Calling today a "red letter day" for the Australian National Synchrotron project, Victorian Minister for Innovation, John Brumby, announced that Australian construction company Thiess was the successful tenderer to design and construct the building to house the 67 metre diameter machine, 30 plus beamlines, and associated laboratories, offices and technical facilities. [ + ]

A new technique, applied to oil exploration for the first time, has the potential to save exploration companies millions of dollars in wasted effort.

GroPep's infertility drug program has received a boost recently with the issue of a patent covering the compound, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). [ + ]

Ventracor's VentrAssist left ventricular assist device may see market approval as early as next year, according to company CEO, Michael Spooner. [ + ]

Following Bayer's withdrawal from joint drug developments with Scottish cloning specialists PPL, the company's New Zealand offshoot is to cull its flock of transgenic sheep, and reduce staff numbers. [ + ]

Strong negative reaction from local industry bodies has led to the US modifying plans to snare biotech IP by funding grants to Australian researchers. [ + ]

A team of researchers headed by the University of Adelaide has been awarded a US$1.27 million grant from the United States to study how lifestyle and health "stress" on eggs and embryos can impact on the later life of children.

Delivery platform specialist Eiffel Technologies has scored a benchmark deal with US-based asthma drug delivery company, Oriel Therapeutics, to re-engineer asthma drugs optimised for inhaler delivery. [ + ]

The Australian Stock Exchange is considering an Australian version of the Nasdaq to cater for the special needs of young technology companies -- especially biotechs. And if the regulators agree, the plans could start seeing the light of day in as little as a month or two. [ + ]

Biotechnology research in New South Wales universities has previously been quite fragmented, but in an attempt to create synergies and collaborative opportunities to bring people with an interest in biotechnology together, Macquarie University has created a new 'virtual' institute - the Macquarie University Biotechnology Research Institute.

Monash biomedical science students will get hands-on experience with mass spectrometry thanks to a US$150,000 equipment grant from Agilent Technologies awarded to the School of Biomedical Sciences today. [ + ]

Sydney bio-nano company Ambri has raised AUD$15.5 million through a placement of ordinary shares to a mix of existing and new institutional investors, and simultaneously announced it will write off $20.7 million worth of IP value from its accounts. [ + ]

The head of the structural biology division at Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute has tipped "one to two new drugs" will be developed at the facility in the next five years. [ + ]

The funding floodgates suddenly appear to have swung open for young and not-so-young biotechs -- at least in Queensland. [ + ]

With a nationwide freeze in place on commercial production of genetically modified canola, Australia's leading plant geneticist delivered a warning to GM-shy state governments yesterday: use it, or lose markets. [ + ]