to remove any video not complying with the rules or that we consider offensive
If you are in the Calgary or Edmonton area and are not sure how to upload a video or don’t have a video camera to do the job Genome Alberta’s Mike Spear will try to stop by your office or lab to capture and upload the video for you – time permitting of course. Drop him a line at mspear@genomealberta.ca
Call for Abstracts
The Canadian National Proteomics Network has put out the call for abstracts for their 2nd Annual Proteomics symposium taking place May 9-10, 2010. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2010.
For more information please visit their website at http://www.cnpn.ca/events/
events/symposium.html
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GenOmics Top Stories
Here are some of the main stories from Genome Alberta’s GenOmics news site in Facebook. For more stories, news and information visit us at http://facebook.genomealberta.
ca You don’t have to be a registered Facebook user to read the stories or view the videos.
Ancient DNA Points To Additional New World Migration - Science News
Pentagon Looks to Breed Immortal Synthetic Organisms, Molecular Kill-Switch Included
Plans for trials of a blight resistant GM potato
- Searching for Disease Clues in Genetic Diversity
- Researchers Identify Genetic Variant Linked to Faster Biological Aging
- Are Any Social Networks for Life Scientists Gaining Traction?
- This week in synthetic biology - Fisheye Perspective
- Researchers Find Sex-Specific Lung Cancer Genes
- DNA 2.0: A new operating system for life is created
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Found on Twitter
Twitter is the hottest thing in the Web 2.0 world. It is a place fraught with odd posts of 140 characters, insight you wouldn’t expect in 140 characters, and links that speak far more than 140 characters.
Here are a few interesting posts from the last 2 weeks on Twitter and if you check Genome Alberta’s blog you’ll find a quick overview of Twitter and a more extensive list of what is new in the wonderful world of Twitter. If you click the @xx links below you’ll see who it is that originally posted the information and the url links will take you to website with information worth noting and that we have checked to make sure you aren’t going anywhere nasty.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------@deliciousbio Cell Size and Scale: http://url4.eu/1Ow6O (Cool--use slider at bottom)
@BioInfo Accelerated Methods for Bioinformatics Analysis - Hardware options speed up processing, save resources. http://ow.ly/16tPb
@bmahersciwriter A typically colorful take on synthetic bio NYTimes: http://s.nyt.com/u/ecw
@Comprendia Having fun putting together a translational research panel/event for the SDBN in March. Ideas? Want to sponsor?
@FierceBiotech Xconomy: Why Biomedical Jobs Are Recession Resilient. http://is.gd/8ec3y
@KatherineMejia Next time Systems biologist, Synthetic Biology or Bioinformatician??? Barbie's Next Career? Computer Engineer http://s.nyt.com/u/BCP
@ CDNTechNews MaRS Blog - Reformatting the genome http://bit.ly/cIHDs5
GE3LS Digest
For more information about GE3LS Digest, please visit http://www.genomealberta.ca/Future
jobs: what might you be doing? – January 15, 2010
With the help of the team at Fast Future Research, Science:
[So what? So everything] has looked at potential developments in science and
technology over the next 20 years and identified 20 jobs we could be
doing as a result of these advances. What would you like to do?
1. Body part maker
2. Nano-medic
3. Pharmer of genetically engineered crops and livestock
Timeline:
A Brief History of Stem Cell Research – January 16, 2010
The stories of research involving human embryonic stem cells
and the policy governing that work are intertwined and stretch back into the
mid-1970s. Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade,
discussions began about how to conduct ethical research on human fetal tissue.
Since that time, scientists have made great strides—most notable the isolation
of human embryonic stem cells. Conservative and progressive presidents alike
have curtailed federal funding for research for ethical reasons, but the
position taken by President Bush both limited advances in regenerative medicine
and ignored ethical guidelines. Case in point: a 2008 report determined that of
the 21 viable lines eligible for funding under the Bush guidelines, only 16
were ethically derived. This timeline (after the jump) traces major events in
this revolutionary field.
DNA
becoming more available, useful to commercial cattlemen – January 16, 2010
DNA panels are now becoming commercially available and those
on the horizon are set to usher in the genomic-enabled era. When trying to make
change through genetic selection, it boils down to three things - accuracy of
the breeding value information, intensity of selection and interval between
generations, says Ronnie Green, global director of technical services for
Pfizer Animal Genetics.
Green discussed advances in DNA testing technology, its increasing use in genetic selection, and other applications for managing cattle production at the 2009 Range Beef Cow Symposium in Casper, Wyoming.
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Events
We have a new Calendar of Events page on our website at http://www.genomealberta.ca/
2010 Canadian Flax Genomics Workshop
This workshop is co-sponsored by Genome Prairie. Topics include emerging issues in GM flax and advances in flax genomics. The lunch menu has even been designed with a flax theme in mind.
When: Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Where: Radisson Hotel in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Website: http://www.cfgi.tufgen.ca/workshop.html
Putting HR to Work for Your Organization: What You Need to Know
Colette Rivet, Executive Director of BioTalent Canada, will lead you through the human resources and skills development tools that can benefit your organization. Registration is free and includes parking and a hot breakfast.
When: Wednesday February 24, 2010 from 8:30am - 10:30am
Where: Greenwood Suites, Main Floor, Evergreen C Room,
4485 Gateway Blvd. , Edmonton, Alberta
To register: contact jessicam@biotalent.ca or logon on to your BioTalent account.
Association of Child and Maternal Health Programs Annual Conference
The goal of the 2010 AMCHP Conference is to advance the health of women, children and families by promoting innovations in MCH policy and programs, sharing best practices, developing state MCH leadership, and fostering multidisciplinary approaches to address key health issues impacting MCH.
When: March 6th -10th
Where: Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
Website: http://www.amchp.org/Events/amchp-conference/
5th Annual Canadian Genetic Epidemiology & Statistical Genetics Meeting
Where: Kingbridge Conference Centre, King City, Ontario
When: April 14-16, 2010
Website: http://canadiangeneticepi.lunenfeld.ca/DEFAULT.ASP?page= home
"Meet Alberta Opportunities" Reception
Every year during the Annual BIO Convention, Alberta showcases the advantages to doing business in Alberta and this year in Chicago will be no exception. It's a great event to meet new contacts, get to know potential partners, and catch up with colleagues. Don't miss it! To see a slide show of images from last year’s Alberta reception and the Alberta Pavilion please go to our Calendar of Events.
When: Tuesday, May 4th at 7:30p
Where: They are keeping the actual location under wraps for the moment.
To register: Contact Aggie Mikulski at aggie@bioalberta.com
Website: http://www.bioalberta.com
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