Two engineers have changed the way blood is collected and tested thanks to a world-first, fully integrated rapid test device, designed and developed in Australia. [ + ]

Sixty years ago today, Federal Parliament passed the Atomic Energy Act - Australia’s first tentative step along a scientific path that led to the formation of one of our country’s leading public research organisations, which has benefited millions of people around the world. [ + ]

Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) has ramped up compatibility testing for its ultrasound probe disinfection system, adding 219 products from four vendors to the approved list. [ + ]

The University of Western Australia has licensed technology covering a prospective treatment for severe muscle-wasting disease DMD to existing partner Sarepta. [ + ]

Universal Biosensors (ASX:UBI) and six other companies have secured grants of up to $250K under the Victorian Government’s Technology Implementation Voucher program. [ + ]

Alchemia (ASX:ACL) has wrapped up a capital raising round with an oversubscribed SPP, securing a total of $12.95m to help fund its metastatic colorectal cancer trial. [ + ]

The ARCS Congress is coming up in Sydney at the beginning of June. [ + ]

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) CEO Silviu Itescu has been named the first recipient of the Pontifical Council for Culture and Stem for Life Foundation’s Key Innovation Award. [ + ]

A team of Melbourne researchers has received funding to take their work on a new class of anticancer drugs out of the lab and into the clinic. [ + ]

Sirtex Medical (ASX:SRX) has signed on the final patient for SIRFLOX, a trial of its SIR-Spheres liver cancer treatments that has been recruiting since 2006. [ + ]

Thanks to USB sticks and video streaming, DVD players are becoming all but obsolete. But their cheap optics may find a new life in a cost-effective and speedy technique for on-the-spot HIV testing and other analytics. [ + ]

Researchers at the University of Michigan have identified a new potential therapeutic target for lowering cholesterol that could be an alternative or complementary therapy to statins. [ + ]

An announcement today of a licensing agreement with US drug company Sarepta Therapeutics to develop new treatments based on award-winning research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) at The University of Western Australia may lead to the state’s first genetic drug derived from WA research. [ + ]

Patrys (ASX:PAB) has completed initial treatment for half of the 12 multiple myeloma patients to be involved in a clinical trial of anticancer antibody PAT-SM6. [ + ]

The Australian Synchrotron has announced the establishment of the Australian Synchrotron Fellows Program, available to outstanding individuals whose passion for science matches that of the AS’s staff and who will be rewarded with access to Australia’s premier scientific and innovation support facility. [ + ]