APBioNet News March 1998
---------------------------
News circulation of the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network

1. Joint APBioNet-APAN networking project endorsed by APEC
----------------------------------------------------------
The APBioNet-APAN collaborative project on providing
networking connectivity framework for APBioNet nodes
to interconnect with each other has been endorsed by APEC 
during the APEC Telecommunications Working Group meeting in Brunei
10-14 March 1998.

The project proposal submission by Dr Tan Tin Wee as a followup
of the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Survey may be found at
http://www-sg.apbionet.org/APAN/apan-apbionetMar98.html

APBioNet's formation is also recognised by APEC TEL.
APEC TEL will also undertake to encourage member economies
to participate in APBioNet.

2. APAN Bioinformatics Working Group formed.
-------------------------------------------

Draft Charter of this WG is now ready
http://www-sg.apbionet.org/APAN/charter.html

This WG was formerly a SubWorking Group but has
been upgraded as the APAN Applications Working Group
(previously co-chaired by the Deputy Vice Chancellor
ANU, Robin Stanton and Dr Tan Tin Wee, NUS)
has been upgraded and reorganised into the
User Community Area chaired by Dr Tan Tin Wee
and Dr Markus Buchhorn, ACSys, Australia at the
recent APAN Meeting in Tsukuba, Japan (March 1-2, 1998)

It is hoped that this APAN user community working group
in bioinformatics will provide the bridge between
bioinformatics and advanced networking technologies.

3. EMBNet China Node workshop
-----------------------------
The above workshop is co-opted as an APBioNet event
as there were no objections raised.

Bioinformatcis Workshop
EMBNet China Node at CBI (Centre of BioInformatics)
Peking University, Beijing, China
7-15 April 1997

The bioinformatics workshop will be held 
at Peking University, 7-15 April 1998. This workshop is organised by the 
European Molecular Biology Network (EMBNet) China Node. 
***********************************************************************
Jingchu Luo,   Associate Professor,  EMBNet China Node Manager
College of Life Sciences,   Peking University,   Beijing 100871,  China
Tel: 86 10 6275 5206  Fax: 86 10 6275 1843  Email: luojc@lsc.pku.edu.cn
***********************************************************************

4. Joint BIC-APBioNet workshop on Biomolecular Structural Analysis
---------------------------------------------------------------
This workshop was successfully completed on 28 March 1998
organised by the Bioinformatics Centre, National University of
Singapore.
More than 150 registered for this workshop.
More information available from Meena Sakharkar, meena@bic.nus.edu.sg

5. HKBIC formed 27 Feb 1998
---------------
The Hong Kong Bioinformatics Center (HKBIC)
"www.hkbic.bch.cuhk.edu.hk" was officially opened on 
27th Febuary, 1998. The Centre is a central data resource 
for the benefit of biotechnology and industrial community 
in Hong Kong SAR and China. Congratulations to HKBIC!

A Newsletter is available to those interested:
K P Fung
Professor,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong SAR
The People's Republic of China
Co-ordinator
Hong Kong Bioinformatics Centre
FAX: 852-26035123 
email: kpfung@cuhk.edu.hk


6. New contact from Europe
--------------------------
Dr David Burke from Univ of Cambridge Biochemistry
Dept is interested in joining our APBioNet discussion.
David Burke 

http://www-cryst.bioc.cam.ac.uk/~campass    
structural alignment of superfamilys

http://www-cryst.bioc.cam.ac.uk/~homstrad   
structural alignment of homologous proteins

http://www-cryst.bioc.cam.ac.uk/~ddbase     
domain db.
> Dr David Burke  dave@cryst.bioc.cam.ac.uk
> Department of Biochemistry University of Cambridge
> 80 Tennis Court Road Cambridge UK  CB2 1GA
> Tel:+44 (0)1223 766031 Fax:+44 (0)1223 766002
> URL ::   http://www-cryst.bioc.cam.ac.uk/~dave

7. Distinguishing IMBN from APBioNet
-------------------------------------
The IMBN (International Molecular Biology Network),
a new body analogous to the European Molecular Biology Organisation
(EMBO) has managed to secure $50K from each participating   
insitution  to  support  its  programmes  and  activities.
Institutional and industry support have also been committed for IMBN.

The IMBN  was  endorsed  as  an APEC project because it fulfilled
certain criteria  in  that it is in line with the priorities of 
the APEC Industrial Science and Technology (ISTWG).
The IMBN exists as an  independent body for human networking
and other purposes.

IMBN is not part of APBioNet or vice versa.
APBioNet is focussed on Bioionformatics whereas IMBN is
of a more general nature.

8. Linking more Bioinformatics web sites at www.apbionet.org
------------------------------------------------------------
Interested organisations are requested to contact
Associate Professor Tim Littlejohn (Congratulations on his
recent promotion)  to have
their sites linked. Please sign up at the www.apbionet.sg
mailing list.

A test experimental APBioNet country node is currently
being constructed at www-sg.apbionet.org.
Your feedback is gratefully received - tinwee@pobox.org.sg

9. Touching base with NLM, NIH
------------------------------
Contact has been made with Michael Gill of the
National Library of Medicine, Lister Hill National
Center for Biomedical Communications, Bethesda.
We hope that NLM at NIH Bethesda will be able to
link up with the APBioNet nodes.
For more information, please contact tinwee@pobox.org.sg


------------------------------------------------------------
Errors and Omissions and Bug reports to Dr Tan Tin Wee
tinwee@pobox.org.sg, Director, Bioinformatics Centre,
National University of Singapore

If you have news items for APBioNet, please contact
the above. Thanks.
Tin Wee - 1 April 1998