SeedQuest reports that the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA) has not developed a position on genetic techniques to restrict the reproduction of plants. This science is in its infancy and it is impossible to comment on specific applications.

However, this technology does have the potential to create useful tools for agriculture. Particularly, GURTs may facilitate the development of new high-value products for the industry. For instance, the inclusion of traits useful in the production of pharmaceuticals and industrial polymers could create valuable new markets for crops.

Yet, these new products must be kept completely out of the conventional food stream and GURTs could facilitate this. GURTs hold the promise of solving issues of gene flow and volunteer management in mainstream crop production as well.

As a result, the CSTA believes any calls for moratoriums on this research are inappropriate and premature. The CSTA feels research should proceed and debate occur on implementing any such technologies based on the specifics of how they will operate and the context for their use.

MONTREAL - Are Quebec and Canada contenders in the bioeconomy? Will we be able to capitalize on new alternatives to fossil fuels? In terms of the industrial or white biotechnology that might emerge in the green revolution, will Quebec and Canada be able to count on a sustainable industrial production model to make us more energy self-sufficient and improve our economic performance? These are just a few important issues that will be debated at the Crossroad of Biotechnology symposium on March 22 and 23, 2006, in Montreal. This year's theme is biotechnology and industrial sustainability. Topics that are at the centre of people's daily concerns around the world, such as new sources of biomass to replace oil, products related to the use of fossil fuels and the development of new enzymes, will be the subject of in-depth analysis by international experts and key industry leaders who will be meeting at the annual symposium, now in its 11th year.

"Today, all sectors agree that there is a need for a major change in direction. The symposium is an ideal opportunity to study and discuss the most promising trends in industrial biotechnology for society. This year, industry stakeholders will play a greater role than ever before in the process," said the Director General of the Biotechnology Research Institute, Michel Desrochers.

The 2006 Crossroad symposium will welcome a number of internationally renowned specialists including Pierre-Alain Chieb, OECD, France; Ralph Hardy, US Department of Agriculture; Léon Magzinski, Tembec, Quebec; Dr. Willy Verstraete, Ghent University, Belgium; Robert Di Cosimo, Dupont Chemicals, US; and Jeffrey S. Tollan, Iogen Corporation (Canada).

The Crossroad of Biotechnology

After 10 years of undeniable success, the Crossroad of Biotechnology has now established itself as a key event bringing together the scientific and business communities in Montreal. The annual symposium, established by the National Research Council's Biotechnology Research Institute, is attended by nearly 300 participants from around the world. The Crossroad will be held at the NRC's Biotechnology Research Institute at 6100 Royalmount Avenue, Montreal. You can consult the symposium program at www.crossroadbiotech.ca or www.irb-bri.cnrc-nrc.gc.ca.

BANGALORE - The second wave of the Green Revolution is on the move and hybrid cultures are essential for its success, Mangala Rai, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, New Delhi, said here on Saturday.

Addressing students at the 40th convocation of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Mr. Rai said newer techniques in agricultural production are essential to improve productivity and increase yield. For this, India needs to develop self-reliance in critical components of biotechnology.

Mr. Rai also said that the focus should be on "appropriate biotechnologies" to develop crops that are insect resistant, viral, bacterial and fungal disease resistant, have high tolerance to drought and salinity and have nutritional benefits.

Additional foodgrains

The use of biotechnology for crops is essential if India is to meet the needs of its population by 2020. "By 2020, we may have to produce 50 per cent additional foodgrains to meet our needs. This will demand the production of an additional five million to six million tonnes of foodgrains per annum," he said.

Apart from introducing biotechnology into agriculture, there is also a need to promote produce.

Mr. Rai said super hybrid rice was developed in India a few years ago but it has not been used to its potential because many farmers do not know about it. China, he said, has made immense use of hybrid rice.

Degrees were conferred on 704 students at the convocation, of which 432 were graduate degrees, 236 were postgraduate degrees and 36 were doctoral degrees.

Twenty-six gold medals were awarded at the graduate level and 54 gold medals at the postgraduate level.

Keshava Reddy, an undergraduate, won 10 gold medals. The boy from Gauribidanur said his father had wanted him to become an engineer but he wanted to follow his family tradition and become an agriculturist. The family farms five acres of land.

"I am very glad that my efforts paid off. I plan to work on genetically modified cotton in the future," he said.

