Melbourne biotech Amrad Corp says it is mystified by a sudden flurry of investor interest that drove its share price up 50 per cent last week and sparked a formal query from the Australian Stock Exchange. [ + ]

Human heart tissue has for the first time been created in the laboratory. Generated from embryonic stem cells at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the tissue could be used for testing and creating new drugs, for genetic studies, for tissue engineering and for studying the effects of various stresses on the heart.

The 11th and 12th of March this year see the 2nd Australian Stem Cell Summit taking place at the Carlton Crest Hotel in Melbourne.

Boron Molecular, a small Melbourne-based medicinal chemistry company, is planning to pursue listing on the Australian Stock Exchange in the next six months if market conditions are favourable, according to managing director Dr Phillip Reese. [ + ]

Activities at the National Stem Cell Centre were delayed by an inquiry into allegations that it was given preferential treatment during bidding for Commonwealth funding, the centre's chief operating officer, Dr Dianna DeVore, said today, but Prime Minister John Howard's December 24 announcement that an independent report found no basis to the allegations was "a wonderful Christmas present". [ + ]

The Murray-Darling Basin Commission is to back a radical new attempt to control Australia's worst aquatic pest, the carp. [ + ]

Sydney-based biotechnology company Peptech Limited today announced it has raised $AUD10 million in new capital by placing 6,625,000 shares with several major institutions, including AMP, ING Australia and the Escor Group. [ + ]

Ventracor has gained approval from the Alfred Hospital's Ethics Committee, paving the way for the first clinical trial of its VentrAssist artificial heart device to begin. [ + ]

US billionaire and fairy godfather Charles Feeney has offered Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute $AUD25 million to build new laboratories and clinical research facilities. [ + ]

Scientists at Rochester Institute of Technology in the US are developing the next generation of solar cells, advancing the technology that could put a solar power system into earth's orbit.

Melbourne-based biotech Autogen plans to spend the proceeds of a $AUD6.65 million capital raising on expanding globally, including upgrading a level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) Nasdaq listing to a level 2 ADR listing during the coming year and actively seeking new partners and possible acquisitions. [ + ]

Greenpeace Australia Pacific has signalled that it will step up its campaign to block the introduction of genetically modified canola into Australia, by advertising for a new anti-GM campaigner. [ + ]

Listed biotech Ambri Ltd has laid off 15 staff in response to unexpected manufacturing problems in scaling up its biosensor technology for commercial production. [ + ]

A Princeton chemist has developed a general mathematical system for designing materials that perform two functions at once, even when the desired properties sometimes conflict with each other.

An Australian scientist has made a discovery which is electrifying world fungal biology - a new truffle genus related to the famous Amanita family, or fairy toadstools.