Opthea has announced positive data from its ongoing first-in-human clinical trial of OPT-302, a VEGF-C/D 'Trap' therapy for wet age-related macular degeneration. [ + ]

Researchers have demonstrated that it is possible for nanomaterials to operate at room temperature, marking a milestone in the quest for practical quantum computing. [ + ]

The president of the French Government's space agency has signed a cooperation agreement with the CSIRO covering the 2017 launch of a stratospheric scientific balloon research program from the NASA/CSIRO base in Alice Springs. [ + ]

Researchers from the Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre have developed a diagnostic toolkit that can accurately detect plant viruses and viroids in a single test. [ + ]

Instrumentation supplier Scitech has been appointed the authorised distributor for the CrestOptics range of products in Australia and New Zealand. [ + ]

ANU has led an international research effort into how plants, such as rice and wheat, sense and respond to extreme drought stress. Their study could lead to the development of next-generation, drought-proof crops. [ + ]

The University of Melbourne and the Australian Genomics Research Facility have launched the Genomics Innovation Hub — a collaborative initiative that will help pave the way for personalised cancer treatments based on patients' genetic profiles. [ + ]

Sleep disorder device manufacturer Oventus Medical has made its debut on the Australian Securities Exchange, raising $12 million from a fully subscribed IPO underwritten by Bell Potter. [ + ]

The Australian Academy of Science has extended its congratulations to the new Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, former Environment Minister Greg Hunt. [ + ]

Physicists have used steerable 'optical tweezers' to split minute clouds of ultracold atoms and slowly smash them together to directly observe a key theoretical principle of quantum mechanics — the Pauli exclusion principle. [ + ]

Seventy-seven women from around the world have been selected to take part in Homeward Bound, said to be the world's largest all-female expedition to Antarctica. [ + ]

The CEO of AusBiotech, Dr Anna Lavelle, will hand over leadership of the organisation after more than 11 years of service to the Australian biotechnology industry. [ + ]

The Compounds Australia Structure PoRtal (CASPeR) is a newly released online portal providing access to the data of more than 50,000 different compounds and samples, linking Australian researchers in a way that has not been possible previously. [ + ]

Researchers have discovered that environmental DNA monitoring, a specialised technique that can detect DNA that fish release into their environment through skin cells or faeces, is even more effective than conventional monitoring techniques such as trapping. [ + ]

Analytica has been granted FDA clearance for its PeriCoach medical device, previously available in the US by prescription only, to be sold over the counter. [ + ]