The latest AusBiotech investor showcase event in the US has attracted its strongest attendance yet, with the presentations from the participating Australian companies and networking well received. [ + ]

Sienna Cancer Diagnostics has reached a new agreement with licensor Geron for the IP needed to continue development its telomerase protein detector tests. [ + ]

Researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have identified a molecule that helps the malaria virus hide from the immune system. [ + ]

Scientists working on a highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus have voluntarily called a 60-day moratorium on their research to give governments and organisations time to prepare for their results. [ + ]

Millispot, a porous polymer-based material for storing dry blood used in laboratory analyses, is a step closer to securing comprehensive patents, following the release of a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) report indicating that all claims of the patent application appear to be novel and inventive. [ + ]

Newly published research reveals that soils are self-organising systems in which soil structure and microbial activity interact in a dynamic way to maximise the storage of water and carbon. [ + ]

A marine researcher at The University of Western Australia has been appointed a Conservation Fellow of the Zoological Society of London - a society that appointed Charles Darwin a Fellow in 1837 following his five-year expedition on the HMS Beagle. [ + ]

A joint effort by the Australian Wine Research Institute and the University of British Columbia will sequence 15 varieties of the world’s most popular wine grape. [ + ]

Researchers from The Australian National University have discovered a cellular communication process used by plants to respond to drought. They discovered evidence of a process called retrograde signalling - where chemical signals move between different cellular compartments in the plant Arabidopsis. The movement of these signals switches on a defence mechanism which could help plants cope with drought conditions. [ + ]

Sex plays a much bigger role in the reproduction of vitally important seagrasses than previously thought, according to findings by researchers from The University of Western Australia. [ + ]

South Australia's vivoPharm has arranged to co-market primary patient-derived tumours owned by Berlin's EPO to US cancer drug researchers. [ + ]

The government is seeking comment on a new report covering the future of biotechnology and nanotechnology. [ + ]

The Center for Human Genetics and Laboratory Medicine Dr Klein and Dr Rost, and IMGM Laboratories, both located in Martinsried, Germany, have reported using the Roche GS Junior Benchtop System to sequence clinically relevant exons and identify genomic variations in solid tumours treated with an antibody-based medicine. [ + ]

UniQuest spinoff and pharmaceutical R&D company Janssen-Cilag will combine resources to support the development of a rheumatoid arthritis treatment. [ + ]

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals’ (ASX:CUV) cites positive trial results for SCENESSE as likely reason for 34.2% spike in stock price last week. [ + ]