Bio-IT World | In Part I of a two-part exclusive interview, Rob Nicol and Chad Nusbaum share some of the keys to the Broad Institute’s sequencing success with Bio-IT World chief editor Kevin Davies. (In Part II tomorrow, we talk to Toby Bloom, the Broad’s director of informatics.) 

Bio-IT World |  The first upgrade to the FACTS simulation tool, co-developed by Tessella and Berry Consultants, increases the proportion of clinical studies that can benefit from simulation of the design up to about 85%.

Bio-IT World | At a landmark press conference in Shenzhen, China, today, BGI and Merck signed a long-term "working relationship” that could mark a turning point in the fortunes of BGI and big pharma's embrace of next-generation sequencing technology.

Bio-IT World | The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announced more than $18 million in grants yesterday to drive development of third generation DNA sequencing technologies to bring the cost of sequencing a human genome to $1,000.

HHMI | New computational tools can trace the complex branching shapes of neurons up to 10 times faster than previous methods. The algorithms were designed by competitors in the DIADEM Challenge.

Boston Business Journal | Pfizer plans to acquire FoldRx, a Massachusettes-based biotech whose lead drug candidate has orphan drug designation in both the US and EU. The acquisition follows Pfizer's creation of an Orphan and Genetic Diseases Research Unit earlier this year. 

Bio-IT World | Data storage company Isilon is introducing what it claims is the industry’s first and only unified scale-out storage platform for the enterprise, by integrating the iSCSI protocol into its OneFS operating system.