[Source: Research & Innovation] 
A mini satellite launched by an EU-funded project is demonstrating a range of cutting-edge technologies to improve the performance, cost, stability and longevity of small space-based platforms for applications such as atmospheric monitoring, Earth imaging, communications and aerospace research.
If you’re an adult living in the United States, there’s a 95-percent change you’ve had chickenpox. Unfortunately, as we age, we run the risk of reactivating that virus, varicella zoster, in the form of shingles.
If you contract the chickenpox virus, you will carry it for the rest of your life. It can be considered an infectious disease time bomb. For most, the virus stays dormant, remaining silent in the nervous system. However, introduce stress, a weakened immune system or the vagaries of the normal aging processes, and the virus can reactivate years later as shingles. A third of us will contract shingles in our lifetimes.
Shingles manifests as a painful rash that develops on one side of the face or body, which usually clears up within 2 to 4 weeks. Those who have suffered from shingles can tell you the pain ranges from mild to debilitating. Those who experience extreme bouts often describe the pain as the most intense of their lives. The disease can also threaten vision and cause nerve damage which can linger for months or years, long after the initial shingles rash is gone. Very rarely, shingles can lead to pneumonia, hearing problems, blindness, brain inflammation or even death.
In yet another milestone for biotechnology, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the green light last fall to a new shingles vaccine called Shingrix. The vaccine is more than 90 percent effective in preventing shingles for adults 50 and older.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the number of shingles cases continues to rise. Half of all shingles cases occur in people over 60. However, fewer than one-third of people over 60 have been vaccinated for shingles, according to the CDC. Most people who get shingles will have it just once, but it’s possible to get it a second and even a third time. As we age, we become more likely to develop long-term, severe pain as a complication of shingles. There is no treatment or cure from this pain.
One million people get shingles every year. Shingrix – a two-shot regimen – can spare people a lifetime of needless anguish. So can an earlier shingles vaccine called Zostavax, a single-shot inoculation effective in more than half of those who receive it.
There is hope that the next generation of Americans will be less susceptible to shingles. In 1996, the CDC recommended universal varicella vaccination against chickenpox for healthy 1-year-olds. Doctors believe that children who receive the chickenpox vaccination will be at a much lower risk of getting shingles as they grow older. However, kids vaccinated for chickenpox in 1996 are only 21 or 22 now, so doctors can’t say for sure what will happen when they’re 50. Researchers believe if they do contract shingles, it is more likely to be a milder case.
The new shingles vaccine contains an adjuvant, a substance that boosts the immune system’s response. In October, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices endorsed Shingrix for adults over 50. Once the CDC director endorses the committee’s findings, Medicaid and Medicare will begin covering the vaccine later this year.
Biotechnology vaccinations have been among the greatest achievements of the human race, for they represent our ability to prevent suffering and disease rather than mitigate it. Thanks to biotechnology innovation, we’ve moved a step closer to the day when shingles will be moved from the medical books to the history books.
We’re back in the January swing, which means another stellar round-up of the best digital marketing stats to grace the interweb this week. It includes news about grocery sales, failed deliveries, email performance, and so much more.
The internet statistics compendium is also ready and waiting to download should you want to get stuck in.
CES is no E3, but there was plenty of hardware and virtual reality to be discovered on the show floor. These are some of the best things we saw.
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I’m currently a senior at a small liberal arts college, majoring in integrative sciences, molecular bio, and science studies. I’ve been working in a bioinformatics/molecular genetics lab for the past two years, and will be graduating in May. My school offers a tuition-free 5th year M.A. for those involved in research labs looking to continue their project. I’ve applied to the program and will likely get accepted and receive a small stipend from my adviser to cover housing if I choose to matriculate. I would graduate with an M.A. in Spring 2019.
I’m looking to apply to Ph.D. programs and, frankly, I’d like to have my pick. I want to make sure I’m a top candidate anywhere I apply. I am deciding between doing this M.A. or taking a 2 year Research Associate position at a very prestigious biomedical research institute. My undergrad university is small (~2900 undergrads, ~200 grads), and while the research I am doing is very interesting and I am invested in the project, I can’t help but run into inefficiencies that come from working in a small lab at a primarily teaching-focused institution.
I’d like to pursue jobs in industry after I do a Ph.D. in a field related to genomics, proteomics, or synthetic biology.
I’d like some advice weighing an M.A. vs. the research associate position.
