Of grass and men

How modern humans owe a great evolutionary debt to C4 grasses, the symbiotic relationship between legumes and bacteria, the molecular pathology of Alzheimer's disease through the prism of the zebrafish brain, and the weird and wonderful world of the paraspeckle - this is the entree to the main course that is ComBio, the combined annual meeting of the societies for biochemistry and molecular biology, plant science and cell and developmental biology, taking place this month in Sydney.

In the September/October issue of Australian Life Scientist, we talk to some of the speakers at this month's ComBio, including Rowan Sage, Giles Oldroyd, Michael Lardelli and Archa Fox.

We also take our biannual survey of the Australian biotech sector in advance of AusBiotech 2007, look at what's happening in the market and profile some of our leading companies, including private proteomics company Minomic, adult stem cell pioneer Mesoblast, newly listed antibody company Oncaidia, Tasmania's ReWire Therapies, animal plasma specialist Plasvacc and who's exhibiting at AusBiotech 2007.

We also report on new ways to fight dengue fever with a mosquito-life-shortening bacteria, a vaccine trial to save koalas from wet bottoms and how the hormone ghrelin activates primal drives such as hunger, thirst and sexual desire. Fluorescence applications come under the microscope - pardon the pun - and we look at all that's happening in the laboratory, including a profile of a new bioseparations company that has listed on the stock exchange.

Featured this month:

• Rowan Sage and C4 grasses
• Giles Oldroyd and rhizobia bacteria
• Michael Lardelli and presenilin genes
• Archa Fox and nuclear paraspeckles

And

• Scott O'Neill and the Wolbachia parasite
• Peter Timms and koala Chalmydia
• Mattias Tschop and the ghrelin hormone

Plus!

Sorting the sperm from the chaff - NuSep steps into rather interesting territory.

As always, ALS features all of the latest products and methods on the market in Lab News, the latest scientific literature in our Bookshop and local and international conference dates in Events.

And remember to look out for the November/December 2007 issue, which will feature our annual look at two of the most important areas of life science research today: RNAi and proteomics. We take a look at developments in these fields from both a local and an international perspective. We also preview the Australasian Society for Immunology conference, review all of the latest developments in microarray technology, and bring you up to date with all that is happening in life science research from Australia and abroad.

Deadlines for the November/December issue:

• Editorial submission deadline: October 19
• Advertising booking deadline: October 26
• Complete advertising material deadline: October 29
• Issue date: November 19

Advertising enquiries

For more information about advertising, please contact:

• Ric Hudson
• Phone: 02 9902 2732
• Email: ric_hudson@idg.com.au

Editorial enquiries

For more information about editorial, please contact:

• Kate McDonald
• Phone: 02 9902 2765
• Email: kate_mcdonald@idg.com.au