Spam, spam, spam, spam, science spam!

No, this isn’t another post on laboratory-grown meat – this is spam of the email variety.

Maybe you think spam just involves offers to enlarge parts of your body and the like, but if you’re in research then you get the joy of biology spam. All the universities have the names, specialties and email address of all their researchers listed neatly on their websites, providing a treasure trove for spammers to target us personally. The appropriate-sounding emails get through the university’s spam filters and clog up our inboxes, that is, until I get around to telling my email to send them to the junk folder.

Here’s some edited highlights of my unsolicited email  – you may recognise some of these from your own inboxes. The trickle has turned into a flood this year. Bucket loads from this crowd:

Technology Networks [theeditor@technologynetworks.com] Ashley Board / Louise Conlin
Immunology News

[My name] ,

Promote Your Company mailto:promotions@technologynetworks.com?subject=Send Advertising Rates for Immunology Newsletter

Here is a selection of the latest Immunology News…
Boehringer Ingelheim and Xencor Enter a Collaboration Agreement
TxCell Presents Immuno-Monitoring Results of its Phase I/II Clinical Trial

Upcoming Events
3rd Cancer Targets and Therapeutics
27 – 28 February 2012, Las Vegas, NV

2nd Annual Global Vaccine Forum
01 – 02 March 2012, Vienna, Austria

I could try unsubscribing, but I treat these the way I treat any spam – better not to let them know it’s an active email address.

Select Biosciences [enquiries@noreply.selectbiosciences.com]
Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC), Cancer Stem Cells (CSC) Market Report

Up-to-date technology and market analysis of the CTCs and CSCs spaces
* Biology of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) and Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs)
* EMT Signaling Pathways and Molecular Effectors
* Markers for CSCs
* Methodologies for Study/Analysis of CTCs
* CTC Classes in Various Types of Cancer

For more information about these market reports, or to place orders please contact Kathy.gray@selectbiosciences.com
Select Biosciences Ltd, Woodview, Bull Lane, Sudbury, CO10 0FD, United Kingdom

European Lab Automation 2012 Training Course Update
Amy St Ledger [a.stledger@noreply.selectbiosciences.com]

Flow Chemistry Asia 2012 – Call for Papers
Sara Spencer [s.spencer@noreply.selectbiosciences.com]

Those are the two most frequent culprits, and there are other odds and ends, for example:

Join the BioCrowd
BioCrowd [mail@bioinsights.com]
An Online Community for Bioprofessionals
________
Bioinformatics & Biomedical Eng. Conf. (Shanghai) Call for Attendance and Papers
icbbe2012 [icbbe2012a@gremail.org]
Best regards
Sincerely yours,
Emily Yu
Secretary of iCBBE 2012
TEL: 132-6470-2230
Email: submit@icbbe.org
iCBBE Organizing Committee
URL: http://www.icbbe.org
________
Seasons Greetings from World Congress of Vaccine — Brochure and Invitation Letter
soffina6 [soffina6@bit-wcit.com]
Ms. Monica Fu
Organizing Committee of WCV-2012
East Area, F11, Building 1,
Dalian Ascendas IT Park,
1 Hui Xian Yuan,
Dalian Hi-tech Industrial Zone,
LN 116025, China
Tel: 0086-411-84799609 ext 813
Fax: 0086-411-84799629
Email: monica@vaccinecon.com
________
Open Journal of Internal Medicine Vol.1 No.3 for [my name]
Open J. Internal Med. [ojim@aspemail.org]
________
Can I stop by your office by the end of January?
Frank Zhang [Bio11@antibodymarketing.com]
We would like to have an opportunity to work with you to develop monoclonal antibodies libraries for your next NHMRC grant. These libraries will multiply your chances of getting successful antibodies, propelling your research to its ideal goal.
For only US$1,200, you will receive a library
– consists of 6 monoclonal antibodies,
– made with 6 DIVERSE peptide antigens,
– recognizes ≥4 epitopes on your target protein,
– within 3 months.
ALL you need to provide is your protein sequence.
Best wishes,
Frank Zhang
Senior Antibody Discovery Specialist
Abmart Inc., frank.zhang@ab-mart.com, frank.abmart@gmail.com
________
OptimumGene™ Technology Helped Decoding Mysteries in Science
GenScript [service007@molecular-biology.net]
Copyright 2011 GenScript USA Inc.
860 Centennial Avenue | Piscataway | NJ 08854 | USA

Emails from science product companies that I’ve got quotes or ordered products from is normal, but these are all unsolicited. Spamming me is exactly the right way to ensure that I will never, ever deal with the company. Surely all publicity isn’t good publicity if it causes people to loathe you?

I found a website blacklisting biosciences companies that spam.( They say it’s because we put our contact details on our papers, but since I’m not corresponding author on any of my papers that’s not the source for these guys.) They also suggest that a better way to combat this than unsubscribing is “a public flogging and lost sales”.

All this carefully targeted tech spam makes a traditional Nigerian scammer I got the other day so much funnier:

Dearest one,

I am contacting you to let you know my desire to establish a charity foundation in your country with this sum $2.000.000 (Two Million Dollars) which I inherited from my late husband (Engineer. mark Idoma) It is my desire to see that this money is invested to any business or organization of your choice in your country and distributed each year among the charity organizations, motherless baby home, mosques,churches, Schools, supporting destitute aged men and women or whatever you may have in mind that will be to the benefit of the less fortunate.

I took this decision because I am presently hospitalized here in hospital where I am undergoing treatment for my up coming breast cancer surgery operation and alternative treatment for my cerebrovascular disease (stroke). As you may wish to know there are no risks involved in this whole transaction, I therefore look forward to your early reply so that I will give you all the relevant information that will authorise the release and transfer of the said fund across to you as my duly assigned representative.

Thanking you in advance for your consideration,

Mrs. Rita Idoma.
mrs rita idoma [ritaidoma9@yahoo.cn]