ALMA Member News 2010

The changing nature of our National wealth

SIA — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:47:27 +0000

Phil Ruthven (Chairman, IBISWorld) has penned a very insightful (short) article on the rise and fall of our various industries since the 1800s and makes the point that even though industries such as agriculture and manufacturing have grown, waxed and waned over the decades, national wealth just keeps on growing.

Its a very good read and can be found here.....

The Facts and Falsehoods of Commercialisation Australia: Six myths exposed

SIA — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:29:09 +0000

The Commercialisation Australia program, the successor to the Government’s COMET scheme, has proved a boon to many and a bane to others. Inevitably it was going to have a few teething problems. As with any new incentive program, it can involve navigating the industry-specific details to work out whether it’s right for your business. Here, Adrian Spencer explains the pros and cons that the grant can provide for those in the technology sector.

Myth 1: CA supports Research and Development (R&D) and Commercialisation activities

Myth 2: Aim to Double Dip

Myth 3: You can make anything seem like Pre-Commercialisation activities

Myth 4: Good ideas are better than financial security

Myth 5: The ‘Need for funding’; a Catch-22

Myth 6: Early Stage Commercialisation (ESC) is a grant that converts into a loan

LaboratoryTalk - New Products

SIA — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:29:47 +0000

1. Agilent LCs enables HPLC and UHPLC analyses

Agilent Technologies 22 Jun 2010

Agilent Technologies has announced the 1200 Infinity Series for analytical HPLC and UHPLC, which are said to offer a seamless integration of column technology, instrumentation and software.

2. Assays enable next-day Listeria results

Oxoid 17 Jun 2010

Oxoid's Dupont Qualicon Bax System Listeria monocytogenes 24E and Bax System Genus Listeria 24E assays enable food microbiologists in Europe, Australia and Canada to obtain next-day Listeria results.

The speed of these assays enables food manufacturers to obtain a 'yes' or 'no' answer before products are released from the factory.

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3. Blowdown station suits toxicology applications

Porvair Sciences 18 Jun 2010

The Ultravap blowdown station from Porvair Sciences is designed to quickly and safely remove solvents from 96- or 384-well plates, optimising microplate sample preparation productivity.

The Ultravap is said to achieve high sample throughput through advanced evaporator head technology and a manifold design, which directly injects heated nitrogen into each individual well of the microplate simultaneously.

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4. Waters system advances macromolecule analysis

Waters 22 Jun 2010

Waters' Acquity UPLC H-Class Bio System is said to advance macromolecule analysis by optimising characterisation of biomolecule structures and supporting their progression to viable biotherapeutics.

5. Food labs select evaporative sample preparation

Genevac 18 Jun 2010

EZ-2 and Rocket evaporators from Genevac are being used by food and beverage laboratories for applications including quality testing of beverages and pesticide analysis in fruit and vegetables.

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6. Mettler Toledo releases LabX 2010 software

Mettler Toledo 17 Jun 2010

Mettler Toledo has released the LabX 2010 laboratory and instrument control software, suitable for use in the food and beverage, flavours and fragrances, petrochemicals and pharmaceutical industries.

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7. Sterilin containers for sample transportation

Sterilin 17 Jun 2010

Sterilin has introduced 95kPa validated containers for the safe and reliable transportation of biological samples.

The 95kPa-compliant product range includes Sterilin 30ml polystyrene universals (128A, 128B and 128C) and Sterilin 60ml polystyrene containers with metal caps (125AM, 125BM and 125CM).

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8. Biotechnica to focus on regenerative medicine

Deutsche Messe 18 Jun 2010

The Biotechnica show will showcase biotechnology and life-sciences products, focusing on regenerative medicine, molecular diagnostics, bioinformatics and protein engineering.

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9. Relequa ERH test solves moisture-loss problem

Relequa 16 Jun 2010

During investigation of tablets placed on stability, one company found that the tablets' moisture-related problem could not be rectified using conventional testing.

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10. Liquid CO2 pump for high-pressure applications

Supercritical Fluid Technologies 21 Jun 2010

Supercritical Fluid Technologies has introduced a self-contained liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) pump for use in supercritical fluid extraction, supercritical fluid reaction chemistry and chromatography.

