Nerdy Science Blog

Knowledge-based economy; the use of knowledge to produce economic benefits has been long implemented in developed countries. It’s good to know that Malaysia, a developing country is heading towards that direction, especially in the field of scientific research. INBIOSIS is one of the research organizations leading the nation towards the development of scientific research. A brainchild of UKM academics & researchers, INBIOSIS functions as a multidisciplinary research and its current focus is on discovering the network of processes by which secondary metabolites are produced by tropical plants. INBIOSIS is looking forward to forging smart partnerships with the biotechnology industries.

For more details, visit:

INBIOSIS in Utusan malaysia (article in Malay)

INBIOSIS Website

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Read this from kj’s blog, a fellow blogger I’d know for sometime through online. He was asking why are we (Malaysia) cannot be down-to-earth in sciences, in respond to one of our previous posts, Malaysian Cabinet Really Wanted To Send Another Space Traveller, wrote by WTJ.

I attended a seminar talking about the management and policy in science area. Too bad I don’t have management background to understand all the management and policy terms/thingy, I can barely understand what were they talking about. Otherwise I would have share it.

But the Q&A section was pretty fun, some of the audiences pointed out certain general issues that have long bothering us.

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Research and Markets - Scrip Yearbook 2008: 24th edition:

Scrips annual review of the year, Scrip Yearbook 2008 is your guide to all the key facts, events and issues of the last 12 months from across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.Collected and organised from coverage in Scrip World Pharmaceutical News, the respected source of biopharmaceutical industry news, this new updated report provides a complete and concise tool, covering all levels of the industry and recent developments.

Scrip Yearbook 2008 will help you to:
- Identify which significant mergers and acquisitions were completed
- Analyse the strategic and financial performance of your competitors
- Track the latest clinical developments and key product launches across all therapeutic areas
- Review the latest industry regulations imposed on the industry
- Gain insight from leading industry analysts and commentary from senior editors
- Keep abreast of global healthcare initiatives and market movements

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Stempeutics Research is investing RM30 million (~USD10 million) on stem cell research and therapy so that stem cell therapy will be available and affordable to everyone.

Stempeutics Research, which is part of the India-based Manipal Education and Medical Group, became the first foreign company to set up a stem cell research and therapy centre here.

Stempeutics Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd will promote stem cell activity locally and focus on cutting edge research, therapeutics and therapy in the field of regenerative medicine.
Manohar said the Manipal Group would be investing about RM30 million in the next three to four years on the centre, to be located at the Technology Park Malaysia in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

(news)

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Would you demand your lab members have their own blog? Rosie Redfield, an evolutionary biologist at the University of British Columbia, had all her lab members to have a blog.

Anyway, it turns out that Rosie makes it a requirement for her lab members to maintain a blog. This was primarily to act as an appendum lab book, and a place to reflect on the experiments carried out recently.

I would love to see every lab members have a blog, but when it comes to the matter of competitors, I don’t think much researchers would write much about their researches before they get their articles published. As some scientists said, why help your competitors?

(link)

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This article written by Dr. Rowan Gilmore is worth to read.

Where is research in the list, one might ask? It’s buried in there, but many businesses appear to have forgotten to ask the question. Evidence presented by the ABF at the discussion forum indicated that levels of collaboration between innovating businesses and the research sector in Australia are only 2 per cent, compared with 6-7 per cent in similar economies like Ireland, Sweden, and Denmark, and a phenomenal 26 per cent in Sweden. With only one Australian firm in fifty working with the research sector, the question of relevance needs to be raised. Levels of collaboration with customers are no better in Australia and stand at only 12 per cent, compared with typical values of 25-28 per cent for similar economies. Collaboration with suppliers is equally poor.

(link)

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I am doing yeast (S. cerevisiae) transformation, one of the magic ingredients is salmon sperm DNA, which work as DNA carrier. We had good laugh over this name.

“Sperm? Haha! What is the sperm doing in the experiment?”

“Human one can arr? Ask him (our cute lab technician) to donate to you lah~!”

“Yewww~~~”

No doubt, my lab mates also get excited by the name of the ingredient.
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