Australia's National Medical Cyclotron (NMC) - the electrical machine that has given doctors the power to accurately diagnose thousands of Australians - is celebrating ten years of operation.

Prana Biotechnology's theory for treating Alzheimer's disease with zinc-targeted drugs has won support from a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. [ + ]

Sirtex Medical has entered into an agreement with German-based AEA Technology, a supplier of radioactive products, to assist in distributing its SIR-Spheres internationally. [ + ]

The biological sciences are now the driving force for the development of advanced computing, according to Compaq Computer Corp executive Lionel Binns. But there's a catch, he warned - there aren't enough computer scientists to go around, and this would increasingly be a problem for the industry. [ + ]

UK-based analyst Datamonitor has tipped a massive increase in the global gene chip market over the next four years, from $322 million in 2000 to $1.2 billion by 2006. [ + ]

Sleep disorder specialist ResMed's shares took a beating on the Australian Stock Exchange this morning (May 3), dropping more than 22 per cent when the company suggested that it would not be able to meet its fourth quarter earnings estimate. [ + ]

Dr Bruce Hall, the clinical director in medicine at Liverpool Hospital, has been suspended by the New South Wales Health Department. [ + ]

Celera Genomics Group founder Craig Venter has formed three not-for-profit organisations to study the ethics and social implications of genetic technology, and to look for applications of biotechnology in energy production. [ + ]

CSIRO scientists have hatched an ambitious plan to wipe out carp in the Murray-Darling River, by using genetically manipulated carp that lack the ability to change sex. [ + ]

The US government is paying for tests of a Melbourne-developed microbicide gel on macaque monkeys. [ + ]

Adelaide-based company BresaGen has received $8.9 million from the South Australian government to build a new research facility at the Thebarton Biotechnology Precinct. [ + ]

A Melbourne start-up looking at pigs as potential organ donors is among hundreds of Australian businesses to be affected by the suspension of the Federal government's R&D Start program. [ + ]

Brisbane based Progen Industries has moved into Phase II clinical trials for their small molecule cancer drug PI-88. [ + ]

In a major advance for ophthalmology, the Lion's Eye Institute in Perth has developed a flexible, artificial cornea made of hydrogel polymers. [ + ]

Ambri has adopted new business software and services from Frontstep, to help it to take its new clinical diagnostic system from prototype to full-scale manufacture. [ + ]