Can Australia really be 5th in world competitiveness?

SIA — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:51:52 +0000

It's surprising we haven't heard more about it really, the fact that Australia now ranks 5th in overall performance in the prestigious IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2010.

No guessing either where we need to improve: international trade, labour market efficiency, and particularly infrastructure. In Australia, our media has conditioned us to think of ports, roads, and rail as “infrastructure”. It’s telling that in both of these surveys, that term is much broader, and includes our technological and scientific infrastructure as well – for example, telecommunications, IT, universities, and overall “innovation”. In world competitiveness, IMD rates Australia just 25^th in technological, 19^th in basic, and 16^th in scientific infrastructure. More.....

Australian Innovation System Report 2010 - used to measure and monitor the progress of the national innovation system against the Government’s priorities and targets in coming years

SIA — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:30:33 +0000

Senator the Hon Kim Carr has released the first Australian Innovation System Report 2010
http://www.innovation.gov.au/Section/Innovation/Pages/AustralianInnovationSystemReport.aspx <http://www.innovation.gov.au/Section/Innovation/Pages/AustralianInnovationSystemReport.aspx

In Powering Ideas, the Australian Government committed to produce annual reports on the impact of Australian innovation and the performance of the Australian innovation system as a whole. The Australian Innovation System Report 2010 is the first of these reports.

This report outlines features and trends of the Australian innovation system as a whole; compares Australia’s innovation performance to other OECD countries; and tracks progress against the Government’s innovation priorities and targets. It highlights baseline performance under the four (4) policy headings identified in Powering Ideas:

skills and research capacity;
business innovation;
links and collaboration; and
public sector innovation.

The metrics and baselines included in the report will be used to measure and monitor the progress of the national innovation system against the Government’s priorities and targets in coming years.

Indexation arrangements for higher education - a significant recurrent funding improvement for the Higher Education sector

SIA — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:27:50 +0000

Legislation to provide for new indexation arrangements for higher education has been introduced in the Australian parliament. It will deliver an additional $2.6 billion to universities over five years. This, together with the increased funding for the indirect costs of research, spells a significant recurrent funding improvement.

The new formula for higher education funding indexation will be made up as follows:
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services labour price index (75%)
• Consumer Price Index (25%)

This measure see the implementation of an important recommendation in the Bradley Review. For a critique of the legislation, please see the Parliamentary Library Bill Digest for this Bill: http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bd/2009-10/10bd162.pdf

NATA - Accredited laboratory database

SIA — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:10:27 +0000

NATA is one of four bodies that form Australia's standards and conformance infrastructure.

NATA’s role is to serve the national and public interest by ensuring that member facilities comply with relevant international and Australian standards and so are competent to provide consistently reliable testing, calibration, measurement and inspection data to government, industry and the wider community.

NATA currently accredits the work and performance of the laboratories of nearly 2,500 companies Australia wide. Details of these accredited laboratories can be found here.....

$21M stem cell research fund established

SIA — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:22:14 +0000

The Australian Government will establish a stem cell research fund to boost research in a field that may hold the key to curing conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

The Australian Research Council (ARC) will administer a $21 million Special Research Initiative in Stem Cell Science that will further build Australia’s capacity to conduct stem cell research.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) will also invite applications for Centres for Research Excellence in Regenerative Medicine, encouraging leading medical researchers to undertake stem cell research with clinical applications.

The ARC Special Research Initiative is now open for proposals. Funding will commence in July 2011 and be offered for up to seven years. For more information, visit www.arc.gov.au.

The NHMRC expects to seek proposals for Centres for Research Excellence, including those in regenerative medicine, in July. Funding will commence in 2011 and be offered for five years.

LaboratoryTalk - New Products

SIA — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:51:01 +0000

1. Lab M catalogue of culture media products

Lab M 14 May 2010

Lab M has announced the availability of its spring/summer mini-catalogue, which combines the latest industry news with updates on the company's microbiological culture media products.The publication features articles on the need to continue tracking E coli and its servovars using products such as Rhamnose MacConkey Agar, and developments in Lab M's brewing and neutralising media ranges.

