Research published in the journal PLOS ONE, conducted by Rori Rohlfs and colleagues from the University of California at Berkeley and New York University, indicates that familial search methods may identify distant relatives as being closer to the perpetrator than they actually are. [ + ]

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration has allowed marketing of the bioMérieux VITEK mass spectrometer system for automated identification of bacteria and yeasts that are known to cause serious illness in humans. [ + ]

AusBiotech has commended the Labor government’s response to the Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research (The McKeon Review) and its pledge to establish the $250 million Medical Research Innovation Fund (MRIF). [ + ]

Frost & Sullivan has handed iSonea (ASX:ISN) an Innovation Leadership Award for its AsthmaSense cloud mobile health-monitoring technology. [ + ]

The Australian Academy of Science has welcomed the commitments made by the Australian Greens in their science policy, released today. The academy is calling on all parties to articulate a strategic approach to science policy. [ + ]

The Australian Government has committed to growing investment in the health and medical research sector with the Medical Research Innovation Fund. [ + ]

Alchemia (ASX:ACL) said sales of its generic fondaparinux anticoagulant recovered in the June quarter to reach record levels. [ + ]

Janssen and AusBiotech are delighted to announce that the Janssen 2013 Industry Excellence Awards are now open for nominations. The awards, which have three categories, will be announced at AusBiotech 2013 in Brisbane on 30 October. [ + ]

WA Premier Colin Barnett has announced a $26m investment in the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), based in Perth. The commitment is part of the state’s wider $96m investment in radio astronomy. [ + ]

Researchers have found that the SLIRP gene - discovered at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) and known to affect hormone action in breast and prostate cancer cells - has an impact on male fertility. [ + ]

A trial of a capsule formulation of Biotron’s HIV/HCV drug candidate BIT225 has confirmed its ability to improve drug levels by around 160%. [ + ]

The future looks bright for liver cancer treatment specialist Sirtex Medical (ASX: SRX), which has reported a net profit after tax of $18.3 million in FY13. [ + ]

The 24th International Symposium on Human Identification, to be held from 7-10 October in Atlanta, Georgia, is said to be the largest conference on DNA analysis for human identification. [ + ]

Melbourne researchers have found that the cytokine interleukin-11 (IL-11) plays a bigger role than thought in the growth and development of gastrointestinal cancers. [ + ]

Two of the six multiple myeloma patients in the second and third cohorts of Patrys’s (ASX:PAB) phase I/IIa trial of PAT-SM6 have shown evidence of stable disease post-dosing. [ + ]