2013 Life Time Tri Pro Series Schedule Announced

Life Time (NYSE: LTM), the Healthy Way of Life Company and producer of more than 100 athletic events annually, today unveiled the 2013 Life Time Tri pro series schedule. The newly created series, which is made up of some of the most prominent triathlons in the United States, will include:

The overall 2013 Life Time Tri pro series cash purse includes $250,000 in individual race awards. The Life Time Tri Series champions will be crowned at the series finale, Life Time Tri Oceanside, where an additional $200,000 cash purse will be awarded. To qualify for the cash purse, pros must start at least three events, including Life Time Tri Oceanside, with the top five events counting towards their overall standings. The official finishing times at Life Time Tri Oceanside will serve as a tiebreaker.

Along with professional athletes from around the world, Life Time Tri events attract thousands of elite and age group athletes each season. The professional and elite triathletes will compete in international-distance and relay team competitions on courses featuring a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike, and 10-kilometer run, along with a short course option and, in select events, a sprint distance for kids.

As the 2013 Life Time Tri Pro Series progresses, participant results and current point standings will be available at lifetimetri.com, the series’ official website. Updates also will be provided on Twitter by following @LifeTimeTri and by liking the Life Time Tri Facebook page.

Life Technologies Establishes International Influenza Network

Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE) today announced the establishment of the Global Influenza Network, a partnership including scientists at a number of the world's leading government public health organizations, veterinary agencies and research institutes in a collaborative effort to increase the speed and efficiency of influenza monitoring and vaccine development. Members of the network are sharing tools, experience and data using the Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM™) semiconductor sequencing platform.

"Life Technologies exhibited leadership in infectious disease tracking when our scientists worked alongside federal officials to identify the cause of H1N1 outbreak in 2008," said Gregory T. Lucier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Life Technologies. "We are very proud to now bring together a group of such distinguished organizations to tackle the continued threat of influenza worldwide."

Participating scientists include: Steve Glavas, head of the NGS Platform, and Mia Brytting, Ph.D., head of the microbial typing unit at the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control (SMI); Gabriele Vaccari, Ph.D., researcher at the Istituto Superiore di Sanita in Rome; Mary Lea Killian, microbiologist at the U.S. National Veterinary Service Laboratories in Ames, Iowa; and David Wentworth at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Md.

Partnership Develops Faster, More Reliable Flu Subtyping Methods
Annual seasonal influenza epidemics cause approximately 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and 250,000 to 500,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Pandemics caused by novel influenza strains can result in staggering death tolls; the "Spanish flu" of 1918 is believed to have killed 40 million people, or 3 percent of the global population, according to the WHO.

Each year, public health agencies around the world collect samples from infected individuals and share data about flu subtypes circulating in their regions. The pooled data are used by the WHO to determine the strains used to design a vaccine that will be effective against that year's epidemic. Costs of sequencing, however, have limited data set to about 20 percent of the patient samples collected.

"Using next generation sequencing technology makes whole influenza genome sequencing much easier, and much less expensive than older sequencing techniques, when used appropriately," said Glavas.

Scientists in the Global Influenza Network also believe that by sequencing all patient samples collected ahead of the flu season, they will be able to detect emerging strains earlier and focus resources on areas of the world where these strains are most prevalent in order to better contain new threats.

An additional benefit of semiconductor sequencing is the technologies' superior speed over conventional methods. Therefore, sequencing data can be collected in a smaller time window prior to vaccine production, which can also guide the production of vaccines so they more effectively target the strains most prevalent in the coming flu season.

"Now we can easily fully characterize influenza causing severe outbreaks," said Brytting.

Network Scientists Confirm Protocol's Accuracy and Economic
The current collaboration is a pilot program to evaluate the efficacy of influenza virus typing by semiconductor sequencing on Life Technologies' Ion Torrent platform, the Ion PGM™ sequencer. After implementing Life Technologies' protocol for whole genome sequencing of Influenza A virus, the network partners determined it to be: (1) accurate; (2) highly sensitive and (3) economical (less than $100 per isolate) because it enables scientists to multiplex at least 10 samples in a single run on the Ion PGM™ sequencer.

Global Influenza Network partners have agreed to share their data and experiences in order to refine the initial protocol, if needed. The results of the collaborative study will be submitted to a peer-reviewed research journal for publication.

The Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM™) is Research Use Only and not intended for use in diagnostic procedures.

