A schizophrenic mouse model has led the way to identification of a gene potentially predisposing humans to the devastating human mental illness. [ + ]

Evolution doesn't care what happens to the body after reproduction, says Prof Miroslav Radman, so we humans should consider taking out little extra cellular life insurance to ward off cancer in our twilight years. [ + ]

IBM said it has no plans to take its bioIT products direct to the consumer, despite the potential for increased sales numbers. [ + ]

CSIRO Livestock Industries is leafing through vast amounts of historical cattle data to identify if genetics have had any impact on parasite infestation levels over the years. [ + ]

Sandra Webb has resigned as managing director of Amrad to pursue other interests. [ + ]

Comments by genomics pioneer Francis Collins that Australian company Genetic Technologies' patents over non-coding DNA were of "questionable appropriateness" have spurred not so much a rebuttal, but more of a philosophical argument from the company's CEO. [ + ]

The huge trend towards "competitive greed" is having serious consequences for science and innovation internationally, according to eminent British geneticist Sir John Sulston. [ + ]

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is blazing a new trail by using pharmacogenetics approaches for post-approval surveillance of new drugs. [ + ]

Within a year of the identification in 1993 of the huntingtin gene, which in mutant form causes the fatal brain disorder Huntington's disease, geneticists devised a test to detect the mutation, and offered it to families with a history of the disease. [ + ]

Australia has the world's most severe herbicide resistance problem, Western Australia's Prof Stephen Powles told delegates at the XIX International Congress of Genetics on Monday. [ + ]

With the launch in Australia of a global fund for science, conservation and exploration, the National Geographic Society is providing grants of around US$25,000 each for new projects.

Have geneticists uncovered one of the master genes for aging? Dr Linda Partridge, a researcher at University College, London, says increasing evidence points to the gene for insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) playing a major role in longevity. [ + ]

Farm animals provide a unique opportunity to capture genes influencing multi-factorial traits, according to Leif Andersson, who presented the first plenary on Tuesday at the XIX International Congress of Genetics. [ + ]

Web portal use by the research community and the popularity of grid computing are two leading trends in today's bioIT market, according to Sun Microsystems computational biology supremo Stefan Unger. [ + ]

Ex-Ambri CEO Dr Joe Shaw is to set up shop in Australia with a new biotech business consulting group – the Aus-American Group Inc (AAGI) – designed to help startups navigate the Pacific Trench minefield. [ + ]