Health NewsTwitter Snips
The new online tools for getting the word out about new ideas, the latest articles or papers, or ethical issues have not been embraced by the public and private biotech sector. There are many reasons why such a high tech sector is hesitant to take on the new world of social media and some of the concerns may have merit. Eventually however researchers, scientists, and companies will have to come on board because of their heavy reliance on support.
Just look at the debate over GMO's. Fears from the public and no venue for open discussion has seriously hurt the industry. The whole stem cell debate could benefit from a place where researchers, policy makers, the general public, and health care groups could meet online and have a good discussion.
You can find various discussion groups on genetics around the 'net and of course one of those places is Twitter. Genome Alberta uses Twitter and in our new-look GenOmics newsletter we share some of the links we have come across. To help the biotech community we're also going to start doing a longer list of relevant Twitter posts every 2 weeks with a little cheat sheet to help newcomers sort through the social media maze. By offering a few 'tweets', including a little bit of extra information, and choosing posts with useful links, we can encourage the biotech community to check it out.
Social Media and Government in Alberta
On Tuesday and Wednesday this week I was speaking at the Social Media for Government Conference in Edmonton put on by the Advanced Learning Institute with support from IABC, Canadian Women in Communications and SustainNet Software Solutions. The drive back home down the QE2, was a good chance to put together (in my mind at least) some of the ideas and experience I gained from participants and speakers.
I must admit that going into the conference I was not exactly optimistic about the state of social media in Alberta. While I still don't see the province as leading online media overall, there are some outstanding examples that rank with the best Canada has to offer in public sector engagement.
First off, thanks to Walter Schwabe of Fused Logic for chairing the event. He did a good job of keeping things on schedule but he also set an interesting tone that I haven't seen at other social media and government events. Walter is BIG on Open Government. In fact if he was on a University Campus in the sixties he would probably be leading the demonstrations. But he's not. He's in 2010 and is using the latest tools at his disposal to get the message out that transparency and openness in government is not really optional anymore. Look for him on Twitter as @fusedlogic or his website at http://www.fusedlogic.com/ where you'll find more on his views and how he thinks Government 2.0 can work for everyone.
Three tweets to tweak your attention
I was told years ago that if you do something once, it is an event; if you do it twice it is a tradition. Using that kind of logic I will tell you I have noticed a new trend from the science bloggers I follow. Many science bloggers are now active on Twitter, and the micro-blog is now as important, it seems, as the full blessay. Twitter can be used for making quick announcements, and many science bloggers also use it as a way to link to their full blog. The trend I was alluding to earlier is that some bloggers are now blogging their weekly tweets and other bloggers are listing all their re-tweets as a quick blog entry.
I’m not going to blog just a review of the tweets. If you want that, you can follow me directly on Twitter. I pointed out in an earlier blog that if you wish to keep up with the latest genomics information, you can go directly to Genome Alberta’s Facebook application ‘GenOmics’. Today, I am highlighting a few recent tweets that have caught my attention as being of more general interest. My hope is that this can become a kind of tradition for you educators talking to your students about fun and exciting developments in the field.
Baby, We've Come a Long Way
I'm speaking in Edmonton at the ALI Social Media for Government Conference this week and will be on hand for the 2 days of the general session. There is a pre-conference workshop starting today which I couldn't attend but it seems to be a lively group with many people using Twitter ( look for #smgov ) to discuss various points as they come up.
The idea of web 3.0 has been presented already and there seems to be talk about the development of social media and how it affects corporate culture . I'll be joining the conference tomorrow and speaking on Wednesday, but I've been adding what I can to the discussion via Twitter and think this is also a good opportunity to start raising some of my presentation points a bit early.
Imagine a system where people could communicate easily, that could streamline government operations, and which was able to connect emergency services so they could react quickly when needed. A system that is the leading edge of technology. It has its own special lingo, users have coded IDs, and one of the biggest challenge is finding a way to squeeze more information down the information pipe.
It is so revolutionary that it has been suggested that, "It is impossible that old prejudices and hostilities should longer exist, while such an instrument has been created for the exchange of thought between all nations of the earth."
Food Banks Need You - All Year Round
It was a wee bit past Christmas but Genome Alberta corporate staff and Project Managers got together to share a little holiday cheer on January 15th. It wasn't your usual corporate Christmas event though as everyone who was available spent the morning at the Calgary Inter-faith Food Bank.
We spent our time unloading boxes and bins of food onto a conveyor belt, sorting it into components such as pasta, juices, canned fish, etc, and then stacking the sorted food so that it could be stored and retrieved easily.
The foodbank has 29 staff members but relies on up to 80 volunteers a day to keep up with the food and cash donations that come in, to sort the food, stack it, make-up hampers, and even sweep the floor.
( Mountain Pine Beetle Project Manager Matt Bryman and Genome Alberta's CEO, Dr.David Bailey put in some honest labour in the picture shown on the left )
My job was to take the food out of the boxes that had been sent to the Food Bank from individuals, companies, or from public drop-off points. Most of it still seemed to be from Christmas donations as it was wrapped in Christmas paper and included Christmas items such as packaged stuffing, candy canes, and cranberry sauce. As we unloaded the food I had a better appreciation for the Food Bank's needs. Canned food holds up well. A box of cereal at the bottom of a 4 foot deep public drop-off bin takes a beating. Left over chocolates from a party that are put into a plastic bag may seem like a good treat but for obvious health and food safety reasons can't go into a hamper and are wasted. Perishables such as fresh oranges or apples are nice but by the time they are unpacked at Christmas, well we had some pretty smelly and gooey bags to deal with. There is a reason that they are better able to manage their hampers and resources with cash donations.
New Way of Looking at Innovation in Alberta
Under the banner of 'Alberta Innovates', the government of Alberta has taken a new approach to funding innovation in Alberta.
The Alberta Research and Innovation Act was passed in June of 2009 and as of January 2010 several new organization came into being.
- Alberta Innovates - BioSolutions. Chair: Art Froehlich, Partner and Strategic Advisor, AdFarm and currently a Genome Alberta Board member
- Alberta Innovates - Energy and Environment Solutions. Chair: Eric Newell, Chancellor Emeritus, University of Alberta.
- Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions. Chair: Robert A. Seidel, Q.C., National Managing Partner, Davis LLP.
- Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures. Chair: Ron Triffo, Chair, Stantec Inc.
- Alberta Innovates - Alberta Research and Innovation Authority. Chair: Marvin Fritzler, Arthritis Society Research Chair, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary and currently a Genome Alberta Board member.
A New Species: Virtual Organisms
Guest post by Susanne Cardwell,
Administrative Coordinator,
Applied Computational Genomics Course
Artificial intelligence is developing an impact in the science realm, and especially in computer science and biology. With the advent of artificial intelligence, the idea of giving computer programs life has become popularized.
Why is this important? The wave of the future includes the evolution of virtual organisms. These are programs that have intelligence and that are able to operate in a virtual environment that humans can interact with (Terra Nova). Terra Nova blog writer said that “we can use virtual organisms to optimize all kinds of things like traffic systems, manufacturing, medical procedures, or even non-player characters (NPC's) in virtual worlds”.
Furthermore, for Mark Ward's book called “Virtual Organisms: The Startling World of Artificial Life”, the editorial review explains how programs that “mimic the sexual reproduction... may someday run telephone networks and other large electronic systems” (amazon.com, 2009).