Sunday, December 30, 2012

Networking for Android

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/27/business/business-cards-give-way-to-cellphone-apps-for-networking.html?_r=0

Some networking apps use the phone owner’s location. TheFriendthem app works with Facebook, displaying all members who are nearby and have signed up to be visible.

With the free app Bump, users can bump or tap their phones together to share contact information. 

Friday, December 28, 2012

High blood pressure

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-pressure/HI00016/NSECTIONGROUP=2
http://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/how-lower-blood-pressure-naturally
  • Check your monitor's accuracy. 
  • Measure your blood pressure twice daily. 
  • Don't measure your blood pressure right after you wake up.
  • Avoid food, caffeine, tobacco and alcohol for 30 minutes
  • Sit quietly before measuring your blood pressure.
  • Make sure your arm is positioned properly when measuring.
  • Don't talk while taking your blood pressure.  
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/understanding-obstructive-sleep-apnea-syndrome?page=2
  • hibiscus tea  
  • Dark chocolate varieties contain flavanols that make blood vessels more elastic
  • Loud, incessant snores are one of the main symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). If you have high blood pressure, ask your doctor if OSA could be behind it; treating sleep apnea may lower aldosterone levels and improve BP. sleep test called a polysomnogram, or PSG.
  • People with sinus problems or nasal congestion, who are more likely to experience sleep apnea, can try nasal sprays to reduce snoring and improve airflow for more comfortable nighttime breathing.



  •  

Friday, December 21, 2012

GNU Make in Detail for Beginners

http://www.linuxforu.com/2012/06/gnu-make-in-detail-for-beginners/
http://home.uchicago.edu/~skrainka/pdfs/Talk.Make.pdf

Change access and modiļ¬cation times of an object to current
time with
 
     touch myPrerequisite.cpp

to force make to rebuild a target.


Debugging:
http://oreilly.com/catalog/make3/book/ch12.pdf

$(warning A top-level warning)

Can use make -n to perform a dry run (i.e. see how the
commands execute without actually running them)

--print-data-base (-p) option

--debug Option

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Genetic Variation in an Individual Human Exome

http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1000160

There is much interest in characterizing the variation in a human individual, because this may elucidate what contributes significantly to a person's phenotype, thereby enabling personalized genomics. We focus here on the variants in a person's ‘exome,’ which is the set of exons in a genome, because the exome is believed to harbor much of the functional variation. We provide an analysis of the ~12,500 variants that affect the protein coding portion of an individual's genome. We identified ~10,400 nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) in this individual, of which ~15–20% are rare in the human population. We predict ~1,500 nsSNPs affect protein function and these tend be heterozygous, rare, or novel. Of the ~700 coding indels, approximately half tend to have lengths that are a multiple of three, which causes insertions/deletions of amino acids in the corresponding protein, rather than introducing frameshifts. Coding indels also occur frequently at the termini of genes, so even if an indel causes a frameshift, an alternative start or stop site in the gene can still be used to make a functional protein. In summary, we reduced the set of ~12,500 nonsilent coding variants by ~8-fold to a set of variants that are most likely to have major effects on their proteins' functions. This is our first glimpse of an individual's exome and a snapshot of the current state of personalized genomics. The majority of coding variants in this individual are common and appear to be functionally neutral. Our results also indicate that some variants can be used to improve the current NCBI human reference genome. As more genomes are sequenced, many rare variants and non-SNP variants will be discovered. We present an approach to analyze the coding variation in humans by proposing multiple bioinformatic methods to hone in on possible functional variation.

Difference between samtools and gatk algorithms

http://www.biostars.org/p/57149/

n general, samtools focuses more on a multi-purpose tool. It tends to use filters producing less bias. It produces the consensus in a more uniform (and the right) way and has the ability to infers population parameters not doable with GATK. I would say GATK focuses more on variant calling for human data. -- lh3

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Bagging

http://blog.bigml.com/2012/12/14/the-rewards-of-ignoring-data/?goback=%2Egde_4166980_member_196901693

Fortunately, there is a way out of this hot mess, and it comes in the form of bootstrap aggregation or bagging as it is known in the biz.  The basic idea is this:  We’re going to create not just one, but many models on this dataset.  Then, when we want to make a prediction, the models will all vote on the correct outcome.

