According to their website, The Science Cheerleaders are professional cheerleaders pursuing science careers who playfully challenge stereotypes, turn everyone onto science by encouraging participation in citizen science activities, and inspire young women to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Apparently, there are more than 175 current and former professional cheerleaders from the NFL, NBA, and other pro sports leagues, pursing science and engineering careers make up the Science Cheerleaders. 

Today, Ed Silverman of Pharmalot reviews the opinions of U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon in a ruling that FDA to exercise appropriate authority over the importation of drugs used for death-row injections.

Adventitious agents—from viruses and Mycoplasmas to bacteria and fungi—require serious risk assessment on the part of the biopharmaceutical manufacturer. And yet “often people who do the risk assessment don’t have a background in adventitious agents," says Barbara Potts, PhD, senior consultant with Potts and Nelson Consulting and also the head of PDA’s Mycoplasma task force.

In a recent post on his In the Pipeline blog, Derek Lowe (@dereklowe) notes how scientists can be prone to smugness. “There's a particular danger in the sciences, because (on the one hand) there's so much to know, that a given person does indeed have a good chance of knowing something that others don't,” he writes.

My youngest just commented on how tough it must be to have a February 29th birthday.  Indeed.  As Lean expert John Shook just reminded everyone, today would have been Taiichi Ohno's birthday. Another interesting fact?  The primary developer of the Toyota Production System was born in....China?

I spoke by phone this morning with "Mike," a long-time pharma professional who's at a crossroads in his career. Like many in the industry, Mike sees the overall economy improving and his company, a growing biopharma, doing the right things to move ahead. And yet, for the most part, he's stuck.

As President Obama has begun his Insourcing campaign, designed to bring more manufacturing jobs back onshore, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business released results of its latest survey of offshoring and outsourcing practices. Companies that have moved processes offshore say they have gained in flexibility and agility, and the ability to compete in challenging economic environments, Duke says.

Kane Waselenchuk is far and away the best racquetball player in the world, once winning a staggering 137 straight matches. He has won seven U.S. Open Racquetball Championships and is still at the peak of his game.

A survey that came out late last year attempted to put an actual figure on the cost of pharma quality problems.  Should make it easier for some of you to get funding for those QbD/PAT/process control projects. We hope. For more, read on.

AMS