November 30, 2009
Jeremy
Grushcow
This Week’s Biotech Highlights
by Jeremy Grushcow
November 30, 2009
With our friends south of the border still reeling from a turkey-induced hangover, it was a quiet week. Still, there was plenty to be thankful for.
Proponents of personalized medicine were thankful for several developments that show this trend is picking up speed: CVS followed Medco’s example in expanding pharmacogenomic testing, while biotech and pharma companies, as well as the National Cancer Institute, stepped up their investment in the field.
I am thankful to be following a new trend for 2010: synthetic biology, i.e. attempts to create novel organisms. This week, I weighed in on the search for the smallest genome that could constitute a living organism, noting that the most popular candidate seems to be proving itself to be a red herring.
Finally, I am thankful for Richard Chan, our science writer, who has taken over responsibility for the Friday Science Review, and for Jacob Cawker, who provides research support for the Monday Biotech Deal Review. Thanks guys – I couldn’t do it without you!
With our friends south of the border still reeling from a turkey-induced hangover, it was a quiet week. Still, there was plenty to be thankful for.
Proponents of personalized medicine were thankful for several developments that show this trend is picking up speed: CVS followed Medco’s example in expanding pharmacogenomic testing, while biotech and pharma companies, as well as the National Cancer Institute, stepped up their investment in the field.
I am thankful to be following a new trend for 2010: synthetic biology, i.e. attempts to create novel organisms. This week, I weighed in on the search for the smallest genome that could constitute a living organism, noting that the most popular candidate seems to be proving itself to be a red herring.
Finally, I am thankful for Richard Chan, our science writer, who has taken over responsibility for the Friday Science Review, and for Jacob Cawker, who provides research support for the Monday Biotech Deal Review. Thanks guys – I couldn’t do it without you!
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 ... a per saltum project from Slaw ...
Our simple-to-remember rewriting of the URL for the Supreme Court of Canada — And lessupremes.ca works as well, bien sûr.

Gavel Busters It's time to bring the hammer down on Canadian sites that mistakenly use the gavel as a symbol of law. Help us wipe out this scourge! Learn more on our Gavel Busters page.

The Friday Fillip Collections
Some end-of-week frivols fastened in folios for your enjoyment ...
Selected Fillips from 2006 2007 [2008 2009 coming soon ... ]

Slawstalgia See how things used to be on Slaw: - the page from June 5, 2006, when we'd be going for just about a year... - the page from May 13, 2010 [PDF], nearly four years later...
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