Biotechnology

IN A pleasant spot on Tasmania's coast, Barilla Bay Oyster Farm has been growing and serving oysters for more than three decades. But are their oysters as healthy as they can be? The farm is about to find out. Some of the oysters are having sensors the size of credit cards tacked onto their shells. Farm manager Justin Goc says the information will help him make better decisions. The farm is one of a handful of places that have joined a trial organised by Sense-T, a government-funded project to build a sensor network across Tasmania. The project aims to link up several types of existing sensors, as well as install new ones, to create an agricultural database. Sensor technology is now sophisticated enough to be able to monitor an oyster's heartbeat. The new sensors will do this, and also track whether the oyster's shell is open, which provides insight into the oyster's feeding habits. It will record how deep in the water...

Continue reading page | 1 | 2 People in a vegetative state showed signs of awareness after electric brain stimulation â€" and minimally conscious people were able to communicate again Treatment might be possible (Image: Michele Constantini/plainpicture) TALK about an awakening. People who have been in a minimally conscious state for weeks or years have been temporarily roused using mild electrical stimulation. Soon after it was applied to their brains, 15 people with severe brain damage showed signs of consciousness, including moving their hands or following instructions using their eyes. Two people were even able to answer questions for 2 hours before drifting back into their previous uncommunicative state. "I don't want to give people false hope â€" these people weren't getting up and walking around â€" but it shows there is potential for the brain to recover functionality, even several ye...

Trust in Bitcoin may be low following the collapse of its biggest currency exchange, but a new virtual currency has an extra draw. Riecoin is designed to help solve a mathematical mystery involving prime numbers. As with Bitcoin, Riecoin users "mine" virtual coins using a program that solves a difficult mathematical problem. But with Riecoin, this mining process also finds clusters of consecutive prime numbers. These "prime constellations" provide a way to test the Riemann hypothesis, which is one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems designated by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Providence, Rhode Island. A proof of the hypothesis is worth $1 million. Riecoin can't find a proof, but it might find an example of a constellation that doesn't fit with Riemann and so offer clues as to how to disprove it â€" although most mathematicians expect it to hold. Riecoin is the second currency based...

A paper strip can sample urine for signs of tumours in the body. The cancer-detecting strip could one day make it simpler and more affordable to detect some cancers at an early stage. "Something I think that's really shocking is the prevalence of cancer and cardiovascular disease in both the developed world and the developing world," says Andrew Warren, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who led the team of researchers that developed the test. "Diagnostics are really a great way to help a lot of people as quickly as possible." Unlike communicable infections like HIV and tuberculosis, signals from tumour proteins are difficult to detect. To get around that problem, the researchers created nano-scale biomarkers that can be injected into the bloodstream. Each marker is designed to interact with specific proteins that are produced by cancer cells. When the two meet, the proteins snip of...

The Masters of Biotechnology Program in the School of Science and Computer Engineering at the University of Houston-Clear Lake ( UHCL ) in Houston, Texas, invites applications for a permanent non-tenure-track lecturer position at the rank of Visiting Assistant Professor, to begin in August 2014. The successful candidate will be expected to teach and coordinate the following graduate level laboratory courses: Methods in Biotechnology, Advanced Methods in Biotechnology I, and Advanced Methods in Biotechnology II. Also the position requires the development of other courses within the candidate’s specialization area or to meet the needs of the program. Minimum Requirements A Ph.D. in the field of Biology or a closely related area, with research experience in one or more of the following areas is required: molecular biology, cell biology, molecular genetics and/or molecular biotechnology. Preferred Requirements Preference will be given to individuals with post-doctoral and 2 to 3 ye...

Not ready to don a Google Glass headset? An alternative way to access smartphone content could hang around your neck. A digital device disguised as a necklace or brooch could one day project email, tweets and text alerts onto nearby surfaces, allowing you to open them with hand gestures. "The projector gives you a window into the virtual world that you carry around like a flashlight, as a way of serendipitously accessing information," says Christian Winkler at the University of Ulm in Germany. His team's Ambient Mobile Pervasive Display generates a green "SMS" graphic that is projected ahead of the user (see video above). To find out who the message is from, you hold your palm in front of you and the sender's name is projected onto it. To read the message, you make a gesture, such as a subtle swipe, and the text is displayed on your hand. The idea is that most functions that normally require a screen can ...

Job Descriptions: Wedbush Securities is one of the nation's largest full-service investment banking and brokerage firms. Our San Francisco office is seeking an intern to support our team of sell-side Equity Research Analysts and Associates covering the Life Sciences sector with a focus on Biotechnology. This opportunity requires the intern to work the same hours as our associates and analysts - start at 4:30 AM and typically work late. We are specifically seeking current college students, preferably in an advanced degree program, with strong work ethic and a passion for the financial services industry - particularly in equity research. Because of our size, Wedbush Securities internships offer students the unique opportunity to work with, and learn from, some of the most talented professionals in the securities industry. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Assist with financial and market research on selected compan...

