Industry News
AusBiotech to probe industry's insurance woes
Rumours that biotechnology companies are finding it hard to renew professional indemnity insurance policies have led industry association AusBiotech to investigate the potential for problems. [ + ]
VC tax reforms could assist biotech
The Federal government is implementing changes to venture capital tax structures which carry positive long-term implications for biotech companies seeking risk capital. [ + ]
GM cotton gains Australian approval for commercial release
The OGTR has approved Monsanto's application for commercial release of its GM cotton varieties in some areas. [ + ]
Do long legs mean healthy life?
With what initially seems extraordinarily unrelated data, a postgraduate medical student at the University of Western Australia has confirmed the link between the size of an unborn baby's thigh bone and the future health of that child.
[ + ]Melbourne-based science journal ranks high on the world scale
Melbourne-based journal Human Mutation has become one of the top international journals in the genetics field. [ + ]
Lack of vision critical: FASTS report
Australia's peak council for science and technology delivered a state-of-the-nation report to Federal Parliament this week that shows Australia slipping further off the pace among industrialised nations in its performance in science, technology and higher education. [ + ]
Virus find reinforces Biotron's 'exit strategy'
Directors of Canberra-based HIV drug-therapeutic company Biotron have announced that the company's researchers have confirmed that two Australian native viruses -- Ross River Virus, the agent of epidemic polyarthritis, and its cousin, Barmah Forest Virus -- possess genes for ion channels. [ + ]
Feds to fine-tune science blueprint
Only 18 months into its $2.9 billion Backing Australia's Ability program, the Federal government is looking to adjust its innovation blueprint -- and that could involve culling some elements that aren't working, Science Minister Peter McGauran has foreshadowed. [ + ]
Genetics congress tipped to be Australia's biggest science event
The Genetics Congress 2003 will be the biggest scientific event to have ever been held in Australia, organisers claim. [ + ]
New chairman of the board for Gradipore
Gradipore has appointed Australian businessman Jeremy Davis as its new chairman of the board. [ + ]
NZ biotech A2 study links milk, heart disease
A link between heart disease and the consumption of milk protein beta casein A1 has been demonstrated in a study performed by Queensland researchers for New Zealand biotech company A2 Corporation. [ + ]
Bionomics files patent on 114 novel angiogenesis genes
Adelaide gene-discovery company Bionomics has announced it has successfully filed a patent under the international Patent Cooperation Treaty on 114 novel genes involved in angiogenesis, the process of blood-vessel growth. [ + ]
Researchers get clear picture of cancer growth factor
The crystal ball has cleared, and a Melbourne research team has seen one of the shapes of the future in cancer research, after solving the elusive structure of a receptor for a growth factor involved in many common cancers. [ + ]
Weak spots exposed by commercialisation survey
A landmark survey of the commercialisation track record by Australia's publicly-funded research bodies shows worrying weak spots in a generally favourable picture. [ + ]
US patent will soak up the red ink at Peptech: Kwik
Australian biotech hopeful Peptech got the green light from the US patents office for its Tumour Necrosis Factor Antibodies technique this week. [ + ]
