A new type of immune cell in skin that is involved in warding off parasites could be linked to eczema and allergic skin diseases. [ + ]

The registration of research and development (R&D) activities, under the R&D Tax Incentive, closes next week for the 2011-12 year. [ + ]

Australian researchers have taken an important step towards designing a potential new anticancer agent. [ + ]

Ultrafast high-resolution imaging in real time could be a reality with a new research discovery led by the University of Melbourne. [ + ]

A spectrum of the benzene dimer was first recorded in 1993, with the aim to find out more about its structure and dynamics. The experiments produced characteristic patterns with four peaks, which no one could decipher for 20 years. Now, using a new theoretical model and the experimental data gathered in Berlin, the spectral patterns have been successfully deciphered and the dynamics that cause them explained. [ + ]

Using joint funding from the Paige Weatherspoon Foundation and the Macquarie University Office of Commercialisation, a team of researchers have recently made headway in developing a faster diagnosis for bacterial meningitis. [ + ]

Swedish government agencies will incorporate Bioniche’s (ASX:BNC) E. coli O157 cattle vaccine in its research into limiting human infection by verotoxigenic E. coli. [ + ]

AmpliPhi and synthetic biology company Intrexon will collaborate on bacteriophage treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections. [ + ]

Researchers at Population Genetics Technologies (Cambridge, UK) have developed and validated an innovative technology - Reflex - for efficient targeted sequencing of long DNA regions in large numbers of genomic DNA samples. [ + ]

A research team from the UK’s National Physics Laboratory and the University of Edinburgh have invented a new way to zip and unzip DNA strands using electrochemistry. [ + ]

New evidence elucidates the mystery of the genetic basis of Tourette syndrome (TS) that has puzzled medical researchers for over a century. This remarkable discovery linking genes, brain, mind and behaviour provides unparalleled insight into the biological basis of human behaviour. [ + ]

Research shows that fainting may be genetically determined, providing a better understanding of this common condition [ + ]

Novogen (ASX:NRT) non-executive director Josiah Austin has resigned to avoid having to fly from the US to Australia for monthly board meetings. [ + ]

Starpharma (ASX:SPL) has been granted three new US patents for its dendrimer drug delivery platform and will soon pick up a patent in China. [ + ]

A team of Australian engineers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has demonstrated a quantum bit based on the nucleus of a single atom in silicon, promising dramatic improvements for data processing in ultrapowerful quantum computers of the future. [ + ]