Andrew Zorn

What are you doing on April 23, 2024? Well, come to a great webinar on structural variant discovery. Sure, you think you can find them all with your fancy NGS or dPCR but you would be wrong (I know you don't want to know you are wrong but someone has to tell you). Give it a look and see you there. Uncovering Structural Variants Missed by Conventional Cytogenetic Techniques Date: April 23, 2024 Time: 9 am PT, 10 am MT, 12 pm ET Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) uses fluorescently labelled DNA probes to detect and visualize specific DNA sequences on chromosomes. Although FISH is a familiar and useful tool in molecular biology and clinical diagnostics, it does not provide the depth of analysis needed to detect very small inversions without prior knowledge of their location or to perform whole genome detection of all types of structural variations in a single test. dGH™ (directional Genomic Hybridization) overcomes those limitations by using an innovative detection technique: bioinformatically-designed single-stranded probes are hybridized to single-stranded chromosome targets, producing a unique single-chromatid staining pattern. This approach enables dGH to provide high-resolution visualization of all manner of structural variants in a single test - small inversions and chromosome rearrangements often missed by other genomic techniques.   In this webinar, Ivan Perez, KromaTiD Technical Applications Scientist, will present: • The differences between FISH and dGH sample processing and probe design that underly performance characteristics • Examples of dGH applications, both targeted (dGH in-Site™) and genome-wide (dGH SCREEN™) • How dGH assays add invaluable information to studies not provided by orthogonal methods such as G-banding, FISH, NGS and microarrays Please join us live to engage in Q&A with Ivan and Christopher Tompkins, PhD, KromaTiD Chief Technology Officer. copy and paste this to register! https://lnkd.in/ga8W88Zc

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A team from ZHAW Zurich has showcased the transferability of CHO-cell-based mAb production processes from geometrically dissimilar stirred bioreactors for fed-batch and perfusion processes, the team has opened up new possibilities for cost savings and increased yields. Their study found that the high volumetric productivity in the perfusion processes can lead to cost savings, smaller bioreactor sizes, and maintained manufacturing capacity in production plants. Alternatively, yields could be increased by a factor of 2.8 to 3.2 while still using the same bioreactor size. We look forward to seeing how it will impact the future of antibody production. #biotech #antibodyproduction #research https://lnkd.in/eA9992FV

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Using 'representation vectors' instead of prompt engineering to modulate #LLM responses enables tuneable behavior: https://lnkd.in/eUwSUvtg

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Does your startup focus on oncology therapeutics? Check out this Bullpen interview to explore in-kind resources available by partnering with the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research!

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The CHAIMELEON Project aims to build an EU-wide cloud-based infrastructure for health imaging data to facilitate and contribute to developing and validating AI tools for improved cancer management. Key points: 💡 We have built a pan-cancer repository guaranteeing data standardization and image harmonization of patient data from different European hospitals to facilitate the development of reproducible and generalizable AI models. 🔏 We apply the European data privacy standards to avoid patient re-identification. 📈 We have built an infrastructure that combines storage and processing capabilities to train and validate AI solutions to accelerate lab-to-market transition. 🏆 We have organized an Open Challenge to open the developed infrastructure to the research community. More info: https://lnkd.in/dudFz-Kn 🎥 Do not miss the following video if you want more details of the project 👇 👇 👇

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How is the weather in Boston warmer than Los Angeles right now? Headed to the plenary session at #BIOIT - if you're here, let's connect! I'm here through Wednesday. #BioIt #Bioinformatics #PrecisionMedicine

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Modified CRISPR-Cas9 with an Exonuclease Enables Stable Insertion of Large Genes https://lnkd.in/eKKe8-vj