PVI Sun Life Receives Licence for Life Insurance Operations

Ministry of Finance grants PVI Sun Life Licence for Establishment and Operation # 68 GP/KDBH with charter capital of VND1,000 billion

PVI Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (PVI Sun Life), the joint-venture life insurance company formed by PVI Holdings (HNX:PVI) and Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Sun Life), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX/NYSE: SLF), has received regulatory approval from the authorities in both Vietnam and Canada. The Ministry of Finance of Vietnam issued the Licence # 68 GP/KDBH for Life Insurance Operations on January 24, 2013. PVI Sun Life will have a charter capital of VND 1,000 billion (approx. C$48 million). PVI owns 51 per cent of the company, and Sun Life the remaining 49 per cent.

PVI Sun Life is focused on delivering the best products and services to its customers to allow them to achieve a brighter financial future. PVI Sun Life completes PVI's insurance business network, and delivers on PVI's long term strategy. The joint venture further demonstrates Sun Life's deep commitment to growing its business in Asia.

"The formation of PVI Sun Life further expands Sun Life Financial's footprint in Asia and is aligned with our growth strategy for Sun Life overall. PVI Sun Life will deliver a suite of innovative life insurance products to customers in Vietnam through multiple sales channels, and it aims to become a market leader in the sector," said Kevin Strain, President, SLF Asia.

"The creation of PVI Sun Life is a perfect complement to our already strong, general insurance business in Vietnam," said Bui Van Thuan, CEO of PVI. "We are confident that this new joint venture business will become a real leader in the life insurance industry in Vietnam," he added.

PVI Sun Life will benefit from the excellent reputation and brand of PVI in Vietnam, as well as its strong customer base, extensive infrastructure and quality people. Sun Life brings with it 150 years of experience in the life insurance space, including experience in the Asian market that dates back to 1892. Sun Life will contribute its global life insurance expertise, particularly in the areas of actuarial, risk management and distribution management to the joint venture.

"Receiving regulatory approval in only eight months is a significant milestone for PVI Sun Life and we are looking forward to offering people across Vietnam top-tier insurance products and services in the very near future," said Bui Van Thuan, CEO, PVI.

Vietnam's life insurance market is poised for growth, providing an excellent opportunity for PVI Sun Life. While the country has been one of the fastest growing economies in Asia in recent years, only five per cent of the population currently has life insurance coverage.

The app-driven life: How smartphone apps are changing our lives

"There's an app for that" is more than just Apple's marketing mantra. Apps have become an American lifestyle.

"I'm using my phone when I'm sleeping," says Amanda Soloway. Every night, Ms. Soloway turns on an iPhone application called Sleep Cycle and tucks her smart phone into bed with her. The app monitors her sleep patterns and wakes her at the optimal moment – within a 30-minute time frame she has selected.

Before she's out from under the covers, she's checking the weather (another rainy day in Seattle) and connecting with her world via Facebook (photos from a dinner last night) and e-mail (some fellow University of Washington students want to push back today's meeting).

RECOMMENDED: 20 best iPhone apps for starters

Once she's out the door, she plugs in her headphones and hunts for good walking music in SoundCloud. The jukebox app pulls up a few tracks from the DJ duo Poolside and streams them over her phone's cellular Internet connection.

As she dashes between classes for her master's in business administration program, Soloway's iPhone calendar app vibrates 10 minutes before important appointments.

She has more than 100 apps on her phone, each serving a different purpose. She deposits checks through the Bank of America app, finds bus schedules through OneBusAway, passes time playing Bejeweled, compiles grocery lists through ZipList, texts with her best friend through WhatsApp, and edits her photos with any of 18 different photography apps.

Soloway actually prefers regular computers. Websites never look quite right shining through a screen the size of a baseball card. Typing e-mails never quite feels right when she taps on the phone's smooth glass surface. But life extends well beyond the reach of her desktop.

"I remember when I got my iPhone," she says. "So many people told me, 'It will change your life.' But I was really hesitant. Now, I don't know if I could go back. My phone is just a lot more convenient."

Millions of Americans now rely on pocket-sized computers to shop, play, read, date, learn, work out, take photos, and find directions. These apps – shorthand for software applications – are the heart and soul of smart phones.

The app-driven life has kick-started a new computer revolution – one that has spread faster and become more intimate than any before.

The world has adopted smart phones and tablets 10 times faster than it embraced personal computers in the 1980s, twice as fast as it logged into the Internet boom of the '90s, and three times faster than it joined social networks in the new millennium, according to the app-tracking firm Flurry.

