Industry News
GTG boss welcomes 'healthy debate'
Comments by genomics pioneer Francis Collins that Australian company Genetic Technologies' patents over non-coding DNA were of "questionable appropriateness" have spurred not so much a rebuttal, but more of a philosophical argument from the company's CEO. [ + ]
Science losing in patent race: Sulston
The huge trend towards "competitive greed" is having serious consequences for science and innovation internationally, according to eminent British geneticist Sir John Sulston. [ + ]
GSK takes new approach to drug checks
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is blazing a new trail by using pharmacogenetics approaches for post-approval surveillance of new drugs. [ + ]
Huntington's test tale proves our unpredictability
Within a year of the identification in 1993 of the huntingtin gene, which in mutant form causes the fatal brain disorder Huntington's disease, geneticists devised a test to detect the mutation, and offered it to families with a history of the disease. [ + ]
Australia tops world in herbicide resistance
Australia has the world's most severe herbicide resistance problem, Western Australia's Prof Stephen Powles told delegates at the XIX International Congress of Genetics on Monday. [ + ]
National Geographic initiative launches in Australia
With the launch in Australia of a global fund for science, conservation and exploration, the National Geographic Society is providing grants of around US$25,000 each for new projects.
[ + ]IGF gene may play major role in longevity
Have geneticists uncovered one of the master genes for aging? Dr Linda Partridge, a researcher at University College, London, says increasing evidence points to the gene for insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) playing a major role in longevity. [ + ]
Why geneticists should go down on the farm
Farm animals provide a unique opportunity to capture genes influencing multi-factorial traits, according to Leif Andersson, who presented the first plenary on Tuesday at the XIX International Congress of Genetics. [ + ]
Web portals, grid computing lead the way
Web portal use by the research community and the popularity of grid computing are two leading trends in today's bioIT market, according to Sun Microsystems computational biology supremo Stefan Unger. [ + ]
New “pragmatic” consulting venture
Ex-Ambri CEO Dr Joe Shaw is to set up shop in Australia with a new biotech business consulting group – the Aus-American Group Inc (AAGI) – designed to help startups navigate the Pacific Trench minefield. [ + ]
Gradipore admits loss, poor communication
In a lengthy shareholders' advice, beleaguered biosensor company Gradipore has donned not just the hair shirt but the hair suit admitting a "disappointing" $15.5-16 million loss and noting commitment to a "more effective and timely communication with all shareholders." [ + ]
Granny off the hook in menopause mystery
Geneticists appear to have failed in their latest attempt to indict human grandmothers in the court of life for indirectly visiting menopause upon their daughters. [ + ]
Domestication: it's only natural
Domesticated plant and animal genomes provide excellent material for the study of haplotypes and adaptation, according to Gane Ka-Shu Wong, deputy director of the Beijing Institute of Genomics. [ + ]
Poverty, not GM, threatens biodiversity
Africa's leading molecular geneticist told a forum on genetically modified organisms that poverty, not GM crops, posed the biggest threat to biodiversity around the world. [ + ]
Freebasing flies point to new treatments for addiction
The administration of freebase cocaine to fruit flies has uncovered novel pathways central to the development of addiction and may eventually lead to the development of drugs to cure or prevent it. [ + ]