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" Swiss startup claims its Neuroplatform is a first for biocomputing." " A Swiss biocomputing startup has launched an online platform that provides remote access to 16 human brain organoids. FinalSpark’s Neuroplatform is claimed to be the world’s first online platform delivering access to biological neurons in vitro. Moreover, bioprocessors like this are claimed to “consume a million times less power than traditional digital processors.” FinalSpark says its Neuroplatform is capable of learning and processing information, and due to its low power consumption could reduce the environmental impacts of computing. In a recent research paper about its developments, it claims that training a single LLM like GPT-3 required approximately 10GWh – about 6,000 times greater energy consumption than the average European citizen uses in a whole year. Such energy expenditure could be massively cut following the successful deployment of bioprocessors. " ❗️The operation of the Neuroplatform currently relies on an architecture that can be classified as wetware: the mixing of hardware, software, and biology. The main innovation delivered by the Neuroplatform is through the use of four Multi-Electrode Arrays (MEAs) housing the living tissue – organoids, which are 3D cell masses of brain tissue." ❗️ ❗️Each MEA holds four organoids, interfaced by eight electrodes used for both stimulation and recording. Data goes to-and-fro via digital analog converters (Intan RHS 32 controller) with a 30kHz sampling frequency and a 16-bit resolution. These key architectural design features are supported by a microfluidic life support system for the MEAs, and monitoring cameras. Last but not least, a software stack allows researchers to input data variables, and then read and interpret processor output.❗️ ❗️FinalSpark has given access to its remote computing platform to nine institutions to help spur bioprocessing research and development. With such institutions' collaboration, it hopes to create the world’s first living processor. Also, there are already three dozen universities interested in Neuroplatform access. " ❗️ https://lnkd.in/ghvwwApG

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Our CSO's insights on AlphaFold3:

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Webinar Opportunity: Delicate Cell Cultures Got You Down? You're not alone! Even trailblazing companies like 🦣Colossal Biosciences, at the forefront of de-extinction research, face similar challenges. Interested in hearing from two of Colossal Biosciences' researchers in our free webinar on May 15th? Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/gdVRyYi9 . Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and conquer your cell culture challenges! See you there!! Learn more about this mammoth-sized project here: https://lnkd.in/gU6ZB9Pb. #CRISPR #deextinction #viableclones #geneediting #CellRaft #Colossal #Genomics

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One of the many weird things about the Illumina acquisition of GRAIL is that Illumina closed the deal in defiance of the EU, but also tried to pacify the EU by promising to operate GRAIL as an independent entity 🤪 So GRAIL became the Schrödinger's cat of companies: simultaneously an acquired company fully dependent on Illumina AND a company fully independent of Illumina. But now, using the new SEC filings for the spin-off, we get to see inside the box that contained the cat...I mean GRAIL...and it's super interesting! As usual, the most interesting place to look is at executive compensation (while the cat's away...🤣). First things first, who's job was it to set compensation? Form 10: "GRAIL did not have a compensation committee (or any other committee serving a similar function). Decisions as to the compensation of those who served as our executive officers for that fiscal year required agreement with Illumina (including its compensation committee) on a mutually acceptable and workable approach." OK, so seems GRAIL had no board, and so no comp committee. But it was "independent" from Illumina so seems they hacked together an arrangement (Schrödinger again?) where they kind of/sort of borrowed/consulted Illumina's comp committee. Alas this was the very same comp committee that earned Icahn's fury by DOUBLING Illumina's CEO salary to $27M just as ILMN became one of the worst performing stocks in the S&P 500. Soooo, how did Illumina's comp committee treat the GRAIL execs? Form 10 comp table below. What a coincidence 😳 the GRAIL exec team ALSO had its compensation DOUBLED from 2022 to 2023. Stockholder value performance must have been amazing! Let's check. Oops, by Illumina's own accounting, the value of GRAIL halved from $8B to $4B in this period 🤯 And there's more! GRAIL no longer had its own stock so the "Stock Awards" in the table below were actually paid out in cash 🤯🤯. I'm no lawyer (🤣) but seems like more fuel to the "violating fiduciary duties" litigation fire burning in Delaware 🤯🤯🤯. (Oops, can't believe I forgot there was also this comp committee gift to an unidentified exec: "The award has an aggregate potential value of up to $78.0 million and expires, to the extent unvested, in August 2030." Linked to Galleri sales performance and so will not pay out at all.)

