A new report on the state of micromanufacturing around the world.

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.

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

Just as most public research bodies embrace commercialisation as their raison d'etre, the UK Medical Research Council is reversing the trend and taking a company it span out earlier back within its fold.

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.

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

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.