ONE of the more outlandish objections to same-sex marriage is that it will open the door to people marrying animals or inanimate objects. This is, of course, nonsense: a marriage is between two adults who want to get hitched, end of story. In the not-too-distant future, however, the moral anxieties that underpin this claim are likely to resurface in a more realistic form: should people be allowed to marry robots? Technology is improving all the time, and the implications of human-robot relationships are already being fretted over by fundamentalist Christians (see "Creationists turn to robot for ethical guidance" and "Cure for love: Fall for a robot to fend off heartache"). You might argue that the same rule applies: marriage should be between consenting human adults only. But that won't stop people from forming relationships with robots, or cohabiting with them. It is hard to see wider society accepting such re...

EIGHT centuries on, the flying buttresses of Bourges Cathedral in France still beguile engineers. The secrets behind this marvel of medieval masonry are now about to be laid bare, thanks to a group of researchers who are rebuilding it, brick by brick. Using a laser scan of the cathedral, a team led by John Ochsendorf of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have 3D-printed thousands of bricks and are building an exact 1:50 replica. The researchers hope to use the mock-up to devise a way to gauge the stability, and thus safety, of historical buildings built of brick and stone. Modern buildings are usually constructed around a steel framework. The steel pieces are fused, so under stress from a sinking foundation or an earthquake, say, the framework behaves as a cohesive unit. Masonry structures are much more complex. Removing a single brick can change the pattern of stresses throughout the building. This makes it difficult to captur...

What would Jesus do? An evangelical Christian group has bought a humanoid robot in order to study the dilemmas its brethren pose for humanity A SPECIAL guest will be attending this year's creationist conference in North Carolina. It is not a Christian. It is not even a human. But it is helping evangelists find answers. The Southern Evangelical Seminary in Matthews, North Carolina, this week unveiled the $16,000 humanoid NAO robot from Aldebaran Robotics it has bought to study the ethical dilemmas posed by technology. "That Jesus adopted human form is extremely significant, from a Christian perspective, on the value of humans as a holistic being that's physical and spiritual," says Kevin Staley, who is leading the project. He worries that rapid advances in robotics may start to erode some of the value that Christian theology ascribes to humans. Staley has a list of questions he wants NAO to help answer: "Wha...

PharmEng Technology is a full service consulting firm that serves the pharmaceutical, medical devices and biotechnology industries in North America and internationally. Since 1997, the company has provided industry recognized consulting services assisting clients in the rapid commercialization of new product from drug discovery, strategic planning to process scale up. PharmEng has immediate opening for candidates with experience in decommissioning engineer. Responsibilities:  Decommissioning engineer must have the ability to develop decommissioning protocols (IQ/OQ), decommissioning reports, and test documents. Good writing/grammar skills and attention to detail are essential.  Decommissioning facilities/utilities/equipment  Conducting audits/gap assessments Education and Experience:  Minimum of 5+years of related experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology or related industry  Decommissioning experience is a MUST ...

Continue reading page | 1 | 2 Weapons of mass destruction get five times as much public research cash in the UK as renewable energy. Time for a rethink, says Stuart Parkinson The scale of a nation's public spending on different areas of research and development can be very revealing. For example, what sort of a nation would spend five times as much on developing weapons of mass destruction â€" including delivery systems â€" than on the R&D for renewable energy that is so central to tackling climate change? Figures just published reveal one such nation to be the UK. Using data from freedom of information requests, campaign group Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR), of which I am executive director, has pieced together recent R&D spending by the UK government on a series of major weapons systems and compared them with public R&D spending on measures to tackle major drivers of armed conflict, such as resourc...

A new cryptocurrency with a solar-powered twist could be just the incentive we need to make the shift to clean energy. While most cryptocurrencies are just themed copies of Bitcoin â€" Dogecoin, based on a famous internet meme, is a notable example â€" SolarCoins are a bit harder to earn. SolarCoin is based on Bitcoin technology, but in addition to the usual way of generating coins through mining, crunching numbers to try and solve a cryptographic puzzle, people can earn them as a reward for generating solar energy. People with solar panels on their house will receive solar renewable energy certificates from their energy company in return for feeding a megawatt-hour of electricity back into the grid. These certificates are already traded for cash, but present one to SolarCoin's organisers and you'll receive one coin â€" they expect to start distribution in a matter of weeks. True, the coins are worthless at the ...

Continue reading page | 1 | 2 At this year's Winter Olympics, which kick off today, it isn't just the athletes who will be on display. A host of technological innovations are heading to Sochi, Russia, too. Almost every winter sport involves some kind of gear, but there are three particularly exciting innovations making a debut at the 2014 Olympics. (Image: Under Armour) Motion capture skate suit Most people associate motion capture with animated blockbusters like Avatar . To make those films, actors are outfitted with special sensors designed to track their bodies at hundreds of frames per second. The information they gather is fed into a computer, where the human movements can be used to animate the body of an artificial character like a Na'vi princess. But motion capture is also useful for sport, in particular for getting super-precise data on the movements of all kinds of athletes, from runners to high-jump s...

