Australian scientists are winners in the race to master new magnesium technology to build the motor vehicles and consumer goods of the future.

A collaboration between Adelaide company Bionomics and Johnson and Johnson Research (JJR) has been concluded without an ongoing commercial arrangement. [ + ]

Veteran Melbourne malaria researcher Prof Robin Anders believes a malaria vaccine is still at least eight to 15 years away -- but he is optimistic that a vaccine is feasible, and will be effective, despite the phenomenal capacity of the parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, to take evasive action against drugs and vaccines. [ + ]

UK-based Domantis, a developer of single-domain antibody therapeutics, has been granted a US patent on a new emulsion technique for selecting antibodies and antibody fragment. [ + ]

For most of us microwaves are a means to defrost frozen food or boil water, but research by telecommunications engineers at the University of Technology, Sydney is helping establish microwave energy as an important tool in treating potentially deadly heart rhythm disorders.

Perth-based probiotics and diagnostics company VRI BioMedical has named Dr Peter French as its new CEO. [ + ]

Matilda, Australia's first cloned sheep, has died of unknown causes, according to the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI). [ + ]

Prima BioMed subsidiary Panvax has reported that recent trials of its DCtag vaccine technology in sheep have confirmed its potential for developing novel vaccines and immunotherapies for human diseases including cancers, viral infections, malaria and tuberculosis. [ + ]

An Adelaide University study has shown that confining transgenes to nature's own handy bottle, to prevent them escaping from genetically modified crops into non-GM crops or their weedy relatives, will not necessarily prevent transgenes escaping. [ + ]

Sydney-based biotechnology company Gradipore (ASX: GDP) announced today that it had demonstrated removal of both infectious and non-infectious prion proteins from human biological samples using its proprietary Gradiflow technology. [ + ]

CSIRO and eight other leading international science and technology institutions have formed an organisation committed to applying their combined knowledge to solving some of the world's most pressing problems.

The commercialisation arm of Queensland's premier biotech research centre, the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, has capped a national search for a new chief executive by reaching into the Queensland bioscience community for its successful candidate. [ + ]

Sydney company Proteome Systems has released two electrophoresis systems, the latest additions to its broad ProteomIQ platform for integrated high throughput proteomic analysis. [ + ]

Pharmaceutical company Chemeq has completed a highly successful capital raising to fund construction of its $AUD25 million plant in Perth to manufacture its revolutionary antimicrobial polymer to suppress bacterial infections in livestock. [ + ]

Pharmacia has announced the recipients of its two inaugural Pharmacia Foundation Australia Fellowships, Dr Sally Dunwoodie of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and Dr Steven Stacker, of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. [ + ]