Most of you have probably already seen this, but Pacific Biosciences announced the institutions that will be getting their first ten prototype instruments (Bio-IT World, GenomeWeb, MarketWatch). The Genome Center is among the institutions that will be getting one. It looks like PacBio will indeed be the first third generation sequencing company with instruments out in the wild. Don't get too excited though, it's probable that these third generation instruments will be a lot like... Full Post
I updated the Next-Generation Sequencing Informatics table a few weeks ago but forgot to mention it on the blog. The main update was the 50G configuration of the Illumina GA IIx. Also, the Sides & Associates blog linked to my table and referred to it as a "somewhat dated comparison of next-generation sequencing platforms." Just to clarify, this table represents average throughput for production systems; not vendor claims about throughput, not future vaporware (and Alejandro... Full Post
Why should one be skeptical of all the information touting the wonders of cloud computing? This older, in-depth piece by Gartner, Hype Cycle for Cloud Computing, 2009, lays out the reasons pretty well. But one need not spend that much time reading about it. You can simply read this much shorter piece by Jason Stowe: Is the Future Of High- Performance Computing For Life Sciences Cloudy? Reading that story, one can only get the impression... Full Post
Speaking of global climate change and snowstorms, NPR has a story this morning about how a lot of snow in Washington, DC does not contradict the theory of global climate change. For those who missed second grade, the piece contains this information. A storm is part of what scientists classify as weather. Weather is largely influenced by local conditions and changes week to week. It's fickle — fraught with wild ups and downs. Climate is... Full Post
It seems there is a shortage of news satire ideas. Two days ago, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report each had similar pieces on global climate change. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Unusually Large Snowstorm www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c We're Off to See the Blizzard www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor... Full Post