Mesoblast to use NHMRC grant for pilot studies
15 March, 2005 by Graeme O'NeillMelbourne stem cell therapy developer Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) announced today that founder and chief scientific adviser Prof Silviu Itescu has signed a memorandum of understanding to activate a AUD$1.5 million NHMRC research grant awarded to him last year.
Do-it-yourself blood vessels
28 February, 2005 by Graeme O'NeillPrivate Brisbane biotech VasCam has begun animal trials of a technology that would allow heart-bypass patients, or patients with blocked leg arteries, to grow their own replacement blood vessels.
Stem cell research back on senate agenda
18 February, 2005 by Renate KrelleA senior Biotechnology Australia bureaucrat has been grilled in a senate estimates committee by conservative Tasmanian independent senator Brian Harradine about the federal agency's attitude towards human embryonic stem cells.
Researchers unravel cell death regulation
17 February, 2005 by Melissa TrudingerResearchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) have unravelled some of the interactions between pro-survival and pro-apoptotic proteins, providing clues to the regulatory mechanisms that govern apoptosis.
Adjuvants: The problem with peptides and the DCtag advantage
17 February, 2005 by Graeme O'NeillVaxine's Nikolai Petrovsky says peptide vaccines work well in highly inbred laboratory mice, but have consistently failed in clinical trials over the past two decades because humans are an outbred species.
FDA OK for Life Therapeutics' tetanus serum
15 February, 2005 by Melissa TrudingerLife Therapeutics' (formerly Gradipore, ASX: LFE) US subsidiary Life Sera has received FDA approval to begin collecting tetanus hyperimmune serum for use as a prophylactic treatment following potential exposure to the tetanus toxin.
Dendritic cells reveal double identity
14 February, 2005 by Graeme O'NeillFor nearly three decades, immunologists have believed that specialised sentries in the surface layer of the skin, called Langerhans cells, alert hunter-killer T-cells to seek out and destroy virus-infected cells.
'Self-replicating' bogeyman strikes at nanotech researchers
07 February, 2005 by Graeme O'Neill'Nanotechnobabble' is already making life difficult for bio-nanotechnology researchers, with technophobes warning of the risk of uncontrollable, self-replicating nanobots overrunning the world, the Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function at Phillip Island, in Victoria, heard today.
Plasvacc buys US vet plasma company
07 February, 2005 by Melissa TrudingerQueensland veterinary blood plasma company PlasVacc has purchased US plasma company Veterinary Dynamics Inc (VDI).
Stem Cell Sciences receives DTI funding
01 February, 2005 by Melissa TrudingerA consortium led by Stem Cell Sciences' UK centre has been awarded £1.2 million by the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to fund a program in drug discovery for regenerative medicine.
Synthetic blood vessels in the offing
21 January, 2005 by Graeme O'NeillThe fact that blood's not only thicker than water, but biologically "sticky", creates problems for cardiovascular surgeons replacing blocked coronary arteries.
Plants, animals, not to be covered by innovation patent
01 December, 2004 by Renate KrelleThe federal government has accepted the recommendations of the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property, maintaining the status quo and continuing to exclude the patenting of plants, animals and the biological processes involved in their generation.
Senator warns on stem cell complacency
26 November, 2004 by Melissa TrudingerAustralian Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja has warned Australian stem cell researchers not to be complacent as the review on the 2002 cloning and stem cell legislation draws close.
Stem cell debate set to reopen
26 November, 2004 by Melissa TrudingerStem cell researchers are gearing up for the reopening of the stem cell debate next year, when federal government legislation covering the use of spare IVF embryos and the moratorium on therapeutic cloning -- otherwise known as nuclear transfer -- comes up for review.
Microbes vs Minoans: environmental biotech gets tough
25 November, 2004 by Iain ScottWestern society is wasteful of its water, a Sydney meeting heard today -- and the Minoans are to blame.
