Media Highlights
HudsonAlpha's educational outreach work praised by Huntsville Times editorial board
News Outlet:
The Huntsville Times
Date published:
February 5, 2012 
The Alabama Reading Initiative has made a dramatic difference improving the reading proficiency among public school students. So much so that it's often held up as a model for other states. The Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative, also managed under the State Department of Education, strives for similar success. American schoolchildren are woefully behind students in other industrialized nations in their science and math abilities.
Two lead stories last week in The Times show how Huntsville is working with educators to share its vast knowledge of technology, math and the sciences. HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are playing a key role in educating students and teachers in those disciplines.
To read the rest of the editorial in The Huntsville Times, please click here.
Collaborative project between Myers lab and Epicentre featured in Genome Research
News Outlet:
Genome Research
Date published:
December 1, 2011
Download PDF:
A collaborative effort between Epicentre and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology resulted in the development of two novel transposon-based methods for RNA-Seq library preparation. The technique, called Tn-RNA-Seq, can use double-stranded cDNA created from rRNA-depleted RNA to prepare an Illumina sequencing library using only two enzymatic reactions. The researchers generated high-quality RNA-Seq libraries from as little as 10 pg of mRNA (~1 ng of total RNA) with this approach.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
HudsonAlpha iCell No. 3 free downloaded education iPad app on iTunes
News Outlet:
The Huntsville Times
Date published:
November 4, 2011 The HudsonAlpha iCell, a free education app, has taken its creators to an "unbelievable" height.
Nearly a week after it was featured by Apple as a "new and noteworthy" education app, more than 9,000 people have downloaded iCell from iTunes. The iPhone version rose to No. 7 in the top education apps list, and it's currently No. 3 in the download list for iPads.
Budget cuts hit labs and equipment manufacturers
News Outlet:
Nature
Date published:
November 1, 2011 
A DNA sequencing machine is one of the most expensive lab purchases a biologist can make. So it is no surprise that, with research funding falling and worse times ahead, institutions are holding off buying the devices, leaving manufacturers feeling the pinch. After a round of gloomy third-quarter results, many makers of sequencing machines are now hoping that cost cutting and expansion into medical diagnostics will help them to prosper again.
To read the rest of the story in Nature, click here.
TEDx conference Sunday to feature Dr. Neil Lamb
News Outlet:
TEDx
Date published:
October 31, 2011 
TED is an annual event that brings together the world's leading thinkers and doers to share ideas that matter in any discipline. "TED" stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design -- three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. The talks at the conference, called "TEDTalks," are then made free at TED.com.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxHuntsville, where x=independently organized TED event. At our first TEDxHuntsville event, TEDTalks video and live speaking will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.
To learn more about the Huntsville conference and its presenters, including Dr. Lamb, click here.
Institute unveils iCell 3.0 as teaching tool
News Outlet:
The Huntsville Times
Date published:
October 22, 2011 
A product to help students better understand biology has evolved into one that can help them decide "what they want to be when they grow up."
The HudsonAlpha iCell 3.0 app is a new and improved version of the iCell, which has been available since April last year. It was originally created to help students "see" a cell in 3D, which is much more preferable than the way most of us have "seen" cells - flat pictures on flat pages in our biology books.
"It's really interesting to see how technology has changed in just a year and a half," said Dr. Adam Hott, the coordinator of educational outreach at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. "This changes the way biology is taught."
To read the rest of the story in The Huntsville Times, click here.
Tie the Ribbons luncheon brings awareness to breast and ovarian cancers
News Outlet:
The Huntsville Times
Date published:
October 21, 2011 Dr. Debra Moriarity knew about breast cancer before it knew about her.
As a member of the biology faculty at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Moriarity studied breast cancer and had long decided that, with the knowledge she had gained, she wouldn't hesitate to undergo a double mastectomy should the cancer ever find her.
And when it did in 2005, Moriarity said "it was odd" being a victim of the disease she had studied.