The University of Queensland (UQ) has received a $48,000 donation to its cancer research institute from cancer charity group, Mardi Jackson Foundation.

A private financier may have come to the rescue of embattled animal health company Chemeq. [ + ]

700 Rottweilers will assist American researchers to discover whether antioxidant supplementation has a preventative effect in bone cancer. [ + ]

Strange little microbes living in extreme conditions will soon be put under the microscope by Australian TAFE students in a novel partnership that aims to apply biotechnology to the real world. [ + ]

An inflammation drug candidate has been chosen as a lead and will be advanced into development after showing high levels of activity in animal models of inflammatory respiratory disease.

The Molecular Plant Breeding CRC's Dr Yusuf Genc has found that different varieties of wheat have different ways of dealing with salinity. The research has implications for cereal breeders, who have long sought to breed varieties that are resistant to salinity.

Two major pre-clinical breakthroughs have set Apollo Life Sciences on the road to commercialising the company's large molecule delivery systems, with orally delivered insulin and TNF blockers just two of its targets. [ + ]

Phil Kearney has succeeded Graham Macdonald as the key scout for innovative research for Merck Sharpe & Dohme in the Asia Pacific. [ + ]

Last year wasn't the best on record for the Australian biotechnology industry but this year and the next look much more promising. Share prices are up, investors are showing more interest and there are a lot of good stories to tell and sell. [ + ]

Two new companies ANSTO established early this year have each had a boost of $80,000 following the award of competitive-based COMET grants from the federal government, which supports early growth in spin-off companies to commercialise their innovations.

Differences in anti-oxidant levels between males and females may be why men are more likely to develop skin cancer, American researchers report. [ + ]

Danish researchers develop method to convert A, B and AB blood types into the universal O group. [ + ]

Australian researchers have identified the components of telomerase, the enzyme associated with uncontrolled cell growth, and it turns out to be very simple indeed. [ + ]

Successful ‘proof of concept’ implementation is the key to maximising return on R&D investment in universities, according to Science Industry Australia (SIA).

Rockeby Biomed has received the European approval, CE Mark, for its Human Antigen Detection Test for Influenza A.