Every year in the first week of October, when the Nobel Prize winners are announced, the world is much more focused on science than usual. This year, the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology were well represented in the awards.

By most measures, the 112th Congress has been one of the least productive in recent history. However, the current lame-duck session gives lawmakers one final chance to make progress on some serious issues facing the biomedical research community. Here are a few of the legislative topics that we’ll be following as the 112th Congress comes to a close.

Here's a snapshot of what's going on in your colleagues' professional lives. Make sure to send you own updates to asbmbtoday@asbmb.org.

Three American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology members won grants from the Single Cell Analysis Program at the National Institutes of Health.

Many biomedical innovations have the potential for commercialization. As there is usually a lag between initial conception of ideas and commercialization of a developed product, it is important to develop a strategy at an early stage for protecting inventions. One way is to obtain a patent.