GenOmics

Media Release, May 8, 2012, Toronto, Canada – The biofuels industry contributed $277.3 billion to the global economy in 2010 according to a new report commissioned by the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance. “Contribution of Biofuels to the Global Economy” done in partnership with the global economic research company, Cardno Entrix, outlines the economic footprint of the biofuels industry that is continuing to grow at a strong pace.

“This latest report clearly shows that the biofuels industry is having a tremendous impact on the global economy,” said Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance.

Media Release Vancouver, B.C.

Scientists at the BC Cancer Agency and University of British Columbia have identified new breast cancer genes that could change the way the disease is diagnosed and form the basis of next-generation treatments.

Researchers have reclassified the disease into 10 completely new categories based on the genetic fingerprint of a tumour. Many of these genes could offer much-needed insight into breast cancer biology, allowing doctors to predict whether a tumour will respond to a particular treatment, whether the tumour is likely to spread to other parts of the body, or if it is likely to return following treatment.

Media Release, Toronto, Ontario – April 17, 2012 – Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. announces that its Chief Scientific Officer, Director and Company founder, Dr. Neil Cashman, has been awarded the 2012 Genome BC Award for Scientific Excellence. This award is presented annually by Genome BC to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development of British Columbia’s life sciences industry across all sectors which are critical to the economic future of the province and...

University of British Columbia researchers have identified a gene in balsam fir trees that could facilitate cheaper and more sustainable production of plant-based fixatives and scents used in the fragrance industry and reduce the need for ambergris, a substance harvested from whale barf.

When sperm whales consume sharp objects, such as seashells and fish bones, their gut produces a sticky substance to protect their digestive organs. They then regurgitate the mixture – much like cats throwing up fur balls – and the vomit, reacting with seawater, turns into rock-like objects that wash ashore. These are collected and refined for their fixative properties. Called ambergris, the scented compound is added to high-end perfumes to help the fragrance stay on the skin longer.

Media Release Montréal, April 04, 2012

The McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre are pleased to announce that they have been awarded funding totalling $7.6 million over a two-year period from Genome Canada’s 2010 Competition: Science and Technology Innovation Centre Operations Support. This award, a record sum for Québec, will be used to fund the operations of the Innovation Centre as well as the services offered to scientific communities in Québec, the rest of Canada and around the world.

Media Release, March 28, 2012

Research on sudden cardiac death at Memorial University will be significantly advanced with a combined investment of $750,000 from the provincial government and the Research & Development Corporation (RDC). The announcement was made March 28 by Keith Hutchings, minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development and the minister responsible for the RDC.

The funding will target a range of activities related to inherited diseases of the heart. In particular, the funding will support the acquisition of a state-of-the-art Next Generation DNA Sequencing Platform for the research lab of Dr. Terry-Lynn Young in the Faculty of Medicine. In 2008 Dr. Young’s lab identified the gene mutation for ARVC (arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy), a degenerative genetic condition that causes early cardiac death, particularly in men.

Media Release, March 22, 2012 Vancouver, BC

Just over a decade ago, a small Ontario town was the epicenter of Canada’s most significant drinking water related disaster. Close to half of Walkerton’s 5,000 residents fell ill and seven people lost their lives due to the highly dangerous strain of E. coli bacteria found in their drinking water. A research team in the British Columbia Public Health Laboratories, located at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), is currently using a novel approach called metagenomics to help prevent anot...

News Release, March 15th, 2012 by Jennifer Tidball

MANHATTAN -- A collaborative discovery involving Kansas State University researchers may improve animal health and save the U.S. pork industry millions of dollars each year.

Raymond "Bob" Rowland, a virologist and professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, was part of the collaborative effort that discovered a genetic marker that identifies pigs with reduced susceptibility to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, or PRRS. This virus costs the U.S. pork industry more than $600 million each year.

Media Release, March 15th, 2012, Ottawa, Ontario

A team of researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) has been awarded $367,000 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and $75,000 from the Stem Cell Network to lead the first clinical trial in the world of a stem cell therapy for septic shock. This deadly condition occurs when an infection spreads throughout the body and over-activates the immune system, resulting in severe organ damage and death in 30 to 40 per cent o...

