Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers pursuing the cause of leptin's ability to boost metabolism and shed fat have identified a metabolic switch that appears to tell the body to store or burn fat.

The world's first clinical trial into repairing damaged spinal cords using transplanted nasal nerve cells now underway in Queensland could have global significance. [ + ]

VosTech, a technology investment company based in Perth, is planning to enter the biotechnology market by acquiring animal biotechnology company Brightsun and its associated equity interests in CSIRO spin-off Vectogen and Murdoch University start-up Paragen. [ + ]

Top-ranked computational biologists in Australia and the US are looking at joining forces to produce better software for bioscience researchers. [ + ]

The latest computer to come out of the University of Southern California isn't newsworthy for its small size or computational power. It's notable because it is made from DNA, the microscopic acids that reside in every cell and are responsible for all life. [ + ]

As part of a clinical trial into spinal cord regeneration surgery in paraplegics, cells, harvested from the nose of a volunteer patient with paraplegia, have been culture in a laboratory and transplanted in the patient's spinal cord. The use of the patient's own cells eliminates the risk of cell rejection and the need for anti-rejection medication.

Amrad Corporation's horror year plumbed new depths today when the company revealed poor results had led it to abandon its chronic hepatitis B compound. [ + ]

Sleep device developer Compumedics has flagged a 10 per cent reduction in its forecast sales for the year, triggering a share price slide. [ + ]

A gene implicated in conditions including obesity, diabetes and energy imbalance has gained Australian patent protection four years after its initial discovery. [ + ]

Australia's most ambitious attempt at bringing computer scientists and bioscientists together for bioinformatics training was launched this week in Queensland. [ + ]

Scientists at the University of South Australia's Centre for Pharmaceutical Research have developed a topical treatment that could be used to prevent skin cancers from developing in susceptible people. [ + ]

A project at the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) is focusing on the qualities that make lamb tender and tasty. [ + ]

Biotech companies in the midst of new funding rounds should build an extra cushion of cash into their requests, warns Alchemia CEO Tracie Ramsdale. [ + ]

Drug development company Prima Biomed has told the market its first year research programs into cancer immunotherapy and anti-inflammatory treatments had met or exceeded their milestones. [ + ]

Australia's place in the futuristic world of nanotechnology has been further cemented with the set up of Dendrimer Nanotechnologies (DNT) now complete. [ + ]