Some of Amrad's larger shareholders are boosting their holdings in the Melbourne company (ASX:AML), as long-time Japanese investor Chugai divests itself of its 10 per cent stake in the company. [ + ]

Life science companies - from start-ups to listed biotechs - featured highly in the latest round of Commonwealth R&D Start funding, it was revealed yesterday. [ + ]

Researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have struck a formal deal with recently-listed Tissue Therapies (ASX:TIS) to boost the yield and quality of dendritic cells for their cancer vaccine using the company's cellular growth enhancer VitroGro. [ + ]

Proteome Systems CEO Keith Williams has described as "highly speculative" a media report this morning which suggested his company might be valued only at AUD$100 million when it lists on the ASX this year, rather than the $300 million valuation it had hoped for. [ + ]

It began as a routine trial of a therapeutic vaccine for melanoma, but it had a spectacular and unexpected outcome -- all but two of the 19 patients treated with the vaccine are still alive two years after beginning treatment. [ + ]

Starpharma (ASX:SPL) has received two competitive linkage grants, worth a total of AUD$440,000 over the next three years, from the Australian Research Council to further develop pharmaceutical applications of its proprietary dendrimer macromolecules. [ + ]

Dr Susan Clark from the Sydney Cancer Centre and the Garvan Institute has been awarded a major international prize for her contribution to DNA methylation research over the last 10 years. [ + ]

The new Gene Technology Access Centre (GTAC), which opened its doors in Melbourne today, aims to "blast away" some of the mythology of the scientific enterprise, according to one of its founders. [ + ]

Medica Holdings officially became Cytopia (ASX:CYT) this week, as it took the next big step from being a biotech investment company to a biotech company in its own right. [ + ]

Melbourne-based Anadis (ASX:ANX) is making the best of its lofty share price, announcing today that it will issue 10.9 million shares at AUD$0.30, raising $4.25 million. [ + ]

Perth biotech Solbec Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SPB) is confident of taking its promising cancer drug SBP002 into Phase II clinical trials after a midstream review of data from its current phase 1 trial. [ + ]

Unlisted Brisbane biotech Xenome has initiated a Phase I clinical trial of its lead candidate for treating neuropathic pain, Xen2174. [ + ]

Mixed results from recent IPOs in the Australian and international biotech sectors have not daunted several local biotechs' plans to list on the ASX in coming months. [ + ]

The National Stem Cell Centre has signed a collaboration agreement with Singapore-based ES Cell International (ESI) to develop new human embryonic stem cell-based treatments for diabetes and other diseases. [ + ]

Evolutionary biologists talk about a perpetual arms race between predators and prey -- an unwinnable war in which one combatant achieves a transient advantage before the other develops a counter-measure. But it seems that at least one native hardwood of Australia's tropical north found a game-ending defence against termites that keeps its wood nice long after it expires. [ + ]