Prima BioMed announced today that its CVac ovarian cancer therapy vaccine has been granted Orphan Medicinal Product Designation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). [ + ]

The Burnett Institute’s ImmunoMonitoring Facility (IMF) has become first such facility in Victoria, and only the fifth in Australia, to be accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities of Australia. [ + ]

Researchers from Australia’s Walter and Eliza Hall and Burnett Institutes, and the Imperial College London have completed a potentially ground breaking study examining the ability of heparin-like molecules to neutralise the malaria virus before it reaches the red blood cells. [ + ]

Cochlear has taken out this year’s coveted ‘red dot award:design’ for its Nucleus 5 System, a solution for people with severe to profound hearing loss. [ + ]

The results of an Australian clinical trial assessing two new treatment approaches for bowel cancer patients unable to withstand chemotherapy were published today in the prestigious medical journal, the Journal of Clinical Oncology. [ + ]

AusBiotech will oversee a new federal government funded research project aiming to advance the understanding of second generation biofuels. [ + ]

A study looking at the $300 billion medical technology market has highlighted the need for Australian companies to be more mindful of protecting and promoting their IP if they want to share in the spoils. [ + ]

Genetic abnormalities are most often discussed in terms of single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs (pronounced "snips"), which are changes in a single unit along the 3 billion nucleotides that make up the entire string of human DNA. [ + ]

Microprocessors today are made from silicon, but future generations of computers may draw on the lessons of biology and even feature organic components. [ + ]

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has recently legislated amendments to the medical device regulations which mean that all in vitro diagnostics (IVDs), including laboratory developed tests, will need to be included on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) by July 1, 2014. [ + ]

A supply of cultured stem cells for clinical uses is coming closer as Karolinska Institutet researchers culture cells under chemically controlled conditions without the use of animal substances.

How does an embryonic stem (ES) cell ‘know’ how to become one of the 200 plus adult cells into which it can transform? What does it need in terms of chemical, signalling and environmental cues to become, for example, blood, skin, nerve, heart or pancreas? [ + ]

The UK’s Energy Technologies Institute ( ETI ) has announced a major new study to investigate and develop techniques for CCS ( carbon capture and storage ) based on mineralisation. [ + ]

The Australian Academy of Science has announced that three local scientists have this year been elected as Fellows of Britain’s Royal Society, as the prestigious group celebrates its 350th anniversary. [ + ]

Adelaide-based biotech Bionomics has announced that its partnership with Merck Serono to develop treatments for MS and other autoimmune diseases has been extended by a year. [ + ]