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In January this year, three-year-old Burntisland, Fife-based Burdica Biomed Ltd (BBL) signed a long-term partnership agreement with China giant, Sinopharm which has contracted to undertake the Chinese regulatory compliance process for products from the Burdica portfolio (expected to take a year or so to completion) and subsequently distribute the products in China, with Burdica marketing support.

On the heels of the new mathematical model for leukaemia,Vienna University research work shows how leukaemia cells become ‘addicted’ to genes, which if targeted could prevent diseased cells from developing. The team, led by Dr Veronika Sexl from the University of Vienna, carried out their research on acute lymphoid leukaemia (ALL) and chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML), which can both be caused by fusion protein, Bcr-Abl, created through the joining of two or more genes originally coded for separate proteins.

Ensus has just announced the first tanker of its sustainably produced bioethanol has been despatched from Europe’s largest new £250m wheat biorefinery on Teesside, which recently started production, and been sold to Shell as part of a long term deal, and helping Britain cut carbon emissions from road transport to meet its renewable fuel obligations from UK sources The plant will also produce 350,000 tonnes a year of high protein animal feed, which will replace imports. But a quick analysis of the 28 organisations that will contribute and research Designing Next Generation Bio-Refinery, shows who intends long term to rank high in this market, who will observe and who will stay out.

Research has identified of a plant protein responsible for optimising light absorption during the photosynthetic process, adapting the photosynthetic apparatus to changes in environmental light conditions. It could have an important impact not only on improved plant productivity but on solar radiation absorption technologies.

Acinetobacter baumannii, or a gram negative bacteria have a cell structure that makes them more difficult to attack with antibiotics than gram positive infections such as the notorious MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and came to the limelight some years ago in infections of soldiers wounded in Iraq. It looks to be a growing market world-wide.

Like global maps where borders shift, the landscape of the embryonic stem cell is still being defined. In the US, the current definition describes them as cells taken from the inner layer of a blastocyst, a days old hollow ball of cells. The new definition will now include earlier stage embryos.The US government is to broaden the definition of a human embryonic stem cell to help qualify several corporate and academic experiments for federal funding.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed a method for analysing MR images in just a few minutes when diagnosing Alzheimer's disease. The accuracy of the analysis Fast and robust multi-atlas segmentation of brain magnetic resonance images is comparable to manual measurements made by skilled professionals, currently considered the most reliable method for diagnosing Alzheimer's and is also well suited for clinical use.

An inexpensive, fast accurate DNA test that reveals a person's risk of developing certain diseases is expected to become a reality, thanks to technology developed at the University of Edinburgh, where scientists have developed a method of pinpointing variations in a person's genetic code at critical points along the DNA chain. The technique could be used to analyse DNA in a drop of saliva.

Gaberlunzie's dream, was ruffled by a project of Powan aimed at safeguarding the future of one of the UK’s rarest freshwater fish species currently underway in Scotland. Populations of the powan (Coregonus lavaretus), a species of freshwater whitefish, are only found in Loch Lomond and Loch Eck, with both populations having existed in total isolation since the last ice age.

Partial sight loss, a debilitating side effect of stroke and brain injury affects 55,000 people across Europe each year. Now the University of Aberdeen has launched a new spin out company Sight Science Ltd to offer Neuro-Eye Therapy (NeET) - likened to physiotherapy for the eyes - to patients across Europe.

Edinburgh, Dundee, Rosyth, Grangemouth and Aberdeen are potentially to opt for biomass power stations. The first of the four cities for biomass power stations planned by Forth Energy is proposed for Leith docks, Edinburgh, at an overall investment of £1.7bn. In a separate development Aberdeen City Council is to be asked to approve plans to heat that city's David Welch Winter Gardens with a biomass plant. The Gardens are currently heated by both oil and gas boilers at a cost of about £130,000 a year.

Two studies, worth Scottish attention, focus on the physicality of landscape design and how the UK's earlier springs and summers sounds a warning if we do not want that silent spring.The recent trend towards earlier UK springs and summers, accelerating according to one study (alas, inevitably published when Scotland is still having snow in February). The other study constructively finds that rugged, hilly landscapes with a range of different habitat types can help maintain more stable butterfly populations (possibly bees too) thus aiding their conservation. It also highlights that Scotland has a paucity of monitored sites or perhaps we do not feel the need?

Taconic is to establish of a specialised breeding facility in Edinburgh tol be used in development and production of the most technologically advanced models available to scientists, creating new jobs locally. The site is intended as first stage in establishing a strong Taconic presence in Scotland.

Believed to be one of the largest genetics studies ever an international team of 174 research centres has identified 13 new gene variants associated with blood glucose and insulin, with five linked to Type-2 diabetes. The findings - published in Nature Genetics - raises hopes of better treatments for the condition.

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