The university conferred the Dr. M.H. Marigowda State Award for Best Horticultural Farmer on H.K. Sreekanta, the Dr. M.H. Marigowda National Award for Best Horticultural Research to S.N. Pandey, the Board of Regents Best Farm Superintendent Award to Dasappa Madaiah and the Zuari Industries Ltd. Best Extension Work Award to N. Nagaraju.

The Cartagena Protocol is incorporated into EU legislation through a wide range of laws. The cornerstone of this legal framework is Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms. It is supplemented by a Regulation on the transboundary movements of GMOs, which was adopted in 2003.

The number of inventions involving human genetic materials is growing rapidly. Concerns about the effects of granting intellectual property (IP) rights over human genetic materials were exacerbated in recent years by cases in which patent holders exercised IP rights in ways that many view as detrimental to both development of new health innovations and access to them by Canadians.

The report was delivered to the Deputy Ministers of Health and of Industry, who had requested CBAC's advice on this important and challenging matter. As stated in the report, CBAC believes action is needed now to enhance Canada's IP regime so that it is better prepared to meet the dual objectives of encouraging health innovation and making the benefits of innovation readily accessible to Canadians.

CBAC's report is based on the work of an Expert Working Party established by CBAC to assist it in the development of its advice to government. The Expert Working Party's report to CBAC "Human Genetic Materials: Making

Canada's Intellectual Property Regime Work for the Health of Canadians" was released earlier so that comments on it could be considered by CBAC in arriving at its conclusions and recommendations.

CBAC is a body of external experts established in 1999 by the Government of Canada. CBAC provides advice to government on current policy issues associated with the ethical, social, regulatory, scientific, environmental, health, and economic aspects of biotechnology.

CURITIBA, Brazil - Agricultural biotechnology is necessary for the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity. As officials from 132 nations meet in Brazil this week for a UN meeting under the Biosafety Protocol, the plant science industry reminds governments of the vital role biotech innovations play in achieving sustainable agriculture and development:

Biotech crops are essential to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity – the overall objective of the Biosafety Protocol. They enable more efficient use of water in agriculture, reduce soil erosion, prevent loss of biodiversity, and increase air quality. By making farming more efficient on limited land area, they are critical for preventing habitat destruction – the biggest single threat to biodiversity.

Biotechnology is an established technology, having been used in research for more than 30 years, and with biotech crops commercially available for more than 10 years. In this time, there has been no proven harm to humans or the environment.

These crops are delivering major benefits to farmers and society, through increased yields, higher incomes, simplified crop management, and, in some cases, reductions in the use of pesticides.

Global planted area of biotech crops has soared by more than fifty-fold from 1.7 million hectares in six countries in 1996 to 90 million hectares in 21 countries in 2005. Last year, some 8.5 million farmers planted biotech crops – mostly in developing countries. This is because small scale farmers tend to benefit most from biotech crops, as insect and disease protected crops provide new and previously unavailable tools to combat pest problems.

A study by PG Economics released last October showed that farmers using biotechnology increased their incomes by US$27 billion during the period 1996 to 2004with significant environmental benefits delivered. Importantly, the accumulative economic benefits during the nine years to developing countries ($15 billion), exceeded benefits to industrial countries ($12 billion).

As the biotech debate takes place in Curitiba, Brazilian farmers will be reaping their first legal harvest of biotech soybeans, having been given the green light from regulators in 2005.Brazil is the third largest country user of biotech crops (behind the USA and Argentina) and the largest user of all Parties to the Biosafety Protocol.

“Given the important economic, environmental and human health benefits of biotechnology, we simply cannot understand why many activists are trying to use the Biosafety Protocol to deny farmers and consumers around the world the ability to use these products for years to come,” stated Christian Verschueren, Director General, CropLife International.

“Let’s hope that farmers’ voices, safety, and consumer interests will be taken into consideration this week so that decisions are taken on key issues - including documentation requirements, risk assessment and capacity building - that will ensure those who want to provide for the future sustainably, can continue to use this technology,” he continued.

CropLife International has recently made available an online database of peer-reviewed scientific studies on the benefits and safety of biotech crops. This can be accessed at www.croplife.org/biotechdatabase.

CURITIBA, Brazil - As the 3rd Meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (the Biosafety Protocol) kicks off March 14, 2006, the plant science industry urges governments to finally take a decision on a global documentation system for agricultural biotech products, but warns that unnecessary and costly requirements could severely restrict international trade.