How will this effect the problem above?  Depending on the size of the subset, that huge plum may not appear in the data.  Thus, a majority of the models may not have the splits associated with the plums, and six centimeter fruits will be classified as apples.  In practice, we typically use the majority of the data in each subset, so the majority prediction for a four centimeter fruit will still be plum on average, but if you look at the votes of the individual models, the majority will be quite weak.

What we’ve done in theory is reduced the variance of the classifier. 

Mining electronic health records: towards better research applications and clinical care

Nature Reviews Genetics 13, 395-405 (June 2012) | doi:10.1038/nrg3208
Peter B. Jensen1, Lars J. Jensen1 & SĆøren Brunak1,2
  
http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v13/n6/full/nrg3208.html

http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v14/n1/full/nrg3208-c1.html?WT.ec_id=NRG-201301

Clinical data describing the phenotypes and treatment of patients represents an underused data source that has much greater research potential than is currently realized. Mining of electronic health records (EHRs) has the potential for establishing new patient-stratification principles and for revealing unknown disease correlations. Integrating EHR data with genetic data will also give a finer understanding of genotype–phenotype relationships. However, a broad range of ethical, legal and technical reasons currently hinder the systematic deposition of these data in EHRs and their mining. Here, we consider the potential for furthering medical research and clinical care using EHR data and the challenges that must be overcome before this is a reality.

http://www.patientslikeme.com/

A recent survey by HIMSS Analytics Europe identified 'funding' as the key barrier to progress in the EHR area, and other factors such as 'staff habits' were also high on the list in many countries.

Monday, December 17, 2012

VarioWatch

http://genepipe.ncgm.sinica.edu.tw/variowatch

VarioWatch : providing large-scale and comprehensive annotations on human genomic variants in the next generation sequencing era

Cheng, Y.C., Hsiao, F.C., Yeh, E.C., Lin, W.J., Tang, Louis, Tseng, H.C., Wu, H.T., Liu, C.K., Chen, C.C., Chen, Y.T., and Yao, Adam (2012)

doi:10.1093/nar/gks397

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Buying Life Insurance – Do’s and Don’ts

http://gailvazoxlade.com/blog/archives/2100

You know how much life insurance you need. You know what type of insurance you need. Now we need to figure out what policy and company is best for us, while doing so at the lowest premium. Here’s some do’s and don’ts as part of that process:

http://www.smartmoney.com/plan/insurance/10-things-life-insurers-wont-tell-you-1308333194735 

10 Things Life Insurers Won't Tell YouThe coverage you can skip, and what's buried in the fine print. 

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOJBzt4lu34

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2012/10/09/teen-with-rare-condition-recovering-in-us

www.ednf.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehlers%E2%80%93Danlos_syndrome

Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS) (also known as Cutis hyperelastica[1]) is a group of inheritedconnective tissue disorders, caused by a defect in the synthesis of collagen (Type I or III).  also known as Cutis hyperelastica

rare disorder, called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome - or EDS - has sucked the collagen from her tissues and joints, leaving her wobbly and susceptible to a sudden movement that will lead to death.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Build tools

http://www.scons.org/wiki/SconsVsOtherBuildTools

make
scons
rake
ant
waf

Cancer cells hide by going dormant, Princess Margaret study finds

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1301826--cancer-cells-hide-by-going-dormant-princess-margaret-study-finds

“We thought that there would have been a different set of (genetic) mutations, a different spectrum of mutations that would have explained why (the recurring) cells were resistant to chemotherapy,” Dick says.
“And in a sense that’s not what we saw. We saw . . . that they seemed to be quite similar or essentially identical (genetically) and so something else was driving their resistance to therapy.”
Slatkovska, whose society has funded Dick in the past but was not involved in the current study, says she can imagine the creation of drugs that could wake up the sleeping cells and expose them to killer chemo.
Drugs that could interfere with the external signals that call the dormant cells out of sleep could also become a weapon in the oncology arsenal, Dick says.

Gene Reference into Function (GeneRIF)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeneRIF

 is a short (255 characters or fewer) statement about the function of a gene. GeneRIFs provide a simple mechanism for allowing scientists to add to the functional annotation of genes described in the Entrez Gene database.  Eg
  • p53 and c-erbB-2 may have independent role in carcinogenesis of gall bladder cancer
  •  Degradation of endogenous HIPK2 depends on the presence of a functional p53 protein.

