Thanks to a massive infrastructure funding boost from a government led by bio-enthusiast Premier Peter Beattie, Queensland got off to a fast start in biotechnology. But, asks Pete Young, is the venture capital bottleneck pushing its plans off track? [ + ]

De novo sequencing has evolved to become a very useful tool for the complete elucidation of protein primary structures - especially in case of an unknown proteome. In a recent contest, MALDI-TOF/TOF MS has shown its huge potential for this task

Laboratories in the metal industry perform a variety of tasks that are closely tied to the production process. X-ray fluorescence and optical emission spectroscopy today are the preferred techniques

It doesn't attract the limelight, but Australia's vet biotech sector is making strides, reports Melissa Trudinger [ + ]

David Braue discovers why the upcoming ISMB conference in Brisbane is likely to boost the profile of bioinformatics in Australia. [ + ]

As the winds of change whistle through the life sciences industry in Australia and overseas, some bio-IT trends are also changing, a poll of the major vendors reveals. [ + ]

Bob Palermini got his first taste of Unix some 25 years ago when he became involved in production at a small newspaper that used the system to set type. Although he started out as an editor, Palermini was hooked on IT after that initial experience and taught himself the skills to make the transition to the technology side of the business. “Early on it was trial and error and books,” he says. [ + ]

Melissa Trudinger takes a look at the emerging biotech clusters in Perth and Adelaide. [ + ]

When it comes to clustering, Australian biotech could take a few lessons from the nation's wine industry -- and not just the grapes, David Binning finds. [ + ]

History students and trivia buffs in the distant future time will be grateful for one of history's little coincidences -- the Human Genome Project will be completed this year, 2003, a neat half-century after the elucidation of the structure of DNA. [ + ]

Keeping up with the Joneses has become critical in research, where the race to achieve an important result not only guarantees a high-profile paper, but in the increasingly commercial world can provide an edge over a competing interest. [ + ]

Of the five basic senses, the sense of smell is the least understood. Now, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have sniffed out potential clues to how olfactory receptors in the nose detect odours

Dr John Sader used established mechanical principles to prove that the popular V-shaped cantilever inadvertently degrades the performance of the instrument and delivers none of its intended benefits

CSIRO chief executive Dr Geoff Garrett will have more riding on the May 13 Federal budget than most Australians. Halfway through his five-year appointment, he will be wanting to show his staff that they can look forward to real growth in public funding in the years ahead. If not, their disgruntlement over his challenging leadership may render the second half of his tenure more challenged than the first. [ + ]

When Eiffel Technologies' CEO Christine Cussen said last December that the company would start this year with $6.2 million in its back pocket, she outlined several ways the funds would be used. One of these -- pursuing drug re-engineering research to extend patent protection -- could prove particularly lucrative given that drugs worth more than $US42 billion will come off patent in the next three years. [ + ]