Materials science start-up Polymerat has glimpsed light at the end of the tunnel by signing its first joint product development agreements with established biotechs. [ + ]

A new report has identifed three key factors that determine a nation's capacity for innovation, and has found that Australia needs a more co-ordinated and committed approach to innovation policy, if it is to become a leading innovator economy.

Leading international scientists and engineers will meet in Geraldton, Western Australia, next week to discuss building the world's largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The meeting is the annual planning meeting for the international community interested in advancing the SKA telescope.

The Office of the Gene Technology Regulator has given Bayer CropScience the green light to commercially release its InVigor genetically modified canola. [ + ]

Antisense Therapeutics has announced plans to conduct a pre-Phase I proof-of-concept clinical study to confirm that its antisense psoriasis treatment ATL1101 shows activity. [ + ]

Melbourne company Stem Cell Sciences has emerged from recent capital-raising activities AUD$8 million better off. [ + ]

Brisbane start-up company Thrombostat has attracted AUD$800,000 in venture capital and grants to develop drugs that could displace aspirin in long-term prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. [ + ]

Two of the leading forces in Australian bioinformatics are pooling their expertise to build a new generation of protein expression data mining tools. [ + ]

NSW farmer Bruce Finney cultivates more than 7000 hectares of GM crops, including soy beans and maize, and fully supports the use of GM cotton. Ask him about GM canola, and he tells a different story. [ + ]

Hot on the heels of a new technology-exchange deal with Texas A&M University, Gradipore is to chase the chiral separation market with a product based its membrane purification technology. [ + ]

Prof Alan Trounson is stepping away from his role as CEO of the National Stem Cell Centre (NSCC) to become its Global Science Strategic Advisor, with a focus on expanding the centre's international relationships and influence. [ + ]

Ethics committees helping to oversee bio-research need to be put on a more professional footing, according a leading member of Australia’s ethics community, Prof Wayne Hall. [ + ]

Calling today a "red letter day" for the Australian National Synchrotron project, Victorian Minister for Innovation, John Brumby, announced that Australian construction company Thiess was the successful tenderer to design and construct the building to house the 67 metre diameter machine, 30 plus beamlines, and associated laboratories, offices and technical facilities. [ + ]

A new technique, applied to oil exploration for the first time, has the potential to save exploration companies millions of dollars in wasted effort.

GroPep's infertility drug program has received a boost recently with the issue of a patent covering the compound, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). [ + ]