3 minute read
App Reviews
Montreal puts on a show with the BIO World Congress
Another summer, another year and another BIO World Congress gone by.
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For those who made the trip to Montréal – and those watching eagerly from sidelines around the world – the 2015 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology did not disappoint. Every year, the conference brings together the brightest minds from the ag and industrial biotech sectors to discuss global needs and innovations. This connection has proven time and again to be a valuable one, setting the foundation for partnerships and opportunities.
This year’s event was differentiated by an established mandate: linking chemistry, biotechnology and agriculture to create new value chains. Through this theme, the BIO 2015 World Congress thrived. The convention saw a record-breaking 1,400 partnering meetings, a dramatic increase from previous years. These meetings took place between 725 companies from over 50 countries and 30 states.
With numbers like that, it’s clear, Montréal made good on its identity as a multicultural hub.
When companies and world leaders weren’t busy building relationships, they were attending the eight educational tracks to learn from speakers and engage in discussions. The World Economic Forum lived up to its name, featuring Iowa’s Terry Branstad, Brazil’s Marcos Vinicius de Souza, and the U.K’s Andrew Hagan, among 300 others.
As always, the event is not simply preparation for the future, but a celebration of past accomplishments. At the Lunch Plenary Session, BIO awarded Solazyme CEO Jonathan S. Wolfson with the 2015 George Washington Carver Award for his work with microalgae, while Dr. Jennifer Holmgren took home the prestigious BIO Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology.
As another first for the exhibition, Sofinnova Partners awarded Glucan Biorenewables the first Renewable Chemistry Start-Up Award. The selection was the result of a public poll that garnered almost 8,000 votes.
It’s well known that research can be lonely. It can also be frustrating, exhausting, disheartening and a slew of other adjectives. For each of these negatives, however, there is a brighter equal. Research breeds hope. It breeds health, energy, strength and a future. As an industry centered on sustainability and the eradication of disease, the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology reminds us that we don’t fight alone.
Best wishes,
APP REVIEW
Transnetyx
Research is often fast-paced and rewarding, but even so, accuracy mandates routine, and routine can lead to mundanity. For many scientists, one such routine is genotyping. Slow-going and timeconsuming, genotyping uses up valuable time that could be spent elsewhere. For this reason, many labs choose to outsource the process to another company. With YX Genomic’s Transnetyx, researchers can now check up on their genotyping orders with a swipe of the finger. The app allows the user to navigate between pending and approved protocols, check up on orders and results, and search using status, wellplate, notes, strain and sample as criteria. Though the app is straightforward and time-saving, it is only truly valuable to Transnetyx customers. And while the app does offer a free 25 sample trial, the bleak user interface may turn away potential customers altogether.
Focus On Lymphoma
By: Lymphoma Research Foundation https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/focus-on-lymphoma/ id689311977?mt=8 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.acrosshealth
From North America’s largest non-profit dedicated to lymphoma research comes Focus on Lymphoma, a beautifully styled and all-inclusive app made for patients and caregivers. The app is constantly updating with news and breaking research from the LRF to keep the user informed at all times. The “Learn” section of the app will guide users through all stages of the disease, from diagnosis to remission. Meanwhile, the “Track” feature provides medicine, blood count and symptoms managers, compiling the information into graphs that are simultaneously breathtaking and functional. The doctor session manager is particularly noteworthy: it allows users to track their questions, notes and to-do lists, even offering the ability to create audio recordings of doctor instructions. Flawless organization and informative content make this app a star in the field.
