The Weblog for Pharmaceutical Scientist
Mar 20, 2003
Blogs at War
As a former Gulf War veteran and a seasoned internet developer, many haved asked me the best site to keep up with the news. Is it CNN, the BBC, or MSNBC? I say no. I say read from the bloggers.
At this difficult time of conflict, everyone wants to know the latest news. But would you rather hear what individuals are saying directly? That is where blogs come in. A vast network of blogs has spread the earth over the past two to three years. What happens when Bloggers get involved in a war, they take their blogs with them and let us see what they see.
Some of you may ask what is a blogger? A blogger is someone who put their experiences, thoughts and feelings by way of a blog onto the internet for all to see. Just as the 1991 conflict was the testing ground for 24-hour cable channels like CNN more than 10 years ago, a second conflict there may serve as a trial by fire for the news and commentary sites known as blogs.
Blogs -- short for Web logs -- are pithy, opinionated collections of links to other news coverage, accompanied by the author's commentary. A blog can be created by anyone with an Internet connection, whether by computer or wireless transfer, their thoughts, ideas, even photos can be instantly blogged online! Readers should take what is written there with a grain of salt. A war in Iraq could be a blog watershed. Just as CNN made its reputation with live coverage from Baghdad, blogs may be uniquely suited to help cut through the fog of war by showcasing diverse accounts and opinions...
Mar 17, 2003
Oxygen Haiku
Green plants' waste;
Earth's invisible treasure:
now breathe.
Hydrogen
two-thirds of water
a big part of all of us
and the bones of stars
More elements in the periodic table of Haiku It actually contains a surprising amount of useful information awelll...
Mar 16, 2003
Sure, we all know dissolution forwards and back. But are we knowledgeable of the latest analytical techniques, columns and strategies for HPLC?THE TRAINING MASTERS is the premiere nation-wide training company for HPLC and IR Spectral Interpretation. The Training Masters strives to provide superior scientific education through practical and effective teaching methods and materials. Students can obtain training by registering for classes scheduled for their local area, or requesting an in-house class.
Mar 12, 2003
PerkinElmer showcases 12 new products at Pittcon chief among them is the new near-infrared Tablet Autosampler - coupled with version 2.0 of PerkinElmer's 21 CFR Part 11-compliant Spectrum AssureID software high-sensitivity imaging system - delivers fast, non-destructive whole tablet chemical composition assays, enabling pharmaceutical manufacturing organisations to reduce testing time, inventory and testing costs. The Spectrum Spotlight 350 FT-NIR (Fourier-Transform Near-Infrared) imaging system rapidly provides pharmaceutical development organizations with information about micro-scale chemical variations for faster problem solving, shorter time-to-market for new formulations, and reduced rework costs.
Mar 9, 2003
Do you have a life? or...
How to determine if technology has taken over your life...
Your stationery letterhead lists a fax number, e-mail addresses for two on-line services, and your Internet address, which spreads across the breadth of the letterhead and continues to the back. In essence, you have conceded that the first page of any letter you write is letterhead.
Your computer at home is 21CFR part 11 compliant.
You have done small computer validation on your microwave.
You can no longer sit through an entire movie without having at least one device on your body beep or buzz.
You think of the gadgets in your office as "friends," but you forget send your father a birthday card.
You disdain people who use low Baud rates.
You know Bill Gates' e-mail address, but you have to look up your own social security number.
You sign Christmas cards by putting :-) next to your signature.
You back up your data every day.
Your powerpoint presentations are done according to W3C specifications
While contemporaries swap stories about their recent hernia surgeries, you compare mouse-induced index-finger strain with a nine-year-old.
You are so knowledgeable about technology that you feel secure enough to say "I don't know" when someone asks you a technology question instead of feeling compelled to make something up.
You rotate your screen savers more frequently than your automobile tires.
You have set up a functioning home copier machine and fax, but your VCR is still blinking 12:00, 12:00, 12:00....
You submit articles to journals that have section 508 compliance statements.
You understand all the jokes in this message. If so, my friend, technology has taken over your life. We suggest, for your own good, that you go lie under a tree and write a haiku. And don't use a laptop.
Mar 07, 2003
A drug-resistant superbug that spreads by skin contact is infecting thousands of people across the US and may now have reached Europe.
Mar 06, 2003
Congratulation to the following companies for NDA and ANDA approved this week:
Aggrastat (tirofiban hydrochloride) Premixed Injection, Merck
AquaMEPHYTON (phytonadione) Injection, Merck & Co., Inc.
Avandia (rosiglitazone maleate) Tablets, SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals.
Avelox (moxifloxacin hydrochloride) Tablets and Avelox (moxifloxacin
hydrochloride in NaCl) Injection, Bayer Corporation
Betamethasone Dipropionate Gel, Altana Inc.
BicNU (carmustine) Injection, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Ceclor (Cefaclor) Pulvules & Oral Suspension, Eli Lilly Company
CeeNU (lomustine) Capsules, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil hydrochloride) Intravenous / Oral Suspension
/ Capsules / Tablets, Hoffman La-Roche, Inc.
CYTOXAN (cyclophosphamide USP) Tablets, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Fragmin (dalteparin sodium injection), Pharmacia and Upjohn
Loprox (ciclopirox) Shampoo, Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation
Minoxidil Topical Solution, Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Myoview (Kit for the Preparation of Technetium Tc99m Tetrofosmin) Injection,
Amersham Health
Nasonex (Mometasone Furoate Monohydrate) Aqueous Nasal Spray, Schering Corp.
Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium) Delayed-Release Capsules, AstraZeneca L.P.
Norepinephrine Bitartrate Injection USP, Gensia Sicor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Prednisolone Syrup USP, Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co., Inc.
Sodium Acetate Injectin, USP, Abbott Laboratories
...
They say that blogs like this are so popular that articles are being written on how your company can start its own blog... Are they crazy? Its the personal, free, nature of a blog that makes it popular. A business could never say something like "Hey Cindy, Where is our latest Dissolution Technologies? Wheres the February issue... Its March?" Without checking with their lawyers and debating it for 2 months.
Mar 05, 2003
The recent issue of Drug Delivery Technology has an articles describing technology to create polymer/linking group/drug conjugates, based on strictly alternating block copolymers of PEG and trifunctional monomers. it has been shown to be useful to modify the therapeutic index for a number of small molecular weight pharmaceuticals. This technology will be used to extend and expand the use of approved drugs as well as new chemical entities...
Mar 04, 2003
The United States government is reportedly developing a cyber-warfare plan -- one that establish rules for when and how the U.S. would penetrate and disrupt foreign computer systems. Taking the fight to cyberspace adds a weapon in the military's arsenal. Some call it a new battlefield. Others say it's a new way of fighting a very old battle...
Mar 03, 2003
Cancer is a result of a breakdown of normal biological processes. In order to understand what goes wrong in the process of cancer development, it is essential to understand how things work when they are functioning correctly. An analogy would be fixing a car. It would be very difficult or impossible to fix an automobile if one did not know how automobiles function when they are not broken. For this reason, the first portion of the site cancerquest is dedicated to presenting the normal processes. Once these are clearly outlined, the defects in cancer are described in detail. Last week Georgetown University announced the discoveryof the gene that is responsible for the spread of cancer in the body...
The FDA orders old cough syrups of the shelves...
sday that manufacturing inspections will be focused on plants that produce medicines with the most potential to harm patients if quality-control lapses occur.