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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

The first investor-ready company has rolled off the production line in a scheme set up by the development agency Yorkshire Forward to commercialise research from the UK county's universities.

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.

"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

European exchanges are opening back up for riskier ventures, and experts expect the trend to continue. But trade-sales should still dominate, says Mary Lisbeth D'Amico.

Sworn enemies within the technology and pharmaceutical industries are joining forces in a lobbying drive to persuade European Union lawmakers to change a draft law they say will stifle innovation in Europe by criminalising patent infringements, along with all forms of intellectual property infringements.

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.

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

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.

Cambridge University is tightening its grip on rights to intellectual property generated by staff and students after academics voted overwhelmingly to endorse new plans

On inventive Californians, technology transfer, how to approach the business press, and other insights into R&D management.