Greetings biotech community! With the last day of the year quickly approaching, can you believe how far biotechnology has come? In the spirit of reflecting back on 2009, here’s a great slideshow of top images of the year chosen by Nature. Who knew it took three years to image the five million atoms in their #11 choice!

Now for the latest biotech news:

BIOTECH INDUSTRY SET TO RIDE ON GLOBAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY – Biotechnology is expected to be one of the top sectors in the Asia-Pacific region by 2013, when the global biotech market will be worth $306 billion, according to international research firm RNCOS.

With the biotechnology industry approaching a maturing phase in the developed markets of the United States, Europe and Japan, it was pointed out that most biotech companies are now eyeing emerging markets such as India, for further growth.

UPBEAT ADDITION: BIOTECH CENTER – The new South Carolina Research Authority Innovation Center in Charleston is getting a warm welcome from the city. It is being credited for reinvigorating a neighborhood and being an incubator for biotechnology research.

At the center’s recent opening, Charleston Mayor Joe Riley called the center the “culmination of a dream. … This is a pivotal point in our community’s history.”

MUSC President Ray Greenberg noted that the center brings together important segments of the community. He said the first four companies to locate there “are a tribute to the quality of the amazing work that’s going on at the Medical University.”

IN NEW WAY TO EDIT DNA, HOPE FOR TREATING DISEASE – Scientists at University of Pennsylvania are conducting a clinical trial to see if disrupting a gene in patients’ T cells and then infusing them back in the body will reconstitute their immune system and beat possible diseases like hemophilia and the AIDS virus. The New York Times reports.

The technique, which depends on natural agents called zinc fingers, may revive the lagging fortunes of gene therapy because it overcomes the inability to insert new genes at a chosen site. Other researchers plan to use the zinc finger technique to provide genetic treatments for diseases like bubble-boy disease, hemophilia and sickle-cell anemia.

DATABASE OF THE SAFETY AND BENEFITS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY – CropLife International, a global federation representing the plant science industry, has created a Database of the Safety and Benefits of Biotechnology, with peer-reviewed published journal articles.

You can search by country, crop or other subjects, or just browse the lists of recently published or favorite articles.

REFLECTING ON A DECADE OF STEM CELL RESEARCH — NPR’s Joe Palka reports how stem cell research has captured headlines over the past 10 years.

Some say they hold the potential for medical miracles. Others claim they are a moral abomination. Either way, human embryonic stem cells captured headlines during the past decade in a way few areas of scientific research have before.