Bioscience

Incubator ‘graduates’ major tenant

The departure of Senestech late last year from the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies is both good and bad news for the fledgling small-business incubator.

The graduation of the biotech company to larger facilities near Flagstaff Pulliam Airport was always expected. But its departure has left the 10,000 square-foot, state-of-the art facility on McMillan Mesa only 35 percent full.

And in the short run, this means NACET will be unable to collect enough rent to make the full monthly payment of $7,500 to the city.

But officials with the city and NACET both play down the problem as only temporary and part of a natural cycle for any small-business incubator.

Bioscience

Breast center designed with patients in mind

One empowering aspect of the experience is the center's partnership with the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix. As part of the joint venture, patients at the breast center can consent to anonymously donate tissue from their surgeries to TGen for research.

Bioscience

Development chief relies on teamwork

[Source: The Arizona Republic] – Christine Mackay updated her resume and slapped it on the corner of her desk. She figured if the snazzy biotechnology incubator being built in Chandler fizzled, she could be looking for a job. Rewards don’t come without risks, and, as happens with thoughtful people, there was that tiny niggling doubt. […]

Bioscience

Faster sequencing of DNA with carbon nanotube

In the current issue of Science, Stuart Lindsay, director of Arizona State University's Center for Single Molecule Biophysics at the Biodesign Institute, along with his colleagues, demonstrates the potential of one such method in which a single-stranded ribbon of DNA is threaded through a carbon nanotube, producing voltage spikes that provide information about the passage of DNA bases as they pass through the tube—a process known as translocation.

Bioscience

Local Catholic Healthcare West hospitals join SCAN health plan Arizona provider network

PRNewswire/ -- SCAN Health Plan Arizona announced today that three local Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) hospitals joined the health plan's provider network, effective Jan. 1. As a result, SCAN members in Maricopa County now have access to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Chandler Regional Medical Center, and Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.

 

"We are pleased to add three highly respected CHW hospitals to the SCAN Health Plan network, further expanding our scope of services," said Tom Lescault, president of SCAN Health Plan Arizona. "All of these facilities have a longstanding relationship with the community and a reputation for providing exceptional care."

Bioscience

Outcome of health care bills awaited

When House and Senate leaders meet in coming weeks to hash out differences over health-care reform bills, Arizona employers and consumers will have much at stake.

Both bills would reduce the ranks of the uninsured through a combination of taxes and fees, health-insurance exchanges and expansion of government insurance programs for low-income and disabled Americans.

The bills also would impose new rules that would forbid private health-insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions and would impose new employer mandates.

Bioscience

Arizona’s oldest continuous school focuses on science, math

Paula Rhoden, The Daily Courier For 103 years, students have attended Washington Traditional Elementary School – the oldest continuous school in Arizona.  Before the building at 300 E. Gurley St. was a school, it was the territorial capital. Because of its downtown location, Washington faces some challenges. Principal Harold Tenney said his school has the […]

Bioscience

On the hunt for an opportunistic, hidden virus

Chances are high that you have a virus you may never know about. It lives quietly in your body and never shows itself in the form of symptoms except in the case of people with weakened immune systems such as organ- or bone marrow-transplant patients, AIDS patients, babies in vitro, leukemia patients and lymphoma or other cancer patients.

Roughly 60 percent of the U.S. population has this virus, but in developing countries the number is closer to 99 percent.

Bioscience

INNEXUS promotes Canadian TSX venture exchange listing

InNexus Biotechnology Inc., announced today that it has filed a Form 15-F with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to voluntarily de-register its common stock under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and continue its primary listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) under the symbol of IXS.V.  The Company considered many variables in its decision including the estimated savings of several hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, the limited investor pool on the over-the-counter-bulletin-board (“OTCBB”), and the fact that it has fewer than 300 shareholders. The Company intends to focus its efforts and dollars on its investor base, operations and TSX listing.  The Company’s reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act, including InNexus’ obligation to file annual reports on Form 20-F and to submit reports on Form 6-K with the SEC, will no longer continue upon filing the Form 15-F.

Bioscience

Support of NAU pays off for Raytheon’s Tucson unit in engineering-grad hires

Eric Betz, For the Arizona Daily Sun, December 29, 2009   FLAGSTAFF — Raytheon Missile Systems of Tucson hired 10 percent of Northern Arizona University’s engineering graduates last year and is fostering a close relationship with the university in general.   “Raytheon is very, very interested in NAU,” said Kim Christianson, Raytheon Missile Systems’ chief scientist. […]