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You Know The Meeting You Are At Is Too Big When ...

You Know The Meeting You Are At Is Too Big When ...

Jun 12 2008 | comment(s)

Now - I confess I was really impressed with how ASM handled this enormous meeting I was just at. If you are going to have a big meeting, ASM does a smashing job. And I can see how such big meetings can have their appeal - the diversity of work and activities relating to Microbiology are amazing. However, big meetings are still not my cup of tea. So here is my top 10 list of "You know the conference you are at is too big when ..." and all are based on experiences from this meeting.
ASM Phylogenomics Notes

ASM Phylogenomics Notes

Jun 12 2008 | comment(s)

Well, I just gave my talk on phylogenomic and functional predictions and am going to try and catch up with blogging.
In my talk I discussed how an understanding of function and prediction of function requires an understanding of how functions have evolved. I am trying to get my talk slides posted here but, alas, I need to deal with some Copyright issues first (OK - here is a little slideshow of my talk ... no audio sorry)

Patricia Babbitt gave a talk after mine on another aspect of phylogenomics and functional predictions. She has done some really interesting studies (see her lab site here) of functional diversifications and the molecular level by integrating genomic, structural, biochemical and phylogenetic analyses. She showed some really nice tools for clustering and visualization protein families that, although not phylogenetic, seemed to be very useful for the onslaught of genome data. Unfortunately, most of her publications are not in OA journals so I cannot use any of the figures here and am not going to bother linking to the papers.
NetSuite Developer Partners Leverage Power Of NetSuite Business Operating System To Meet Needs Of Manufacturers

NetSuite Developer Partners Leverage Power Of NetSuite Business Operating System To Meet Needs Of Manufacturers

Jun 12 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, June 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- Omnify Software, Configure One, SPS Commerce and SuiteCommerce Extend NetSuite Using NS-BOS to Provide Product Lifecycle Management, Configurators, EDI Gateway

NetSuite Enters SAP's Core Market With New On-Demand Vertical Suite For Manufacturers

NetSuite Enters SAP's Core Market With New On-Demand Vertical Suite For Manufacturers

Jun 12 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, June 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- NetSuite Expands Lead in Vertical Suites by Leveraging Core Strength In Wholesale / Distribution to Tackle Demands of Light Manufacturing

NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N), a leading vendor of on-demand, integrated business management software suites for the mid-market enterprise and divisions of large companies, today announced a new vertical suite for manufacturing companies. NetSuite for Manufacturers, which includes new functionality for Assembly, Work Order and Bill of Materials, takes aim at SAP's core market and seeks to exploit the prolonged delay of SAP's Business ByDesign product roll-out, providing mid-sized manufacturers with an integrated on-demand solution they can put to work today.

Qualcomm Raises Financial Guidance For The Third Fiscal Quarter Of 2008

Qualcomm Raises Financial Guidance For The Third Fiscal Quarter Of 2008

Jun 12 2008 | comment(s)

SAN DIEGO, June 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- Increases Third Quarter Fiscal 2008 Revenue and Earnings per Share Guidance

Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) today updated its financial guidance for the third fiscal quarter ending June 29, 2008.

The following statements are forward looking and actual results may differ materially. Please see "Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" at the end of this news release for a description of certain risk factors and Qualcomm's annual and quarterly reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a more complete description of risks that may affect the forward-looking statements.

Pro Forma Defined

Hokkaido Broadcasting Co. Launches Its G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit 2008

Hokkaido Broadcasting Co. Launches Its G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit 2008

Jun 12 2008 | comment(s)

HOKKAIDO, Japan, June 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- G8 related local news videos with English subtitles available at www.hbc.jp/g8/eng/

Where Do Genes Come From?

Where Do Genes Come From?

Jun 12 2008 | comment(s)

In biology, everything has a history. Creationists love to try to calculate the probability of a new gene spontaneously coming into existence, but that's not how genes are born. New genes most often come from other genes: one gene gets duplicated by a freak accident (like the accidental duplication of a chunk of chromosome, a whole chromosome, or even an entire genome), so that you suddenly have a cell with two working copies of the same gene. As time goes on (that is, time on an evolutionary scale), those two duplicate genes start to divide up the work that was originally done by just one gene. One copy might end up specializing in one particular task, picking up mutations along the way that gradually transform this copy into an independent gene in its own right, with its own specialized function. From one gene, you get two, each with a distinct role in the cell.

It sounds like a nice evolutionary story, but do scientists have any real examples of duplicate genes evolving new functions?

Axelar Receives Financing For A Phase I/II Clinical Trial On Cancer Patients With The New Anti-Cancer Drug AXL1717

Axelar Receives Financing For A Phase I/II Clinical Trial On Cancer Patients With The New Anti-Cancer Drug AXL1717

Jun 12 2008 | comment(s)

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Axelar AB today announced that the company has received financing from Östersjöstiftelsen (the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies) and Karolinska Development AB to perform a Phase I/II clinical trial with the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) receptor inhibitor AXL1717 on cancer patients.

Micrel Makes Maximum Strides In New Ethernet Solutions By Minimizing Size, Security Risks, Maximizing Thinness

Micrel Makes Maximum Strides In New Ethernet Solutions By Minimizing Size, Security Risks, Maximizing Thinness

Jun 12 2008 | comment(s)

SAN JOSE, California, June 12 /PRNewswire/ --

In Basketball Coaching, Experts Make The Best Leaders

In Basketball Coaching, Experts Make The Best Leaders

Jun 12 2008 | comment(s)

Star players make better basketball coaches, according to research by scholars at the University of Warwick and Cornell University. The research is further evidence that experts in their field rather than generalists typically make the best leaders in organizations.

Using data from 15,000 basketball games between 1996 and 2004, the authors learned that the US’s premier basketball teams in the NBA tend to win more games if led by coaches who were good players or if they had long playing careers, controlling for other factors that affect team performance. That upholds the authors’ hypothesis that, across many kinds of industry, it is experts in their field who typically make the best leaders.

In the current US NBA finals, the Lakers’ coach, Phil Jackson, is tied with the Celtics’ legendary Red Auerbach for the most championships as a head coach (nine) and has the second best career regular-season winning percentage (0.700) of all time.