App Reviews

canadian scientists facing a funding shortage?;

and our annual readers Choice awards!

It’s always exciting to hear about the exciting discoveries made by Canadian scientists and researchers on a day-to-day basis. For example, researchers from McGill University and the Génome Québec Innovation Centre this past month achieved a technical breakthrough that could result in the quicker diagnosis of cancer and various pre-natal conditions. The discovery relates to a new tool developed by professors Sabrina Leslie and Walter Reisner of McGill’s Physics Department and their collaborator Dr. Rob Sladek of the Génome Québec Innovation Centre. The tool, called a “Convex Lens-Induced Confinement” (CLIC) allows researchers to load long strands of DNA into a tunable nanoscale imaging chamber in ways that maintain their structural identity and under conditions that are similar to those found in the human body.

And yet, these types of discoveries are also thanks in large part to not just the exceptional Canadian talent, but also the funding provided through federal and provincial granting councils. In the case of the above research project, the financial backers included the National Research and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

A recent study from Thomson Reuters ranking the world’s most influential scientists for 2014 (based on peer citations) reported that mong the 3,200-odd names on the global list, 89 were Canadians, not a bad number at all given our size. So, we have to be doing something right.

However, you also read stories in the news like Subash Sad’s commentary in the Ottawa Citizen that there’s stagnation in funding for fundamental research and that researchers at Canadian universities are suffering. Specifically, that out of every 100 scientists who apply for funding from the federal or provincial granting councils, approximately 10 to 15 per cent actually are successful at finding it. Meaning that roughly 90 per cent of all funding grant applications are an exercise in futility. That’s a huge number!

It makes you wonder, how many great ideas, or amazing discoveries will never get off the ground simply because the funds just aren’t there.

On an entirely different note, I should make mention that it’s that time of year again where we turn to you, our readers, to learn about the tools you use and the brands you trust for your daily lab research activities. Running now till Oct. 1, our annual Reader’s Choice Awards Survey will be open on our website. The questions are pretty straight forward, and it shouldn’t take more than five minutes of your time. Check out the survey at http://info.biotechnologyfocus.ca/Laboratory-Focus-ReadersChoice-2014.

aPP revieW

NeuroMind

From Pieter Kubben, MD, PhD https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/neuromind/id353386909?mt=8 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.dign. NeuroMind&hl=en

Available free on the Apple Store, Android Market and Windows Store, the NeuroMind app offers interactive clinical decision support with over one hundred medical classifications and grading systems. NeuroMind is ranked as the number one product for neurology and neurosurgery apps in the App Store, and is supported officially by both Surgical Neurology International and the European Association of Neurosurgical Soccieties (EANS). The app provides a variety of pathologies with their relevant calculators and scoring tools, as well as well-researched information and criteria regarding clinical conditions and anatomical images and diagrams. Although the user-interface is disappointingly mediocre, the old adage “It’s what’s on the inside that counts” proves true for NeuroMind – organization and functionality makes this app a must-have for both students and practicing neurosurgeons and neurologists.

iPharmacy - Drug Guide & Pill Identifier

By SigmaPhone LLC https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/ipharmacy-drug-guide-pill/ id368679506?mt=8 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sigmaphone. topmedfree&hl=en

The iPharmacy app will revolutionize the way patients manage and consume their medications – particularly if they lack the discipline or organization needed to safely and effectively take their medications. This app helps users manage their prescriptions by setting reminders, accessing dosage, and having direct access to all the latest drug news, such as FDA recalls and safety alerts. The app also has a built-in pill identifier based on the pill’s shape, colour, score and imprint. Furthermore, iPharmacy goes above and beyond, with discount codes and coupons, wellness information from Berkeley University, and price comparisons at all major US pharmacies. And the price tag? Free. iPharmacy is understandably consumer targeted; therefore, the information is simplified, and as a result it is not recommended for healthcare professionals to use as a committed monograph. However, the app’s accessibility and userfriendliness make it a great tool for patients and doctors alike to have on-hand.