Spending on IT products and services by life science companies will reach $US38 billion by 2006, according to market analyst IDC. [ + ]

Drug discovery group GroPep (ASX: GRO) has forecast a $4 million loss this year despite predicting profits of $1.9 million for 2001-02 just two months ago. [ + ]

Sydney-based biotechnology company Polartechnics has came out on top with two design awards for its cervical cancer detection device, TruScan. [ + ]

Cryogenic storage of umbilical cord blood has been given the thumbs up by Australian investors, with today's announcement that Cryosite's IPO closed early and oversubscribed. [ + ]

Australia needs a separate statutory body to investigate scientific fraud and misconduct, according to Sydney University academic Assoc Prof Merilyn Walton. [ + ]

The co-existence of genetically modified (GM) and organic farming was hotly debated at a meeting hosted by the Life Sciences Network last week. [ + ]

New Zealand's pastoral sector is planning to pool its resources in a new bid to reduce the amount of methane gas emissions from the country's livestock. [ + ]

Embryonic stem cell research company ES Cell International has received a Victorian government infrastructure grant to set up a stem cell production facility in Melbourne. [ + ]

The tragic death of a CSIRO lab team member in an airlock last December has prompted the organisation to make sweeping changes to its lab equipment and staff procedures. [ + ]

Research proving that the immune system roams the body hunting out malignancies has led to an international award for a Melbourne scientist. [ + ]

A custom-designed microarray slide has been designed for the analysis of gene expression in individuals with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

A DNA diagnostic testing service has been set up to quantify the effectiveness of biological control tools on cotton pest management.

Greenpeace has hired its first local team to campaign against genetic engineering in Australia. [ + ]

More attention needs to be paid to intellectual property, especially in Universities and institutions, is the message from Melbourne patent attorney Dr Neil Ireland. [ + ]

Gradipore is on the hunt for a global CEO and an independent chair in a bid to become a "multi-billion dollar organisation," executive chairman John Manusu said today. [ + ]