The Koala Research Centre, hosted by Central Queensland University and based in Rockhampton, is undertaking a study of koalas in north-western Queensland to understand how this unique koala population is surviving alongside a rapidly developing agricultural and mining region.

Rock pool slime could hold the secret of a cure for the hospital 'superbug' MRSA, scientists say. Scottish researchers have found several types of bacteria, which, together, act as a powerful natural antibiotic against MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus), one of the biggest problems affecting hospital hygiene today.

A Sydney epidemiological study has given further weight to a theory that exposure to non-viral respiratory infections in childhood may protect against asthma later in life. [ + ]

CSIRO's highly successful alliance with Bayer CropScience has been extended in an agreement that will deliver benefits to farmers and grow Australia's R&D capabilities.

One of the stars of Queensland’s biotech industry, biopharmaceutical company Alchemia, has sent shock waves through the sector by slashing staff by 30 per cent. [ + ]

Eiffel Technologies has entered into a collaboration with US drug delivery company Aradigm Corporation. [ + ]

Norwood Abbey has spun out its immunology project into a separate company, which will be listed in Europe or the USA within the next 12 months. [ + ]

The three-dimensional structure of the anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-w has unexpectedly revealed a protective 'tail' which sits in a groove preventing cell death from being triggered accidentally, explaining why attempts at designing drugs capable of specifically triggering cell death may be more challenging than first appreciated. [ + ]

One of the fathers of Queensland's biotech industry, Prof Peter Andrews, has been hired by New Zealand to pinpoint promising opportunities for colloboration between the two regions. [ + ]

The amount of computing power available to Australian bioinformatics researchers continues to climb, with the Victorian Partnership for Advanced Computing (VPAC) this week switching on a massive $1 million clustered server from IBM that will more than double the organisation's computing power. [ + ]

Australia has taken the penultimate step towards growing its second transgenic crop -- the oilseed canola with yesterday's decision by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator to release a risk-assessment and risk-management plan for Bayer CropScience's InVigor varieties, which contain three genes, two for hybrid vigour system, one for glufosinate resistance. [ + ]

Melbourne company Genetic Technologies has filed lawsuits against three major US companies for infringement of the company's non-coding DNA patents. [ + ]

Start-ups are hard work and technology-based start-ups even harder, the CEO of one of Australia's best-known such ventures told last week's KCA commercialisation conference. [ + ]

Virax Holdings has entered into a supply agreement with US biotechnology company MedImmune. [ + ]

The world's first fossil protein sequence has been carried out, making this a major scientific breakthrough, which has the potential to bring about changes in evolutionary theory.