The sequencing of the human genome has resulted in the emergence of an enormously important new branch in the biotechnological sciences. The most common terms for this field are bioinformatics or computational biology.

Currently, medicine is, to a large degree, a “one size fits all” proposition. Doctors watch for adverse effects and check personal and family histories. Medical technologies, however, are designed for the general population, not individuals. That’s going to change.

I’ve been surprised over the past few weeks by the pace of biofuel development. These aren’t breakthroughs that are likely to produce obvious winners in the next few months, but the time line keeps pulling in. There’s a lot of skepticism about this technology, but there was also skepticism for every major tech development of the last three or four decades.

At the Agora Financial conference in Vancouver, I participated in a panel that attempted to name “the trade of the decade.” Many of the recommendations involved commodity or resource plays.

The electronics and computing industries are getting primed for a massive transformation in the years ahead. Quantum technologies that were only theories in scientific journals just a few years ago are being prototyped in labs now. These new components will change the way we live forever. They will also create transformational profit opportunities.

There’s something about having servants – even if they seem to love their jobs – that is vaguely disturbing. It offends many Americans’ sense of egalitarianism. But robots are different. They aren’t human. And that’s a big part of their potential appeal. They don’t eat, they don’t get offended and they don’t ask for pay raises. So if a robot could do what a human servant could do, wouldn’t you want a robot?

A more recent addition to my transformational technologies portfolio, Medarex (NASDAQ:MEDX), has scored a huge win. The company, along with Massachusetts Biologic Laboratory, will get $60 million upfront from Merck (NYSE:MRK) for license rights to a monoclonal antibody that apparently cures C. difficile infection. They are eligible for another $165 million in milestones as well as royalties.

There’s been so much stem cell news recently, I haven’t written a lot about the other major breakthrough area in medicine. That is, of course, RNA interference (RNAi). So I’d like to rectify that oversight.

Contrary to the common misconception, we have no energy shortage. In fact, we have more energy available than we could ever use.

There is a much better way to generate nuclear energy, says Patrick Cox. Thorium is more efficient, more abundant and less hazardous than uranium. Patrick says it is government subsidies and regulations are blocking the widespread use of thorium. But if Obama removes these barriers, it could become the ultimate alternative energy.