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. For inclusion in tech tidbits: Please e-mail your tech information as a press release to: meg@sggdesign.com Sponsored by Armstrong Teasdale LLP www.armstrongteasdale.com Geotechnology’s New ‘Vibe’: Technology Measures Seismic Risk for Builders Geotechnology has employed Refraction Microtremor (ReMi) to measure seismic risk. Data collected by passively recording background surface wave “noise” such as vibrations from passing vehicles, airplanes and trains can help structural engineers design new and expanded structures in seismic zones such as St. Louis and the New Madrid Fault. ReMi can provide information that allows an owner to receive a seismic classification that could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in design and construction costs. No permits are required for ReMi surveys. Seismic lines can be deployed within road medians, at active construction sites or along highways, without disturbing work or traffic flow. Medros Inc. to Screen Diabetes, Cancer Drugs for Effectiveness Washington University School of Medicine and BioGenerator have partnered with company founders, Thomas Baranski, M.D., Ph.D., and Ross Cagan, Ph.D, to launch Medros Inc., a new company with novel technology that promises to speed up drug discovery for cancer and diabetes. Medros will utilize a novel approach for drug discovery—using the common fruit fly and robotics for high-throughput screening to determine a potential drug’s effect on the whole organism, not just isolated cells. Medros will begin operations in the Center for Emerging Technologies. BioGenerator is a nonprofit group formed to help spawn biotech companies from university research and is providing initial funding for Medros. By capitalizing on extensive information about fruit fly biology and genetics, Medros hopes to identify drugs with medical benefit. The biotech startup aims to rapidly screen thousands of drugs for effectiveness. Using fruit flies for drug screening is fast and inexpensive, because the flies' short life spans and small size allow quick turnaround and multiple simultaneous tests in a small space. Baranski and Cagan are confident that their fruit fly model parallels human physiology to a great extent and that detailed study of fruit flies whose tissues have been damaged by high glucose will lead to identification of new drug targets to prevent and treat diabetic complications in humans. If successful, this technology would be used to screen for drugs that could alleviate diabetes complications including blindness, kidney failure and nerve deterioration. Karpel Computer Systems Helps Build Credit Union Intranet Karpel Computer Systems is helping First Community Credit Union develop an Intranet. With more than 140,000 members and some $1.1 billion in assets, First Community maintains 15 branches in the region. The Intranet is designed to provide a central source of information for the Credit Union’s 300 employees. A chat area provides staff the opportunity to ask questions or make suggestions.

November 2006 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CEO John Eilermann and Chairman Rick Sullivan The Manhattan Transfer Mike Pukszta Dominic Gardner - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.stlrcga.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.technologygateway.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SLU’s Edward A. Doisy Research Center James Castruccio Michael Staenberg Pujols 5