The Pre-Olympic International Congress on Sports Science, Sports Medicine and Physical Education will be co-hosted by Sports Medicine Australia (SMA), the International Council of Sports Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) and the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER). It will be held from September 7-12-Sep-2000 at the Brisbane Convention Centre, Brisbane, Queensland.

Air, ice and rock studies seeking information about long-term changes to the earth's climate will dominate grants for Australian research in the Antarctic in 2000-2001.

CSIRO and Axon Instruments Inc. have announced that they will collaborate in the development CellPix, a system for rapidly screening pharmaceutical drugs.

Making aspirin, extracting DNA, wildlife spotlighting and sapphire mining are just some of the activities set down for the Siemens Science Experience program to be held at the University of New England from 16-18 January 2001.

A miniature artificial heart developed by surgeons from Oxford, southern England, and Texas, United States, has been successfully implanted as a temporary measure in a US patient.

A consortium of Australian research institutions, led by the University of New South Wales has been awarded a contract from the US National Institute of Health (NIH) to develop and clinically test a potential preventative HIV vaccine.

A record of the role of animal health researchers in building Australia's livestock industry has been launched. Titled 'Of Vets, Viruses and Vaccines', the book traces the history and development of the Animal Health Research Laboratory (AHRL), Parkville.

Police stand to benefit from research at Adelaide University that aims to find the best methods for detecting human skeletal remains. The results will assist in murder cases that remain open because no body has been found. The research is significant because it focuses purely on locating bodies in Australian conditions.

Australia will host the 11th International Conference on Second Messengers and Phosphoproteins at the Melbourne Convention Centre, 22-26 April 2001. This conference is a leading international gathering for Signal Transduction Research.

The Australian Teleservices Association (ATA) National Awards this year include a new category, specifically recognising the achievements of companies opening up or relocating to new call centres.

A CSIRO study estimates that wind erosion may be costing South Australians as much as $23 million a year by impacting health, industry, infrastructure and households.

Evidence to support the theory that long life comes at a price has been produced by UK scientists.

Foresight's Ageing Population Panel in the UK is researching inflatable clothing that fills with air to cushion a fall. This is one of a series of projects to improve the lives of the UK's elderly population.

The understanding of complex flow behaviour, such as that of oils within car engines, is now being applied in the UK to ensure quality control in the production of chocolate and other confectionery.

The age of the universe will be more accurately known as a result of an Australian scientific initiative.