The distribution of grant funding available under the federal government's Research and Development Start Program has continued to flow.

Two six tonne 'flower pots' at Wagga Wagga are being used by CSIRO researchers working towards a solution for the problem of dryland salinity.

Scientists at the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development have developed a reliable DNA test to detect Down's syndrome in embryos before they are implanted in a womb during IVF treatment.

The Monash Institutes of Health will hold a series of forums for selected Australian and international venture capital groups later this year to attract investors for its biomedical research.

'A national study of employment outcomes for Science degree holders 1990-2000' was commissioned by the Australian Council of Deans of Science and carried out by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne. A key finding is that a science degree is a strong factor in gaining employment, especially in the areas of computing and math, where between 93 - 99 percent of graduates are employed.

Scientists at CSIRO Plant Industry are examining cotton varieties with improved resistance to the devastating fungal disease, Fusarium wilt. Fusarium was first confirmed in Australia in 1993 and is a serious threat to the $2 billion a year cotton industry.

Scientists, state and local authorities, and industry representatives are to tackle acid sulphate soils in the Gillman and Barker Inlet areas of SA.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's publication "Australia's Trade with the European Union, 2000" reports that a significant contributor to export growth has been scientific equipment which rose by 36 per cent to $284 million.

The Federation of Australian Science and Technology Societies (FASTS) has arranged this year for scientists to meet with parliamentarians on 21 and 22 August in Canberra. The same format as last year applies with pairs of scientists visiting MPs and senators at Parliament House.

Research by Drs Vince Craig, David Williams and Chiara Neto from the Australian National University, has revealed that "when liquids flow at relatively fast speeds in a confined space, the liquid molecules adjacent to the surface are in fact moving", Dr Craig said. The research was conducted using an Atomic Force Microscope, which has a very small ball attached to a sensing spring that measures the forces on the ball produced by the liquid as it approaches a solid surface.

The Visualisation and Advanced Computation Laboratory (ViSAC) based at the University of Queensland is a $2 million computing resource that will allow researchers to access visualisation tools to produce better and more efficient research.

Victoria has been confirmed as the biotechnology, and research and development capital of Australia.

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in the working population of developed countries and it is an increasing problem in the developing world.

Cells that might cause cancer can now be extracted from transplants grown from embryonic stem cells, removing a major barrier to this kind of tissue repair. What's more, if things go wrong, the entire transplant could be ordered to self-destruct.

Collaboration among Western Australian medical research institutes and four of the public universities has brought significant funding to the region.