Feature frequency profiles similar to the system universities use to check if students have plagiarised their essays can be used to great effect in comparative genomics.

Cytopia calls for board spill and offers merger for troubled Progen [ + ]

FDA grants Geron’s IND application for first human embryonic stem cell trial [ + ]

A joint technology program between the NSW government and the South Korean province of Gangwon has been announced. The University of Wollongong’s Intelligent Polymer Research Institute will use nanotechnology to develop a new high-performance energy storage device.

The Australian Academy of Science has announced the 2009 winners of distinguished awards for scientific excellence.

Greg Stuart has pioneered methods for measuring neuronal signals in the brain to a degree and complexity never before achieved. He will speak at next week’s Australian Neuroscience Society annual meeting. [ + ]

Politics does affect funding decisions according to research from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

Good early results in Phase III trial for sun intolerance drug [ + ]

Omacetaxine receives orphan drug status for bone marrow disorders [ + ]

Research finds common sequence variants in many cancer types [ + ]

Mesoblast to conduct world’s first stem cell trial for ACL-related osteoarthritis [ + ]

Distant shores better sites for DNA methylation than islands [ + ]

B cell activator can override regulatory T cells and disarm immune rejection [ + ]

A deletion in a single gene increases risk of cardiomyopathies in South Asian populations [ + ]

Sonic the hedgehog's nemesis strikes again, biologically speaking [ + ]