“We hope that the 132 Parties to the Protocol recognize that current documentation systems used for international trade of these products works well. Going beyond this to require exporters to specify which biotech material is present and in what exact quantity, for each individual shipment is simply unworkable in today’s highly efficient agriculture bulk handling system. It would not provide information that could be used to benefit biodiversity or advance any of the aims of the Protocol,” stated Christian Verschueren, Director General, CropLife International.

“Biotech crops have been proven to be safe, both for the environment and human consumption. Any decisions regarding their passage across international borders should be based in science, not fear. New documentation regulations would create confusion, delays and impose costs across a variety of sectors, and ignore our vast experience and scientific understanding of these products,” he continued.

“Most importantly, they would serve to prevent the millions of farmers around the world, as well as the industry groups, researchers and governments, who want to benefit from this technology, from doing so.”

A study released last year by the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council* showed that, while most of the additional costs of detailed documentation requirements would be borne by the handful of large countries that import the largest volume of food and feed grains, a disproportionate share of those costs would fall on consumers in smaller developing and least developed countries.

An updated study released last week and focusing on two countries – China and Brazil – showed that the Biosafety Protocol acts exactly like a tariff for importing countries, keeping trade down and forcing prices up. Costs would also rise for exporting countries,which would need to establish costly identity preservation systems. Both studies can be accessed at www.agritrade.org.

“Perhaps governments might consider how they dedicate the spend of taxpayers money, and avoid diverting limited resources from the protection of biodiversity to the establishment of unnecessary requirements based on hypothetical risks?” continued Verschueren.

“Implementation of the Biosafety Protocol should focus first on helping countries build their own regulatory and scientific capacities to use, control and import biotech products.”

The Biosafety Protocol, which will be discussed in Curitiba, Brazil this week, is an international treaty under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and seeks to protect the world's biodioversity from any risks presented by biotechnology.

The Protocol calls on Parties to take measures to implement a global documentation system for shipments of biotech products under Article 18.2. Currently, an exporter of biotech crops destined for food, feed or processing must indicate that an export cargo “may contain” LMOs. Parties will debate proposals to increase requirements to specify which LMOs are present, and, in what proportions, for each individual vessel. This will require vast changes in the way commodities are produced, harvested, transportedand shipped, with cost implications for farmers, the biotech industry, export/shipping companies and consumers, and without any apparent benefits for biodiversity.

Commission reports on national measures to ensure co-existence of genetically modified crops with conventional and organic farming.

The development of EU-wide legislation on the co-existence of genetically modified crops with conventional and organic farming does not appear justified at this time, in view of the EU’s limited experience with the cultivation of GM crops and the need to conclude the process of introducing national measures. This is the main conclusion of a new report from the European Commission, published today. However, before any decision is taken, the Commission will engage in an in-depth consultative process with stakeholders.

A conference in Vienna on 5-6 April will provide an ideal occasion for such a discussion. Co-existence measures are the subject of a Commission Recommendation from July 2003. They are designed to ensure that GM crops can be grown along with non-GM crops without negative economic consequences caused by accidental mixing of the two. The Commission proposes to work jointly with the Member States and stakeholders on the development of recommendations for crop-specific technical segregation measures.

“The development of efficient and cost-effective strategies to ensure co-existence is vital to ensure a practical choice between GM and non-GM produce for farmers and consumers,” said Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. “This is not a question of health or environmental protection, because no GMOs are allowed on the EU market unless they have been proved to be completely safe. To ensure that consumers know exactly what they are buying the EU has developed an advanced labelling and traceability system for GMOs. Segregation measures must be in place to ensure that accidental traces of GMOs in conventional or organic products are kept within the strict ranges defined by EU legislation. Growing conditions are very varied from country to country and experience with GM crops is still limited in Europe. It therefore does not seem appropriate to propose unified EU rules at this time.”

Experience with the cultivation of GM crops remains extremely limited in the EU. Commercial cultivation has so far been limited to two types of GM maize. In Spain, GM maize cultivation amounted to 58,000 hectares in 2004, or about 12 percent of total Spanish maize cultivation. In other Member States, cultivation is limited to a few hundred hectares. In Spain, GM maize has been grown since 1998 under a non-binding code of good practice.

