Bio Saga Blog - A Chronicle of Life Sciences & Informatics

BGI-Shenzhen today said that it has extended its offer to acquire Complete Genomics for around $118 million until midnight New York City time on Dec. 14. BGI's tender offer to acquire all of the shares of Complete Genomics was previously scheduled to expire today. As of the close of business last night approximately 15.4 million shares of Complete Genomics' common stock, or 44 percent of its outstanding shares, were tendered and not withdrawn. The extension of the offer last night coincided with a letter Illumina sent to Complete Genomics' board of directors urging them to reconsider Illumina's offer to acquire the firm for around $123 million. Earlier this week Illumina confirmed that it had made an unsolicited offer of $3.30 per share to acquire Complete Genomics. That offer is 5 percent higher than the price agreed between BGI and Complete Genomics. Complete Genomics turned down Illumina's offer saying that it would likely be turned down by regulator...

Wow this an interesting article enjoy it! With the increasing ubiquity of smartphones, the growing popularity of tablets, and the burgeoning market for third-party applications, the public appetite for touchscreen technology is virtually impossible to ignore. It shouldn't, then, surprise anyone that bioinformatics software developers would look for ways to tap into the multi-touch market. But it's not just about making sure that download tallies are going up. In fact, some life science application developers say they dipped into the app space out of sheer curiosity more than anything else.   "For us, it was an experiment," says Andrew Su, an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute. His laboratory developed an application called BioGPS, a mobile version of his group's web-based gene annotation portal, which runs on Apple's iPhone. "We imagined that somebody in a meeting or a seminar or at a conference who needed quick access to ...

Courtesy Xconomy After merging with Symyx Technologies in 2010, acquiring Contur Sofware in 2011, and buying VelQuest earlier this year, San Diego scientific software developer Accelrys says today it is buying Aegis Analytical. Accelrys is paying $30 million in cash for Aegis, a company based in Lafayette, CO, (near Boulder) that makes software used to monitor biotech product development and manufacturing processes. In a  statement  today, Accelrys says the deal helps to further expand its suite of software used to manage the life cycle of innovation among pharmaceutical companies and in other industries. Aegis has about 40 full-time and contract employees, and “the idea is to keep the business in Boulder and fairly intact,” Accelrys CFO Michael Piraino told me during a phone interview earlier this afternoon. Aegis CEO Robert Di Scipio will stay with the merged company through the transition to new ownership. About two-thirds of Acce...

wwwtilda Data manager in computational material science Introduction Tilde (wwwtilda, ~) is a data manager in cheminformatics and computational material science. The nowadays situation in these disciplines with a plenty of incompatible data formats is rather confusing. Furthermore a new approach to the scientific data verification and exchange is desired because the traditional peer-reviewed journals and their supplementary materials sections do not solve this task properly. Therefore Tilde aims to simplify data processing and exchanging for the scientists, dealing with popular computer simulation packages in material science (e.g.  VASP ,  CRYSTAL ,  WIEN2K  etc). Now the text outputs of these programs can be collected, and the calculated results therein can be visualized. The example focus is on phonon properties of the crystalline materials: vibrational spectra, band structures, densities of states, vibrational patterns visualization etc. Moreover Ti...

Dako is one of the leading global providers of cancer diagnostics tools. --Acquisition will strategically complement Agilent's research technologies and will accelerate growth in rapidly expanding segments of diagnostic markets. --Significantly increases base of recurring revenues. --All-cash deal is largest in Agilent's history. Expected to be immediately accretive to Agilent earnings on a non-GAAP basis. Agilent Technologies Inc. and EQT, the Sweden-based private equity group, today announced the execution of a definitive agreement for Agilent to acquire Dako, the Denmark-based cancer diagnostic company. The $2.2 billion acquisition (on a debt-free basis) is the largest in Agilent's history. Dako's products are sold in more than 100 countries, and in 2010 its annual revenue was approximately $340 million (USD). The company employs more than 1,000 people, primarily in Denmark, in Carpinteria, Calif., and other parts of the world. The acquisition is...

