The gambling industry is in the process of an incredible transformation driven by groundbreaking technologies and the evolution of online platforms, including new online casinos. The convenience and accessibility provided by online gambling have attracted a growing number of enthusiasts each year. Players can now enjoy a wide range of games from the comfort of their homes, whether through their computers or mobile devices.

Online Casinos: The Game-Changer

Online gambling has surged in popularity due to its vast array of benefits. For instance, new online casino platforms offer users the ability to play diverse games such as poker, roulette, and blackjack without ever leaving their homes. This is a game-changer for many, especially those who lack easy access to physical casinos or prefer a more private gaming experience. The proliferation of smartphones and tablet devices has also significantly contributed to this growth, enabling users to carry a casino in their pocket wherever they go.

Technological Advancements Fueling Online Gambling

The surge in online gambling is not just about convenience. Technological advancements are playing a crucial role in enhancing the user experience. Today's online gaming platforms feature improved graphics, faster load times, and a more thrilling and lifelike experience for the player.

1. Advanced Platforms: Modern online gaming platforms are rich in features that offer stunning visuals and enhanced gameplay.

2. Live Dealer Games: The rise of live dealer games offers a realistic alternative to traditional casinos. These games utilize high-quality streaming technologies that allow real-time interactions between dealers and players.

3. Virtual Reality (VR): Some online casinos are also exploring VR games, providing a more immersive and engaging experience compared to conventional online gaming.

Mobile Devices and Social Media: The New Frontier

Mobile devices and social media platforms are reshaping the way users engage with online casinos. Games optimized for mobile, complete with touch-screen controls, are common in virtual casinos. These games cater specifically to the preferences of handheld device users, enhancing user engagement and enjoyment.

Social media plays a vital role in promoting these platforms and engaging with players. Social media games that offer casino rewards for player participation are gaining traction, creating a vibrant community of online gamers.

Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR)

The gambling industry is embracing technologies like VR and AR to offer a more immersive experience to players.

1. Virtual Reality (VR): VR technology immerses users in a computer-generated environment, facilitating virtual casinos and interactive gaming experiences that closely mimic real-life gameplay.

2. Augmented Reality (AR): AR adds digital elements to the real world, allowing players to interact with slot machines projected into their surroundings.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

AI and ML are poised to reshape the gambling landscape significantly. Here’s how:

1. Personalized Recommendations: Leveraging AI, online casinos can analyze vast amounts of player data to offer personalized game recommendations and targeted promotions.

2. Fraud Detection: Machine learning algorithms help identify and prevent fraud, ensuring a secure environment for both the players and the casinos.

3. Predictive Analytics: Predictive analytics powered by AI can forecast player behavior, enabling casinos to cater effectively to customer needs.

4. Chatbots: AI-powered chatbots enhance customer support, providing instant responses to player inquiries.

5. Optimized Gameplay: AI algorithms can optimize table game performance based on individual player behavior.

Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies

Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are becoming integral parts of the gambling industry. Blockchain offers a secure, transparent, and tamper-proof ledger for transactions.

1. Secure Payments: Cryptocurrencies provide a secure, fast, and cost-effective means for online gambling transactions.

2. Smart Contracts: Blockchain facilitates smart contracts, ensuring automatic execution of payouts and bonuses.

3. Anti-Money Laundering: The immutability of the blockchain ledger helps in detecting and preventing money laundering activities.

Despite its advantages, cryptocurrency in gambling raises regulatory concerns and requires stringent oversight to mitigate risks associated with anonymity and money laundering. Technological advancements must work hand-in-hand with regulatory frameworks to promote safe and responsible gambling practices.

Beacon Technology: The Future of Gambling Marketing?

Beacon technology is set to revolutionize how gambling companies market to and engage with their customers. Beacons are wireless transmitters that send data or notifications to nearby smartphones through Bluetooth.

Imagine walking past a local betting shop and receiving an instant notification about special odds for an upcoming game. This kind of proximity marketing already exists and offers enormous potential for personalized marketing. Beacons can also track customer behavior in-store, providing valuable data insights.

However, gambling firms must be cautious. Overusing notifications may cause users to become desensitized or annoyed, leading to a decline in engagement. Strategic implementation is crucial for leveraging the full potential of beacon technology without driving customers away.

Conclusion

The future of gambling is incredibly dynamic, with emerging technologies such as AI, ML, VR/AR, and blockchain promising to revolutionize the sector. These advancements will make gaming more engaging, secure, and efficient, although they bring challenges requiring careful management. Integrating these technologies with existing systems and regulatory frameworks is pivotal for reaping their full benefits.