On 23 July 2003, the Commission adopted a Recommendation on guidelines for the development of national strategies and best practices, to help Member States develop national legislative or other strategies for co-existence. Most Member States are still developing national approaches, with specific co-existence legislation adopted in four Member States (Germany, Denmark, Portugal and six of the Austrian Länder) by the end of 2005. Monitoring programmes still have to be set up and implemented in order to verify the effectiveness and economic feasibility of the measures taken.

Co-existence measures aim at protecting farmers of non-GM crops from the possible economic consequences of accidental mixing of crops with GMOs. The Commission Recommendation states that co-existence measures should not go beyond what is necessary to ensure that accidental traces of GMOs in non-GM products stay below EU labelling thresholds in order to avoid any unnecessary burden for the operators concerned. Measures should be science-based and proportionate and must not generally forbid the growing of GM crops.

Most Member States have based their approaches on management measures applicable at the level of individual farms or in coordination between neighbouring farms. The onus of implementing segregation measures has generally been placed on GM crop growers. The very diverse nature of EU farming means that co-existence measures have to be adapted to local conditions and crop types, and make it imperative to ensure the maximum degree of flexibility for the Member States in developing their national approaches.

The Commission believes there is a need to gather further experience before departing from the current subsidiarity-based approach set out in the 2003 Recommendation. However, it intends to take very careful notice of the opinions expressed by stakeholders. The co-existence conference organised in Vienna on 5-6 April 2006 will provide such an occasion. In the meantime, the Commission proposes to strengthen its efforts to ensure the maximum cooperation between Member States; analyse the latest scientific and economic information available on segregation measures; develop jointly with the Member States best practices for technical segregation measures leading to crop-specific recommendations; and obtain more information on national civil liability systems. In 2008, the Commission will report on the progress made, including an update on the development and implementation of national co-existence measures.

Summary - Professor Dr. Naim Kosaric

Prof. Dr. Kosaric has been actively involved in biotechnology for over 35 years and has had experience as an engineer, scientist and professor. Prof. Dr. Kosaric is very active in consulting specifically in the areas of the utilization of natural resources for the production of renewable energy such as hydrogen, biofuels and biogas and environmental engineering. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Western Ontario (UWO), a Professional Engineer and a Designated Consulting Engineer (1995-2000). Professor Dr. Kosaric studied chemical engineering in Zagreb, Croatia, worked as an engineer in Bosnia and Croatia for 10 years and then immigrated to Canada. He enrolled as a Ph. D. student in Biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine at UWO in London and finished his Ph. D. in only three years and was offered an Assistant Professor appointment at the UWO faculty of Engineering. During his 25 years of teaching at UWO he taught biochemical engineering, industrial processes, water pollution, design of industrial waste treatment facilities and food engineering. His research resulted in more than 370 research papers, 212 of which were published in referred scientific journals, 158 Proceedings in Scientific Conferences and 10 Books written and edited. Prof. Dr. Kosaric has been the Chief supervisor of 62 industrial bio-energy and environmental design projects and has been the Chief Supervisor of 39 Masters and Ph.D. Graduate Theses. Specific research projects included the areas of hydrogen and biofuels, biosufactants and design of water treatment processes. In the area of environmental biotechnology there have been industry and government funded projects in microbial hydrogen production, microbial enhanced oil recovery, microbial de-emulsification, bio-ethanol production, novel processes for biogas production, industrial waste recycle and many others. In addition to teaching and research, he also organized and chaired many scientific conferences! , symposia and workshops in Canada, USA, Europe, Brazil, Bahra! in, and Turkey. Professor Dr. Kosaric has collaborated with leading scientific institutions in Switzerland, Germany, Brazil, Slovenia, Turkey, Bahrain and Austria. He has been involved with scientific conferences on virtually every continent in the world. Professor Dr. Naim Kosaric is currently the President and CEO of Kayplan Engineering Consultants.