Is Big Pharma's Drug Research Finally Speeding Up?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/12/14/moores-law-backward-is-drug-research-finally-speeding-up/ 

Industry analyst Jack Scannell, writing in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, gave this economic quicksand a name: Eroom’s Law. That’s Moore’s Law backward.

There’s even a good example, from Pfizer’s Dolsten, of a drug that has come directly out of these changes. Xalkori originally failed. But researchers discovered that it was incredibly potent in 5% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer, giving Pfizer one of its most important new drugs in years. There have been some other drugs that were clearly the result of genomics that have succeeded, including many other targeted cancer medicines and Vertex’s cystic fibrosis drug, Kalydeco, but it’s still early to say that these new tools have led to better medicines.

Parallel in linux

http://www.gnu.org/software/parallel/man.html#differences_between_gnu_parallel_and_alternatives

http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/subshells.html


(
# Inside parentheses, and therefore a subshell . . .
while [ 1 ]   # Endless loop.
do
  echo "Subshell running . . ."
done
)
 

Chrome Tab Manager

http://www.vikitech.com/3738/best-tab-extensions-for-chrome

Well, you could manually look through each tab until you come across the one you’re looking for, but that’s such a pain and it’s very time-consuming. Another issue is that each tab uses up memory on your computer. The more tabs you have open, the more memory being used and the slower your browser becomes; that’s no fun either. So what’s the solution? Extensions of course!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Hard-Wired for Chocolate and Hybrid Cars? How Genetics Affect Consumer Choice

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100920173004.htm

The authors studied twins' consumer preferences to determine whether or not certain behaviors or traits have a genetic basis. "A greater similarity in behavior or trait between identical than between fraternal twins indicates that the behavior or trait is likely to be heritable," the authors explain.

"The current research suggests that heritable and other hard-wired inherent preference components play a key role in behavior and deserve much more attention in marketing and decision-making research," the authors write.

 Itamar Simonson and Aner Sela. On the Heritability of Consumer Decision Making: An Exploratory Approach for Studying Genetic Effects on Judgment and Choice.Journal of Consumer Research, April 2011 [link]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/why-your-dna-is-a-goldmine-for-marketers/article6293064/


As for Prof. Pike, he believes marketers should have an individual’s explicit consent to use their DNA to customize ads. “If the choice is between random ads … and targeted ads that might actually have some appeal, then I’d probably prefer to be exposed to the latter.” He’s skeptical that marketers will ever be able to use his genetic profile to discern his taste in vacations, but he’s certain of one thing: “Marketers are expert at data mining, and if there is data that can be mined then I’m confident that they’ll try to do so.”

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Makefile and A Quick Guide to Organizing Computational Biology Projects

http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1000424

Most bioinformatics coursework focuses on algorithms, with perhaps some components devoted to learning programming skills and learning how to use existing bioinformatics software. Unfortunately, for students who are preparing for a research career, this type of curriculum fails to address many of the day-to-day organizational challenges associated with performing computational experiments. In practice, the principles behind organizing and documenting computational experiments are often learned on the fly, and this learning is strongly influenced by personal predilections as well as by chance interactions with collaborators or colleagues.
The purpose of this article is to describe one good strategy for carrying out computational experiments. I will not describe profound issues such as how to formulate hypotheses, design experiments, or draw conclusions. Rather, I will focus on relatively mundane issues such as organizing files and directories and documenting progress. These issues are important because poor organizational choices can lead to significantly slower research progress. I do not claim that the strategies I outline here are optimal. These are simply the principles and practices that I have developed over 12 years of bioinformatics research, augmented with various suggestions from other researchers with whom I have discussed these issues.

Makefile in bioinformatics
http://www.slideshare.net/giovanni/makefiles-bioinfo#btnNext

Syntax:
 <targets>: (prerequisites)
<tab><commands>

e.g.
print_hello.txt:
    echo 'hello'

$ make print_hello.txt

Everytime you call make, it'll check if the "print_hello.txt" file (the target) has been created yet.

