Eight of the country's best innovators were recognised last week in the third annual The Australian Innovation Challenge. The challenge is run by The Australian in partnership with Shell Australia with support from the Department of Industry and Innovation Australia. [ + ]

BRW has released its second list of Australia's Most Innovative Companies. Topping the list for 2013 is biotech company Planet Innovation, which last year ranked eighth on the list. [ + ]

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that it will create an observatory in space to detect ripples in the fabric of space-time, known as gravitational waves, which are created by celestial objects with very strong gravity, such as the merging of black holes. Researchers say this will expand the way in which they can observe the universe. [ + ]

Shedding light on a new type of lymphoid cell that appears to play a role in defence against cutaneous infection and the development of allergies will form the basis of Wolfgang Weninger's presentation at the Australasian Society for Immunology meeting. [ + ]

Professor Alan Baxter, Head of the Comparative Genomics Centre at James Cook University, will deliver the annual Australasian Society for Immunology (ASI) Postgraduate Lecture to inspire a new crop of immunologists to take on a career in science. [ + ]

Regeneus (ASX:RGS) and Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) both plan to take advantage of a new expedited regulatory pathway for regenerative medicine products in Japan. [ + ]

Novogen (ASX:NRT) shares grew more than 18% after the company announced its new JV has discovered that lead drug candidate Trilexium can destroy ovarian cancer spheroids. [ + ]

Finally, some important physics - researchers have worked out why if you tap the bottom of a newly opened beer bottle it froths up and foams everywhere. [ + ]

A new technique for imaging blood flow and tissue movement in the lungs has been acknowledged. [ + ]

With a 3D printer, open-source software and free digital designs, cash-strapped scientists can now fabricate their own lab equipment at a fraction of the cost. [ + ]

Researchers at Oxford and Plymouth Universities have discovered ancient viruses from Neanderthals in the DNA of modern humans. Their research was supported by the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council (MRC) and published in the journal Current Biology. [ + ]

Avita Medical's (ASX:AVH) two largest shareholders plan to vote against the company's remuneration report, with Bioscience Managers calling for the replacement of the chairman and CEO. [ + ]

A team of researchers has discovered the well-preserved remnants of a complex microbial ecosystem in a nearly 3.5 billion-year-old sedimentary rock sequence in Western Australia. [ + ]

In the world of pawnbroking, the difference between real and fake gold - or plated versus solid - could mean a difference of hundreds of dollars per transaction and thousands per year. Thermo Scientific portable precious metal analysers have received the endorsement of Hardcore Pawn’s Seth Gold. [ + ]

The 2013 Prime Minister's Science Prizes were this week awarded at the Royal Society of New Zealand in Wellington. With a total of $1 million in prize money, the awards aim to highlight the contribution science makes to New Zealand's economy. [ + ]