The UK’s NICE has issued a draft decision recommending reimbursement of Iluvien, an ocular insert developed by pSivida (ASX:PVA), for pseudophakic DME patients. [ + ]

Researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, led by Drs Atsushi Miyawaki and Akiko Kumagai, have discovered a fluorescent protein in the Japanese Unagi freshwater eel. Not only is this the first fluorescent protein found in vertebrates, but it could also be used to help save human lives. [ + ]

How do you alter the inside of a closed bag without opening it? It’s not a trick question, as researchers in Braunschweig, Germany, have achieved just that. [ + ]

The MRC-NIHR Phenome Centre, opened on 5 June, is the world’s first large-scale national phenomics facility. It will help scientists and doctors better understand how the interaction between a person’s genes and the environment (phenomics) affects that person’s susceptibility to various diseases. [ + ]

Sophisticated instruments small enough to fit in a shirt pocket will one day scavenge power from sunlight, body heat or other sources enabling analysis in the field rather than bringing samples and data back to the lab. [ + ]

The United States Supreme Court has released its landmark decision in Association for Molecular Pathology et al v Myriad Genetics, Inc et al. The Court unanimously agreed that “A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated, but cDNA is patentable because it is not naturally occurring.” [ + ]

Scientists have discovered a technique to control and direct the self-assembly of two different colloids. [ + ]

Compumedics (ASX:CMP) has finally secured the short-term funding needed to help it process a significant order backlog for its diagnostics products. [ + ]

QRxPharma (ASX:QRX) has been granted a US patent covering linking morphine and oxycodone molecules to form a more potent hybrid compound. [ + ]

The Agricultural Biotechnology Council of Australia (ABCA) invites you to join its email list to receive regular updates on current and emerging issues in agricultural biotechnology in Australia. [ + ]

Advanced technologies help researchers visualise cancer spreading and improve drug delivery. [ + ]

A group of leading scientists have claimed that the outlawing of psychoactive drugs amounts to the worst case of scientific censorship since the Catholic Church banned the works of Copernicus and Galileo. [ + ]

University of Queensland (UQ) commercialisation company UniQuest has announced the appointment of its new CEO, Dr Dean Moss. [ + ]

Bionomics (ASX:BNO) has completed enrolment for the first clinical trial involving a vascular disrupting agent - the company’s BNC105 candidate - with an mTOR inhibitor. [ + ]

iSonea (ASX:ISN) has released the results of a survey suggesting that 80% of Australian GPs and 62% of paediatricians would recommend its upcoming mobile wheeze-monitoring system. [ + ]