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2. Isostation suits modern investigations

Newport Spectra-Physics 17 May 2010

AT the CLEO/QELS exhibition, Newport will launch the Vision Isostation vibration-isolation workstation, which has been designed for modern scientific and biological investigations.

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3. Biotest system tests pyrogens in drugs

Biotest 17 May 2010

Biotest has launched the Pyrodetect system for the robust testing of a range of pyrogens, for laboratories in the pharmaceutical, medical-device, cosmetics and food industries.

4. Rainbow oscillator targets amplifier seeding

Femtolasers Produktions 17 May 2010

The Femtosource Rainbow suits applications such as amplifier seeding, coherent terahertz generation, optical coherence tomography, multi-photon microscopy and time-resolved spectroscopy.

5. SFT-150 runs tests in critical fluid media

Supercritical Fluid Technologies 19 May 2010

Supercritical Fluid Technologies' new SFT-150 supercritical fluid extraction/reaction system investigates the feasibility of applying supercritical fluid techniques to analyses and processing tasks.

6. Biomarker programme aids forensic science

Biomatrica 12 May 2010

Biomatrica Connect is a solution-centric programme established to advance technologies for ambient room temperature storage and management of nucleic acids in fields such as forensic science.

7. Pipettes reduce RSI in microplate work

Scientific Laboratory Supplies 13 May 2010

Gilson's Pipetman Neo range of pipettes, offered in single and multichannel options, is said to be suitable for work with microplates and addresses susceptibility to repetitive strain injury (RSI).

Specially engineered springs help to reduce pipetting forces by up to 50 per cent, allowing users to pipette longer without concern for arm or wrist fatigue.

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8. Empower service provides lab analytics

Waters 12 May 2010

Waters has introduced Empower Driven Services, a service programme that provides Empower customers with the analytics needed to make enterprise-level decisions regarding laboratory utilisation.

9. Guardian monitors spectrophotometers

Datacolor 17 May 2010

Datacolor has announced Guardian, the next-generation instrument-monitoring technology and predictive-maintenance program for Datacolor's high-end spectrophotometers.

10. Randox kit determines lithium in serum

Randox Laboratories 17 May 2010

The updated lithium kit from Randox is intended for the quantitative in vitro determination of lithium in serum and is suitable for use on a range of clinical analysers.

Otago Daily Times - More science crumbs

SIA — Mon, 17 May 2010 19:00:42 +0000

Some of the phrases from the distant past were stirred in memories by the Government's announcement of extra funding for science and technology research.

Fancies that New Zealand could become "the Switzerland of the South Pacific" or "the new Singapore" sprang to mind, along with notions of becoming a world financial hub, or another "silicon valley".

More.....

Waikato University welcomes science funding boost

SIA — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:12:39 +0000

Waikato University has congratulated Prime Minister John Key on his commitment to new science funding.

The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Roy Crawford, says the organisation welcomes Mr Key’s announcement of an extra $321 million for research, science and technology initiatives. At the heart of the funding, to be announced during next week’s Budget, is a $234 million boost to support business research and development over four years. About $90 million has been reprioritised from existing areas.

More.....

Budget Effects on Health

SIA — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:53:38 +0000

Public hospitals will receive an immediate injection of $3.5 billion over five years.
Primary healthcare will receive $1.2 billion over four years to improve GP services, tackle chronic disease and keep Australians out of hospitals.
Diabetes care will be given $449 million of the above funding.
Mental health will have $104 million to expand programmes for young people, $13 million for mental health nurses and $59 million to support clinical care for severe cases.
Aged care will have $553 million earmarked over five years.
Healthcare training will receive $1.2 billion over four years.
The National Health and Hospitals Network will receive $2.2 billion in this year's budget, which includes $417 million for better after-hours access to GPs and for establishing Medicare Locals across the country, $355 million to increase GP Super Clinics, $523 million for nurses and $467 million to introduce Individual Electronic Health Records.

