A selection of our best blog posts from February for stories not covered elsewhere in the magazine includes: Friends in High Places: The White House appears to appreciate the need for innovation and, Medtronic's $1.03 billion buying spree is only the beginning in percutaneous heart valves.

While there is no question that heart valve repair and replacement is moving toward minimally invasive techniques and devices, there is a big difference between a minimally invasive surgical approach and a truly percutaneous, incisionless procedure. The challenges of reaching the latter goal are substantial, but apparently not insurmountable., In fact, recent progress in this field provides hope that in the not too distant future, percutaneous valve replacement and repair will become an accepted part of the treatment armamentarium, greatly expanding the number of patients who can be offered these potentially life-saving procedures.

A $12-billion market and growing, the field of aesthetic medicine has exploded with new treatments and techniques for improving and restoring the quality, health and appearance of aging skin. Techniques such as tissue tightening, skin resurfacing, cellulite treatments, dermal augmentation, and fat removal are just some of the new advancements in aesthetic medicine that were highlighted at the 2007 American Academy of Dermatology meeting.

In Vivo presents another installment of our quarterly review of dealmaking--in this case April 2001-June 2001. Our data comes from Windhover's Strategic Transactions Database. We include medical device financings by industry segment and by deal type; medical device M&A; diagnostic financings and alliances by product category; pharma and biotech alliances by technology segment; pharma and biotech alliances by deal type, and pharma and biotech financings by market segment and therapeutic category.