Specialty Fields:

â ¢ Environmental Biotechnology and Ecology
â ¢ Sustainable and Renewable Energy
â ¢ Biofuels (ethanol, biogas, hydrogen) and Specialty Products
â ¢ Industrial and Municipal Wastewater Management
â ¢ Design of Wastewater Treatment Processes
â ¢ Biosurfactants Production and Application
â ¢ Soil Bioremediation and Biodegradation of Toxic Pollutants
â ¢ Petroleum Biotechnology and Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery
â ¢ Industrial Waste Recycle and Utilization

Membership Held in Scientific and Professional Societies:

â ¢ American Institute of Chemical Engineers
â ¢ American Chemical Society
â ¢ Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology
â ¢ Nutrition Society of Canada
â ¢ International Association of Water Pollution Research
â ¢ Canadian Association on Water Quality
â ¢ American Oil Chemists Society
â ¢ Canadian Society of Chemical Engineering
â ¢ The Chemical Institute of Canada
â ¢ New York Academy of Sciences
â ¢ American Association for the Advancement of Science

Honors and Awards:

Collip Medal Recipient 1970 â Most meritorious Ph. D. Thesis at Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, Canada. Biomaxx Systems Inc.â s corporate mandate is to promote clean, efficient and safe energy alternatives and to reduce emissions and control green house gas emissions for the Global alternative fuel markets.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., - Andrea Steimer of Zurich, Switzerland, Ortrun Mittelsten Scheid of Basel, Switzerland, and Jerzy Paszkowski of Nenzlingen, Switzerland, have developed transcriptionally silenced plant genes.

According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The invention relates to gene silencing as observed after integration of transgenes into plant genomes.

Comparison of transcriptional gene expression between an Arabidopsis line carrying a silent transgene present in multiple copies and its mutant derivative momi impaired in silencing of the transgene revealed two complementary deoxyribonucleic acid clones which are expressed in the mutant plants, but not in the parental and not in wild type plants. Both clones are derived from the same family of transcripts referred to as transcriptionally silent information (TSI)."

An abstract of the invention, released by the Patent Office, said: "Genomic templates encoding TSI are repetitive elements with mainly pericentromeric location and conserved organization among various ecotypes. Transcriptional silencing of the genomic TSI templates is specifically released in the mutant. Transcription of TSI can be used as a marker to identify a defective silencing pathway in a plant."

The inventors were issued U.S. Patent No. 7,005,263 on Feb. 28.
The patent has been assigned to Syngenta Participations AG, Basel.

Three University of Guelph scientists studying a fatal disease in Doberman pinschers hope their work will help lead to better diagnostic and treatment options for human and canine heart patients.

Professors John Dawson, Glen Pyle and Lynne O’Sullivan are hunting down genetic mutations that cause “weak heart” or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). It’s the second leading cause of heart failure in dogs and strikes up to one-half of Dobermans.

Learning what causes the disease in dogs may provide clues to causes and treatment of congestive heart failure, which afflicts more than 350,000 Canadians and is the fastest-growing cardiovascular condition in aging populations worldwide, the researchers say.

“We’re focusing specifically on DCM mutations, but information from that would tell us why hearts become diseased and why people and animals die,” said Pyle, of the Department of Biomedical Sciences in the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC).

DCM affects middle-aged to older Dobermans and usually kills about 140 days on average after the onset of congestive heart failure. Currently, dogs show no sign of a problem until very late in the disease. In people, heart failure is the most common cause of hospitalization and also leads to rapid and terminal decline. Between 25 and 40 per cent of Canadians die within a year of diagnosis.

In congestive heart failure, the weakened heart muscle is unable to pump blood around the body. What causes that weakening is unknown, although the researchers suspect something goes wrong with the proteins in the muscle, causing the heart muscle to weaken and allowing the organ to dilate like an overfilled balloon. In addition, the disease causes cells to malfunction even as they appear normal from the outside.

For their pilot study, the professors plan to study heart tissue from dogs that have died of DCM. They’ll comb through the animals’ genetic material to look for mutations. They hope to find particular genes that code for mutant structural or regulatory proteins.

The researchers expect their work will ultimately benefit both veterinarians and medical doctors. Vet researchers may be able to develop a diagnostic test to see whether a particular animal carries a mutation or come up with more effective drugs to treat it. “For dogs, it would be a simple way to detect the genetic markers of the disease,” said Dawson, of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology.

O’Sullivan, a professor in OVC’s Department of Clinical Studies, added that about one-third of human DCM cases are hereditary and probably all cases in purebreds like Dobermans are also genetic. She says information from their work may help breeders check dogs before mating.

The researchers expect their animal model may help doctors learn more about causes of heart disease in humans and how to treat it. Their work is supported by OVC’s Pet Trust.

All of the professors say their new cross-campus collaboration demonstrates Guelph’s strengths across biological sciences. “We are able to follow from genes to the whole animal among the three of us,” Pyle said.

