"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

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.

Scientists at Edinburgh University have developed a new method for cleaning surgical instruments that entirely removes protein contamination, including the near-indestructible prions - the agents that cause mad cow disease

Lab-supply companies are normally in the business of selling things to scientists, rather than buying. But the new CEO of Sigma-Aldrich, one of the world's largest lab-supply firms, is shopping for new ideas, new partners - and new companies to invest in.

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.

Forget stem cells, pharmacogenomics and the next big cure - Michael Kenward gazes into his prophecy book to see what the physical sciences have in store for us this year. Or maybe not.

8.8 per cent: The proportion of GDP that OECD countries spend on health.