At the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO; Alexandria, Virginia) conference in Chicago, the world of precision medicine was led by the ability to single out particular 'markers' often genetic in nature that defined a particular individual, and appeared to predict his likely response to a drug or combination. This phase of oncology development is not new, but it is accelerating now, based on newer technologies enabling more affordable and rapid gene sequencing and manipulating technologies.

TEL AVIV Israel marked its major biomedical technology event last week, with the 11th Annual ILSI Biomed conference in Tel Aviv. The event was a truly international event, with participants from more than 35 countries and it did appear as though the organizer's claim of "the largest conference of its kind outside the U.S." was indeed justified.