Picture a company that acquires a throwaway toxic waste at a cost of zip, processes it, and then sell it for $5.60 a gallon - and there's over a billion gallons of it within easy reach.

A Top Pick for 2013 --- - GlyEco (GLYE.OB)

• Type 1 Certified Recycled Glycol will be delivered into the market, "during the second quarter of 2013 or sooner."

For those new to this exceptional green story, GlyEco owns the world's only technology that can take hazardous glycol waste and produce the premium Type 1* glycol-which is indistinguishable from refinery-grade glycol. The buy low/sell high aspect of GlyEco's business model brings to the company an unusual profit outlook. Because there's an immense market out there for 'virgin' glycol, the revenue and bottom-line earnings potential sets in place what looks to be an uncommon investment opportunity.

The average sales price of ethylene glycol

Star Scientific (STSI):

The tortuous history of drug discovery and development is filled with examples of long, quirky, unpredictable and often serendipitous discoveries and then, much as the substance in a mosaic reveals itself, its relevance and significance becomes vibrantly clear. To view a celebrated tesserae link here.

Major medical breakthroughs never happen overnight. Science marches to the beat of its own drum, and discoveries typically emerge over the course of years, decades, or even centuries, before culminating in disruptive technologies and important medical advances.

A striking example of a major medical advance occurring over a long timeline is the discovery and development of statins, the class of medicines that are now the first-line treatment for lowering cholesterol levels. In the late 1800s, German scientist Rudolf Virchow discovered that large amounts of cholesterol were deposited on the artery wall of patients who died from cardiovascular disease. Fast forward 50-years

Author's Note (Feb. 4, 2013): Due to Dr. Paul Ladenson's appointment as Director of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Johns Hopkins, I made the assumption that Johns Hopkins was therefore associated at the institutional level in Star Scientific's ASAP Thyroid clinical trial. It has now become clear that while Dr. Ladenson is the head clinical consultant to Star for the ASAP trial, the relationship between Dr. Ladenson and Star Scientific does not extend to Johns Hopkins as an institution. I regret any confusion, and I am pleased to correct this error below.

Delving into the Future

My recent Seeking Alpha report on Star Scientific (STSI) provided an update on its recently completed successful human trials carried out by Rock Creek and how the company's science, demonstrating proof of concept and efficacy in human subjects, has progressed. Accordingly, we now know that anatabine works, and it has worked on all

Author's Note (Feb. 4, 2013): Due to Dr. Paul Ladenson's appointment as Director of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Johns Hopkins, I made the assumption that Johns Hopkins was therefore associated at the institutional level in Star Scientific's ASAP Thyroid clinical trial. It has now become clear that while Dr. Ladenson is the head clinical consultant to Star for the ASAP trial, the relationship between Dr. Ladenson and Star Scientific does not extend to Johns Hopkins as an institution. I regret any confusion, and I am pleased to correct this error below.

Massive Risk Reduction

Last Monday's press release regarding the proof of concept and efficacy of anatabine as employed in human thyroiditis trials by Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals in conjunction with Dr. Paul Ladenson, who acts as a key clinical consultant for Star, clarifies to a large degree the science risks of Star Scientific's (STSI) over-the-counter compound

A Top Pick for 2013

Since my last Seeking Alpha report on GlyEco (GLYE.OB) last August the company has made noteworthy progress in its strategy of acquiring companies that produce Type 2 glycol from wastes used in the manufacturing of glycol products and or their disposal.

For those new to the story GlyEco owns the only technology that can take hazardous glycol waste and produce the premium Type 1 ** virgin glycol indistinguishable from refinery grade glycol. In less than a year GlyEco has inked seven accretive acquisitions and in the last four months, four have now been finalized. Imagine a company that can acquire a toxic throwaway hazardous waste for about zero, process it and then sell it for $5.60 a gallon - and there's about a billion gallons of the waste to access.