Svelte, intuitive hardware helps propel the movement, but this new era in consumer electronics really started a year after the debut of the original iPhone. In early 2008, Apple opened the digital doors to its App Store, an online marketplace for programmers around the world to sell their own mobile apps.

While Apple guarded the gates – demanding that each app be submitted for review – it kept a wide berth. Programmers for the iPhone and Google's competing Android line could take advantage of tools unavailable on most personal computers: touch screens, cameras, tilt sensors, compasses, location tracking, cellular Internet connections, and the fact that people carry these devices with them at all times.

Soon, apps emerged for practically every need in a person's day.

Productivity goosed by zombies?

Matthew Ablon uses his Android phone to keep fit. This freshman at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., never liked running in high school. It seemed monotonous. Boring. A single app changed his mind.

This past semester, Mr. Ablon downloaded Zombies, Run! – a workout app that motivates people to run by appealing to their Darwinian desire not to get eaten by zombies. As Ablon runs, this run tracker mixes in elements of an audio adventure game. The app interrupts his normal music playlist with mission instructions – such as news that he's found (virtual) supplies that he can distribute to survivors living in a nearby (fictional) compound. But before he can return home with the provisions, he needs to pick up the pace and outrun the zombie horde.

This $8 app – quite a bit more expensive than the traditional 99-cent threshold for phone apps – is "worth every penny," says Ablon. He now runs two to three miles twice a week with imaginary zombies on his heels.

Is this a peculiar way to encourage good habits? Definitely. But is it effective? The British government thinks so. As the workout app rang up a quarter-million downloads, Britain's National Health Service commissioned the team behind Zombies to design a self-improvement app for the broader public (i.e., without the undead theme). The group plans to reveal this new project in the spring.

As apps worm their way into our daily lives, plenty of smart-phone owners now find the word "phone" becoming an increasingly anachronistic term for these devices. In a TIPP poll commissioned by The Christian Science Monitor, close to half of respondents (46 percent) reported using their smart phones more than 10 times a day for actions other than making a phone call.

"Apps bring out the human part of technology," says Scott Steinberg, a consultant and professional speaker on innovation in St. Louis. Desk-bound PCs were designed for business, he says. They're tools of productivity occasionally co-opted for entertainment. Yet while iPhone and Android owe a lot to BlackBerry (the pinstriped, business-minded older brother of the smart-phone family), apps were predominantly designed for life outside the office.

Life Technologies to Present at Leerink Swann Global Healthcare Conference

Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE) today announced it will present at Leerink Swann Global Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Ron A. Andrews, Life Technologies' President of Medical Sciences, will present on behalf of the company. The company will webcast the presentation, which will be available for three weeks following the conference, on the Life Technologies' investor relations website at ir.lifetechnologies.com/events.cfm.

Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) is a global biotechnology company with customers in more than 160 countries using its innovative solutions to solve some of today's most difficult scientific challenges. Quality and innovation are accessible to every lab with its reliable and easy-to-use solutions spanning the biological spectrum, with more than 50,000 products for agricultural biotechnology, translational research, molecular medicine and diagnostics, stem cell-based therapies, forensics, food safety and animal health. Its systems, reagents and consumables represent some of the most cited brands in scientific research including: Ion Torrent™, Applied Biosystems®, Invitrogen™, Gibco®, Ambion®, Molecular Probes® and Novex®. Life Technologies employs approximately 10,400 people and upholds its ongoing commitment to innovation with more than 4,000 patents and exclusive licenses.

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. Launches Two New Animal Health Products in Canada

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. (BNC.TO) (BNC.AX), a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today announced that its Immunocidin™ canine oncology therapy and its Sin Susto™ canine calming agent are both being launched in Canada at the annual Ontario Veterinary Medical Association Conference this week. The conference takes place from January 23-26 in Toronto , Ontario.

Immunocidin™is based on the Company's proprietary mycobacterial cell wall technology, the same platform from which its Phase III product for human bladder cancer (Urocidin™) was derived. Immunocidin™is indicated as an immunotherapy for the intratumoral treatment of mixed mammary tumor and mammary adenocarcinoma in dogs. The product was launched in the U.S. in October, 2012.

Sin Susto™ - "without fear" - is an herbal calming product for dogs in chewable tablet form that was developed in collaboration with the University of Ottawa . The product is made from natural botanical ingredients and acts as an agonist at the Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor site. GABA is the primary inhibitory chemical messenger in the brain. Sin Susto™ has been proven safe and effective, is highly palatable, is non-habit-forming and non-psychotic, and does not act as a tranquilizer.