The gambling industry is poised for an exciting future, marked by innovation and technological advancements. Stay tuned for further developments as the industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes New NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research

The February 20, 2009 issue of the FASEB Washington Update newsletter includes information on the following of note for ISCB members interested in applying for new NIH grant funding availability:

NIH is designating at least $200 million of the funds it received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “stimulus bill”) in FYs 2009 - 2010 for a new initiative called the NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research. The new program is expected to fund 200 or more grants, contingent upon the submission of a sufficient number of scientifically meritorious applications. This program will support research on 15 high priority topics within broad challenge areas that address specific scientific and health research challenges in biomedical and behavioral research that will benefit from significant 2-year jumpstart funds. Challenge Areas, defined by the NIH, focus on specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods that would benefit from an influx of funds to quickly advance the area in significant ways. The research in these areas should have a high impact in biomedical or behavioral science and/or public health. The NIH Challenge Grant information is now live on the NIH Web site at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/challenge_award/. Please note that the RFA includes the following important deadlines:

• Release/Posted Date: March 4, 2009
• Opening Date: March 27, 2009 (Earliest date an application may be submitted to Grants.gov)
  
  
• Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): Not applicable
  
  
• NOTE: On-time submission requires that applications be successfully submitted to Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time (of the applicant institution/organization).
  
  
• Application Due Date(s): April 27, 2009

• Peer Review Date(s): June/July 2009
  
  
• Council Review Date(s): August 2009
  
  
• Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): September 30, 2009
  
  
• Additional Information To Be Available Date (Activation Date): Not Applicable
  
  
• Expiration Date: April 28, 2009

TOP

Return to ISMB 2024 Homepage

Click cell to link within a given cell to go to the relevant page within the scientific programme for a detailed list of presentations.

Click here to download pdf

Return to ISMB 2024 Homepage

Participate in ISCB Blogs on Hot Topics for Bioinformaticians

Share your thoughts!

ISCB is committed to advancing our science to the benefit of our members and the broader bioinformatics community, who in turn are committed to the improvement of human health. As such, we are seeking community input on hot topics that impact the way we work, learn and network. Become an ISCB blogger on the following topics, and be sure to return often (or set up an RSS feed) to see if your fellow bloggers agree, disagree or have shed some light on a different angle that might be of benefit to you as you tackle these issues yourself.

• ISCB-Collaborations that Work
  
  
• ISCB-Video conferencing: To be or not to be?
  
  
• ISCB-What's your Scientific Social Network?

SRS3D now freely available 

SRS 3D is a module of Biowisdom's SRS system that enables the integration and display of sequences and annotations together with 3D structures. The details are available at http://www.SRS3D.org, a site hosted by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).

 

ISCB Expense Claim Reimbursement Process

Here you will find an expense claim form. Please be sure to complete the top half of the information as that information will be used to create a vendor profile in our billing system. Once your information is loaded to the system, you will be sent an email from Bill.com to complete your banking information. ISCB sends payments via electronic funds transfer in either the form of an ACH or wire.

The claim form will ask you to enter the currency in which the expenses took place as well as exchange rate for which you want to be paid. To calculate the exchange rate, you may provide a copy of your credit card statement or pull the rate of the day using http://www.xe.com/travel-expenses-calculator/. The ISCB official reimbursement form must be completed as we will not accept only the xe.com form. You may also submit a copy of your credit card statement showing the expense as it was charged on your credit card.

ISCB reimburses for expenses:

1. North America: electronic funds transfer in US dollars.
2. Non-North America: payment by wired funds transfer in currency of speaker.
   NOTE: Wire transfer fee incurred by the recipient are not the responsibility of ISCB.

Your name: Type the name exactly as it appears on your bank account (this might be your institution name).

Email: Enter the email address where you would like your vendor profile link from Bill.com to be sent

Mailing Address: Please type the full mailing address that is associated with your bank account.

Foreign Exchange “Hidden” Charges: For each field you should put 0 in the box if the fees and commissions were charged separately by your credit card company or foreign cash exchange provider (currency exchange house) and not built in. Otherwise, you must use the % that matches your credit card company or currency exchange % so the credit card statement amount matches this form.

Expense description: Each item being claimed should be entered in date order in the currency that it was expended. Please enter brief, but explanatory expense descriptions.

Each item being claimed should be supported by a detailed itemized receipt attached to the form in the same order as entered on the form. If the currency of the charge was converted to a different currency by your credit card company, the credit card statement(s) that show the amounts charged to you should be included with the receipts. ISCB will not reimburse any claims without detailed itemized receipts.

Submitting your expenses to ISCB: When completed, send the form, with a scan of your receipts and credit card statement(s) as one (1) PDF to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

When submitting the form please verify that receipts are attached to follow the date order of the expenses listed on the form. Please keep the originals for yourself so you will have the originals if the submitted version is lost or unreadable.

As there are many individual reimbursements to be processed following each conference, following the guidelines exactly as noted above will help ensure your reimbursement can be processed without delay. ISCB payments are processed monthly, so you should expect to receive your check within 3-5 weeks of our receipt, if not sooner.

