There are two benefits for me for going to trade shows: (1) Learning quickly what's new in the trade. In a good trade show, you can get a good demonstration of a new product, and sometimes you can even talk to one of the developers. (2) Networking. I often run into former colleagues at trade shows, which gives us opportunities to update one another and re-establish contacts.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of Harvard, MIT, and more than 50 biotech companies, you must have a recombinant DNA permit before you can manipulate genetic material. Here's the link if you want to apply: http://www.cambridgepublichealth.org/services/regulatory-activities/rdna/overview.php