Promega wins Taq patent round

Canada. Monsanto wins split decision in patent fight over GM crop.

"Logic Wins!"

Clever algorithm design is sometimes superseded by simple encodings into logic. We apply this motto to a few case studies in the formal verification of security properties. In particular, we examine confidentiality objectives in hardware circuit descriptions written in VHDL.

Gambling, Who Wins

Gambling, Who Wins? Who loses?, edited by Gerda Reith, Ph.D, examines several wide-ranging yet important topics related to gambling. This multidisciplinary compilation of essays, some written by prominent scholars in their fields, examines such questions as: How can the alluring economic benefits of gambling be balanced against the potential harm caused to a significant minority? Is problem or ...

DNA sequencing using Taq polymerase.

Three DNA polymerases, namely E.coli DNA polymerase 1 (Klenow), reverse transcriptase and T7 DNA polymerase (sequenase), are commonly used for DNA sequencing by the chain termination method of Sanger and colleagues [1). However, the secondary structure of the DNA template can impede the progress of all three polymerases. I have developed a novel procedure in which the thermostable polymerase of...

Africa wins again

June a little plane bumped me down in Blantyre, Malawi. A ragged 4-WD took me into town. I got the luggage off my back, shook hands with the guys (I have been part of a group investigating susceptibility to bacterial lung infections for several years now) and e-mailed home — " Africa is still the only place for a scientist! ". What? Sub-saharan Africa — even the name is evocative — appeals at m...