VentureBeat

A source tells us that online community calling and podcasting site TalkShoe is in talks on a round of funding. The total is said to be $5 million and would likely come from Third Security, a Virginia-based private equity and venture capital firm.

The service hosted over 47,000 community calls last year, connecting 259,000 people, and had over 7.5 million downloads. In February the company announced its intention to become the go-to service for voice services on social networks. Last month, the company created a Facebook application. It also recently launched an iPhone application which makes it easy to use the device with the service.

The Pennsylvania-based TalkShoe launched in 2006.

We’ve contacted the company for a comment and will update when we know more.

San Diego’s Cyntellect, a laboratory equipment maker focused on tools that image and manipulate living cells, raised $15.1 million in a fourth funding round. The company’s technology, which it says is based upon principles from the semiconductor industry, uses lasers to capture fluorescent cell images, to eliminate unwanted cell types, and to “optoinject” proteins, peptides and nucleic acids into cells.

The round was led by Third Security and joined by an unidentified existing Cyntellect investor. The investors may commit up to another $8.3 million under the terms of the deal. The company said it will use the money to hire more staff, expand operations and explore new uses for its laser tools.

Intrexon, a Blackburg, Va., developer of engineered gene therapies it calls “transcriptional therapeutics,” raised $25 million in a third round of financing provided by Third Security. Earlier funding rounds were provided by Third Security and NewVa Capital Partners.

Intrexon is at work on drugs based on stretches of DNA that can integrate themselves into the genomes of individual cells and begin to function like native genes. These newly installed genes could be turned on or off by “activator” molecules such as another drug, potentially allowing the controlled production of new proteins that affect other cellular processes. Intrexon intends to direct the technology against cancer.

Such gene therapy has long been tantalizing, although it’s never worked particularly well in practice. The company’s release is here.