One of Australia's most influential cancer researchers has taken over the reigns - or is that the gavel - of the Australian Academy of Science. [ + ]

A simple genetic test that uses just three genes is among the most effective means of classifying breast cancer into sub-types.

Distinguished cancer researcher Professor Suzanne Cory has been elected by her peers as President of the Australian Academy of Science - an institution that has been dominated by male scientists since its formation in 1954. As the first elected female president, she takes over the role from Professor Kurt Lambeck.

It's day three of BIO 2010, this year held in Chicago, which has managed to put on some splendidly warm spring weather, echoing the sentiment from the floor that the biotechnology industry has weathered the harsh winter of the global financial crisis and sunny climes are just over the horizon. [ + ]

Antibody specialists, Immuron, are on the cusp of beginning pre-clinical trials of its Influenza prevention antibody treatment after receiving the go ahead from the CSIRO animal ethics committee. [ + ]

Comparing the conformity of molecular markers is considered a first step in determining what the 'essential characteristics' of a particular plant variety are.

A Melbourne Materials Institute team is developing a diamond electrode array that will be part of a chip embedded in the retina for use in the bionic eye. This device is designed to have sufficient resolution to allow the blind to recognise faces and read large print.

The worst of the global financial crisis has passed, but the biotech industry isn't returning to business as usual. [ + ]

It’s not just the Big Three – CSL,ResMed and Cochlear – with high hopes for 2010. Many other Australian biotechnology companies are either in the final stages of trials and are close to gaining regulatory approval, or they are in the initial stages of commercialising their products, with several forming strategic partnerships to expand into new and lucrative overseas markets. [ + ]

In March this year the American Medical Association (AMA) assigned the all important Category III coding to ImpediMed’s bio-impedance spectroscopy (BIS) technology, enabling physicians to be reimbursed for its use in the early detection of lymphedema. [ + ]

Australia has a mixed relationship with the sun. We all know that exposure to sunlight can be damaging, with melanoma of the skin being the fourth most prevalent cancer in this country. Yet even with the known threat, many Australians find themselves drawn to basking in the rays of the sun in the hope of cultivating a deep and lustrous tan. [ + ]

Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s certainly the case with pharmaceutical company, QRxPharma. Not only does its lead product, MoxDuo, combine two existing drugs to give a superior effect with fewer side effects than current products, but the company has combined a strong background in science with a prudent approach to clinical trials to build a robust biotechnology company with global aspirations. [ + ]

Two thousand and nine was an extraordinary year. When I last wrote twelve months ago, we were in the thick of a global economic crisis. The biotechnology industry, like most Australian industries, was feeling the effect of the downturn. Thanks to swift action by the Commonwealth, Australia has fared better than just about any other developed nation. [ + ]

According to an analyst at Datamonitor, it's a bumpy road ahead for the life sciences and pharmaceutical industry in the United States as a result of the recently passed healthcare bill along with the 'patent cliff' due to arrive around 2011. [ + ]

Monozygotic - or identical - twins have provided science with the ideal platform for distinguishing between genetic and environmental influences for anything from personality, risk of cardiovascular disease or even voting habits. [ + ]