Allowable Expenses:

• Reimbursable expenses include:
  • Budgeted or pre-approved travel (economy class airfare, lowest fare). Upgrades can be purchased at your cost with the understanding only the lowest fare amount will be reimbursed. If upgrading please contact the conference manager for pre-approval and confirmation of lowest airfare rate). Travel should be booked at least one month in advance to ensure lowest rate fares are available.
    
    

  • ISCB Hotel Reimbursement Policy - ISCB will only reimburse hotel accommodations for conference attendees who book their stay within the official hotel block designated for the event. This policy ensures that ISCB can continue to negotiate favorable rates and secure adequate accommodations for all participants. Reimbursements for hotel stays outside the official hotel block may not be processed.

  • Ground transportation, mileage (for personal automobile use), and parking – you can be reimbursed for transportation between residence/office and local airport and between airport and the conference hotel/venue, and in both cases the return portion. Only taxi, public transit is eligible for reimbursement. ISCB will not reimburse for private sedan, limousine, or car services. Private automobile usage mileage is reimbursable at the current IRS rate, and a printout from mapping software that shows starting/ending addresses and total miles traveled is required as the “receipt.” Travel to non-conference related meetings or meals during your stay for the conference are not eligible for reimbursement.

  • Meals – ISCB reimburses meals on a per diem basis of $75 per day.  Meals included in the hotel reservation or conference registration fee will be deducted from the per diem allowance, even if one chooses not to participate in the conference meal.
    • Per diem allowance deductions are as follows
      • $10 Breakfast
      • $20 Lunch
      • $45 Dinner
• Non-Reimbursable expenses include:
  • ISCB Membership
  • Internet – both on the plane and in the hotel when not complimentary

Download Reimbursement Form

- top -

With multiple concurrent tracks, there's not enough time to catch everything you want to see.  Worry not!  Presentations are recorded unless the presenter explicitly denies us permission to do so.

Videos are available to conference registrants through the virtual platform (Juno) at the end of the day the presentation was given and posters are always open in the Virtual Poster Theater.  Entire session recordings will be loaded to the On-Demand section of the conference page and attendees will have to find the talk they wish to view within that session recording.  Once we parse out the individual talks they will replace the master recording for that session.  Unfortunately, a timeline for this cannot be provided as there are too many uncontrollable variables and ISCB has limited staff.

The virtual platform for a conference stays live for 6 months, but only to registrants for that conference.  At the 6 month mark, the virtual platform is taken down and the videos are released on our YouTube channel and the Content Library on Nucleus, provided we have permission from the presenter to share it.  Both of these resources are open to the public.

- top -

Permissions

ISCB acts to ensure it is compliant with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To this end, we cannot share any recordings until we have express permission from the copyright holder of the recording under Creative Commons 4 License (CC BY-4.0).  Permissions are first collected with the confirmation of participation form required to be submitted by all presenters.  If you have given a talk at an ISCB conference but cannot see the video in the associated playlists, be sure you have filled out the permission form allowing us to share it.  The forms are conference specific and listed on the ISBCtv page.  If you have any questions about your recording please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

- top -

Navigating YouTube

The playlists section of our YouTube channel shows the overview of playlists for various events (i.e. ISMB, ISCB-LATAM, ISCBacademy, etc.), but an event doesn't show all the playlists within it simply by looking at the screen. If you click on the title of that event, for example "ISMB and ISMB/ECCB Playlists" it loads all of the playlists we have available for that event.  You then have to scroll to the bottom (which can take scrolling to the bottom of the page to load more playlists multiple times) and you'll see the most recent playlists.  There's also the channel search tool on the top right, just click on the magnifying glass icon.

The videos section of our YouTube channel shows the videos in order of release date by default; if you scroll to the bottom of the listed videos the page will load more videos.  Every video has the presentation title, presenter(s), conference, year, and track in the video description so you can search for any of them using Ctrl+F as well as YouTube's search function.

- top -

Navigating Content Library on Nucleus

The top of the content library contains a search bar.  Any term(s) entered into the search bar will be searched for within presenter names, content titles, and content abstracts for a match.  This bar automatically updates as you type so there may be load time while you complete your terms.  Note that this search is progressively word-order dependent.  This means that search terms are applied in a series from left to right.  For example "genome assembly" will filter out all content that matches "genome", then filter those results for content matching "assembly".

Every video is also tagged with relevant tags that can be applied using the Filter button, located to the right of the search bar.  These tags are grouped by category to help narrow down the filtering process.  Tag filtering will return results with any of the selected tags.  If no tags are selected then there is no tag filtering applied.

