$331 million deal sees Roche move into RNAi-based therapeutics. [ + ]

New evidence supports theory that a breakdown in frontal temporal connectivity underlies schizophrenia. [ + ]

Professor Nicholas Fisk will head UQ's new clinical research centre. [ + ]

Rio Tinto has announced major funding for one of the world's largest civilian robotics research centres, a centre for mining automation, which will be based at The University of Sydney.

The self professed ‘mammal lady’, who controversially claimed through her comparative genomics research that the male determining Y chromosome will become extinct, has been named Australian Thinker of the Year.

ANSTO and Siemens will build a $10 million nuclear medicine facility in Sydney. [ + ]

Immune deficiency suspected in higher cancer risk levels. [ + ]

Monash University and Tecan to build monoclonal antibody production facility. [ + ]

UNSW researchers narrow chronic fatigue symptoms to 35 genetic markers. [ + ]

An automated test could enable population screening to identify carriers of the genetic disease fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common inherited form of mental retardation, reports a study in the April issue of Genetics in Medicine, published by the American College of Medical Genetics and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Scientists from the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Lund University and Novartis have discovered three unsuspected regions of human DNA that contain clear genetic risk factors for type 2 diabetes and another that is associated with elevated blood triglycerides.

Monash University has joined forces with international life sciences supply company Tecan to develop a new state-of-the-art monoclonal antibody production system at the University's Clayton campus.

The genome of the Eucalyptus tree is to be sequenced. [ + ]

What is so awesome about yeast? Next week, almost 500 of the world’s top yeast researchers will gather in Melbourne to discuss that topic at the 23rd International Conference on Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Executive director of the Children’s Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research (CCIA), Professor Michelle Haber welcomed the recent announcement of the construction of a new world-class cancer research centre which will be an outstanding new focus of Australian adult and childhood cancer research.