The asset purchase of the subject Elizabeth, New Jersey company that has grown to

To fully understand the crash of the shares of Turquoise Hill (TRQ), which swooned from $22.80 to $6.99 as of Nov. 29 one needs to know about Mongolia and one needs to know about Robert Friedland, the man that made it all happen. Turquoise Hill (TRQ) NYSE is 51% owned by mining giant Rio Tinto (RTP) NYSE. A long story ensues. Buckle up…

Most of the world knows about the Mongolian conqueror Genghis Khan and the vast empire he founded, which became history's largest contiguous empire after his demise. However, those who have visited Mongolia know that Genghis Khan embodies the country's national and ethnic identity - in spades. Monuments, likenesses, signage, office buildings and hotels proclaim the name, the pride of the citizenry. It's said that over 60% of the populace carry the 'clan' name of Borjigid, the designation of the clan of Genghis Khan. Nowhere on earth

For Ivanhoe Energy (IVAN), "dénouement" might be an appropriate word:

dé·noue·ment: The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot. The outcome of a sequence of events; the end result.

It's been a long road, but I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel -- distressingly, I might add, as I've been peering down that tunnel for a number of years as the stock has been in a long decline.

Of late, shares of Ivanhoe Energy have been under pressure from year-end tax selling and blown-up hedge fund redemptions. But last Thursday's and Friday's (Nov. 29 and Nov. 30) huge volume expansion to over 7.7 million shares -- six times the average volume, and especially at the end of a trend -- could portend that "capitulation" is at hand. I believe that for several reasons -- for pure value alone, plus improved regulatory, fundamental, and

Star Scientific Inc. (STSI) - It's the science.

Indeed, a fat settlement from Reynolds American (RAI) would have been nice, but none of the institutions are betting their bucks on a lawsuit for a payoff. Licensing of their BDL patents going forward to others maybe. Almost universally the institutional contact I receive regarding Star has to do with the evolution of the science. In addition, the scientific alliances think the major research institutions would like to see Star's tobacco products disassociated from their health-related endeavors, and this may have speed up the company's interest in the settlement with Reynolds.

The short game is now shot-out with the Reynolds settlement a thing of the past. Now it's all about the ascendancy of the science of Anatabine the active ingredient in Anatabloc and its potential benefits for mankind.

So what Star brings to the market is a compound i.e. Anatabloc

Over the past year accounting scandals have tainted many good Chinese companies with the stench of the bad. Mouth-watering intrinsic values of some of these good, honest and above-board companies have incited a buying frenzy by inside management and private equity players who know what the values are, and know what the outlook going forward is.

Central to this thesis is that the massive state-owned China Development Bank is providing more than $1 billion in financing to help Chinese companies leave the U.S. stock market. To date, by my count, 33 Chinese-domiciled, USA-listed companies have gone private over the last 18-months. It is notable that The Bloomberg Chinese Reverse Mergers Index of 82 companies lost 52% of its market value from June 2011 through July 16, 2012. Rich value metrics and a solid growth arc resonate. (See below)* Hence the opportunity in China Carbon Graphite Group, Inc. (CHGI.OB).

It

Here is an extraordinary story; at the least it's one for you to ponder and track.

GlyEco (GLYE.OB) is well underway with its roll-up strategy acquiring profitable companies. Since February of this year they have acquired seven (7) companies (see Bloomberg article re the last acquisition). While the company is relatively new and undiscovered, management carried out 3 years of legwork in preparation for their official launch. They had the idea, developed their technology, researched the market, and developed the key business relationships and hit the ground running. (See the seven and the hyperlinks to the SEC 8-K docs below.)

There are Risks in Rollups

In the book BILLION DOLLAR LESSONS authors Paul Carrol and Chunka Mui postulate that, "about two-thirds of rollups fail to create value for investors"; and my several decades of investing experience suggest the same. The 'sudden' increase and complexity in dealing

Hypothesis no longer: Johns Hopkins scientists now believe they know why Star Scientific's (CIGX) anatabine compound Anatabloc works. Newly presented thyroid research from the peer reviewed journal Endocrinology makes the case. The implications could drive shares sharply higher as peer reviewed substantiation brings new heights of credibility to the science. See below for context and amplification.

