In the world of pawnbroking, the difference between real and fake gold - or plated versus solid - could mean a difference of hundreds of dollars per transaction and thousands per year. Thermo Scientific portable precious metal analysers have received the endorsement of Hardcore Pawn’s Seth Gold. [ + ]

The 2013 Prime Minister's Science Prizes were this week awarded at the Royal Society of New Zealand in Wellington. With a total of $1 million in prize money, the awards aim to highlight the contribution science makes to New Zealand's economy. [ + ]

CellBank Australia is conducting a survey into the usage and anticipated demand for cell lines and cell culture services among Australian researchers. [ + ]

The 2013 Research Australia Awards, held last night at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne, recognised individuals and corporations for areas such as discovery, advocacy, philanthropy and lifetime achievement. [ + ]

Regeneus (ASX:RGS) has received US regulatory approval to commercialise a cell-based canine cancer vaccine in the US, giving it an accelerated pathway to launch. [ + ]

The medical device segment was the star performer of the Australian life sciences sector during Q413, and the stage is set for further growth, PwC's latest BioForum report says. [ + ]

All animals have to make decisions every day - often as a group to help their survival. Researchers from Arizona State University, hoping to understand how the collective decision-making process arises out of individually ignorant ants, have conducted an experiment which found that the creatures can change their decision-making strategies based on experience. [ + ]

A joint venture between Novogen (ASX:NRT) and Yale University will focus on developing ovarian cancer drugs, eventually including personalised chemotherapeutic treatments. [ + ]

The investment that has been put into personalised medicine is starting to pay off - the tailored diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention of disease in an individual is beginning to be applied, as David Randerson intends to explain at the conference. [ + ]

The UK delegation that attended the recent 2013 AusBiotech meeting is keen to develop its relationship with the Australian biotech sector. [ + ]

Mesoblast's partner Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has secured US FDA approval for a phase III IND trial of Mesoblast's MPCs in congestive heart failure. [ + ]

The European Institute of Oncology (IEO), an Italy-based organisation committed to fighting cancer - particularly tumours of the breast, lung, prostate and bowel - has implemented a new laboratory information management system (LIMS) to more efficiently manage its biospecimen data. [ + ]

Hatchtech has raised $12.6m from existing and new investors to support its phase III trials and US NDA for DeOvo, a single-dose headlice treatment. [ + ]

Shares in Prana Biotechnology (ASX:PBT) climbed 43% after a scientific paper detailed how Alzheimer's drug candidate PBT2 reversed cognitive and memory loss in old mice. [ + ]

Protego Medical, a company developing a device to protect the sternum during cardiac surgery, launched yesterday with $2m in MRCF seed funding. [ + ]