$make -j all (-j option runs in parallel / cluster)

multiple targets:
$@ - corresponds to target name

1.txt 2.txt:
    echo 'bla' > $@

$make 1.txt
echo 'bla' > 1.txt

Suppress errors with '-' e.g. '-mkdir /var'

In make, every line is executed as a different process so put everything in a single process by putting it inside a bracket

lsvar:
    (cd /var; ls)

Variables
$() - corresponds to variable

working_dir = "/home/foo"
FILES = 1.txt 2.txt

print_wd:
    @echo "dir is $(working_dir)"

pass in variables from the command line
$ make working_dir = "/home/bar"

Functions
$(addprefix <prefix>, list)
$(addsuffix <suffix>, list)

Mo+ - free unlimited text and calls

http://mopl.us/main.html

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

23andMe nabs billionaire Yuri Milner as investor, cuts price to $99

http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/12/11/23andme-nabs-billionaire-yuri-milner-as-investor-cuts-price-to-99/
The reinvestment may be a sign, along with sale of DeCode Genetics to Amgen yesterday, in further renewed interest in the power of genetic technologies for the development of drugs and other medical interventions.

Monday, December 10, 2012

With DeCode Deal, Amgen Aims To Discover Drugs Like We Meant To In 1999

http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/12/10/with-decode-deal-amgen-aims-to-discover-drugs-like-we-meant-to-1999/

In science, Stefansson says, “every question begets another question, so there is no final question.” Publishing a result doesn’t put the publisher behind, he argues. “The advantage is never going to come from being able to answer one question and sit on the answer, it is going to come from the ability answer the next questions. The advantage comes not from getting specific discoveries and sequestering them it is going to derive from our ability to continue to answer questions.”

Learning and memory: Dopamine boosts ageing memories

Learning and memory: Dopamine boosts ageing memories
p812 | doi:10.1038/nrn3385
Dopamine release in the hippocampus has been shown to be essential for memory consolidation in rodents. Similarly, Chowdhuryet al. now demonstrate that, in humans, the persistence of episodic memory is enhanced following pharmacological increase in hippocampal dopamine.

Ask the Expert: Ace the interview, no bragging required

http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2012/11/15/ace-the-interview-no-bragging-required?WT.ec_id=NATUREjobs-20121206

 | Posted by Catherine de Lange | Category: , 
 
 Identify your key messages beforehand in case the interview goes off track. Prepare these messages by researching the needs of the organization and the role for which you have applied. If you go to the interview with clear information about the key points you need to make, you’ll be able to redirect a scattered interview. With your strengths in mind, you can select the messages and examples that are most likely to convey to the employer that you are the best candidate to meet his or her needs.

 You say: For each of the things they ask for in the job description, think of examples of what you have done that match that before you go to the interview. It’s not bragging, it’s just showing you can do the job! 

Saturday, December 8, 2012

HOME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU&list=PLECFB679284982CA6&feature=plpp

We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate.

The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.

For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film.

HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Kaggle - INFORMS Data Mining Contest

http://www.kaggle.com/c/informs2010
http://www.kaggle.com/

We’re making data science a sport.™

Kaggle is an arena where you can match your data science skills against a global cadre of experts in statistics, mathematics, and machine learning. Whether you're a world-class algorithm wizard competing for prize money or a novice looking to learn from the best, here's your chance to jump in and geek out, for fame, fortune, or fun.

Monday, December 3, 2012

UCSD to Use Single-Cell Sequencing to Create 3D Transcriptional Map of Brain

http://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/ucsd-use-single-cell-sequencing-create-3d-transcriptional-map-brain?hq_e=el&hq_m=1419571&hq_l=2&hq_v=637acc240e

The project has two main components, Zhang told In Sequence. The first part involves using microdissection or flow sorting techniques to grab individual cells from brain tissue and perform RNA-seq on each of the cells. For this, the team plans to do 10,000 single-cell transcriptomes by the end of the five years.
The second part of the project involves developing an in situ RNA-seq protocol to act as a "fingerprint" for transcriptional location, so the transcriptomes of the individual cells can be placed within the context of the brain. For this part, the plan is to assemble at least 500 transcripts.
 Zhang said that they are aiming to do 10,000 cells because the human brain is so diverse. Not only are there many different cell types, but even within the same type of cell, there is a huge amount of variability. "To do a comprehensive characterization, we need to sample a large enough amount … We decided to do 10,000, because only when we get to that scale might we be able to get to an accurate picture of what's going on in the human adult brain."