- top -

Questions

If you have any questions please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

- top -

Contact Information

For general inquiries, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
To report technical difficulties, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For conference specific information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you are contacting us about scientific work that will be presented at an upcoming conference, please provide the name of the conference, your submission number, and the title of your presentation in the email.

- top -

Fellows Council

The Fellows Council is comprised of nine (9) Fellows who have made substantial contributions to ISCB (e.g. Presidents, Vice Presidents, Members of the Board, Committee Chairs) and whose demographic diversity characteristics reflect those of the ISCB Membership and Computational Biology Community, as far as possible. Fellows Council membership will be reviewed annually by the Fellows Council and Executive Committee to ensure this representation endures. Fellows on the Council can serve a term of up to 3 years with an option to apply for renewal for one further term. All ISCB Fellows with significant ISCB service will be eligible to apply to the Fellows Council. Other ISCB Fellows may be considered where other community citizenship (i.e. external to ISCB) merit their joining the Council.   

The Fellows Council selects the members of the Fellows Selection Committee (FSC) annually and shall ensure that the expertise of the FSC covers as broad a set of scientific themes as possible, and is comprised of a diverse nature taking into consideration gender, ethnicity, scientific expertise, geography, etc. The Council may solicit additional members to the FSC where there is not sufficient coverage of themes from volunteers and to ensure broad demographic representation. Volunteers are selected based on experience in review processes, their particular scientific field and demographic considerations.

As well as annually appointing the FSC in a meeting at ISMB (which may be hybrid), the Fellows Council will meet one more time in the Autumn to coordinate the annual ISCB Fellows Statement highlighting major developments in the field of computational biology for that year. They may also schedule additional meetings if they wish to coordinate reviews on selected topics, Fellows workshops or discussions to promote additional Fellow's activities

Chair: Alfonso Valencia, Director
Alfonso Valencia is the director of the Spanish National Bioinformatics Institute (INB-ISCIII). He serves as a member of the Board of Directors, and past Vice President and President from 2015 – 2018, and continues to serve on several Society advisory councils.  Additionally, he is the Co-Editor in Chief of the Bioinformatics journal.

Thomas Lengauer
Thomas Lengauer is Director Emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken, Germany.  He is the current Chair of ISCB’s Science in Society Committee, member of the Board of Directors, serves on the COSI Advisory Group, Conference Advisory Council, and is a past Vice President and President of the Society. Additionally, he is the Co-Editor in Chief of the journal Bioinformatics Advances which is co-owned by OUP and ISCB.  Thomas Lengauer is Fellow of ISCB and of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), as well as an elected member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Science and Engineering acatech and Academia Europaea.

Christine Orengo
Christine Orengo is a Professor of Bioinformatics at University College London and an expert in structural bioinformatics, functional genomics and protein function prediction. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, UK and an Elected Member of EMBO. She is the current presiding President of ISCB (term ends January 2024) and member of the Board of Directors. She also serves on the COSI Advisory Group, Conferences Advisory Committee, and Green ISCB Task Force.

Janet Kelso
Janet Kelso is a Group leader of the Minerva Research Group for Bioinformatics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.  Janet is the current presiding Treasurer of ISCB and member of the Board of Directors.  She also serves as Chair of the Conference Advisory Council and the Communities of Special Interest Committee Additionally, she has served on the Awards Committee. Janet is also the Co-Editor in Chief of OUP Bioinformatics journal.

Terry Gaasterland
Terry Gaasterland is a Professor of Computational Biology and Genomics and Director of the Scripps Genome Center at the University of California, San Diego.  She is the current co-chair of the Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee, an ISCBsafe Liaison, member of the Board of Directors, and Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  She is also the founding Societal Secretary and past Vice President.

Teresa Przytycka
Teresa Przytycka works as a senior investigator in the Computational Biology Branch of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, where she heads the Algorithmic Methods in Computational and Systems Biology section.  She serves as a member of the Awards Committee and Fellows Selection Committee.  She has also served as ISMB conference chair, proceedings chair, and area chair.

Laxmi Parida
Laxmi Parida is an IBM Master Inventor and group leader in computational genomics at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center and Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.   She is a current member of the Board of Directors and has served on the Fellows Selection Committee.

Xuegong Zhang
Xuegong Zhang is the Director of the Bioinformatics Division at BNRIST (Beijing National Research Center for Information Science and Technology) and Professor at Tsinghua University.  He is a current member of the Board of Directors and serves on the Fellows Selection Committee. Xuegong is Fellow of the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence (CAAI).

Satoru Miyano
Satoru Miyano is a professor and the director of the M&D Data Science Center at Tokyo Medical and Dental University.  Satoru was the first Japanese to receive the ISCB Fellow designation.  He is also a past member of the Board of Directors. Satoru is an honorary member of the Japanese Society for Bioinformatics.

SPONSORS

Co-Host

Silver Sponsors

General Sponsors

 - top -