Name of the Project : Network Project on Agricultural Bioinformatics Number of positions One
Qualifications : Ph.D Degree in Bioinformatics/Biotechnology/ Biochemistry/Genetics & Breeding/Life Sciences OR Master’s Degree in relevant subject with at least 2 years research experience. Desirable : Working experience in Molecular Biology/Genomics/Bioinformatics, specifically, sequence data analysis using software’s proficiently

Emoluments : Masters Degree Holders Rs. 38,000/- per month Doctoral Degree Holders Rs. 40,000/- per month

Emoluments : Rs.25000/- per month for 1st and 2nd year and Rs. 28000/- per month for 3rd year
Age Limit : Upper age limit is 35 years for men and 40 years for women on the date of interview. Age relaxation for SC/ST and OBC candidates as per rules

More at http://www.cirb.res.in/attachments/195_walk-in-interview%20for%20contractual%20positions%20of%20RA%20and%20SRF%20%28On%20Dated%2011.8.2015%29.pdf

Address of the bookmark: http://www.genome.umd.edu/

Interested candidates may appear before the interview board on 23 February, 2015 at the Office of the Head, Department of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, Tezpur University with original documents and photocopies of marks sheets, certificates, testimonials, caste certificate (if applicable), experience certificate and a copy of curriculum vitae (CV) duly signed by the candidate.

Position: One (01) Research Associate.

Educational Qualification: Candidates having Ph.D. degree or submitted thesis in any topic of Life Science Areas (Zoology, Botany, Microbiology, Biotechnology etc.) along with knowledge of gene and protein sequence analysis may apply.

Remuneration: Rs. 22,000/- (Rupees twenty two thousand) only + 10% HRA as admissible per month for the first year and Rs. 23,000/- (Rupees twenty three thousand) only + 10% HRA as admissible per month for the second year.

Age: Candidate preferably below the age of 40 years who have obtained a doctorate (Ph.D.) degree from a recognized University.

Upper age limit may be relaxed up to 5 years in the case of candidates belonging SC/ST/OBC/Women and physically challenged.

Position: One (01) Project Assistant.

Educational Qualification: B.Sc./B.Tech./B.E./B.Pharma in any branch with minimum 55% mark in the qualifying examinations and minimum 50 % mark in 10th and 10+2 Science examinations.

Remuneration: Rs. 8,000/- (Rupees eight thousand) only per month (consolidated). Age: Candidate should not be more than 28 years of age on the date of interview. Upper age limit may be relaxed up to 5 years in the case of candidate belonging to SC/ST/OBC/Women/Physically Challenged.

Duration: One year or till completion of the project, whichever is earlier. N.B. No TA/DA will be paid to the candidates for attending the interview.

For further information contact – Dr. Suvendra Kumar Ray, Associate Professor Email: suven@tezu.ernet.in Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Tezpur University Sd/- Dean, Research & Development Tezpur University

Advertisement: http://www.tezu.ernet.in/ProjectWalkin/Advt-SKR2-5342-A.pdf

Before you go down that path, consider this critical biological question:
Are you sequencing human cells—or bacterial contamination?

The Silent Saboteur: Mycoplasma in Cell Cultures

Mycoplasma contamination remains one of the most widespread and underdiagnosed issues in tissue culture work. Studies suggest that 15–35% of cell lines in use may be contaminated, often without visible signs. Unlike other microbial infections, Mycoplasma does not produce cloudiness, odor, or a change in pH. Many researchers won’t detect it unless they specifically test for it.

The consequences, however, are profound. Mycoplasma can significantly alter:

• Host gene expression patterns

• Cell proliferation rates

• Epigenetic profiles and chromatin accessibility

• Cytokine signaling and immune responses

In short, it can skew your results, compromise your biological conclusions, and invalidate weeks or months of research.

A Simple Diagnostic Step: Map Against Mycoplasma Genomes

If you encounter poor alignment rates to the human genome, consider mapping your reads to a Mycoplasma reference genome—or better yet, use a combined human + Mycoplasma reference. There have been cases where over half of all reads, initially assumed to be from human cells, were in fact bacterial in origin. This check is fast, easy, and could save your project.

How Contamination Happens—and Persists

Mycoplasma is small (0.1–0.3 μm), lacks a cell wall, and can pass through standard filters undetected. Common sources include:

• Contaminated reagents (e.g., FBS)

• Infected cell lines obtained from other labs

• Poor aseptic technique or shared equipment

Once present, it spreads quickly between cultures and can persist for months, silently affecting results.

