US researchers have addressed a longstanding question about how DNA functions are organised in space and time, including how genes are regulated to be silenced or expressed. [ + ]

A new industry body, the Medical Cannabis Council, has been launched with an aim to develop best practice and standards for producing, supplying and distributing medical cannabis. [ + ]

Lab Innovations, the UK's dedicated show for laboratory technology, analytical and biotech equipment, returns for its sixth consecutive year from 1–2 November 2017 at the NEC, Birmingham. [ + ]

Clinical trials accounted for roughly $1.1 billion in gross expenditure in 2015, and the annual expenditure could reach 2 billion in the next 10 years. [ + ]

A subpopulation of immune cells that normally fend off pathogens can turn against the host during certain infections, an international research team has revealed. [ + ]

Molecular diagnostics company Genetic Signatures has received Australian and European regulatory approval for its Enteric Viral Detection solution. This will allow the sale of the company's complete enteric suite within those regions, which represent 22% of the global molecular diagnostics market. [ + ]

Australian researchers have pioneered a faster method for finding the best antibiotic to treat an infection, in a breakthrough with the potential to save lives and preserve the usefulness of antibiotics. [ + ]

It's been a big week for Australia's growing medical cannabis industry, with ethics approval granted for two human trials as well as the formation of a new joint venture. [ + ]

Australian researchers have developed a new approach to monitor how medicines interact with and modify the activity of living cells. [ + ]

A newly developed chip can capture and hold individual cells in the exact centre of a minuscule hydrogel droplet. The novel method, developed by researchers at University of Twente, keeps cells alive for multiple weeks, which makes it easier to study them. [ + ]

QUE Oncology, a clinical-stage biotechnology company established by The University of Queensland and Emory University (Atlanta, USA), has received US$16 million in series A investment. [ + ]

Global bioscience company Chr. Hansen has expanded its strain library of potential microbiome modulating strains. [ + ]

In the world's largest study into the genetic causes of endometriosis, researchers have helped identify five new gene regions linked to the disease. [ + ]

Using a combination of bioengineering and stem cell culture, scientists have formed brain-like structures called organoids that resemble the shape of a human embryo. [ + ]

The NovaSeq genome sequencing platform, based at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, is expected to revolutionise the detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer and rare genetic disease through rapid and efficient genome analysis. [ + ]