We’ve been very busy at IAmBiotech this week – between our “Best American Biotech Innovation” contest and preparing to head to Montreal for World Congress later this month. But we’re never too busy to keep up with the latest biotech news from across the blogosphere. So here we go…

H2O SMARTS – Monsanto’s Chandler Mazour wrote a guest post on Aguanomics this week about their new Water Utilization Learning Center:

The facility studies cropping systems comprised of world-class seed genetics, agronomic practices and biotech traits, including water-use efficiency technologies such as drought-tolerant cropping systems. At Gothenburg, Monsanto hopes to provide some insight on how crops can utilize water more efficiently…[MORE]

MAJOR PARTNERSHIP ON STEM CELLS – GE Healthcare and Geron announced this week that they’ll be teaming up to “develop and commercialize cellular assay products derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) for use in drug discovery, development and toxicity screening. The program will use stem cells derived from hESC lines listed on the NIH Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry.” In layman’s terms, they are partnering to “develop products that could give drug developers an early warning of whether new medicines are toxic.”

THE CHANGING FACE OF BIOBANKS – Genome Web had a great article about the changes in the biobanking system. It takes on a number of sticky ethical issues and argues that “biobanking is becoming a science in and of itself.”

Because biobanks not only collect and store specimens, but serve as a library of sorts for researchers wishing to work with these samples, they have many requirements. These repositories have always had a number of challenges, such as: ethical concerns, including informed consent; maintaining high-quality samples through good collection and handling techniques; syncing material information with donor clinical information; and maintaining patient privacy in the hands of researchers. Now, as demand from the systems biology community ramps up, biobanking practices are changing to deal with new hurdles…[MORE]

FIERCE 15 ANNOUNCED – Somehow we missed it earlier this week (mea culpa) but FierceBiotech announced it’s “Fierce 15″ list of the top up-and-coming biotech companies. Here’s an excerpt from John Carroll’s post about the list:

In truth, this year turned out to be remarkably easy to find star players. The weak developers are in survival mode, unable to attract new money and playing for time. With venture backers more selective, the cream was more readily visible at the top. And this year’s Fierce 15 help prove that if you have vision, good science and solid management, the money is still there to execute growth strategies.

This is our seventh annual Fierce 15 and the format is much the same as in previous years. I have added one new feature: A list of venture companies backing these emerging drug developers. VC money continues to be the primary source of sustenance for new ideas in biotechnology and I wanted to make sure that their role was better recognized.

SEE THE LIST