Farewell Nabsys

A bit over a week ago brought news that mapping instrument hopeful Nabsys had ceased operations.  As a veteran of one failed biotech, I have a lot of sympathy for the team there. Plus, I knew a bunch of folks at the Providence RI firm.  Nabsys's signle molecule mapping technology was a wonder -- what single molecule technology isn't? Already stories are emerging of a disgruntled founder who wants to buy up the intellectual property and give it another go. It is easy to admire that stick-to-it spirit; it's a lot harder to find a rational reason to believe that such a revival will be any more successful.

How Do You Differentiate Archea and Bacteria in the First Week of High School Biology???

I have a long standing interest in biology education -- I seriously considered it as at least a career to explore -- but now I really have skin in the game.  TNG just executed a schedule move that will defer his biology this year to the second half of the term, but I also have a niece who is taking AP Biology at her STEM high school.  Even in his short time in biology class, TNG has succeeded in asking for homework help that has me scratching my head.

Freely & Unrepentantly Confessing to Heresy

Keith Bradnam reported a huge influx of traffic for a recent post -- not surprising, since he labeled it NSFW (Not Safe For WorK).  And yes, despite my skepticism that it would be truly offensive, I'll confess I checked it with phone, not my work laptop.

Ion's S5

The Ion Torrent team rolled out a new sequencer line this morning, the S5.  The S5, whose impending release had been tipped on the internet by the leak of a manual, arrives in two models, the standard and the XL, which differ only by on-board computing power and not sequencing metrics.   As has been the trend, Ion's focus is entirely on focused sequencing, and the new lineup emphasizes making targeted sequencing with AmpliSeq and other approaches fast and simple.