Australian scientists have unravelled a mystery behind the evolutionary origins of two debilitating human genetic diseases by studying the kangaroo and platypus genome. [ + ]

Melbourne-based Stem Cell Sciences (SCS) has signed an exclusive license agreement with the US Millipore Corporation to develop and market SCS' serum-free media for the growth of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). [ + ]

A team at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI) in NSW is developing an automated, rapid diagnostic system to genotype fruit flies. [ + ]

Information on a new global system for the classification and labelling of chemicals was released by the Australian Compensation and Safety Council (ASCC) this week.

Australia’s wine industry is seeking to boost investment in research and development to $225 million per annum to maintain the edge that new technologies and innovation has given the industry over its global competitors.

At the opening of the 2006 Laboratory Managers Conference at the Carlton Crest Hotel, Melbourne, the SIA’s executive director, Duncan Jones MAICD, announced the formation of the Australasian Laboratory Manager’s Association (ALMA).

Debate on Senator Kay Patterson's private member's bill to allow therapeutic cloning for stem cell research will begin in the Senate next week, with a vote to be taken by Friday, 10 November. [ + ]

ARC has announced the outcomes of the Australian Research Council’s National Competitive Grants Program for 2007.

The latest addition to a cluster of research institutes at The University of Queensland, the $70m Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), has opened at the university's St Lucia campus.

New evidence in rats suggests that marijuana may contain compounds that slow the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease. [ + ]

The powerful enticement of vegemite on toast encouraged a biologist specialising in the visual systems of bees to make his home in Australia in the '70s. Now, Professor Mandyam Srinivasan has received the Prime Minister's Prize for Science. [ + ]

Australian scientists and researchers interested in commercialising their research are being encouraged to attend a two-day 'commercialisation bootcamp' being held around the country next year. [ + ]

People suffering from severe psoriasis may soon find symptom relief without injections, after a cream-based treatment being developed by Sydney biotechnology company Apollo Life Sciences outperformed current market-leading drugs in pre-clinical studies. [ + ]

The Siemens Science Experience is a three-day hands-on science, engineering and technology program that will be conducted in Australian universities in 2006/2007 for students who will be entering year 10 in 2007.

Dr Charles Jenkins from the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at ANU has been awarded the 2007 Kelvin Medal for Physics by the London-based Institute of Physics (IoP), which praised his leadership of the Lab in a Lorry project.