In this economy, successful businesses and organizations take nothing for granted. Travel and training budgets are carefully scrutinized, and opportunities are weighed in terms of which can generate the greatest return on investment. These decisions can be tough, but they're just good business.

The following statement by the U.S. Department of Labor regarding continuing education for those immersed in scientific research is particularly important:

"Continuing training is necessary for workers to keep pace with current developments in their fields. It may take the form of on-the-job training or formal training, or it may consist of attending conferences or meetings of professional societies. Workers who fail to remain current in their field and related disciplines may face unfavorable job prospects if interest in their specific area declines." - From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Career Guide to Industries, 2008-09 Edition, Scientific Research and Development Services

… all of which brings me to my point about belonging-to and participating-in a scientific society such as ours – the Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA).

Year after year, we host the LabAutomation Conference and Exhibit and deliver programming, hands-on access to new technologies and applications, and a worldwide network of diverse scientific professionals. From practical grab-and-go ideas to thought-provoking strategies for game-changing innovation, our five-day conference and exhibition has consistently provided value for short- and long-term success. 2010 will be no exception.

In fact, we just added a fourth plenary speaker – Kei Koizumi from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

But don't take my word for it—do the math yourself, and you'll see that LabAutomation more than measures up as a promising and cost-efficient business investment. Read through the information on the LabAutomation2010 Web site; calculate the breadth and depth of topics addressed; analyze the caliber of the speakers and the companies they represent; consider the global reach of impact of other attendees; notice the degree of program personalization that's available; and evaluate the relevance to your personal and professional goals. The members of the Scientific Committee, ALA Board of Directors, and I are confident you will conclude that LabAutomation2010 is the best, most productive, most enriching way to begin the new year.

We also are happy to let you know that our menu of creative discounts and travel programs will stretch travel dollars for students, academics and professionals alike.

ALA exists to serve the educational needs of the scientific and technological specialists who make the lab automation community unique. LabAutomation2010 is the cornerstone of the ALA mission, the heart of its annual curriculum, and your best bet for an unbeatable bottom line.

My kindest regards,
Greg Dummer, CAE,
ALA Executive Director

I've seen a lot of news on biofuels recently. The most exciting item I came across had to do with KLM scheduling a test flight for an airliner using biofuels. On November 23, KLM plans on operating a flight using Boeing 747 equipment. One of the aircraft engines will be running on a fuel mixture made up of 50% sustainable bio-fuel and 50% traditional kerosene. The airline claims this flight will represent the first flight in Europe on bio-kerosene. It's good to see a major airline embracing a new technology that could lead to cheaper, cleaner fuels.

We're all somewhat familiar with the term biofuel by this point, and it shows the potential to be a great concept. But, for the readers of Bioscience Technology, one of the interesting aspects of this industry is its potential to impact ours. Genomics, for one example, plays a large role in biofuels research and, down the road, industry.

In one recent study published in Genome Research, researchers from Duke University and Brazil sequenced and analyzed the structure of the entire genome of the yeast strain PE-2. The study showed that portions of the genome are plastic compared to other yeast strains. Specifically in the peripheral regions of chromosomes, where they observed a number of sequence rearrangements. These chromosomal rearrangements in PE-2 amplified genes involved in stress tolerance, which likely contributed to the adaptation of this strain to the industrial environment. PE-2 is amenable to genetic engineering, and the authors believe that their work could lead to bioethanol production.

In a second study, also published in Genome Research, researchers from Stanford University and Brazil analyzed the genome structure of industrial bioethanol yeasts, searching for variations in the number of gene copies in five strains employed in Brazil. They found that the studied strains show amplifications of genes involved in the synthesis of vitamins B6 and B1. These gene amplifications confer growth in industrial conditions, indicating that these yeasts may have adapted to limited availability of vitamins in the industrial process in order to gain competitive advantages.

Exciting stuff, and an interesting change from the pharmaceutical-based news that tends to dominate my in box. I'm curious, how many of you out there are working on biofuels projects? This is not a topic we've covered a lot, and that's something I'd like to change. Drop me a line at robert.fee@advantagemedia.com and let me know what you're working on.

There’s been a lot of work over the past few months behind the scenes to get the new biosciencetechnology.com prepped for launch. As you can tell, the new site is finally ready.

The new site allows you to interact with other researchers in a way that has never been possible before on biosciencetechnology.com. Having trouble with a technique or procedure, and you need a few tips? Submit a question to our Ask the Experts section and the editors of Bioscience Technology will submit it to an appropriate expert to get the answer you need.

Looking to connect with other researchers who are working on similar problems? Well, registered users of the site have two options. You could start a topic in our new forums, or you could join a preexisting user group.

Looking for some feedback on the poster you just prepared? Submit it to us. We'll post it on the site and allow other users to view your work and provide feedback.

On top of the community aspects, there will be more news, products, and articles posted throughout each day. We’ve made it easier to find application notes on a particular topics, and links to relevant journal articles have been added to the site through a partnership with PubGet, so you can now view the latest peer-reviewed research.

Our new multimedia section includes videos and podcasts. We know that your days are busy, and you don’t have a lot of time to find a relevant video to watch, so we’ve broken down this content into specific categories and channels—cell biology, disciplines, disease research, industries, instrumentation, lab tools, and molecular biology.
You’ll also get increased opportunities to interact with the editors of Bioscience Technology here in our blogs section. Here, we’ll report our impressions of shows we attend or news we’ve read. And, hopefully start a few decent conversations.

In short, the new biosciencetechnology.com is everything you were already used to with new functionality added to make your experience even better.

As you can probably tell, we’re excited to launch the new biosciencetechnology.com and hope that our readers find it to be as useful and exciting as we intend it to be. So take a few minutes and check it out. What did you like on the new site? What could have worked better? Drop me a line and let me know. Your feedback is what will help make biosciencetechnology.com the useful tool you need.