Dhathri Ayurveda Private Ltd houses branded consumer goods like Dhathri Hair care herbal oil, Dhathri fairness facepack, Dheedhi Shampoo etc and has evolved into an household name in the Ayurveda segment in a short span of 6 years. Dhathri, with its range of 25 ayurveda products and has won the trust of millions across the world. The products are prepared under stringent quality control and the ingredients sourced from traditional herbal gardens and untouched mountain range Post :  R and D Scientist No of opening :  3 Experience :  0 to 5 years Job Description : Following are the Openings with Dhathri Group for its R&D Department. Research Associate - Stability Study - (1 Year Experience in Stability Analysis) Pharmacology  - (2Years related Experience in Ayurveda Field) Jr.Scientist  - Food & Drug Formaulation - (3Years Expereince in Capsule,Tablet,oinment and Food Formulation) Educational Qualification :  M.Sc  - Bio-Chemistry,...

This is getting interesting every day! I love this Idea! sell a company but before selling it split or spin off as another company with a future technology (Illumina). After a few years again sell or get acquired! Citing vast future potential, ISS has sided with Illumina in the gene-sequencing company’s fight to hold off a hostile bid from Roche Holding. The proxy advisor says shareholders should vote the Illumina board back into service, and reject Roche’s slate because the offer probably undervalues the future of Illumina. Roche  last week raised its offer for Illumina to $51 a share from $44.50 , and called it fair and full. But Illumina shares immediately went above $51, and some in the market have pointed to $60 as the number to get the deal done. Illumina rejected the offer,  citing a report that compared the company to Apple and Illumina’s products to iPads.  The company has argued that Roche’s bid came just after Illumina’s own shares had cratered on a ba...

National Conference-cum-Workshop on "Search for Antimalarials:Mechanism Based Approach" 27th - 29th April, 2012 The workshop will cover the following topics Malaria Genomics/Proteomics Malaria Vaccine Development Current scenario of Malaria Drug Development Drug Target Validation and Proritization Structural Bioinformatcs/chemoinformatics Malaria Drug Target Database Development Target  Based Drug Designing Target-drug interaction mapping 3DQSAR and Pharmacophore Design Antimalarial Database Development All correspondence for the National Conference cum workshop should be addressed to : Dr. Naidu Subbarao School of Computational and Integrative Sciences Hall No. 6, Lecture Hall Complex Jawaharlal Nehru University New JNU Campus, New Delhi 110 067 Email:nsrao@mail.jnu.ac.in / nsrao.jnu@gmail.com Do you wish to know more?

Avesthagen- a life science company in Bangalore has an opening for Drug Safety Associate.  Details:     - Experience : 0 to 3 yrs    - Job description : Database programmer will develop complex edit    checks based on study requirements & Programming of complex edit checks,    including cross-form edit checks, in order to identify discrepancies in the    data recorded on CRFs and on eCRFs     - Salary : Best in the Industry    - Education : M.Sc - Biology, M.Tech - Bio-Chemistry/Bio-Technology, Biomedical Science  Send your CV to: crtraining@avesthagen.com, yasmin@avesthagen.com  Deadline : 22.04.12 

Listeria TDRM Database http://www.lmtdrm.com/ . Please keep your comments and suggestions flowing in  kamesh@pronetinformatix.com The genus  Listeria  consists of a group of gram-positive bacteria of low G+C content closely related to  Bacillus, Clostridium, Enterococcus, Streptococcus,  and  Staphylococcus .  Listeria spp.   are facultative anaerobic rods of 0.4 by 1 to 1.5 µm that do not form spores, have no capsule and are motile at 10 to 25°C.  Listeria spp .  is isolated from a diversity of environmental sources, including soil, water, effluents, a large variety of foods, and the feces of humans and animals. The genus  Listeria  currently includes eight species:  L. monocytogenes ,  L. ivanovii ,  L. seeligeri , L.rocourtiace ,  L. innocua ,  L. welshimeri ,  L. marthii   and  L. grayi . Two of these species  L. monocytogenes  and  L. ivanovii  are potential...