My major pros for the M.A. are (1) the degree, (2) the opportunity to write a thesis and take more classes, and (1) the fact that it would only last 1 year instead of 2. The major cons in my mind for this: (1) lack of productivity, (2) social isolation experience typical of those in the program, (3) relatively lower prestige.
Major pros for the RA position: (1) opportunity to work on translational research, (2) large, collaborative, highly-efficient research-focused environment in one of the major biotech hubs of the country, (3) salary, (4) prestige of faculty/students/postdocs at the institute, (5) opportunity to expand my network before entering a Ph.D. The major cons seem to be: (1) non-academic role, (2) entering a Ph.D. program 1 year later, (3) less opportunity for first/second authorships.
Thanks biotech!
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[Source: Research & Innovation] This Round Table organised by the Science Business Network aims to once more bring the importance of Oceans in the food chain up to discussion.
”The over-exploitation of lands has shown its limits. In the meantime, oceans reveal more and more resources. How can research and innovation unlock this vital potential?”
Science|Business will bring together its members and experts to discuss the importance of marine research to face the growing global demand for food and transform the food chain.
Featured speakers are:
• Pearl Dykstra – Deputy Chair, Scientific Advice Mechanism, High Level Group
• Poul Holm – Chair, SAPEA Social Sciences and Humanities Working Group on Food from the Oceans
• Ricardo Serrão Santos – Member, European Parliament
Recommendations contained in a newly released report from the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity will guide Administration policy in the year ahead, according to the White House, and one of the pillars of that report call for “Harnessing Technological Innovation.”
The report was presented this week to President Donald Trump by Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue during the American Farm Bureau Federation‘s Annual Convention in Nashville, where the President spoke about “putting an end to the regulatory assault” on farmers and their way of life.
“We are streamlining regulations that have blocked cutting edge biotechnology, setting free our farmers to innovate, thrive and to grow,” the President said.
A CNN report highlights the report’s recommendation to improve the quality, nutritional value, and safety of American crops as well as addressing trade concerns:
An improved strategy for research and development of new agricultural technologies will be key, as will be a unified U.S. approach toward convincing our trading partners of the value of safe biotech products.
BIO applauded the support for biotechnology and innovation contained in the report as for the President’s remarks to Farm Bureau convention attendees.
“As the report states, scientific advancements in biotechnology have produced a thriving and successful industrial sector aimed at addressing our world’s most pressing challenges,” added Greenwood. “Further innovations in genome editing technology will unlock even more promises in agriculture production, animal health and welfare, biofuels and renewable chemical development, and biobased manufacturing.”
Greenwood also welcomed recommendations contained in the report, such as the need for policies that promotes economic growth, innovation, competitiveness and job creation.
“As recommended in the report, BIO supports a more harmonized Coordinated Framework for the regulation of biotechnology, a tax code that encourages investment in the biotech sector, and government-backed communications to further public awareness of biotech products,” Greenwood said. “We also need to integrate a recognition for the importance of science and technology into the appropriate Farm Bill titles.”
In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order establishing the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity “to ensure the informed exercise of regulatory authority that impacts agriculture and rural communities.”
As Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue serves as the chairman of the Task Force, which includes 22 federal agencies as well as local leaders.
Esteban (Steve) Abella has been appointed chief medical officer of San Ramon, CA-based BioClin Therapeutics. Abella most recently worked at Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD), where he was a senior director leading the company’s non-hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia efforts. BioClin also named Graeme Currie to the chief operating officer post. Currie’s experience includes senior leadership positions at Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ: DVAX) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN).
BioClin’s lead drug candidate, B-701, targets a protein that supports tumor growth. Last year, BioClin raised $30 million in funding for more clinical studies testing the antibody drug as a treatment for bladder… Read more »
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[Source: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ageing/innovation/index_en.htm] Identifier: ERC-2017-PoCPillar: Excellent ScienceOpening Date: Deadline: Tue, 5 Sep 2017 17:00:00 (Brussels local time)Modification Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2018Latest information: An overview of the evaluation results for the ERC-2017-PoC – Deadline 3 (05 September 2017) is now available in the “Flash Call Info” document, under the ‘Topic conditions & documents – Additional Documents’ section on the topic page.
The next call, ERC-2018-PoC, has already been published and is open for submission on the Participant Portal from 6th September 2017, with 3 cut-off dates (deadlines): 16 January 2018 – 18 April 2018 and 11 September 2018 (17:00:00:time zone Brussels time).
According to the new rules on restrictions on applications (ERC-2018-WP), a Principal Investigator may submit only one application per call.
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