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🚀 Excited to share our latest update to the BioBox platform. Introducing the Graph Explorer - a seamless way to build a GPS for disease biology in drug discovery. Interactively explore a canvas of highly connected mutli-modal biological data, all in one place. To learn more, you can read about it here: https://lnkd.in/gh7WnCMx The Graph Explorer is an ontology-aware application built on top of your custom knowledge graph. It seamlessly connects all public and private data sources into one canvas - meaning you don't need to jump through 100's of browser tabs. Data interpretation is all about context and the graph explorer coordinates all of that in a simple and intuitive view. For example, you can see all possible connections on a gene in your knowledge graph in a single panel. Exploring Data Connections has never been easier. Whether you are digging for ontology-driven assertions, or mining multi-omic data points, you can map out the scientific context visually. Zoom out to see the bigger picture and explore the data landscape at scale. Instantly generate large graph nebulas of highly connected data points. For example, digging for all disease gene markers in a collection of related disorders. Run graph ML and algorithms on-the-fly to compute novel and biologically meaningful insights about your data. For objectives like gene regulatory network prediction (community detection) or relation discovery between 2 diseases (path finding). The BioBox Graph Explorer is designed for fast and accurate scientific data exploration across large contexts. To learn more about how BioBox helps you make better data driven decisions in drug discovery - reach out to book a demo!

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Wow, this is a big one - $1B to leverage GenAI for drug molecule design. Two links to Illumina: - Funding lead is Bob Nelson, who seed-funded Illumina, and - "teams and technologies from the genetic sequencing giant Illumina" "Drug R&D is an endeavor rife with failure — commonly cited figures estimate that only about 10% of drugs that make it to human testing are ever approved, and a far greater share fail before ever being tested in a person." "Xaira and several other new biotechs believe they can change that with new generative AI methods that can design complex molecules from scratch, find new targets, and cut months or even years from the process." Great example of the potential for GenAI to disrupt the entire drug development process. At Ryght we're applying GenAI to another major bottleneck - getting drugs through clinical trials (you can try the preview version at ryght.ai).

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💡 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 S𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 💡- Weave ❓ 𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 that their #mission is to provide AI-enabled solutions that support accelerated time to market so treatments can get to patients faster. 🎉 They have just announced $10 million in seed funding led by Innovation Endeavors and Magnetic Ventures! Funding will be used to accelerate efforts to streamline the 'therapeutic lifecycle'. 🤖 Weave also launched their flagship '𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒐𝑰𝑵𝑫' platform which automates and accelerates the preparation, writing, and review process for INDs. The IND submission process, crucial for moving potential therapies from labs to clinical trials, has traditionally been a time-consuming and manual endeavor. 🧑‍🔬Based, New Haven and Co-Founded by Ari Caroline & Umut Eser, Weave also announced the appointment of Lindsay Mateo, MBA as CCO which highlights the trajectory they are on! 🌏 Want to learn more, click on the webpage - https://www.weave.bio/. They are one to be following for the rest of the year in the build up to Series A funding... #seedfunding #AI

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It ain't pretty.... But I recommend listening to the new episode of the #TheBioCenturyShow with former Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) head Rick Bright. ✅ Listen at: 🎧 Apple: https://lnkd.in/dApERhA3 🎧 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/dxMSJP7Y 🎧 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dBKDbzh3 Rick speaks with my BioCentury Inc. colleague Steve Usdin about what may be an emerging avian #influenza outbreak in the U.S., including ➣ How prepared is the U.S. for an outbreak? ➣ What were the lessons learned from #COVID? ➣ How can #biotech companies best develop diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics? ➣ Where are the U.S. and state governments providing leadership? And where are they not? ➣ And much more... It's an important (but difficult) discussion. Give a listen when you are on-the-go this week. #H5N1 #vaccines #diagnostics #biopharma

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“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” This is just a tip of an iceberg, stay tuned for more news! #CancerDiagnostics #CancerResearch #LiquidBiopsy #BridgeCapture #Genomill #MedicalInnovation

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A new era of biological exploration! 🤖 Scientists from InstaDeep and #BioNTech introduce #ChatNT, the first multimodal conversational #AI agent with an advanced understanding of biological sequences. 🎯 ChatNT lets you ask questions about DNA, RNA & proteins in natural language. No coding needed! This could revolutionize how biologists & anyone curious about their genes access information. Quick Read: https://lnkd.in/d8j6wWUv #bioinformatics #omics #dataanalysis #llm #ai #science #Innovation #futureofbiology

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