The enormous achievements of Emeritus Professor Frank Fenner will be commemorated by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) fellowship in honour of the pioneering researcher.

The developers of Reversible Addition Fragmentation-chain Transfer (RAFT) technology, CSIRO and DuPont, have enhanced their technology transfer and licensing program to enable companies to more easily access the technology.

The journey to market for biological products can be a complex and frustrating process. A key challenge in this process is producing or obtaining the relevant compounds in quantities large enough to support research studies, pre-clinical studies and/or early-stage clinical trials. [ + ]

S&P/ASX 200 Heathcare Index closed just 22 points shy of 9000 today after notching up its sixth consecutive week in the black. [ + ]

The University of Western Australia will soon be home to one of the most powerful microscopes in Australia that can capture 3D images of objects and surfaces at the molecular or nanoparticle level in real time.

Mayne Pharma Group has applied for a marketing authorisation application (MAA) with the European Union (EU) for the sale and supply of its Subacap drug to treat fungal infections. [ + ]

It’s a market once deemed ‘too-hard’ by biotech and pharma companies, but with the Chinese government set to spend $US125 billion on healthcare by the end of next year, it’s an opportunity too hot to ignore. [ + ]

The WHO report on malaria shows promising reductions in infections and deaths, but scientists warn malaria might be back with a vengeance unless efforts to eradicate it aren't maintained. [ + ]

Melbourne biotech BioDiem has reported the receipt of the first royalty payments to stem from a licencing agreement signed earlier this year for the sale of its Nasovac vaccine for H1N1 (swine flu). [ + ]

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced that it will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Dionex Corporation for a total purchase price of approximately $2.1 billion. The transaction is not conditioned on financing and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2011. Dionex will be integrated into Thermo Fisher’s Analytical Technologies segment.

Thermo Fisher continues its acquisition frenzy by agreeing to buy laboratory equipment manufacturer, Dionex, for US$2.1 billion ($2.11 billion). [ + ]

Sigma Life Science has announced that its SAGE Labs initiative has successfully used its CompoZr Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology to generate knock-in rats in which foreign genes have been inserted, or 'knocked-in', into the rat genome in a precisely targeted manner. This breakthrough achievement represents a major step forward in the creation of a transgenic animal, which may serve as more predictive models of human disease.

The winners of the Australian Academy of Science 2011 awards for scientific excellence have been announced. Honorific awards are presented to career researchers for life-long achievements and outstanding early-career researchers under the age of 40. In addition, the academy gives awards for research support.

Super resolution microscopy has broken the light (refraction) barrier to allow the study of cells and their components in unprecedented detail. [ + ]

An international team of researchers, including scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, have conducted the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) to date and have identified two genetic variants that are associated with the gynaecological disease, endometriosis. [ + ]