Australian biotechnology veteran BresaGen (ASX:BGN) has gone into voluntary administration. [ + ]

Adelaide biotech Bionomics (ASX:BNO) has reported that it had nearly AUD$5 million in the bank at the end of the December 2003 quarter, giving it enough cash for at least two years at its current burn rate. [ + ]

The hopes of hundreds of thousands of people around the world chronically infected with hepatitis C virus could be riding on an Australian clinical trial of a new, potentially life-saving vaccine being jointly developed by US-based Chiron Corporation and Melbourne pharmaceutical company CSL (ASX:CSL). [ + ]

A national survey of Australian farmers' views on genetically modified (GM) crops has identified a marked shift in sentiment during the past 12 months, with fewer farmers now opposed. [ + ]

Canberra biotechnology company Biotron (ASX:BIT) has been offered a $1.66 million Commonwealth R&D Start grant to begin clinical development and testing of novel compounds designed to disrupt replication of the AIDS virus. [ + ]

Biosignal, a spin-off from the University of NSW, is to list on the ASX in late March through a reverse takeover of CTI Communications (ASX:CTC), a telecommunications services company. [ + ]

The National Health and Medical Research Council has kicked off a second round of public comment on its draft guidelines for xenotransplantation research, and will run a series of community consultation meetings in capital cities in February. [ + ]

A new US finding, that transplanted human cells can form pig-human hybrid cells in foetal pigs, does not present a new hazard for transplants of humanised pig organs or cells into humans, according to a leading Melbourne xenotransplantation researcher. [ + ]

Australian researchers have shown in a mouse model that a bacterial toxin used as an immune-stimulating agent in some vaccines may increase the risk of developing autoimmune disease, where the immune system reacts against the body's own proteins. [ + ]

Perth-based nanotech company pSivida (ASX:PSD) will soon commence trading on the German stock exchanges in Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart after meeting all listing requirements, the company has announced. [ + ]

As Australian Cancer Technology heads into Phase II clinical trials for its Pentrix anti-cancer vaccine, the company says it is evaluating a couple of new opportunities to expand its oncology drug development pipeline from the US and UK. [ + ]

They've been using it for years to check for physical faults in semiconductor manufacturing, but researchers at computer chip maker Intel are excited about the potential new uses for a spectroscopic technique they hope could revolutionise the testing of samples for contaminants and disease. [ + ]

An international team of scientists working in the UK, Australia, Italy and the USA has made an astronomical discovery that has major implications for testing Einstein's general theory of relativity.

Gradipore (ASX:GDP) has agreed to acquire a plasma therapeutics business in the US for AUD$6.42 million, providing it with a source of plasma for the development of a therapeutic product using its separations technology to purify plasma components. [ + ]

A project to store every issue of The Lancet medical journal in a searchable database has been completed, making the digital archive a major resource for medical researchers and historians.