A biological clock embedded in our genomes may shed light on why our bodies age and how we can slow the process. [ + ]

Researchers have demonstrated new multimodal optical microscopy technology which, when coupled with advanced image co-registration algorithms, can account for soft-tissue deformations that may occur over the timecourse of weeks and months. [ + ]

Townsville City Council was keen to implement a laboratory information management system to create a more efficient process and better customer services. Their aims were to improve data quality, reduce time of manual data entry from instrumentation, reduce data transcription errors and improve business efficiency. And they have been successful. [ + ]

Life Technologies Corporation, a global biotechnology company, has announced that its GlobalFiler Express Kit has been approved by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for use by laboratories generating DNA profiles for inclusion in the National DNA Index System (NDIS) CODIS Database. [ + ]

This year’s AusBiotech conference will focus on the transformation of the Australian biotech industry, following its evolution and the application of its bioactivity across areas such as agriculture, food technology and health. In this preview we provide a bumper sample of what’s in store for Brisbane at the end of October. [ + ]

Regeneus, a Sydney-based company with a strong pipeline of cell-based treatments derived from adipose tissue, raised $10.5m last month in a fully subscribed IPO. [ + ]

Calzada's (ASX:CZD) PolyNovo said its NovoSorb BTM dermal scaffold was well tolerated and effective during a 10-patient trial involving its use in free-flap donor site repair. [ + ]

The University of Queensland (UQ) and global pharmaceutical company LEO Pharma have entered a strategic research collaboration to deliver new treatment options to skin cancer patients. [ + ]

The AusBiotech Annual Report 2013 has been released, detailing another solid performance for AusBiotech and showing how it has delivered for its members and the Australian biotechnology industry. AusBiotech was steadfast in its advocacy and active in its representation and support of the industry, delivering a number of achievements in policy terms. [ + ]

Take too much fertiliser, an inefficient crop, not enough land into the future to feed the world and more than a pinch of economics - and you have a recipe for disaster. Thankfully, Brent Kaiser is quietly confident that scientists like him can contribute to a more sustainable future. [ + ]

A technique developed several years ago at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for improving optical microscopes has now been applied to monitoring the next generation of computer chip circuit components, potentially providing the semiconductor industry with a crucial tool for improving chips for the next decade or more. [ + ]

For hundreds of years, optical devices like microscopes and telescopes have relied on solid lenses that slide up and down to magnify and to focus. In pursuit of ever-smaller imaging systems, researchers are now working to create entirely unconventional ways of focusing light. [ + ]

Clinical Genomics recently acquired the US-based cancer screening company Enterix. [ + ]

Prima BioMed (ASX:PRR) is re-evaluating using PFS as a primary objective of an upcoming trial of its CVac cancer immunotherapy candidate, based on results to date of an earlier study. [ + ]

Researchers from the University of São Paulo have found that insects modify their mating behaviour in response to the changes in air pressure which precede a storm. By reducing mating during wind and rain, it is suggested that the insects are also reducing their risk of injury or death. [ + ]