Feature: At the DNA vaccine vanguard
17 February, 2011 by Tim DeanIan Frazer and his team are pursuing an ambitious strategy to produce a DNA vaccine against herpes simplex virus 2.
Feature: The challenge of a herpes simplex vaccine
17 February, 2011 by Tim DeanHerpes simplex virus type 2 has managed to evade vaccine strategies to date, although DNA vaccines might finally offer a solution.
How probiotics protect against infection
27 January, 2011 by Tim DeanNew research has revealed how beneficial gut bacteria - so-called probiotics - help defend against harmful bacteria and prevent infection.
Feature: A modern history of immune tolerance
19 January, 2011 by Fiona WylieThe history of immune tolerance is one of contrasting theories in ebb and flow. But, as Chris Goodnow showed at the Australasian Society for Immunology conference, ultimately it’s experimental evidence that reigns supreme.
How viruses hoodwink the immune system
10 January, 2011 by Tim DeanWalter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have revealed a cunning mechanism employed by viruses that interferes with the function of dendritic cells.
BioDiem banks first royalty cheque from Indian H1N1 vaccine deal
16 December, 2010 by Staff WritersMelbourne biotech BioDiem has reported the receipt of the first royalty payments to stem from a licencing agreement signed earlier this year for the sale of its Nasovac vaccine for H1N1 (swine flu).
US researchers breed mice from two males
09 December, 2010 by David BinningIt’s been something of a holy grail amongst reproductive scientists for some time; the breeding of animals with same sex parents. However, reports today by U.S researchers of the successful breeding of mice from two fathers have been met with caution by Australian scientists and legal experts.
Mice with two fathers: novel idea but not applicable to humans
09 December, 2010 by Tim DeanA Texas researcher has created mice with genes from two fathers, although claims it could be adapted to enable same-sex reproduction humans are overblown, say Australian scientists.
Cephalon to buy 20 percent of Mesoblast in largest-ever stem cell deal
08 December, 2010 by David BinningRegenerative medicine specialists, Mesoblast will see US pharmaceutical behemoth Cephalon take a 19.99 percent stake in the company as part of a licensing and joint development deal announced today
Feature: Pushing the boundaries of crop science
06 December, 2010 by David BinningProfessor Marilyn Anderson’s work has led to a greatly improved understanding of how plants protect themselves from insects and disease, and in turn how various assailants circumvent these defence mechanisms.
Arsenic-eating bacteria open door to exotic alien life
03 December, 2010 by Sharon GaudinResearchers said during a press conference today that they found a strange microbe in Mono Lake in northern California.
Mature cells shown to control their stem cell parents
30 November, 2010 by Staff WritersResearchers at Melbourne’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have published a study which shows that mature blood cells have the ability to communicate with and affect the behaviour of their stem cell parents
Ramaciotti Foundations celebrate 40 years
05 November, 2010 by David BinningA whose who of Australia’s top medical researchers gathered at the Westin Hotel in Sydney last night for the 40th anniversary of the Ramacioitti Foundations, one of Australia’s oldest and largest medical research endowments.
Feature: Peter Doherty and the quest for a flu vaccine
01 November, 2010 by Tim DeanProfessor Peter Doherty has written his last grant application. But the 69-year-old Nobel Laureate hasn’t retired quite yet.
Decloaking perforin, the protein assassin
01 November, 2010 by Tim DeanWhen the immune system identifies a cell that needs to be eliminated, such as a virus-infected cell or cancer cell, natural killer cells descend and puncture the offending cell, injecting toxic enzymes to spell its doom.
