Articles
Australia at BIO 2007
The special BIO 2007 issue of Australian Life Scientist is out now. [ + ]
microRNAs and immune response
MicroRNAs play a role in the immune response to antigens, a new study has found. [ + ]
Chemical cues turn embryonic stem cells into cerebellar neurons
American scientists have reported that embryonic stem cells implanted into mouse brains appear to develop into fully differentiated granule neurons. [ + ]
Environmental disasters and the RQF
I have been wading through information about the Research Quality Framework (RQF). The RQF is "an Australian Government initiative to formulate a world's best practice framework for evaluating research quality and the impact of research
[ + ]Tax concessions available for research
The R&D Tax Concession is designed to fuel local research and development and is available to all sectors of industry
[ + ]Single chip for SNPs and copy number variations
Affymetrix has developed a single-chip array to measure SNPs and CNVs. [ + ]
Cell-based imaging for tissue samples
West Australian biotech Molecular Discovery Systems is using a GE Healthcare image analysis system for a whole new purpose. [ + ]
Latex: a sensitive issue
The number of people who have an adverse allergic reaction to latex is growing on a daily basis. And while there are synthetic options available, the bad news is that the favourable properties of natural rubber latex have yet to be replicated
[ + ]Keeping clean may not always be wise
No-one in my house suffers from asthma, which is really rather lucky. However, I have long been concerned that all the research that establishes over-clean houses as a potential trigger for the disease actually shows up my limitations as a housekeeper
[ + ]Getting big for BIO
Look out for the March/April issue of Australian Life Scientist, featuring our big preview of BIO2007 along with new developments in RNAi and proteomics. [ + ]
Luck of the draw for salty genes
A lucky coincidence has led Australian plant researchers to two new genes responsible for salt tolerance in wheat. [ + ]
Freeze-dried bunny killer
NSW scientists are researching how to develop a freeze-dried form of the rabbit Calicivirus to improve its effectiveness. [ + ]
Wainwright to head IMB
Brandon Wainwright has taken over from John Mattick as head of Queensland's Institute of Molecular Bioscience. [ + ]
Getting good science students
In the next couple of weeks the main rounds of university place offers will be made. Anecdotally I hear that the number of high school students choosing a science degree as their first preference has dropped again. Why?
[ + ]A new class of polymers
For years, polymer chemistry textbooks have stated that 1,2-disubstituted ethylenes could not be transformed into polymers. However, University of Delaware (UD) polymer chemists were determined to prove the textbooks wrong
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