Plexpress, developer of the innovative TRAC platform for high-throughput gene expression analysis, has announced a collaboration with the contract research organisation Admescope which will now include TRAC as part of its services for investigating in vitro drug interactions and preclinical ADME-Tox responses. [ + ]

Patients enrolled in a pilot trial of REVA Medical's (ASX:RVA) ReZolve coronary stent have so far suffered no major adverse coronary events. [ + ]

ResMed (ASX:RMD) is hunting internally and externally for a new CEO to replace founter Dr Peter Farrell when he steps down as CEO at the end of 2013. [ + ]

The main technical difficulty in building a quantum computer could soon be the thing that makes it possible to build one, according to new research from the Australian National University (ANU). [ + ]

Mettler Toledo and Konica Minolta Sensing have decided to join forces with a strategic partnership in the field of multiparameter analysis for the food and flavours, and fragrances industry. The partnership will bundle the CM-5 or CR-5 Spectrophotometer from Konica Minolta with the density, refractive index and pH instruments from Mettler Toledo to provide a complete system for automatic quality monitoring of raw materials and finished goods. [ + ]

As a further foray into social media and communication technologies, AusBiotech this week launched a web app at the AusMedtech 2012 conference that gave delegates access to all the event information in an easy and fun web format. [ + ]

One of Australia’s foremost astronomers, Professor Matthew Colless, has, today, been announced as the new Director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at The Australian National University (ANU). [ + ]

Following the discovery by Mayo Clinic scientists of biomarkers for prostate cancer, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have identified a new biomarker and therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer, an often-fatal disease for which there is currently no reliable method for early detection or therapeutic intervention. [ + ]

Drawing on powerful computational tools and a state-of-the-art scanning transmission electron microscope, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison and Iowa State University materials science and engineering researchers has discovered a new nanometre-scale atomic structure in solid metallic materials known as metallic glasses. [ + ]

Biosceptre and the University of Queensland’s AIBN research institute have teamed up to develop a production method for monoclonal antibodies designed to trigger cancer cell death. [ + ]

The Australian Synchrotron will use a new tracking technology developed by Bluechiip (ASX:BCT) to keep track of samples in extreme temperatures. [ + ]

Gene patents have hit the headlines once again with a Labor backbencher introducing a private member’s bill to ban patents on genetic material. [ + ]

UniQuest, The University of Queensland’s (UQ) main commercialisation company, has facilitated a strategic research collaboration and antibody production agreement between Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) researchers and Biosceptre International to develop a bioprocess for producing certain monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer. [ + ]

Alterations to the ‘on-off’ switches of genes occur early in the development of prostate cancer and could be used as biomarkers to detect the disease months or even years earlier than current approaches, a Mayo Clinic study has found. [ + ]

A leading UK scientist who helped map the bacterial ecosystems of British soil in a world-first study will join The University of Western Australia (UWA) to lead an expert team in soil rehabilitation research. [ + ]