From the Lab Bench

• UCLA Biochemists Reveal Details of Mysterious Bacterial Microcompartments
  Biochemist Todd Yeates and his colleagues at UCLA have identified the proteins that play the critical role in how the structure folds in the carboxysome, a protein shell that is the best-known and most-studied microcompartment . If microcompartments can be engineered, biotechnology applications could potentially arise from this research, Yeates said ... read more
• UCR’s Researchers Discover New Way to Store Information Via DNA
  In their paper, “Length-based Encoding of Binary Data in DNA,” which was published by the American Chemical Society, Nathaniel Portney and his colleagues at UCR discovered a system to encode digital information within DNA. This method relies on the length of the fragments obtained by the partial restriction digest rather than the actual content of the nucleotide sequence. As a result, the technology eliminates the need to use expensive sequencing machinery ...read more

Company & Industry Headlines

• ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Announces New President and Chief Executive Officer
  ImmunoCellular Therapeutics -- a Los Angeles-based developer of cancer therapeutics -- announced on February 21 that Manish Singh, Ph.D., MBA (photo right) had taken on the full-time position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company ... read press release
• SiDMAP Founders to Provide Metabolomics Component of $5.6 Million Center Grant from the NIH to Study Mechanisms of Action in Both Inflammatory and Proliferative Diseases of the Pancreas
  "We are extremely proud of Drs. Boros and Lee for their work in this area and for their recognition as investigators with the unique skills and experience in the area of metabolic profiling necessary to perform this important research," said Ms. Agi Hirshberg (photo right), President and Founder of SiDMAP .. read more
• Bioness Announces New Clinical Evidence Showing  Treatment Breakthroughs for Foot Drop in Chronic Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors
  Findings were presented showing that daily use of Bioness' device -- NESS L300 neuroprosthesis -- over a 12-month period enabled patients experiencing chronic hemiparesis and foot drop following stroke or traumatic brain injury to significantly improve their walking abilities ... read more
• Dakim of Santa Monica Secures $10.6 Million Series C Funding Led by Galen Partners
  Dan Michel (photo right), CEO of Dakim, said, “Galen’s collaborative approach, combined with its unmatched experience and knowledge of the healthcare industry, will significantly strengthen our company and enable us to continue our rapid growth” read press release
• TherOx Raises $30M for Hypersaturated Oxygen Devices
  TherOx -- an Irvine maker of oxygenation devices for treating heart attacks -- raised $30 million in a tenth funding round. Investors included Kleiner Perkins, Integral Capital Partners and New Science Ventures. The firm makes devices that supersaturate blood with oxygen, then infuse that blood into areas of the heart at risk of damage from oxygen starvation due to a heart attack. TherOx has now raised over $120 million in venture funding.
• Santa Barbara's BioIQ, Home Diagnostics Maker, Takes in $2.5M
  This Series B investment round was led by venture firm Great Pacific Capital. Great Pacific's Managing Partner Dave Gross will take a seat on the BioIQ board .. read release
• The Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research Adds Roger Fischer and Alvin Dischler to its Board of Directors
  “The two new board members add to our board depth of management,” said James R. Berenson (photo right), MD, President and CEO for the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research ... read press release

Coming This Friday

Welcome to New  Members

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 21 billion UL Marks appearing on 72,000 manufacturers' products each year. UL's worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 62 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 99 countries .. visit web site.

Recommended Events

• March 2, 2008, Canada-California Infectious Diseases Collaboration Workshop (Hotel Crowne Plaza, Los Angeles International Airport) -- Click here for more information and to register
• March 4, 2008, The Next Generation of Medical Diagnostics: Applications of Nanotechnology (California Institute of Technology in Pasadena) -- Click here for more information and to register

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This is the last U.S. offering by world renowned expert Dr. Phil Parker. Become a major player at both the strategic and functional level in your company by aligning HR tactics with your CEO's corporate vision. HRCI Approved: 27.75 recertification hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR. 

SoCalBio members receive $300 discount, (promotion code: socalbio). Additional information and online registration: 
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