How viruses hoodwink the immune system
10 January, 2011 by Tim DeanWalter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have revealed a cunning mechanism employed by viruses that interferes with the function of dendritic cells.
BioDiem banks first royalty cheque from Indian H1N1 vaccine deal
16 December, 2010 by Staff WritersMelbourne biotech BioDiem has reported the receipt of the first royalty payments to stem from a licencing agreement signed earlier this year for the sale of its Nasovac vaccine for H1N1 (swine flu).
US researchers breed mice from two males
09 December, 2010 by David BinningIt’s been something of a holy grail amongst reproductive scientists for some time; the breeding of animals with same sex parents. However, reports today by U.S researchers of the successful breeding of mice from two fathers have been met with caution by Australian scientists and legal experts.
Mice with two fathers: novel idea but not applicable to humans
09 December, 2010 by Tim DeanA Texas researcher has created mice with genes from two fathers, although claims it could be adapted to enable same-sex reproduction humans are overblown, say Australian scientists.
Cephalon to buy 20 percent of Mesoblast in largest-ever stem cell deal
08 December, 2010 by David BinningRegenerative medicine specialists, Mesoblast will see US pharmaceutical behemoth Cephalon take a 19.99 percent stake in the company as part of a licensing and joint development deal announced today
Feature: Pushing the boundaries of crop science
06 December, 2010 by David BinningProfessor Marilyn Anderson’s work has led to a greatly improved understanding of how plants protect themselves from insects and disease, and in turn how various assailants circumvent these defence mechanisms.
Arsenic-eating bacteria open door to exotic alien life
03 December, 2010 by Sharon GaudinResearchers said during a press conference today that they found a strange microbe in Mono Lake in northern California.
Mature cells shown to control their stem cell parents
30 November, 2010 by Staff WritersResearchers at Melbourne’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have published a study which shows that mature blood cells have the ability to communicate with and affect the behaviour of their stem cell parents
Ramaciotti Foundations celebrate 40 years
05 November, 2010 by David BinningA whose who of Australia’s top medical researchers gathered at the Westin Hotel in Sydney last night for the 40th anniversary of the Ramacioitti Foundations, one of Australia’s oldest and largest medical research endowments.
Feature: Peter Doherty and the quest for a flu vaccine
01 November, 2010 by Tim DeanProfessor Peter Doherty has written his last grant application. But the 69-year-old Nobel Laureate hasn’t retired quite yet.
Decloaking perforin, the protein assassin
01 November, 2010 by Tim DeanWhen the immune system identifies a cell that needs to be eliminated, such as a virus-infected cell or cancer cell, natural killer cells descend and puncture the offending cell, injecting toxic enzymes to spell its doom.
Australian researchers make immune system breakthrough
09 October, 2010 by Staff WritersResearchers from Melbourne’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) have published the results of a study overturning conventional wisdom about how the body’s B cells form the memories which help them to fight off infections.
Protein identified as central to immune system
21 September, 2010 by David BinningResearchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) have identified the one protein without which the body is unable to regulate immune cells.
US stem cell researchers get temporary stay on funding ban
13 September, 2010 by Staff WritersAlmost $US80 million earmarked for human embryonic stem cell research in the US is on its way to the intended recipients after a federal appeals court suspended an earlier injunction placed on US federal funding for the controversial work until Monday next week.
Stem cell funding ban upheld in the US
08 September, 2010 by Staff WritersA U.S judge is refusing to yield to pressure to reverse a ban issued last month on funding for human embryonic stem cell research which the Obama administration says is putting millions of dollars of federal funding and some 1300 jobs at risk, the New York Times reports.
