Bio Saga Blog - A Chronicle of Life Sciences & Informatics

Canadian-based GPU maker Tycrid Platform Technologies has just announced the launch of the Prometheus Alliance , a collaborative effort aimed at developing cutting edge HPC applications for bioinformatics, with a specific emphasis on next-gen sequencing data and personalized genomics. Chris Heier, President of Tycrid Platform Technologies, stated in a release that "Alliance is being established to address a specific challenge that continues to impede the progress of scientific discovery – the lack of scalable, purpose-built appliances. I feel this is critical as we can virtually eliminate the need for scientists to become computer scientists. Our goal is to take a fresh, innovative approach to developing HPC solutions that do one thing really well – address specific computational challenges for bioinformatics .” XTractor Premium - A Platform for discovery , knowledge sharing, analysis and modelling of published biomedical facts. The only Knowledgebase which provides "...

The Oxford University Image Bioinformatics Research Group wishes to appoint a Computing Officer – Web Applications and Data Management to work on the JISC-funded ADMIRAL Project - A Data Management Infrastructure for Research Across the Life Sciences . This will involve interactive working with researchers to improve the management, archiving and Web Publication of their biological research data, undertaking Web application development, and system evaluation and maintenance of the data management infrastructure. Applicants should have a good B.Sc. or higher degree, probably in maths or science, and show evidence of creativity and research competence. Good programming and data management skills are required, as is familiarity with the standards and principles of modern Web application development. Experience with agile development techniques, Javascript, JQuery, Java, Python and RDF, and competence in Linux computer systems administration would be desirable. Further details about this...

The National Institutes of Health has granted $67.4 million in funding for trailblazing research that could reap great benefits but which are not guaranteeing immediate results, including genomics and proteomics studies, NIH said Monday. The Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration (EUREKA) program grants $200,000 per year for up to four years for researchers that test unconventional ideas or "tackle major methodological or technical challenges," according to NIH. Of the 56 grants, 10 researchers will receive a total of $10.6 million for two-year awards through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. "EUREKA awards reflect NIH's continued commitment to funding transformative research, even if it carries more than the usual degree of scientific risk," NIH Director Francis Collins said in a statement. "The grants seek to elicit those 'eureka moments' when scientists make major theoretical or technical advances...