Media Release, March 8, 2012

LifeSciences BC is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012 LifeSciences British Columbia Awards. They are:

Canadian universities attract the brightest and best researchers with federal fundingMedia Release, Ottawa, ON, Mar 13, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Researchers at universities across Canada will continue to make advances in disease prevention and treatment, informational technology, sustainable development, and business and management practices, among many other areas, thanks to a federal investment in the Canada Research Chairs Program. The funding announcement was made today by the Hono...

New "BioReady™" On-Line Tool Offers Hope for Unemployed Manufacturing Workers Media Release, KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ON, Feb. 8, 2012 /CNW/ - BioTalent Canada, a national organization that addresses skills and human resources issues to ensure the bio-economy has access to job-ready people, was in Kitchener / Waterloo today launching an on-line skills transfer tool designed to assist unemployed manufacturing workers in gauging their readiness to work in biomanufacturing.

Speaking to a group of industry and business leaders in Kitchener / Waterloo today, Rob Henderson, Executive Director of BioTalent Canada, said that unemployed manufacturing workers are missing employment opportunities because they're unaware that their skills may match those of bio-manufacturers.

Media Release, Detroit – Henry Ford Hospital researchers have identified for the first time two molecules that hold promise as a biomarker for measuring cartilage damage associated with osteoarthritis.

Researchers say the concentration of two molecules called non-coding RNAs in blood were associated with mild cartilage damage in 30 patients who were one year removed from reconstruction surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, injury.

Improving the quality of life of Canadians by developing more effective treatmentsMedia Release, Ottawa, Ontario(January 31, 2012) – The Harper Government today announced an important investment that will help Canadians in getting more effective treatments and make the healthcare system more sustainable through personalized medicine. The announcement was made by the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology...

Media Release, Vancouver, B.C. Jan. 30, 2012

In March of 1993, Penny Flynn and Jeff Date received devastating news: their nine-month-old daughter Taylor had been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumour. Cancer is the leading cause of non-accidental deaths in children, and medulloblastoma is the most common form of childhood cancer. The few children who do survive the aggressive and debilitating treatments must then often cope with a host of side-effects, such as learning challenges and physical disabilities. In essence...

Request for Applications (RFA) Genomics and Personalized Health A Genome Canada – CIHR PartnershipGenome Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), is seeking proposals for large-scale research projects which focus on the application of genomics1 in the area of Personalized Health. Through this partnership Genome Canada will implement an important element of its Strategic Plan (2012-2017) and CIHR will launch its Personalized Medici...

Genome Canada the umbrella organization for Canada's regional Genome Centres has posted a new Strategic Plan on their website. Genome Canada is a not-for-profit organization established in February 2000 and is funded in large part by Industry Canada. Together with the regional centres such as Genome Alberta, many important large scale genomics research projects and technology platforms have been made possible in Canada.

With a solid track record over the last 10 years, the new Strategic Plan looks ahead for the next 10 years.

Media Release, Vancouver, BC – Ovarian cancer - the most severe of all gynecological cancers - claims the lives of over 1,750 Canadian women every year. And, just as each woman fighting the disease is unique, so are their cancers. Thanks to decades of research and recent technological advances, we now know that every tumour and tumour mutation is different in every patient. It is this distinction that has set the stage for a personalized cancer vaccine, using ovarian cancer as the testing gro...

Media Release, Ottawa, Dec. 7, 2011

A new study prepared for Genome Canada on the economic value of biotechnology forecasts a 9.4% average annual growth rate in the industry in the next 18 years, which translates into a total value of $144 billion by 2030.

The study by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), an Ottawa-based non-profit economic research organization, and authored by CSLS economist Ricardo de Avillez, says the significance of biotechnology extends beyond the value of economic goods and services to cover job creation, enhanced human health, reduced environmental damage, and greater production capacity.

Genome Canada will be providing information about its upcoming competition. The information session will take place on December 9, 2011 in 2-1 Council Chambers, University Hall, from 1-2 p.m.

Richard Fedorak, Associate Vice-President (Research), and Heather Smith, Genome Alberta Program Coordinator, will be there to answer your questions. David Wishart will also be presenting on The Metabolomics Innovation Centre, a Genome Canada-funded project. Heather will be available after the session to discuss project ideas/proposals with interested researchers.