The federal government has released a discussion paper on the Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) program - the first of its kind in Australia - which will provide $52 million from 2011 to promote mutually beneficial collaboration between universities.

Garvan researchers find gene silencing in prostate cancer is more substantial than expected and could provide key to battling cancer. [ + ]

The National Enabling Technologies Strategy has been released. The strategy provides a comprehensive national framework to guide the development of new technologies.

IRMS++, invented by Dr Mike Hotchkis and Dr Chris Waring at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, uses a newly developed, patented microwave-driven plasma source to generate large signals directly from very small volumes of liquid or gas for measurement of their isotopic composition.

Prima BioMed, Biota Holdings, Cochlear, ResMed, CSL [ + ]

McGill University researchers have developed a nanotech catalyst which uses magnetics that may reduce the need for heavy metals in processes.

Waters and Daiso have entered into a collaborative agreement to globally market and supply Daisogel bulk packing materials for process chromatography.

A new test aims to reveal the influence of natural selection on the human genome, possibly revealing mutations that lend resistance to disease. [ + ]

Study in mice finds significant role for zinc transport protein ZnT3 in the neurodegenerative disease. [ + ]

Patent infringement suit brought against nine U.S. biotechnology companies for use of non-coding DNA technology. [ + ]

Universities may have less money to fund research and may be less able to provide the expensive infrastructure that researchers require to undertake their research as a result of the outcome of a court case over intellectual property rights, according to Professor Alan Robson, Vice-Chancellor of The University of Western Australia.

Dolomite has used microfluidic miniaturisation to produce portable, robust and low-power GC systems suitable for environmental applications such as atmospheric monitoring.

The ASPREE Healthy Ageing Biobank Cluster will establish a 'biobank' of blood samples collected from over 10,000 healthy elderly Australians. The collaborative research cluster will focus on establishing the biobank samples to be used in advancing research into the prediction and early diagnosis of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.

SymbioticA, the art and science collaborative research laboratory at The University of Western Australia, has been awarded first place in the international VIDA 12.0 competition, which recognises excellence in artistic creativity using new technologies and artificial life.

Tom Gonda’s research team at the Diamantina Institute in Brisbane is using new technology to unmask the proto-oncogenes that can cause cancer in mutant form. [ + ]