A Monash University study has found that the number of nephrons in a person's kidney increases with their birth weight, a finding that could explain why Indigenous Australians and African-Americans are at greater risk of kidney disease and high blood pressure.

More than $AUD73 million has been awarded to 11 research teams based in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland in the latest round of the NHMRC's program grants. [ + ]

Texan company Inguran has paid $US150,000 to Melbourne-based Genetic Technologies to use the company's non-coding patents for genetic testing of livestock in the USA, Colombia and Brazil. [ + ]

The official opening of a $1.5 million state-of-the-art Laser Diagnostic Laboratory took place at the University of Newcastle on Friday 13 June, advancing research into, amongst other areas, artificial heart design.

Women academics returning from maternity leave at the University of New South Wales will be eligible for a $10,000 grant to help re-establish their careers.

The competition between Victoria, NSW and Queensland over which state has the best biotechnology industry appears to have been resolved today with an agreement to form the Australian Biotech Alliance. [ + ]

A $1.5million laser diagnostic laboratory could help researchers cut down thrombosis risks for artificial heart patients, using the latest Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). [ + ]

Shooting the nag for not winning could be a thing of the past thanks to the CRC for Tissue Growth and Repair’s work on IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor-I) to stimulate tissue repair. [ + ]

Farooq Khan must be quietly seething. Biota has just appointed a director, Andrew Tyndale, from the ranks of new majority shareholder Babcock & Brown. [ + ]

Melbourne's protein crystallographers have received a boost with the recent acquisition of a $AUD720,000 X-ray Crystallography generator system at the Austin Research Institute (ARI). [ + ]

Vet biotech Imugene is pinning big hopes on its recombinant gene-based flea control vaccine currently on trial at Murdoch University. [ + ]

Monash University is to receive almost half of $44 million awarded to Victorian researchers by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Cashed-up young biotech Genetraks Pty Ltd is investing more than $1 million to dramatically accelerate the time to market of its gene-based diagnostic and monitoring tools. [ + ]

One of Australia's newest start-up companies has spun out of Monash University with a focus on finding therapeutics targeting the macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF). [ + ]

Local hero of the proteomics world, Proteome Systems, is looking to expand both into the drug production arena, and into the overseas acquisition fold. [ + ]