Leptin, a protein secreted by fat cells, may be an independent risk factor for heart disease in humans, according to an article in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Individuals who had taken at least one aspirin in the week before suffering an ischemic stroke had milder strokes than people who had not taken aspirin, according to a report in the December issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Dr Meek is the first appointee under the Gene Technology Act 2000, which provides a comprehensive legal framework for the regulation of genetically modified organisms in Australia in order to protect human health and safety, and the environment.

A study by an international team of researchers shows vision can be successfully preserved in rats that go blind in the first months of life.

Australian biotech company Progen Industries has announced that recently conducted preclinical research of its leading anti-cancer compound, PI-88, revealed that the compound also had a novel profile as a potential anti-thrombotic and inhibitor of restenosis.

An anti-tumour durg, AQ4N, which destroys tumour cells that other anti-cancer treatments cannot - is undergoing clinical trials at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Oxford's Churchill Hospital in the UK.

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have produced images of brain cells forming temporary and permanent connections in response to various stimuli.

Is Australia's scientific performance being watered down due to the pressures brought about by policy changes over a decade ago, or is it simply the case that university researchers are becoming much more clever in how they publish?

Antibiotics to combat hospital superbugs as well as tuberculosis and salmonellas are being developed by Dr Jim Naismith of St Andrews University, Scotland.

The Australian Biotechnology Association has called for a more co-ordinated, strategic approach to the development of the biotechnology industry.

The unique dual-action role of a natural regulatory protein that controls cellular function has been described by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.

The Queensland government and The University of Queensland have announced a $50 million Australian Institute of Bio-Engineering and Nanotechnology would be established in Brisbane.

An effective leukaemia vaccine could be available within a few years following a breakthrough by scientists in the UK.

A study into Australian entrepreneurship has recommended the creation of a Cooperative Development Centre (CDC) Program, modelled on the successful Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Program, and which would aim at developing expertise in commercialising research output.

Dr Grant Griffiths, recently appointed acting director of the Institute for Nanoscale Technology, plans to strengthen the focus of UTS research and scholarship in nanotechnology.