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In case you didn’t know, chocolate is big business. Do you know of anybody who doesn’t like to snack on a piece of chocolate from time to time? Because of the growing incidence of tropical diseases, pests and global climate change, Mars, the giant candy maker (M&Ms, Snickers), announced that it will sequence and analyze the cocoa genome (cocoa is the key ingredient in chocolate) to “to discover genetic building blocks of traits like disease and pest resistance, drought tolerance and perhaps flavor.” The likely long term goals of the project are to identify ways reduce cultivation costs and increase crop yields.

Another reason why Mars is keen on the project (at least according to the corporate press release) is to protect the livelihood of more than 6.5 million cocoa growers, mostly family-run farms,70% of which are in Africa. 

Mars is working with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA, sequencing) and IBM (data analysis) on the project. The results of the research will be free through the Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture.

I hope that the cocoa genome project is successful. What would the world be like without a copious supply of chocolate?????

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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The consolidation trend in the US life sciences industry continues. Carlsbad, CA-based Invitrogen, a provider of cells, molecular and biochemical probes and reagents used in life sciences research,announced on Thursday that it will acquire (merge) with automated DNA sequencer manufacturer Applied Biosystems (ABS).  Invitrogen will pay $6.7 billion in cash and stock to buy ABS which is an independent unit of Applera Corporation.

As most of you know, ABS supplied hundreds of automated DNA sequencing machines ($300,000 per machine) that were used to sequence the human genome. The advent of automated DNA sequencers in the mid to late 1990s helped (along with Craig Venter) to speed up efforts to complete the Human Genome project which officially began in 1990. The first draft of the human genome was published in 2001. Unfortunately for ABS, it was unable to refocus and adjust to changing business conditions after the government-sponsored human genome project ended in the early 2000s.  Attempts to reinvent the company included moving into commercial businesses like selling equipment to test food for pathogens or DNA from crime scenes.

The deal, if approved by regulators, would create a giant supplier of machines and materials used by academic and pharmaceutical industry research laboratories, with about $3.5 billion in annual sales. Although the deal makes sense from a business perspective, it is likely that there will be a “reallocation of corporate resources” once the merger is approved by European and US regulators.

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try Carlsbad, it is a great place)!!!!!!!!

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Who can resist those adorable black and white Giant Pandas? Late last week, the International Giant Panda Genome Project was launched by Beijing Genomic Institute-Shenzhen, China. The goal of this project is to finish the sequencing and assembling of the draft sequence within six months. 

According to the news release:” The giant panda is a much loved animal all over the world and is considered a symbol of China, as illustrated by its being one of the mascots for the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. The excitement surrounding the launch of this ambitious project, however, has been built around how this new genomic information will have extensive impact in numerous scientific areas -- from ecology to evolution to sequencing technology. Such data will aid in understanding the genetic and biological underpinnings of this unique species, especially with regard to its very specific niche in the environment and the molecular mechanisms of its evolution.”

“Of special interest is that these data will be extremely useful for protecting and monitoring this endangered species and will provide information on the impact of captive breeding. In addition, it will have considerable use in controlling diseases that could devastate these fragile populations.” For those of you who don’t know, breeding pandas is not an easy thing. In fact, according to a guy I used to work with, who is a panda breeding expert, it is more art than science. However, it may not be as arcane as he makes it out to be considering that he had a sweet consulting gig for panda breeding with the Chinese government.

The giant panda project (GPP) will be conducted by Chinese scientists as well as scientist from other countries including, Canada, Wales, Denmark and the United States! It is truly an international collaboration!

Long live the pandas!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try GPP- China)!!!!!!

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