Science|Business Reporting

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Pirelli have signed a €100 million finance contract to fund R&D projects by the Pirelli group from 2009 to 2012.

Science fiction is about to become science fact in a £4.9 million project to develop metamaterials for invisibility cloaks.

The UK’s Wellcome Trust has announced a major new scheme to give world class researchers seven-year grants to pursue individual research projects without constraints.

WIPO’s Patentscope, which currently hosts data on more than 1.6 million international patent applications, has been extended.

The biggest contract research organisation in Northern Europe is reforming in a bid to increase the exploitability and impact of its scientific research.

Orthomimetics, founded by 2008 ACES winner Andrew Lynn, has been acquired by TiGenix, which plans to become a leader in regenerative medicine.

Six groups from Dutch and British universities go through to the ACES 2009 finals in Paris on 10 December.