The inaugural AusBiotech AEI (Agricultural Environment and Industrial biotechnology) & AusFoodtech event attracted 70 attendees from around Australia, representing the food, agricultural, industrial and environmental sectors of biotechnology. [ + ]

Prospects for a herpes cure are closer with Coridon signing a deal covering technology used in its experimental herpes vaccine, which is set to enter human trials this year. [ + ]

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) has enrolled half the patients for a US trial of off the shelf stem cells to restore degenerated intervertebral discs. [ + ]

Parkinson's expert Dr Barry Snow has agreed to become the lead investigator for a NZ trial of Living Cell Technologies' (ASX:LCT) NTCELL treatment candidate. [ + ]

US-based medical device company Osprey Medical (ASX:OSP) has completed its $20m IPO on the ASX. [ + ]

The AusBiotech Biotechnology Industry Position Survey has found Australian biotechs are optimistic about growth despite concerns over the economic and political environment. [ + ]

Uncovering new fats, or lipids, with links to diseases in the human eye (lens) is as easy as taking a lunch break, according to chemists from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology at the University of Wollongong. [ + ]

A program sponsored and administered by ASTM International - the Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity - will be a major benefit to suppliers, by verifying to their customers their conformance with ASTM test methods. [ + ]

AusIndustry has launched a new publication outlining what will be required when businesses commence registering for the R&D Tax Incentive from 1 July 2012. [ + ]

A phase IIa trial of Pharmaxis’ (ASX:PXS) experimental allergic asthma drug, ASM8, has been shown safe, but more trials will be required to demonstrate efficacy. [ + ]

Optical components provider Edmund Optics is now accepting applications for their 2012 Edmund Optics Higher Education Grant Program. [ + ]

Sigma-Aldrich has acquired all outstanding shares of Cleveland-based company Research Organics to expand its buffer production capacity and to increase its portfolio of PharmaGrade raw materials for the biopharmaceutical and diagnostic markets. [ + ]

Innovative new technology has been used to identify and profile a novel combination of proteins that may improve treatment for prostate disorders. [ + ]

There’s no gene for genius, but scientists have found that a tiny change in a single gene has an impact on brain size and general intelligence. [ + ]

Science is set to become one of the hottest subjects on the timetable for students in Years Nine and 10, following the launch of the inaugural Science for Growth Awards. The awards are being piloted in New South Wales and Queensland before a national launch in 2013. [ + ]