"We believe that both of these products represent important additions to our growing companion animal product line," said Mr. Andrew Grant , President, Bioniche Animal Health (global). "Immunocidin™ does not require special handling and can be used by veterinarians in their own clinics, either alone or in combination with other therapies. Sin Susto™ offers a safe, effective, non-habit-forming alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals that are known to have significant side effects."
About Canine Cancer

2 Reasons Why Some Life Insurance Agents Sell You The Wrong Policy

If you want to protect your family against your unexpected death, you are usually better off with term life insurance rather than whole life. Term usually provides the most protection for your family at the most reasonable cost.

Whole life agents often take issue with this and I can understand. On my site, I have compared the two types of policies several times to demonstrate that the returns don't usually justify the costs of whole life. But despite all the evidence to the contrary, many whole life agents claim that whole life is still better than term. Why?

Most of these agents are good people. They aren't all slick sales people just trying to empty your pockets into their own. Many of them believe what they are doing is noble.
Well...noble or not, their arguments are misguided in my opinion.

I thought I'd take a moment to share their arguments with you now. This way you will be better equipped to ward off ill-advised sales pitches. At the end of the day, the pitch for whole life is based on one of two arguments in my experience.

1."Clients benefit by having guaranteed investment returns. This beats the stock market because there is no risk with whole life."

There is some truth to this argument....but not enough to warrant you to take action. It's true that a portion of the money you plop down for a whole life policy grows in an investment account. And that money grows for you over the years. At some point, you'll be able to access some of that cash tax-free. But how much does it grow?

Every whole life policy spells out a guaranteed return and an expected return. Since these policies extrapolate values out over many decades, I always play it safe and consider the guaranteed returns rather than anything else. If you want the guarantees of life insurance let's look at what they guarantee.
Depending on when you buy a policy, that guaranteed rate might be higher or lower. I looked at a policy recently and discovered that the guaranteed rate of return was 2 percent over the next 30 or 40 years.

In fairness, if you look at the last 10 or 12 years, 2 percent wasn't so bad. But would you sign up for an investment that guarantees 2 percent for the next 30 or 40 years? Probably not. That 2 percent is guaranteed of course and alternative investments like the stock market are not guaranteed. But if you are thinking long-term, it's reasonable to assume that the non-guaranteed alternatives like the market are going to work out far better than life insurance.

2."Clients need whole life insurance so they can spend most of their assets down and still leave something to the kids."

This argument would be funny if it weren't so dangerous. Let's take this apart so we can really understand the weak foundation that whole life is built on.

If you buy whole life and make all your payments you will indeed have life insurance in place when you die. That means your heirs or anyone you choose will inherit the life insurance benefits when you are gone. So if the only thing stopping you from spending all your assets now is that you want to be certain that your heirs will have money when you die, this argument holds water.

But chances are you aren't spending down your assets for other reasons. Namely, you don't want to run out of money while you are alive.

Some people buy life insurance to replace assets.... but not many. Most people buy life insurance in order to protect their family. Life insurance is usually meant to replace income-not assets. And $100 buys a heck of a lot more term life insurance than whole life. In many cases, you can buy 10 times as much.

If you are young when you buy life insurance you want the most protection you can get for the least amount of premium because protection is upper most in your mind. But if you buy a whole life policy, the premiums are so expensive that you probably won't be able to get all the coverage you need. You might have a few bucks to throw your kids way if you live a very long time. But if you die prematurely you won't have the coverage you need and your family will be left out in the cold. Which is more important?

Again, (as far as I know) nobody knows when they are going to pass away. It's not smart to spend down all your money. You already know that. And nobody knows how much it's going to cost to live in their advanced years. As a result people tend to keep as much cushion as possible.

People who sell whole life insurance sometimes use poor arguments when they try to sell you these policies. The best way to make sure you don't get duped into buying the wrong insurance policy is to be crystal clear about what your objectives are before you do anything. If you are trying to protect your family, term insurance is the way to go. Don't let someone else tell you what should be important. You are smart enough to figure that out for yourself.

Whole life does serve a purpose but only a handful of people really benefit by owning it. Everyone else who buys it sooner or later figures out what a lousy investment this really is. Where do you stand on the issue of whole life insurance?

Neal Frankle recently wrote an in depth review of social lending company Prosper which is very much worth reading.