2010 Federal Budget - Key Numbers

SIA — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:19:32 +0000

A more detailed view from the Science Industry's perspective will be available in a special Budget Edition of Science Industry Digest which will be distributed Thursday am.

Headline news - there is no headline news for our industry. Science, technology, universities, funding issues didn't garner one word in Wayne Swan's Budget night speech to Parliament.

Looking at DIISR and its agencies first:

Australian Institute of Marine Science - 2010/11 funding $48.8M -6.0%
Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation - 2010/11 funding $169.7M +9.3%
CSIRO - 2010/11 funding $730.8M +2.2%
Australian Research Council - 2010/11 funding $745.4M +8.8%

Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry:

Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation - 2010/11 funding $19.5M +2.3%

Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation - 2010/11 funding $26.5M -3.0%
Grains Research and Development Corporation - 2010/11 funding $133.4M -2.6%
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation - 2010/11 funding $25.8M -10%
Sugar Research and Development Corporation - 2010/11 funding $10.3M +3.0%

Department of Defence:

Defence Materiel Organisation - 2010/11 funding $12,213M +6.6%

Health and Ageing:

National Health & Medical Research Council - 2010/11 funding $814.3M +1.6%

The Global State of Science Funding

SIA — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:48:17 +0000

Because of the global recession, there has been a decrease in science funding from some sources.

If there is a bright side to the recent decreases in science funding, it’s that people who understand the importance of investing in science are making their voices heard. The University of California system is struggling with steep cuts to research budgets, faculty furloughs and increased student fees resulting from California’s fiscal crisis. In September, UC faculty, students and staff members participated in a system-wide walkout to protest the budget cuts (11). “I actually think the students ought to be angry,” remarked Mark G. Yudof, UC president, at a Board of Regents meeting last September.

Elsewhere, protesters have issued letter-writing campaigns to denounce decreases in science funding — and in some countries, their message is getting through. Spain and Japan restored science funding this year following a public outcry, led by the scientific community, over budget proposals that slashed resources for research and education.

Worldwide, policymakers are coming to the realization that continued investments in science and technology are crucial for future economic stability and success. “When we fail to invest in research, we fail to invest in the future,” declared President Obama last September. If only every nation’s science budget could reflect that sentiment.

References

1. Makoni, M. (2009) Financial Crisis Squeezes African Science Funding. Science and Development Network, Oct. 22.
2. Jimenez, C. (2009) Spain Poised to Chop Science Funding. Science|Business Network Nov. 26.
3. Sample, I. (2009) Cuts Mark ‘Sad Day for British Science.’ The Guardian, Dec. 16.
4. Research Ministers Adopt Declaration on Role of Science. Spain National R&D Information Service, Feb. 9.
5. 2009 Pre-Budget Report, HM Treasury, Dec. 9.
6. Arthur, M., and Piatt, W. (2010) Universities Face Meltdown— and All of Britain Will Suffer. The Guardian, Jan. 11.
7. Science and Engineering Indicators 2010, National Science Board, National Science Foundation.
8. Jia, H. (2010) China Slows R&D Funding Growth. Royal Society of Chemistry, March 10.
9. Normile, D. (2010) 2010 Science Budget Not Apocalyptic, as Feared. Science 327, 131.
10. Global Education Digest 2009, UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
11. Asimov, N. (2009) Walkout Called Over UC Budget Cuts. San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 16.

NZ$225m boost for science funding - don't expect much for Science R&D in tonight's Federal budget

SIA — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:26:19 +0000

The New Zealand Prime Minister has announced an increase of $225 million in science funding over the next four years.

John Key says the Government will spend $321 million on new initiatives over four years, although $96 million of this will come from shifting money from existing research.

THERE’S unlikely to be much joy for the life science sector in this year’s federal budget. Most of the big ticket items of interest are either already here or are well flagged – Commercialisation Australia last year, along with the recently released tax credit legislation and the mooted reduction in corporate tax rates through the Henry Review. With corporate life science likely to miss out, the big ticket items for the sector will be the fate of funding for basic research, both at the university level and at the big research institutions.

The one to watch will be the future of the Australian Stem Cell Centre.