Compiled by Bill Beggs Jr. THE MONTHLY TECHNOLOGY COLUMN FEATURING TIMELY TECH TRENDS, TIPS AND UPDATES When you accept the Nobel Prize, allow us the honor of saying, “We knew him/her when...” Hired a new CIO? Let us know about it. Landed a research grant? Don’t keep it to yourself. Found a cure for the common cold? We’re all ears. We’re looking for a few good bits, bytes and blurbs about technological developments for this new monthly column. Items need not be biotech-related, though we surmise that many will be, considering our region has been dubbed the BioBelt. Sponsored by Armstrong Teasdale LLP http://www.armstrongteasdale.com Transplants Cure Type 2 Diabetes in Rats Without Drugs An approach proven to cure type 1, or juvenile-onset diabetes, also works for type 2 (adult-onset diabetes) in laboratory rats, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine. In humans, type 2 diabetes is almost 20 times more prevalent than type 1. Precursors of the pancreas taken from embryonic pigs are transplanted into the rats. Researchers had shown previously that they could transplant the cells so that they would grow into insulin producers without triggering attacks by the rats’ immune systems, curing diabetes without immune-suppression drugs. The healing potential of insulin-producing cells has led to decades of research into transplanting cells from human pancreatic tissue that produce insulin. Donor organs are scarce, however, so transplantation is an option for only a tenth of one percent of type 1 diabetics. Such transplants are almost never performed to treat type 2 diabetes. Miken Helped Streamline City Voting Process Election Assistant, Miken Technologies’ hand-held software application, has allowed poll judges and elections officials access to the entire voter registration database in the City of St. Louis. Verification and tabulation is now done in real time at each polling place, resulting in faster on-site registration. Following the Florida “hanging chad” fiasco in 2000, Congress established requirements for streamlining the national election process. Missouri’s compliance challenge included a 2001 federal suit over the state’s disorganized registered voter lists. After the City first used Election Assistant successfully during the August 2004 primary, the U.S. Department of Justice lifted the consent decree imposed in 2001. Orion Genomics Working With Mayo Clinic Orion Genomics is collaborating with the Mayo Clinic to study the clinical utility of Orion’s breast cancer screening tests. Orion has discovered and validated, in independent patient panels, more than 50 biomarkers unique to breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 40,000 women will die of breast cancer this year. Early detection and treatment remain key factors in survival; however, early-stage breast cancer typically produces no noticeable symptoms, making early detection challenging. Orion also is developing screening tests designed to work in blood, tissues and other biological samples for early detection of lung, ovarian and colon cancer.

December 2006 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hugh Grant/Greg Boyce William Simon Peter Max: 2006 Olympic Poster St. John’s Heart Hospital - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.stlrcga.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.technologygateway.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ballpark Village Phase I Magondie (Gonzo) Staples Gerardo (Rocky) Owens James Murphy Jr. Vin de Set