Canada will have to change the way it regulates scientific advances if it’s to benefit economically and socially from biotechnology innovation, according to a new report by a University of Guelph professor.

“Federal and provincial government agencies have made a concerted effort to increase support for biology,” said philosophy professor David Castle, the study’s lead author. “But biotechnology innovation continues to outpace the development of the regulations necessary for product approvals. This problem is highlighted when new biotech products straddle different regulatory authorities.”

The report, “Convergence in Biotechnology Innovation: Case Studies and Implications for Regulation,” was researched and written at the University of Guelph. It is part of an initiative of the Program on Applied Ethics and Biotechnology at the University of Toronto’s Joint Centre for Bioethics and is supported by the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund, the Ontario Genomics Institute and Genome Canada.

Released Feb 15, 2006, the report is posted on the project’s website. The researchers also sent it to the nation’s major regulatory agencies and are inviting officials, industry professionals, patent groups, researchers and individuals to respond with their views and concerns.

“The intent of this report was to consider whether a growing trend in biotechnology that we call ‘convergent’ technology can be handled within the existing regulatory system,” Castle said. “We have identified gaps and obstacles in the regulatory system and have recommended changes in how biotechnology regulation should be governed.”

The report focussed on three novel biotechnology innovations and, in each case, found significant regulatory stumbling blocks. Researchers looked at nutrigenomics, the field of personalized nutrition based on the study of the interaction between nutrients and genes; plant-derived vaccines, the production of vaccines for humans in crop plants; and the Enviropig, a line of pigs genetically modified so their bodies can absorb a normally indigestible form of phosphorus.

The report identifies the regulatory obstacles affecting the three technologies and makes specific recommendations for change. It also proposes overall suggestions for national reform, including establishing new regulatory concepts, definitions, standards, processes and structures.

“This report confirms that there are obstacles in the way of the effective adaptation of the regulatory system of convergent technologies,” Castle said. “Our hope is that the findings will lead to regulatory reform and migratory steps toward new models for governing biotechnology regulation.”

QUEBEC, - Victhom Human Bionics Inc. (TSX:VHB) announced that the United States Patent Office (USPTO) has granted patent number 6,996,435 entitled Implantable signal amplifying circuit for electroneurographic recording. This invention is a significant technology advancement in the field of neurostimulation and more specifically in neurosensing. None of the proposed 17 claims has been challenged and Victhom considers that this patent combined with Victhom's already issued patents associated with the NeuroCuff(TM) will constitute the basis of Victhom's Neurotechnology platform: the Bionic Closed Loop System (Bionic CLS).

Abstract of the granted patent

An implantable microvolt-level signal amplifying circuit is used for measuring electrical signals generated by nerves in the presence of larger amplitude signals generated by muscles, the heart, or noise sources internal to the human body. The circuit has a low-noise, high Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR) preamplifier, followed by a cascade of stages, which provide filtering and further amplification of the neural signal. The band-pass amplifying circuit can also present high Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR). The output is offset-compensated by a DC restoration stage and the circuit may be incorporated onto a monolithic circuit with follow-up circuitry for controlling Stimulation devices.

"Our strategy is to bring to the neurotech market the world's first Closed Loop System to restore various pathologies of the peripheral nervous system. CLS is a measurement-sensing interactive technology that could be applied to diversified vertical markets such as cardiac, incontinence, obesity control, sleep apnea and chronic pain, just to name a few. We believe that this fast growing market will recognize the uniqueness and the value of Victhom in the mid term" said Benoit Côte, President and Chief Executive Officer of Victhom.

"This low-noise amplifier is one of the most important components of any neuro-sensing device. It ensures the measurement of the neuronal activity of any peripheral nerves with the necessary signal-to-noise ratio so that the amplifier can be used at a commercial level." said Stéphane Bédard, Founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. This year, Victhom expects to be granted additional new patents and continue to support its development with the filing of application patents, for the fields of neuromodulation and stimulation and neurosensing and monitoring, amongst others.

The nightmare scenario of terrorists adding lethal toxins to water supplies could be countered by synthesising antidotes in genetically modified plants.

Christopher Hall and his colleagues at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, have equipped tobacco plants with an extra gene to make antibody fragments against botulinum A, which is produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria and is one of the world's most potent toxins.

Just 1 to 2 hectares planted with the tobacco would yield enough antibody to treat 1 million people, says Hall, whose team's results are published online in Vaccine (DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2005.11.014).