Microbial Genomes Curator @ Computercraft Corporation--Maryland (US).  Submitted by Computercraft Corporation; posted on Saturday, March 17, 2012 RESPONSIBILITIES: Computercraft seeks a microbiologist to work with a team of software developers and biologists on microbial genome analysis including pan-genome, protein clusters, phylogenetic tree and more. This is a technically challenging position requiring experience in genome sequencing and annotation. A background in comparative genome analysis such as alignments and tree building is a plus. Our scientists work with genomic experts at the NIH's National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to create and enhance a suite of databases and tools available to researchers worldwide. Teamwork interaction and excellent organizational skills are essential for this detail-oriented position, as is scientific problem-solving with a results-oriented focus. REQUIREMENTS: * PhD in molecular biology, microbiology, or related field * ...

Applications are invited for the post of Post Doctoral Fellow for the following time-bound sponsored project as per the details given below: Post :  Post Doctoral Fellow Consolidated fellowship :  As per terms governed by the Wellcome trust DBT India Alliance and National Institute of Immunology (a Minimum of Rs. 40,000/- per month).  Project title :  Exploring the role of a developmental regulator in inflammatory immune response under Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance Essential Qualification :  a. Must hold a Ph.D Degree (not awarded before 2009), or must already have submitted their thesis towards obtaining a Ph.D degree from a reputed Institute. b. Must have more than Five years of research Experience. c.  Must have proven research expertise/skills in basic biochemistry, cell biology and Molecular Biology, Research Expertise in in vivo animal work is also preferred. d. Must have one publication as first author, in international journal, preferab...

Bigene Technologies in Trichy requires fresher candidate for Research Associate in Bioinformatics Post :  Research Associate No of Opening :  One Experience :  0 to 1 yrs Job Desciption :  The bioinformatics team is seeking an energetic, creative and detail oriented research associate. The cart informatics and statistical tools to analyze the data. Ability to quickly grasp mathematical concepts an essential. The candidate will spend significant time interacting with life scientists in multiple disease areas. Salary :  INR 1,50,000 – 3,00,000 P.A Education :  M.Sc – Bio-Chemistry, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics Desirable : 1. Candidate should have basic knowledge in computer programming 2. Good written and presentation skills required 3. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills combined with superior and proven track record of technical. Must be able to work in team oriented environment and demonstrate attension to detail and record keeping. Loca...

BIBI automates DNA sequence analysis for bacterial identification in the clinical field. BIBI relies on the use of BLAST and CLUSTAL W programs applied to different subsets of sequences extracted from GenBank. These sequences are filtered and stored in a new database, which is adapted to bacterial identification. For further details refer : http://umr5558-sud-str1.univ-lyon1.fr/ lebibi/lebibi.cgi

The Department of Biotechnology, Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT), Coimbatore, is organizing a DBT-sponsored short-term training course (STTC) for teachers involved in teaching life sciences and biotechnology for 14 days from 26 April to 9 May 2012. The course consists of lectures by Guest Faculty from premier research institutions/universities followed by practical/hands-on training sessions in ratio of 30 : 70. Candidates holding regular positions in private or govt-aided or govt colleges or university colleges or research institutions are eligible to apply. The application has to be sponsored by the Head of the colleges/institutions/universities. However, 25% of the teachers from govt-aided or govt colleges or university colleges will be paid TA as per institutional rules. Applications may be sent to The Course Director stating: 1. Name and address for communication (e-mail id, mobile and phone numbers) 2. Educational qualifications and teaching/research experience...