Similarities between New Zealand and Scotland are plentiful - the agrarian industries, the scenery, the weather. But one of the less heralded similarities is the two places' biotechnology industries - or at least, it was, before Scotland's received a major boost about four years ago. [ + ]

With New Zealand's general election imminent, many in the biotechnology industry believe the outcome could determine the sector's future. [ + ]

In terms of industry size, New Zealand and Australia have a similar number of biotech companies operating on their respective shores. [ + ]

If biotechnology is as old as agriculture, then biotechnology in New Zealand has been around for as long as the nation. New Zealand is a country that relies on its strengths in its primary industries - dairying and sheep, horticulture and forestry. [ + ]

Several myths, misconceptions and assumptions about genetically modified organisms and food have made their way into the public arena. What doesn't help the average punter to get a grip on the science is that there are huge swathes of information available, from scientists, policy-makers, lobbyists and industry. And for every opinion exists its opposite. [ + ]

On a recent visit to Sydney, IBM Life Sciences chief Caroline Kovac outlined her views on bio-IT, the life sciences and Australia's potential. [ + ]

The foundations for Japan's first stem cell company were laid in 1994 when two scientists from different countries met at an institute tens of thousands of kilometres from their respective homes. [ + ]

Fledgling businesses trying to carve themselves a spot in the Australian pure-play bioinformatics sector can be left feeling like television salesmen in the 1950s: everybody knows about the technology, but they're not quite sure if they want to spend their money on it yet. [ + ]

For sought-after biotech director Bob Moses, the industry has a lot of parallels with another of his passions - horse racing. [ + ]

Of all the developments in Australian biotechnology in the last five years, one of the most accelerated has been the industry's burgeoning relationship with venture capital. [ + ]

In the first two rounds of Biotechnology Innovation Fund (BIF) grants, five companies with a clearly environmental slant obtained funding. In the first round, these included Pestat, which is commercialising immunocontraceptive mechanisms developed by the CRC for biological control of pest animals, and Orica Australia, which is developing enzyme-based methods for pesticide degradation. [ + ]

When Australian Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty won the 1996 Nobel Prize for Medicine, little did he know it would be his ticket back to Australia. [ + ]

When the Victorian Government derailed the national synchrotron bidding process by announcing in June 2001 it would go it alone, it caught many people off guard. [ + ]

When Nobel medicine laureate Dr George Snell accepted his 1980 award for identifying genetically determined cell surface immune response regulators, six peers received his thanks. One was an Australian - Prof Ian McKenzie. [ + ]

As one of the big players in the ACT's biotech scene, the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR) has already spun out at least two companies. Biotron, listed on the ASX, is one, working on two cancer diagnostic tests and a number of therapeutic agents including an antiviral for treatment of HIV. [ + ]