But for an antidote to be truly effective, it would also have to neutralise the six other botulinum toxins produced by C. botulinum.

Hall is confident this is feasible. Even if each antibody had to be produced in different strains of tobacco, the farmland needed to produce large antidote stockpiles would be small compared with traditional tobacco production, for which there is already a shrinking market.

From issue 2533 of New Scientist magazine, 07 January 2006

Associated Press -A Toronto-based company, Microbix Biosystems Inc., has acquired proprietary sperm-sexing technology and has begun to develop the technology for commercialization. The technology allows farmers to determine the sex of commercial animals at an affordable price. The process is based on a technique that "clumps" female semen or male semen.

The nonclumped, free-swimming sexed semen can then be siphoned off and used for artificial insemination. Previously, producing male or female semen required the invasive measures of sperm nuclear staining and sorting semen one by one.

This new process is expected to be less expensive and more rapid to complete, according to Microbix officials. Microbix expects to complete a three-year research-and-development phase with a market launch in 2008. The process has already been patented in the United States and Europe.

Dairy producers have used artificial insemination for almost 50 years, and the new technology would likely allow producers to purchase AI straws with 96-98 percent female or male semen. Currently, dairy farmers breed for replacement heifers, but half of the time, bull calves are born.

This technology would allow producers to select female semen for inseminating the top cows in their herd. Cows with less-profitable milking herd traits could be bred using male semen to raise quality steers.

Dr. Stan Blecher, a molecular biologist and medical geneticist at the University of Guelph, Toronto, Ontario, invented the clumping technique, called sperm-sexing technology. By identifying sex-specific differences on the surface of sperm, Blecher was able to use those differences to clump the sperm of the "undesired" sex.

The proprietary process does not include genetic modification and is noninvasive. Microbix officials do not believe the technology should require regulatory approval.

Using NCR’s biometric-enabled point-of-sale (POS) solutions, retailers everywhere can readily use the Pay By Touch authentication and payment service, giving shoppers a convenient and secure ability to pay for goods with the touch of a finger.

Under the companies’ agreement, retailers using NCR’s Advanced Checkout Solution (ACS) POS software and the WinEPS solution from MTXEPS, Inc. can readily implement the Pay By Touch services. The companies’ first joint implementation is being rolled out in select grocery stores throughout the U.S. Midwest. In addition, the NCR FastLane™ self-checkout solution is currently “Pay By Touch-Ready,” and integration with other NCR solutions is underway.

Enrollment Kiosks from NCR

Pay By Touch will also leverage an NCR self-service kiosk solution to streamline and enhance the Pay By Touch consumer enrollment process. Featuring NCR EasyPoint™ kiosk technology and software developed by NCR in conjunction with Pay By Touch, the kiosks increase convenience for shoppers to enroll, activate and maintain their Pay By Touch electronic wallets. Pay By Touch will offer the kiosks to its customers under a reseller agreement with NCR. The kiosks are currently being installed by a top-ten U.S. grocery chain.

Ultimately, the NCR and Pay by Touch alliance will help increase the adoption of consumer biometric authentication and payment processing around the world. Besides grocery retailers, the companies are developing solutions for the general merchandise retailing, food service and health care industries.

“Consumer demands for convenience are growing at an unprecedented pace, and retailers of all sizes need a fast, simple and secure solution that provides the ultimate customer service,” said Stephen Reade, senior vice president-product of Pay By Touch. “Our alliance with NCR addresses these needs with a fully integrated solution that improves the checkout experience – and merchants’ top and bottom lines – while also positioning our services for expansion into other vertical markets.”

“Thanks to this alliance, the thousands of stores using NCR solutions – from independents to national chains – can readily implement the Pay By Touch service to enhance the customer shopping experience while fighting the high cost of fraud and safeguarding against identity theft,” said NCR Assisted Service Solutions Vice President Greg Egan. “We’re excited to be part of a service that will ultimately change the way we pay for things everywhere.”

Shoppers can use Pay By Touch after a quick one-time sign up online at www.paybytouch.com, or at an enrollment kiosk in a participating store. Shoppers simply include their existing financial accounts and loyalty to create an electronic wallet accessed by a simple finger-scan at the point of sale. Each participating merchant decides which types of payment accounts they will accept from the Pay By Touch wallet. The Pay By Touch service is highly secure because of the uniqueness of the finger scan and because all data is encrypted and stored at secure data centers.

