Happy Presidents’ Day!  And we hope that you and yours were able to find passion, romance or maybe just a bit of sentimentality on Valentine’s Day yesterday.  And if you were one of those who forgot – there are some sales going on at the local Mall that may allow you to make up for it all.

The holiday weekend made for scant video watching.  but we caught a handful of interesting executive interviews along with some current and coming video reports on biotech agriculture.  Although the pickings on the video front are few, there are some other interesting posts and upcoming events (like the AAAS) that we highlight below.  More, later.

VIDEO FROM ONEMEDFORUM -  Were you part of the OneMedForum in San Francisco?  How was it?  We ask because there are a lot of reports out there that the investment climate for emerging biotech companies is actually looking up.  Here is an interview with Anna Gluskin, President and CEO of Generex Biotechnology, at the 2010 OneMedForum in San Francisco.  A couple of things we liked about this interview.  First, we always laud the biotech industry’s ability to attract top women executives.  And as you’ll see, Anna Gluskin is no slouch.  But beyond the initial discussions listen to how Generex took some winning bets on antigens and immunotherapy.

BRAZIL AND BIOTECH – There were many videos floating around the last week on the area of biotech, biofuels and Brazil.  One of the better produced pieces come from our friends over at ProduceConserve.  They have a nice video of Brazilian farmer Armindo Mugnol citing benefits for the soil and surrounding wildlife.  Then there is the ‘teaser’ from FarmersWeekly. Ian Ashbridge gives us a heads up about his travels through Brazil to learn more about how biofuels from farmers’ crops are already part of everyday life.  Just when it gets interesting … he leaves!

UPDATE ON EVERYTHING BIO – The audio isnt’ the best but in this piece you can watch (and almost hear) Patrick Kelly, vice president for state government relations and alliance development for the Biotechnology Industry Association, talk about  industry legislation at the federal level. The presentation was at the Colorado State Capitol building in January 27, 2010.

BIOTECH INCREASES THE ODDS OF HEALING – Biotechnology is often used to increase the odds that you’ll get exactly the medicine that will suit your particularly blood and body type.  That is the story from this video from Florida High Tech Corridor Council’s Faces of Technology.   Dr. Bill Warren, President and CEO of Orlando-based VaxDesign talks about how his company develops a surrogate human immune system for multi-dimensional analysis of blood that makes predictions about how certain populations would respond to a particular drug or vaccine.  Now … can we take that to Atlantic City or Vegas.

Nor for a couple of news notes for the upcoming week …

LOOK FOR BIOTECH @ THE AMERICAN ASSOC. FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE – According to a story in the San Diego Tribune, agriculture biotech will be all over this week’s meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego.  According to the paper about 8,000 people from more than 50 countries are expected for the five-day affair, making it the largest general-science conference in the nation.  The story notes that Monsanto scientists will be giving key note presentations on the next generation of biotech agriculture.  And here’s the novel idea — they’re now for the first time producing biotech agriculture products for the consumer — not just the producer.  What a concept!  According to the piece:

Monsanto is seeking regulatory approval for what may be the first genetically engineered crops developed directly for the consumer. The company’s scientists in California have manipulated the soybean genome to produce omega-3 fatty acids, the kind that nutritionists tout as heart-healthy.

It could be pivotal in generating public acceptance of biotech, or “transgenic,” crops. To date, farmers and seed companies have reaped benefits from biotechnology while consumers have been left to wonder what’s in it for them and whether genetic engineering has really made the world a better place.

SCIENTISTS TO ANTI-BIOTECH FOOD PEOPLE … GET OVER IT! According to this summary from the local Woodland, California paper, that is pretty much the message from a group of scientists including Pamela Ronald of University of California, Davis.  The message from these scientists to folks still having anxiety attacks about biotechnology engineered food:  “deal with it.”  The thrust of their article, “Radically Rethinking Agriculture for the 21st Century” in the Feb. 12 issue of the journal Science is that society needs biotech if we’re ever going to address issues of nutrition and ecology at the same time.  According to the piece:

UC Davis plant pathologist Pamela Ronald, a co-author on the perspective piece, noted that her research collaborators recently released a new rice variety for Bangladesh and India that can better withstand flooding, an environmental stress that reduces yearly yields by 4 million tons – enough to feed 30 million people in these two countries.