#343: Nooma, GeekSpeak, GRExit, and more tech

Digest #343

Welcome to Nooma Bio, the newest biotech in town. A spinoff from Ontera, Nooma was launched with seed financing from Khosla Ventures to accelerate the development and productization of biotech for mapping genomic and epigenetic features on DNA.

Kudos to Lyle Troxell, celebrating his 20th year hosting GeekSpeak, the entertaining Santa Cruz-based weekly podcast where software engineers talk tech. This week we share just one of a gazillion GeekSpeak podcasts. Find them all at geekspeak.org. While you're there, take a step back in time and listen to some of the local tech -- and non-tech -- happenings from years ago.

And, check out the big announcement from Poly (Plantronics).

There's a whole lot more. Scroll down and start reading!

Sara Isenberg

Founder, Publisher, Editor-in-Chief

Santa Cruz Tech Beat

http://santacruztechbeat.com

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Top Stories

New Biotech in town: With seed financing from Khosla Ventures, Ontera spins out Nooma Bio. Read the article.

Congratulations to GeekSpeak's Lyle Troxell for 20 years hosting the show. Listen to the podcast.

Poly (Plantronics) appoints a telecommunications and technology veteran as new President/Chief Executive Officer. Read this article.

UCSC and CSUMB partner to launch an innovative postdoctoral training and mentorship program to address underrepresentation of minorities in biomedical faculty. Read the article.

Growers Insight forms a strategic alliance with food industry digitalization leader CropTrak to improve interoperability and overall success of modernization across the food supply chain. Read the article.

City of Santa Cruz and Virtual Planet Technologies launch a hyper-realistic (yikes) 3D model app allowing users to interactively raise sea levels and watch the potential impacts on West Cliff Drive, Cowell’s, and Main Beach. Read the article.

Jane Tech is one of the the largest consumer platforms in the cannabis industry, serving 1700+ dispensaries across 31 states. Founder Socrates Rosenthal shares his journey in this Q&A. Read the article.

Could GRExit be the new normal? All 17 of Baskin Engineering's graduate programs waive the GRE requirement for 2021. Ten drop the test permanently. Read the article.

It's time to think bigger! Coworking aficionado Cat Johnson embraces the opportunity for coworking to lead the way into a brighter future. Read the article.

Learn about tools for productivity and security at the Sept 2 SC Works event featuring HubSpot, Exceed AI, Contrast Security, RD Concepts, and Cyberus Labs. Read the article.

A Salinas school district cultivates a culture of digital citizenship using models of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that advocates for safe media and technology use. Read the article.