Out of sight, out of mind, and far too often, out of order - that malodorous monster, the septic tank, lurks just below the ground in the back yards of more than 450,000 homes around Australia's eastern seaboard, from Queensland to Victoria. Another 200,000 households around New Zealand are unsewered. [ + ]

As Australia's biggest public research institution, CSIRO occupies a unique niche. Employing 6500 people, the organisation has a huge diversity of scientific skills to apply to Australia's industries. [ + ]

The Centre of Bioinformatics and Biological Computing is a Western Australian research institute that has made thinking laterally about sources of funding into an art form. [ + ]

Persistence has paid off for Stanley Crooke and his company Isis Pharmaceuticals. [ + ]

The next time you start to worry about the drain of Australian scientific talent leaving town for better opportunities overseas, it might pay to remember the words of the director of Singapore's Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, Chris Tan. Tan shrugs off such worries to opine that in Singapore's case, "Ideally, we'd be a 15-year revolving door." [ + ]

The comparison of the Australian and Singaporean biotech sectors highlights a fundamental principle of this highly volatile business: biotech needs lots of cash, but money burns pretty fast without good brains to spend it. [ + ]

It seems appropriate that the global CEO of a company engaged in the visualisation business is inclined to look at the big picture. Apart from being larger-than-life in person, Silicon Graphics (SGI) chief Bob Bishop is one of those outspoken, opinionated CEOs journalists love - one who is prepared to talk outside the finite square of profits and bottom lines to offer a world view. [ + ]

To most, patents are the life blood of innovation and discovery for the biotech sector, while to others they are a scourge. But as lawyers and industry experts warn, careless handling of the finer points of intellectual property can be catastrophic to both commercial and academic organisations. [ + ]

While many people are speculating as to whether Australia may become the next major hub for international biotech, questions are being asked of our local entrepreneurs and whether they have what it takes to turn IP into gold. [ + ]

Much is made of Australia's scientific intellectual capital and the opportunities that it offers. But according to one of the world's largest accounting groups, it is a dangerous myth that states successful companies will automatically flow from the nation's renowned research achievements. [ + ]

Drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and devices are the hotspots of the global biomedical market that Australia's biotech researchers are scrambling to fill with products. [ + ]

A few months ago, Dianna DeVore was an associate director of patents at Irish pharmaceutical company Elan in San Francisco. Now she's the chief operating officer of the National Centre for Stem Cells, Australia's first biotechnology Centre of Excellence. [ + ]

The most important concept for Australian biotechnology companies to grasp when building a nest, according to industry and property development experts, is proximity. [ + ]

New techniques for generating large amounts of biology-related data have given IT vendors new momentum in penetrating this traditionally low-tech segment of scientific research, a key IBM researcher told attendees at AusBiotech 2002 in Melbourne last week. [ + ]

As Australia's burgeoning young biotech hopefuls push toward clinical trials of their fledgling products, contract research organisations (CROs) are hoping for a rush of new business. [ + ]