AusBiotech has made a submission to the federal government's consultation regarding 'Boosting commercial returns from research', as part of the Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda.

Biotron (ASX:BIT) has enrolled all 60 patients for a Thai phase II trial of BIT225 in HCV genotypes 1 or 3.

Collaborative research carried out for more than a decade will be funnelled into a clinical trial on a treatment for brain cancer. [ + ]

Australian stem cell company Genea Biocells and Duke University have been awarded a joint collaborative grant as part of the 2014 HDSA Huntington's Disease Human Biology Project. [ + ]

EngageZone, a cloud-based identity hub from pharmaceutical company Merck, has been named a CSO50 Award winner by CSO Magazine. The award honours organisations whose security projects have created outstanding business value and thought leadership for their companies. [ + ]

The University of New South Wales and ABC Radio National have launched Top 5 under 40 - a program to discover Australia's new generation of science thinkers and give them a voice. [ + ]

Nucleic acid supplier Integrated DNA Technologies, alongside PCR device developer Ubiquitome, will develop the Ubiquitome Freedom4 Real-Time RT-PCR Ebola Virus Assay for easy use in the field. [ + ]

Following the receipt of $19.8 million in government funding, the CRC for Space Environment Management will bring together experts from around the world to look at ways to protect around 3000 operational satellites from space debris. [ + ]

Starpharma and partner Ansell have won regulatory approval to market the LifeStyles Dual Protect condoms in New Zealand.

Two days of intensive discussion at Australia Biotech Invest 2014 will commence tomorrow to highlight the innovation and positive momentum happening in the Australian life sciences sector.

Virax (ASX:VHL) has named a new non-executive chairman and two new non-executive directors to help support the clinical development of its oncology portfolio.

A human stem cell model that recapitulates the pathology of Huntington's disease offers insights into the cause and progression of the disease. [ + ]

Researchers have improved the constraints on time-variation of fundamental constants by making measurements of two optical clock transitions in the same atom (ytterbium). Their experiments have shown that one essential fundamental constant - the mass ratio of protons to electrons - can have changed only by a maximum of one part in a million over the age of our solar system. [ + ]

Physicists from The University of Western Australia have invented a tiny detector, about the size of a coin, which they claim could observe gravitational waves - ripples in space-time generated by accelerating massive objects. [ + ]

Murdoch Childrens' VCGS division has entered an agreement with Illumina allowing it to offer non-invasive prenatal testing for Down syndrome and other genetic disorders.