ZOOM-ing along.

I've recently been having a public conversation with the people at Bioinformatics Solutions Inc about their latest project - a short read aligner called ZOOM. While I joked about them only accepting resumes in Microsoft Word format, (Update: Apparently that's already taken off their web page.) they do seem to have their act together in other respects. Of course, I haven't actually seen their application yet, and I have only their word to go by, however, what I am hearing seems promising. I suggest people go read that thread on SeqAnswers to get an idea of what they're offering.

Unfortunately (- or maybe not - ) the timing is a bit off for me. I'm in the process of clearing things off my desk for my two week vacation, starting Friday, and I believe they'll be releasing the demo version of their software next week sometime. Still, I suspect I won't let that bother me too much. Between coconuts, hammocks and snorkeling, I don't think I'll have much time to think about missing a new aligner. (Just a hunch.)

Disclosure: I suppose, since people might perceive this as a conflict of interest, I should point out that I do have several ties to the company. I believe Ming Li is one of their founders, and I did (briefly) work with him and Paul Kearney for a thesis project at the University of Waterloo close to a decade ago. A relation of mine works there, as well, though I don't have any insider information, so don't ask. I don't own stock or have any interest in the company otherwise. Bioinformatics is just too small of a community in Canada not to have some connections to anyone else doing bioinformatics here. Six degrees of separation, and all.