Cryopreservation may compromise cell quality and performance. Performance of the cells CANNOT be guaranteed after cryopreservation.

Instructions for use are provided in this article for protocols for converting cells to serum-free culture.

The University of Technology Sydney is commercialising a rapid technique that can be used to develop ‘invisible’ fingerprints on porous surfaces such as paper, cloth and wood.

A US study aims to look for dependency biomarkers in the blood that will indicate current and past use and abuse of illicit drugs. On top of that the study would like to find indicators identifying people who may be prone to abuse drugs in the future.

Venture capital activity is growing strongly throughout the Asia pacific biomedical and biotech sectors at the same time as the US and Europe suffer sharp declines, according to industry database MedTRACK. [ + ]

A group of international scientists has identified a handful of important new genetic variants indicating increased risk of ovarian cancer, which also reveal the genetic similarities between it and breast cancer. [ + ]

It’s apparent pointlessness in the grand scheme of human biology earned it the label of ‘Junk DNA’. However, in a study published this week in Nature Medicine, researchers have provided the most compelling evidence yet that microRNA is anything but superfluous, and may in fact help to unravel the mysteries of cancer as well as other diseases. [ + ]

In a reversal of last week's pattern, the S&P ASX/200 Healthcare Index put on a strong showing today to finish the week in positive territory while the wider market fell to snap a three week winning streak. [ + ]

Australian and Canadian researchers have made what may turn out to be the most significant breakthrough yet in the fight against HIV, revealing this week that they have solved the mystery of how the virus is able to infect resting T-cells. [ + ]

Researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) have identified the one protein without which the body is unable to regulate immune cells. [ + ]

Johnson & Johnson has offered US$2.29 billion to buy Dutch biotech Crucell NV, the two companies announced this week. [ + ]

Researchers from the University of Wollongong’s (UOW) Schools of Chemistry and Health Sciences have been awarded a US patent for their novel method of characterising lipid molecules. [ + ]

Avita Medical has won a $US1.8 million contract with the US army to apply its ReCell spray-on skin technology on wounded personnel. [ + ]

You neeed ribozymes or proteins to make nucleotides or amino acids and you need nucleotides or amino acids to make ribozymes or proteins - so like the old chicken and egg conundrum, which ones came first? Possibly neither - the first catalysts that enabled the beginnings of life could have been transition metal complexes.

A simple device measures the quantum noise of vacuum fluctuations and generates true random numbers. Researchers have constructed a device that works on the principle of true randomness. With the help of quantum physics, their machine generates random numbers that cannot be predicted in advance. The researchers exploit the fact that measurements based on quantum physics can only produce a special result with a certain degree of probability, that is, randomly.