] "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Human stem cells
] transplanted into mice eventually developed into working,
] mouse-sized human kidneys, researchers report in a new
] study"
werd

Yahoo! News - Stem Cells Become Working Human Kidneys in Mice

] "I tapped my latex-gloved fingers against the edge of a
] microscope and wondered what would happen if I stole a
] flask. They looked so damn cool, like geeky candy jars.
] Then I thought about pocketing a test tube for use as a
] demented shot glass. What had aroused these thoughts? Was
] it my upbringing, surrounded as I'd been by hackers,
] subversive writers, and sarcastic leftists? Or did they
] come from some kind of genetic predilection to be
] disobedient? As I regretfully left the flasks behind me
] in the lab, I realized that it didn't really matter
] whether my urges were cultural or biological. My behavior
] would remain unchanged. And my attitude about that
] behavior would remain unchanged as well. "

This article rocks. PCR, electrophoresis, "geeky candy jars", nature and nurture issues. Its cram full of fun biology geekness.

sfbg.com

] "The race to produce the first birth of a human clone is
] nearing the finish line -- if you believe the public
] pronouncements. "

Wired News: Cloned Babies Arriving Soon?

] "A baby girl born with brain damage in New York State in
] November was infected with West Nile virus from her
] mother while in the womb. It is the first known case of
] this route of transmission. "

Um....bad.

New Scientist - Baby infected with West Nile virus in womb

] The journal will accept basic and applied papers dealing
] both with Engineering, Physics, Chemistry and Computer
] Science and with Biology and Medicine with respect to
] bio-molecules and cells. The content of acceptable papers
] ranges from practical/clinical/environmental applications
] to formalized mathematical theory. Themes will include:
]
] Biocompatibility of materials; Tissue engineering aspects
] at the nano and micro scale; Molecular and biomolecular
] sensors and electronics; Nano and microtechnology for the
] study of bio-molecules and cells; Computer methods for
] nanobioscience; Bioinformatics and biocomputing;
] DNA computing; and more.

sweet....I may just have to become an IEEE/EMBS member

IEEE Transactions on NanoBioscience

] "In his experiment, Potter places a droplet of solution
] containing thousands of rat neuron cells onto a silicon
] chip that's embedded with 60 electrodes connected to an
] amplifier. The electrical signals that the cells fire at
] one another are picked up by the electrodes which then
] send the amplified signal into a computer. The computer,
] in turn, wirelessly relays the data to the robot.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Technology Review - Rat-Brained Robot

] "Supported by a $9 million grant from the Gordon and
] Betty Moore Foundation, the scientists say that this week
] they will announce the creation of two peer-reviewed
] online journals on biology and medicine, with the goal of
] cornering the best scientific papers and immediately
] depositing them in the public domain."

New Premise in Science: Get the Word Out Quickly, Online

Decius wrote:
] ] In life-sciences establishments around the world, the
] laboratory
] ] rat is giving way to the computer mouse—as computing joins
] forces
] ] with biology to create a bioinformatics market that is
] expected to
] ] be worth nearly $40 billion within three years.
]
] Alot of the interesting computing in the next few years is
] going to be in this space. Unfortunately for transistor heads
] like me, they are hiring biologists with computer experience
] rather than computer people who understand biology. Automation
] is going to eliminate the need for people who understand how
] to operate computer systems and networks over the next few
] years. As a result, all but the very best are likely to have a
] difficult time finding work. Furthermore, programming
] languages like Java and Perl make programming more accessible
] to people with other skill sets. The result may be a labor
] market which simply isn't interested in uni-disciple
] professionals.

Tom: YOu and I should open a Bioinformatics firm. I got the biology down, you got the computer geek skillz. We could ownz this field.:)

RE: Bioinformatics - the new Telecom

ROFL....I love strongbad

The fishing jig

] "Welcome to the online information site for the new Cool
] Springs Life Sciences Center in Franklin, Tennessee, a
] 10-acre research and technology campus dedicated to
] advancing the life sciences"

Cool Springs Life Sciences Center