Charges of scientific fraud in Korea aren't likely to faze Britain's ambitious stem-cell efforts, as evidenced by plans for a £40 million lab run by the 'father' of Dolly the sheep.

Diamonds are the hardest natural substance known to man, and hard to find too. But Russian scientists say they have found a way to make prospecting for the precious mineral much easier.

"I didn't think they would be at this stage for decades, let alone within a year." Gerald Schatten, colleague of Korea's stem-cell celebrity, before scandal broke

Time and money are driving the world’s pharmaceutical companies east for their clinical trials. With its huge population, new helpful regulations and growth outstripping China, India plans to become the world leader in the clinical research business by the end of the decade.

At any given time over 1.4 million people worldwide are suffering from infections they got from their health-provider, according to the World Health Organization. Pelias AG, a newly created affiliate of Austrian biotech company Intercell AG, is hoping to raise €15 million to €20 million to make a dent in those numbers.

News Editor Thomas Lau spoke to Florian Schönharting, a partner at the Nordic Biotech, a fund that has invested in Denmark’s Gastrotech BipPharma - a biotechnology company that recently merged with US biotech firm DOR BioPharma. Nordic Biotech, a specialised biotech venture capital fund focusing primarily on Nordic countries and the EU, has invested in Gastrotech since its inception in March 2003.

The countries of Scandinavia and the Baltic have got together to maximise the value of intellectual property, the feedstock of the knowledge economy.