Sigma Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SIP) end of year numbers were well received by the market today with shares rising 4.5c to close at 46c, on markedly improved results compared to prior year. [ + ]

A female mosquito’s tendencies to feed, produce eggs and mate can be permanently altered by more than 100 proteins in male sperm. Now researchers are suggesting that ways to control diseases such as West Nile virus and dengue fever could be uncovered by investigating the intricacies of the sex lives of mosquitoes.

Australian scientists have developed a method for producing drugs that could combat cancer and other diseases by co-opting the natural machinery of sunflowers. [ + ]

Professor Neil Kelleher in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University in Illinois is taking a top down approach to proteomics and has developed a platform for the large-scale analysis of intact proteins. [ + ]

Increased volume and diversity of pharmaceutical products is causing biopharmaceutical manufacturers to design their facilities based on shorter production runs with multiple changeovers. Once they have gained firsthand experience of the benefits of single-use systems, manufacturers are now looking to expand their use in both upstream and downstream applications.

21 CFR 312.23, 21 CFR 314.50, and 21 CFR 314.81 codify the regulations and guidelines regarding genomic data and applications to the USFDA. This matrix of genomic data submissions requirements and voluntary guides are confusing and difficult to navigate.

Analysis of biological samples frequently involves the identification of peptides from low amounts of complex samples. Confident identification of these peptides requires rapid generation of high-quality, high-sensitivity MS and MSMS data.

Biologists readily accept the general principle that location is intricately tied to function. Quantifying this is hard, however.

Gradient index (GRIN) plasmonics is a hybrid technology that opens the door to a wide range of exotic optics, including superfast computers based on light rather than electronic signals, ultra-powerful optical microscopes able to resolve DNA molecules with visible light, and ‘invisibility’ carpet-cloaking devices.

IPTA and AusBiotech are urging the Senate Legal and Consitutional Committee to favour the Intellectual Property Laws Amendments instead of patentable subject matter amendments, as they are more comprehensive in terms of Australian patent law.

Researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have revealed the role of a key gene in enabling blood stem cells to renew themselves, a finding that might have implications for issue repair and transplantations. [ + ]

Today's scientists find they struggle to keep up with the information overload of our modern IT age. With a constant flow from multiple modes of communication, a plan to prioritise needs to be put in place.

Ian Frazer and his team are pursuing an ambitious strategy to produce a DNA vaccine against herpes simplex virus 2. [ + ]

Herpes simplex virus type 2 has managed to evade vaccine strategies to date, although DNA vaccines might finally offer a solution. [ + ]

A radical new type of vaccine is on the horizon, one that uses the body’s own cellular machinery to provoke a comprehensive immune response. DNA vaccines offer many advantages over conventional vaccines. [ + ]