THE rise of Bitcoin has brought with it a dream of an autonomous digital economy, free from corrupt banks and Big Brother governments. But as it gains more mainstream acceptance, some of Bitcoin's most loyal advocates believe that dream is threatened. Recently, a group of Bitcoin purists, who believe the policy-advocacy group Bitcoin Foundation is kowtowing to government regulation, splintered off and launched Dark Wallet, a software platform for Bitcoin transactions that they claim "serves The People over enterprise and government interests". This schism leaves Bitcoin at a crossroads, and those who can influence its fate â€" core software developers, online exchanges and policy advocates â€" have a choice. Will the currency establish an informal existence in the black-market economy, or should it seek legitimacy by behaving like a model citizen of the financial world, gaining acceptance from authorities by showing a willingness to be re...

Temporary - Scientific Research Associate, Biotechnology - 10109408-20140131 Description The ideal candidate will have a B.S or M.Sc. degree in Biological Science and have industrial and/or academic laboratory experience in a sterile laboratory conducting and manipulating cell lines. Experience working with immunoassays and assay development is also an advantage. This position requires strong written, verbal, and collaborative skills. The candidate will support the Biotechnology group in production of bulk in-vivo proteins as well as understand the kinetic effects of their expression under stress. This assignment is expected to be 6 â€" 9 months in duration. STRONGLY PREFERRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES : A proven cell culturist with excellent laboratory skills and technique Mammalian cell culture expertise with immortalized cell lines · Proficiency with CHO cells essential · Familiarity with hybridomas a plus Knowledg...

LeClairRyan, a rapidly growing law firm is recruiting intellectual property professionals to join our Rochester, New York or Alexandria, Virginia office locations. We are accepting resumes for associate attorneys or patent agents/technical specialists. This position will work with the patent prosecution team on matters primarily relating to the genetics, microbiology, and immunology field. Position will involve U.S. and foreign patent prosecution practice, including preparation of patent applications, office action responses, and patentability search reports. The position will also provide opportunities to assist on freedom-to-operate, patentability, and inventorship opinions, to work on post-issuance practice projects, and to provide litigation support. LeClairRyan, a rapidly growing law firm is recruiting intellectual property professionals to join our Rochester, New York or Alexandria, Virginia office locations. We are accepting resumes for associate attorneys or patent agents/tech...

The Jackson Laboratory Sacramento campus seeks a talented, motivated college sophomore or junior to join our cutting-edge site as a summer intern. Typical projects performed by Process Engineering Intern: Supply-Chain Improvement: Improve efficiency of existing process-flow for distribution and storage of laboratory laundry. Reporting Standardization: Meet with stakeholders to assess reporting needs and assist in layout and design of standardized reports. Phone Queue Improvements: Observe existing flow of customer calls. Solicit management feedback to determine business needs around incoming call routing. Help design and implement a better call flow including metrics to track improvements. Metrics Improvement: Work with senior leadership to understand the business needs behind the master metrics. These metrics are used as key indicators of service excellence. Identify ways to align metrics more closely with the business needs. Required Skills Communication and Facilitation - ...

JOB TITLE: Mechanical Engineer DEPARTMENT: Product Development OVERVIEW: This is an exciting opportunity for a Mechanical Engineer to join a fast growing biotechnology company. This position will work in the R&D department in the development on new Biotech and Medical products. The main focus of this position is the design and development of new products from conceptualization to transfer to manufacturing. Accel Biotech is a fast paced environment with aggressive deadlines, challenging projects, and no shortage of interesting work. JOB TASKS & RESPONSIBILITIES: - Contribute to conceptual design and create concepts for the design of new biotech products. - Mechanical design engineering to create original designs for new products that include mechanisms, fluid handling, motion control, disposable designs, and system integration. - CAD modeling of new designs using Solidworks and design validation tools. - Conduct analysis of mechanical designs using Excel and classical analysis. ...

Continue reading page | 1 | 2 Astronomy's carbon footprint is the strangest problem you've never thought about (Image: G. Hüdepohl/ESO) Astronomy produces a lot of carbon emissions, but it could be one of the greenest sciences if observatories harness their solar and wind resources IF YOU were to draw up a list of the most pressing issues in science, it's unlikely that astronomy's carbon footprint would be on it. If it were, it would probably end up somewhere between effective male birth control and how to fold headphones to stop their wires getting tangled in your pocket. Ueli Weilenmann, deputy director of La Silla Paranal Observatory in Chile, would disagree with that assessment. Recently, while grappling with the costs of running the place, he was shocked to discover the scale of the observatory's carbon emissions (see diagram). A bit of further digging revealed that the problem is not limited to Pa...