This is important breakthrough news from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (where the thyroid research and studies have been funded by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation), so slip on your science hat and stay with me on this. The implications from the medical community will now carry new weight as they will be able to officially discern the kind of conditions that anatabine/Anatabloc could be effective in treating.

Autoimmune (so-called "Hashimoto") thyroiditis, first reported in 1912 and considered a rarity until the

Ivanhoe Energy Shares pop on big volume. One wonders “again”: What’s up?

Ivanhoe Energy (IVAN) Nasdaq - Market cap is $317 million.

Thoughts:

I continue to find the Ivanhoe Energy story irresistible, but over the last year there’s been little of "meat on the bone" news released and the shares have ratcheted down and had the believers squirming, to put it mildly. Obviously, the big break in the price of crude that fell from $120 a barrel in April to $75 a barrel in October didn’t help, and the stock market / Euroland mess was also contributory to the selloff as many sellers lightened the ship, then the tax selling hit and it’s been a nightmare anyway you look at it. Nevertheless, the IVAN story remains intact ― in fact, it’s getting even better.

Certainly, this is a story that has worn out and hurt investors and been a

The 1-2 punch of a major stock market break and a decision by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has clobbered shares of Star Scientific (CIGX) and brought them down to just above lows reached last year when all the big interest in the stock began. Now the company has initiated a marketing campaign to sell a new product that has groundbreaking potential. It portends a macro change in the treatment of low-grade inflammation.

Let's talk about the science a bit because it is central to grasping the sea change that I think the Star product brings to the market. It's all about modulating and quieting NF-kB, a blood protein that serves as a first responder to harmful cellular stimuli. Because NF-kB controls many genes involved in inflammation, it is not surprising that NF-kB is found to be chronically active in many inflammatory diseases, such as inflammatory bowel

“The other side of the very high short position (in CIGX) is, of course, that if they are as wrong, as we obviously believe they are — in spades — they will be slaughtered." - Otis Bradley, Chief Market Strategist at ICM Capital Markets Ltd, June 21 2011

A Stock for the Ages – Maybe? Likely!

Disclaimer: I'm an investor in Star Scientific Inc. (CIGX) shares and have no other affiliation with the company than as a shareholder.

What we know: There is a massive 21 million share short position in CIGX and Otis Bradley, Chief Market Strategist at ICM Capital Markets, suggests that “if they are wrong they will be slaughtered.” If you are familiar with the story, you know that there has been a relentless attack on the shares of Star Scientific.

Estimates range that the “shorts” have now lost over $40 million shorting the shares.

Last Wednesday (June 1) I attended a tour and overview of important new discoveries being made at the renowned Roskamp Institute in Sarasota, Florida. The gathering was attended by about 125 scientists, money managers, institutional investors, and assorted inter ested parties that ran the gamut from the wife of a sitting governor to some famous people in the public eye.

The conference lasted about four hours. In that time we were the recipients of a comprehensive recap and update of the science surrounding the "astonishing" compound RCP-006. The scientific part of the presentation included lead scientists and researchers from the Roskamp Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who discussed their breakthrough research currently underway at the Institute, at Johns Hopkins, the Flint Study (see press release of Feb. 28) and a newly announced 500-person study in Pisa, Italy. Roskamp is funded by the National Institutes of Health and

“The single phenomenon that holds the key to sickness and health – The holy grail of medicine” *

Today the study of inflammation is ascendant in medical research. Thousands of articles now reference this “first” response of the immune system, and the multitude of pathologies and human woes it can cause. Interrupting the negative cascade of the body’s response to first insult has become a busy frontier of research, with countless multitudes of lives and dollars at stake.

I recall Pathology Professor Dardin in one of my early classes at Georgetown many years ago lecturing to medical and dental students on the topic of inflammation, the biological response to harmful stimuli. “Calor, dolor, rubor, and tumor,” he quoted in Latin—heat, pain, redness, and swelling being the four classic signs of inflammation originally recorded by the Roman encyclopedist Celsus in the 1st century A.D. Little did