The number of cases of melanoma will double over the next 10 years, presenting attractive opportunities for drug companies to improve on existing poor and outdated standards of treatment. [ + ]

Dow Chemical and BASF have received a green chemistry award for their jointly developed hydrogen peroxide to propylene oxide (HPPO) technology.

A who’s who of Australian scientists have been tapped to direct the research of the new South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) in Adelaide. [ + ]

Simon McKeon has been appointed as Chairman of the CSIRO Board.

A study by Hong Kong researchers has highlighted worrying gaps in the follow up to last year’s outbreak of H1N1 swine flu which it says are largely responsible for a fast-spreading outbreak amongst pigs in China. [ + ]

The Human Genome Project was supposed to shine a light on the phenomenon of heritability, illuminating how certain complex traits are passed down from parent to offspring. [ + ]

Qiagen has entered into an agreement with the Dutch molecular diagnostic component supplier Genome Diagnostics, which covers the development and commercialisation of six new tests until 2011.

The Green Chemical Futures facility will be developed at the Clayton campus of Monash University. The $72.8 million project will be co-funded by the university and the federal government.

The Australian stock market finished the week up one percent, although thin trade volumes today suggested that investors were exercising caution amid ongoing global uncertainty. [ + ]

Patrys has expanded its pipeline of antibody-based treatments for cancer with two new additions, bringing its portfolio to 13 antibodies under development. [ + ]

A new study has shown that even mild levels of tea drinking can greatly increase the chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis while coffee appears to have no effect at all. [ + ]

Researchers at the UK’s Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) have highlighted three new genetic risk factors for testicular cancer, doubling the number of genomic regions now known to be associated with the disease. [ + ]

Australian scientists have developed a technology for isolating the toxic chemicals escaping into the environment for the last 50 years from fire-fighting-foams. [ + ]

A biotechnologist from the South Australian Research and Development Institute ( SARDI ) has demonstrated a unique ‘waste-food-chain’ with major implications for industries that product organic waste. [ + ]

An Australian and a British researcher have published the results of a breakthrough study expected to transform traditional thinking about the digestive process and possibly lead to new treatments for and other diseases. [ + ]