To date, the Pay By Touch consumer biometric payment solution has been deployed in major retailers throughout North America and the United Kingdom. Pay By Touch plans to launch in additional national and international retail chains later this year.

However, nanotechnology industry is poised to grow to a trillion dollar by 2015. The responsibility of building a trust therefore, lies with the federal government and industry when they go about developing new nano applications.

According to a recent market research report, "The World Nanotechnology Market 2005" prepared by RNCOS, experts say that two thirds of the people all over the world who are aware of developments in this nascent science of nanotechnology agreed on its potential benefits in health and medicine, national defense, and environment sectors. Those who did not see favorably towards nanotechnology needed to be convinced that the supervision of the government would be swift, rigorous, and independent of external intervention. People want that both government and industry should check and improve trust.

Since nanotechnology is far smaller than micro-tech, there are immense possibilities of nanotech applications with ever new properties. The growth being rapid and enormous, this technology is emerging as a contender for MEMs in many areas.

TORONTO Sangoma Technologies Corporation, a leading provider of connectivity hardware and software products for VoIP, TDM voice, WANs and Internet infrastructure, has provided a significant technical interoperability need for Bicom Systems' SWITCHware solution.

“For a recent client, we needed to deploy an entire broadband telephone solution,” says Stephen Wingfield, CEO of Bicom Systems, a London, UK- based VoIP solutions provider. “Sangoma's newly released A104d Series gateway of cards were a key component to our SWITCHware solution and worked “right out of the gate” with little configuration.”

“We had confidence that our A104d had the technical capability to provide Bicom System's with immediate ease of installation, quality of service and reliability,” adds Sangoma Technologies President and CEO David Mandelstam. “We are pleased now to be placed on their preferred Hardware Providers List for future projects needing our horsepower.”

The A104d includes a miniature voice enhancement sandwich board. The voice enhancement capabilities added to Sangoma's standard AFT-based A104 card include: G.168-2002 echo cancellation with 1024 tap/128ms tail per channel on all channel densities, DMF encoding/decoding and tone recognition, voice quality enhancement and adaptive noise reduction.

“Designed at Sangoma's research and development labs, the A104d PCI card is engineered for today's demanding soft PBX, IVR and VoIP applications, such as Asterisk, Yate, and OPAL, offering a new price/performance standard unparalleled in our industry,” says Mandelstam.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC- - Soconag Environmental Experts, Inc. announced today that it has received $4.5 million in financing from Brookfield Technology Fund (BTF), a specialist investment fund established by Brookfield Asset Management (formerly Brascan Asset Management) to invest in early stage, technology based companies with high growth potential. Soconag and its SmartSoil Energy subsidiary, which transform "problem biomass" into clean gaseous fuel, primarily through landfill-gas-to-energy initiatives, will use the funding as working capital to expand their capacity to deliver patented biomass-to-energy technology solutions to their growing customer base in Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

Commented Marc-Antoine Pelletier, President and CEO of Soconag and SmartSoil Energy, "This new financing from the Brookfield Technology Fund, represents a significant vote of confidence in our expertise and strategic direction. We are excited by the opportunity to partner with BTF to triple our current project pipeline in the next five years from our current 20 megawatts of clean energy production and to contribute in a meaningful way to the production of clean energy and the reduction in greenhouse emissions." Soconag Environmental Experts, Inc. creates strategic and financial partnerships for the development and delivery of clean renewable biofuel technologies, such as with its SmartSoil Energy Inc. subsidiary with the commercial offering of its SmartSoil Biogas System and the BioFuelCell.

The aim of this agreement is to create, within different research projects, a synergy of expertise and of technology transfers ranging from the early stage of preculture to the fine-tuning of production and purification procedures. The marketing of recombinant proteins and a new vaccination platform are at the core of the business strategy behind this alliance.

"We are very happy about this collaboration with the NRC-BRI as part of our business development strategy for biopharmaceutical products. We will give precedence to co-development agreements for procedures used in the manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products with the intention of technological transfers with our business partners in the areas targeted by Viropro," said Dr. Jean-Marie Dupuy, Chief Executive Officer of Viropro.

"We are very pleased with this agreement with Viropro because of its dynamic and proactive approach and we feel confident that we will succeed in finding new technological manufacturing approaches," said Dr. Michel Desrochers, General Manager of the NRC-BRI.