Biozona Weekly: Nominations open for AZBio awards; Biodesign in orbit; AlgaeBio ramps up

August 18, 2011

By hammersmith

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Life Sciences in the Fast Lane
AZBio blog | Joan Koerber-Walker

This year at the AZBio Awards and Expo our theme is all about forward motion.  Specifically, how  we move forward…faster. From global innovations like IBM’s WATSON on Thursday night October 13, 2011 to panels of CEOs and leaders along with  nationally recognized thought leaders who will take the stage Friday October 14, 2011,  the conversations are geared up to deliver  the information and ideas  we  need to move our industry and our economy forward…faster.


Professor’s research flies on final shuttle mission
08/17/2011 | State Press | Phillip Guerrero

ASU professor Cheryl Nickerson, who was awarded NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal earlier this month, is a microbiologist at ASU’s Biodesign Institute.  Her most recent spaceflight research, done in partnership with Roy Curtiss III, also of ASU’s Biodesign Institute, used the space shuttle Atlantis’ microgravity research platform to work toward developing a vaccine against one of the world’s deadliest diseases: pneumonia.


AlgaeBio unveils production stats as algal omega-3 market heats up
08/17/2011 | NutraIngredients-USA.com | Elaine Watson

Algae Biosciences Corporation – a high-profile new entrant to the omega-3 fatty acid market – has unveiled detailed figures on anticipated production volumes after finalizing a deal to build the first phase of its new production facility near Holbrook in Arizona. The Canadian firm, which aims to supply commercial quantities of EPA/DHA-rich oil from microalgae by early next year, says it will be able to make 1,060kg/month by late 2012 and 4,000kg/month by the end of 2013.


Banner Health hospitals offering Parkinson’s brain scan
08/16/2011 | Phoenix Business Journal | Angela Gonzales

Three Banner Health hospitals now are offering a new brain scan for Parkinson’s disease, allowing patients to begin treatment earlier and avoid possible misdiagnoses of other conditions with similar symptoms. Banner Boswell, Banner Good Samaritan and Banner Thunderbird medical centers are using GE Healthcare’s DaTscan, a nuclear medicine imaging study that analyzes dopamine activity in the brain. Last year, Banner received a $2 million grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation to conduct clinical trials using the DaTscan technology.


Into the mind of … Leslie Boyer (FDA approval of scorpion antivenom)
08/13/2011 | The Arizona Republic

You’ve called this a historic event. Why? This is a first, in many ways. It’s the first time that the U.S. has approved a treatment for the dangerous effects of scorpion stings. It’s a first in cross-border collaboration: The drug was developed in Mexico and then proven through clinical trials in the U.S., with the University of Arizona taking the lead. It is long-awaited proof that Mexican biotechnology is up to the challenge of U.S. standards.