A central theme of this week's Bioshares Biotech Summit in New Zealand is the trend of foregoing outlicensing to big pharma in order to bring products to market alone or with a smaller partner. [ + ]

GI Dynamics (ASX:GID) has expanded the reach of its EndoBarrier diabetes treatment to France and to more clinics in its existing markets. [ + ]

Many Australian biotech stocks have seen a reversal of fortune in the most recent quarter, with market volatility and some disappointing results hampering share prices. [ + ]

Two of AusBiotech’s most important student programs to assist bio-students’ linkages with industry are closing soon for 2012. [ + ]

A new method of drug testing developed by researchers at RTI International makes it possible to detect a wider range of synthetically produced ‘designer’ drugs. [ + ]

Textbooks and websites on the origin of the surface tension of water need to be rewritten, according to Maoyuan Liu, James K Beattie and Angus Anthony Gray-Weale. These textbooks describe a pristine, uncharged air/water interface. None recognise that the interface is in fact highly charged by the presence of adsorbed hydroxide ions, with hydronium ions providing charge balance in the double layer. [ + ]

A recent study assesses the effectiveness of two somatostatin vaccinations, JH17 and JH18, in reducing weight gain and increasing weight loss in mice. [ + ]

Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory suffer from one of the world’s highest rates of otitis media – i.e. bacterial infections of the middle ear – which can lead to a lifetime of health problems. [ + ]

Merck Millipore now has exclusive rights to sell Biotest AG Microbiology products in Australia and New Zealand. [ + ]

The first conclusive evidence that no-take protected areas can help restock exploited fish populations on neighbouring reefs was presented at the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) yesterday. [ + ]

New Australian research showing that poultry vaccines have recombined to produce more virulent viruses has prompted the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to examine regulatory controls over the approval and use of veterinary vaccines. [ + ]

Agenix business advisor; AusBiotech board member; Director for new La Trobe institute; OBodies advisory board; Mesoblast director; AHG board switch-up. [ + ]

The Australian Academy of Science’s primary school education program, ‘Primary Connections: Linking Science with Literacy’, increases teacher confidence and student interest in science, new research has shown. [ + ]

Drugs, toxins and pesticides can be detected at nanogram/litre levels in just 40 minutes with a new class of biosensors developed at the University of New South Wales. [ + ]

Wheaton has acquired the CELLine dual-membrane, cell culture flask line for antibody and protein production from Wilson Wolf Manufacturing Corporation. [ + ]