Pouring millions into defence and border security, with cuts in health and welfare, this year's Federal budget carries no significant investment for science and technology. [ + ]

Australia was guilty of resting dangerously on its laurels in relation to testing for mad cow disease, according to a new education foundation. [ + ]

Novel compounds for breast cancer treatment have been identified by Perth-based company Australian Cancer Technology (AustCancer) through backing by UK-based drug discovery company, BioFocus. [ + ]

Peptech has received its first milestone payment from its agreement with Abbott Laboratories to market the rheumatoid arthritis drug D2E7. [ + ]

Victoria's week-long festival of biotechnology education kicked off last night (May 13) with a call for more specially trained teachers. [ + ]

South Australian genomics company Bionomics has expanded its portfolio of potential epilepsy drug targets with the filing of eight new patents. [ + ]

In a development that promises a new approach to cancer therapy, researchers from The University of Technology Sydney have developed an immunotoxin which effectively targets malignant cells with a new toxin found in an Australian ant.

Australia's biotechnology sector is "grossly under-invested" and attracts little interest from most funds and investors, according to a senior portfolio manager at Queensland Investment Corporation. [ + ]

Effective R&D policy would include more flexible career opportunities for scientists, according to Vision Systems managing director Dr Jim Fox. [ + ]

The University of Adelaide has won the bid to host the new $32 million National Centre for Plant Functional Genomics. [ + ]

Perth-based pharmaceutical company Chemeq has raised almost $5 million from institutional investors and hopes to reap a further $5 million from ordinary shareholders by the end of the month. [ + ]

The University of Adelaide's successful bid to host the $32 million National Centre for Plant Functional Genomics is "a vote of confidence in South Australia's scientists and a triumph for the state", according to University Vice-Chancellor Professor Cliff Blake AO.

Novogen's US subsidiary, Edward Marshall, plans to list on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange at the end of the month. [ + ]

The Queensland government has gone one-up on the State and Federal governments by announcing a new $100 million Queensland BioCapital Fund. [ + ]

'Environmental biotechnology' usually conveys a mental image of vats of bacteria busily working on soil remediation. But the issue of indoor air quality is fast becoming an important area of focus in the life sciences arena, according to Sydney-based company Aeris Technologies. [ + ]