Why Treatment Is Difficult

While antibiotics such as Plasmocin or BM-Cyclin are sometimes used, they often offer only partial resolution and may themselves alter cell behavior. In many cases, the best course of action is to discard the contaminated culture and start with a fresh, verified stock.

Practical Recommendations for Researchers

• Routinely test for Mycoplasma using PCR, qPCR, or fluorescence-based assays

• Incorporate contamination screens into your sequencing QC pipeline

• Use combined reference genomes when mapping ambiguous reads

• Practice strict aseptic technique and monitor all incoming cell lines

• Don’t ignore unexplained data anomalies—they might point to contamination

Closing Thought: Contamination Is a Biological Variable

It’s easy to view poor mapping as a technical issue, but sometimes the problem lies deeper—in the biology itself. Mycoplasma contamination doesn’t just interfere with sequencing; it interferes with science. As a research community, we must treat contamination not as an afterthought, but as a key variable to control.

So next time your reads won’t align, don’t just tune the aligner. Ask if your cells are telling the truth—or if they're hiding something.

Title of the Project
Research Associate
(One position)
DBTs Biotechnology/Bioinformatics training centre
PI Dr. Ashok Varma

Duration of the Project Six Months from the date of appointment, can be extended further for six month.

Date & Time: 17th February, 2015 at 10.00 a.m.

Venue: Meeting Room, 3rd floor, Khanolkar Shodhika, ACTREC

Essential Qualifications and Experience:

Ph.D. Degree in Basic Sciences from recognized University. Research experience in Bioinformatics or on gene cloning, protein purification, and crystallization.

*M.Sc. degree obtained after a one year course will not be considered.

Selected candidate will have to join at the earliest.

Consolidated Salary: Rs.28,600/- p.m. {Rs.22,000/- + 30% HRA}

The work progress of the candidate will be monitored and extension after 6 months will depend on satisfactory progress of the work.

Candidates fulfilling these requirements should pre-register by sending their application in the prescribed format with recent CV and contact details of 2 referees by e-mail to ‘program.office@actrec.gov.in’ latest by 17.00 hrs on 12-02-2015.
The interviews would be held on 17th February, 2015 and will be only for the pre-registered candidates. Candidates should report between 09.30 to 10.00 a.m. in Steno Pool, 3rd floor, Khanolkar Shodhika, ACTREC, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai.
No T.A./D.A. will be admissible for attending the interview.

At the time of Interview the candidate should bring original certificates along with CV with contact details of 2 referees and submit the photocopies (attested) of the certificates, with a recent passport size photograph.

All correspondence should be strictly made only to ‘program.office@actrec.gov.in’ as indicated.

Advertisement: www.actrec.gov.in/data%20files/2015/AV-RA-DBT-28-1-15.docx

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/thackl/gggenomes

Who you are
You’re someone who wants to influence your own development. You’re looking for a company where you have the opportunity to pursue your interests across functions and geographies. Where a job title is not considered the final definition of who you are, but the starting point.

Qualifications:
Major: Bioinformatcis or biology major who is interested and wants to learn Biocomputing, At least 2 years of college.
Basic knowledge of LINUX and programming, e.g., perl, python, XML.

More at http://www.roche.com/careers/jobs/jobsearch/job.htm?id=E-00437679&locale=en&title=Summer%20Intern%20-%20Research%20Bioinformatics

The new features include

(i) building gene-based and supermatrix-based phylogenies using a single command,

(ii) testing and visualizing evolutionary models,

(iii) calculating distances between trees of different size or including duplications, and

(iv) providing seamless integration with the NCBI taxonomy database.

ETE is freely available at http://etetoolkit.org

Address of the bookmark: http://etetoolkit.org

Name of the Scheme : Distributed Information Sub Centre – DISC

Qualifications : M.Sc/ B Tech in Bioinformatics with NET/GATE or M Tech in Bioinformatics

Number of posts : One

Emoluments : Rs. 25,000/-

Upper age limit : 35 years for Men & 40 years for Women as on date of Interview
How to apply

Date of Interview : 12-03-2015 at 10.00 AM. All relevant certificates (in original) and bio data, No objection certificate in case he/she is employed elsewhere and experience certificate in original (if any) need to be produced at the time of interview.

More at http://spices.res.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=263