MaRS

Technology built with privacy in mind

Protecting civil liberties is not usually top-of-mind for high tech start-ups. In information and communication technology (ICT), success has come from solving business problems, satisfying consumer wants and globalizing commerce. Yet, in a post-9/11 world, ICT stands at the centre of controversy about the limits to personal privacy.

The information age has spawned a host of potentially intrusive applications – from web-based networking sites to biometric screening and video surveillance. The question is whether these technologies can do their jobs without compromising an individual’s right to determine how personal information is shared.

Today the debate about privacy is becoming highly polarized. For some, horrifying terrorist attacks and near-misses mean that a loss of privacy is inevitable. It’s a price that must be paid for public security.  For others, the digitized capture, storage and use of personal information poses a serious threat. In the wrong hands it can lead to institutional coercion and inappropriate disclosure of private conduct. The divide between the two opposing camps has meant that privacy versus security is seen as a zero-sum game. And advanced technology is the battleground.

Watch Tom Rand on Samsung and the Economy

A lot of people don’t like the Samsung deal. There is apparently problem with the fact they are “subsidized” in bringing their $7 billion to the table and creating the first real, large-scale wind manufacturing facility in Ontario.

I love the deal. And cries of “foul” miss the point. Here’s why:

Unlocking the natural history of DNA

As every biology major knows, “Phenotype = genotype plus environment.”  We can’t do much about our genotype (or at least until Craig Venter has his way), but what about modification of gene expression?

The addition of a methyl group to our genes (DNA methylation) is a potent way to silence expression.  Aberrations in gene expression due to methylation/demethylation have been well characterized in various cancers.  Also, as the stem cell field has shown, tight control of gene expression occurs in early development and clearly governs cell fate.

Christian Popp and colleagues at the Babraham Insitute and UCLA have shown (in their recent Nature paper) that the enzyme Activation-Induced cytidine Deaminase (AID) has a profound effect on DNA methylation.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) brain scan

Advances in diagnostic imaging are helping doctors and radiologists identify malignant tumours, cardiac issues and neurological diseases earlier and more accurately than ever before.  In many cases, this can mean the difference between a close call and something much worse.

The most recent report from MaRS Market Insight examines the challenges and opportunities facing Ontario’s diagnostic imaging community.  The report also highlights some of the companies and technologies that are emerging as new leaders in this evolving market.  From regulatory hurdles, to reference installation, to relationship-building with the “big-four” medical imaging OEMs, this study takes a probing look at the market environment and strategies for commercializing innovations in diagnostic imaging in Ontario.

Human embryo photo: Dr David Becker, Wellcome Images

Fate Therapeutics Inc. – a start-up biotech that develops pharmaceuticals to stimulate stem cells – has staged a major coup for iPS cells, the adult-derived stem cells that have the all characteristics of embryonic stem cells without the controversy (see “Major breakthrough in stem cell science”).

Fate Therapeutics holds an exclusive license from Rudi Jaenisch’s group at the Whitehead Institute to their patent application governing iPS cell technology (“Methods for Reprogramming Somatic Cells“) which has a priority date of November 26, 2003.  According to a February 4 press release from Fate Therapeutics, the US Patent and Trademark Office has now allowed the claims.