Good morning biotech buffs! Let’s take a look and see how biotechnology is HEALING, FEEDING, and FUELING the world today!

HEAL: RESEARCHERS DISCOVER ‘BIOLOGICAL CLOCK’ – A team of British scientists may have discovered a literal genetic “fountain of youth”. Researchers from the University of Leicester and Kings College London say they’ve pinpointed gene variants that could potentially reveal how fast people’s bodies are actually ageing, helping scientists to identify patients with a higher risk of age-related illnesses. The theory suggests that biological timers called “telomeres” (part of the chromosomes in every cell that carry genetic code) may have something to do with it:

The researchers say in the journal, Nature Genetics, that they looked at more than 500,000 genetic variations across the entire human genome to see which variants cropped up more frequently in people known to have shorter telomeres. They eventually located a number of variants located near a gene called TERC which, in people carrying them, seemed to be equivalent to an extra three or four years of “biological ageing”.

But don’t just sit there and think that your genes are solely to blame. Professor Tim Spector of King’s College suggests that these genetically susceptible people may age even faster when they expose the telomeres to “bad environments” such as smoking, obesity or lack of exercise.

FEED: MEXICO APPROVES SYNGENTA PEST-CONTROLLING CROP: In yesterday’s roundup, we showed you a Bloomberg report featuring Syngenta AG chief executive officer, Michael Mack. This morning, Syngenta announced the approval from the National Commission for Sanitary Risks of the Mexican Ministry of Health (COFEPRIS) for their genetically modified corn MIR162, also known as the Agrisure Viptera trait:

The Agrisure Viptera trait has been shown to control damaging insects which make-up the multi-pest complex, including corn earworm, fall armyworm, Western bean cutworm, black cutworm, dingy cutworm, stalk borer and sugarcane borer. Collectively, the multi-pest complex damages 238 million bushels of corn each year and costs U.S. corn growers $1.1 billion annually in lost yield and grain quality.

FUEL: TAX CREDIT FOR BIODIESEL TIED TO JOBS BILL, DISCUSSIONS DELAYED DUE TO BLIZZARD – The elements have kept the government away from discussing a crucial step in the commercialization of biofuels. The Des Moines Register’s alternative energy blog stated that Senator Chuck Grassley (senior Republican for the Senate Finance Committee) “has insisted that the biodiesel tax credit be a part of any discussions” on any jobs bill and that the $1-a-gallon tax credit for biodiesel “remains a top priority for to extend the credit at the first available opportunity”. Democrats had hoped to get a bill to the Senate floor yesterday, but the blizzard that shut down the federal government (and the entire District, for that matter) delayed any potential decision.

IAMBIOTECH’S DEAL OF THE DAY – Targacept announced yesterday that it received a $304,000 grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, it’s second within the past year. The grant will assist in financing a project aimed at discovering a Parkinson’s disease biomarker using Targacept’s neuronal nicotinic-receptor research:

Disease biomarkers are distinctive biological features or changes that are consistently different in people with Parkinson’s disease as compared with people without Parkinson’s disease. Identifying one or more disease biomarkers could allow researchers to diagnose earlier, track disease progression and identify appropriate subjects for clinical trials.