If completed, the purchase by Thermo Fisher of Life Technologies would mark its biggest acquisition since 2006, when the company was created through the $12.8 billion merger of Thermo Electron Corp with Fisher Scientific International Inc.

The U.S. government's efforts to curb spending to fix its budget deficit has resulted in a lull in government-sponsored medical research, hurting companies that make life-science tools. Thermo Fisher's response so far has been to expand in emerging markets such as China.

"

(Via.)

Shares of California-based Life Technologies Corp. jumped more than 10% Friday morning after a Financial Post report disclosed that the US$10-billion company was exploring a possible sale.

According to documents reviewed by the FP, the company has started a process that may see it be acquired either by a private equity firm as part of a leveraged buyout or by one of the larger global industry players.

"

(Via.)

Business spending on research and experimental development (R&D) reached $17.9 billion in 2010-11, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), an increase of 7% from the previous year.

Businesses in the manufacturing industry reported the largest growth in R&D expenditure, increasing by $499 million over the last financial year. This was followed by the professional, scientific and technical services industry which increased by $140 million. 

The major contributors to R&D expenditure were the manufacturing (27%) and mining (21%) industries. Financial and insurance services and professional, scientific and technical services industries contributed 15% each.

While all states and territories reported increased expenditure on R&D, growth since 2009-10 was strongest in Queensland (up $322 million), Western Australia (up $265 million), and New South Wales (up $255 million).

Between 2009-10 and 2010-11, business expenditure on R&D as a proportion of GDP decreased from 1.30% to 1.28%.

Further information is available in Research and Experimental Development, Businesses, Australia, 2010-11

"

(Via.Research Career)

"Did you know that last June Australia set a new world record?

And it had nothing to do with sport.

Australia racked up 21 years of uninterrupted economic growth.

While the rest of the world's economies have undergone their usual ups and downs, Australia experienced not one year of recession. This is the first time that this has happened in the history of modern economics. No other modern economy has ever fared so well.

Yet, what do we have to show for for it?

Recently, during a media interview, I was asked what keeps me awake at night.

Here's what I said:

"I worry that this boom will end and we'll have nothing to show for it. Mining still represents a whopping percentage of our GDP and, when it goes (and it will), we'll be genuinely screwed unless we can develop other industries to replace it."

(Via: James Tuckerman-Anthill Online)

The deal price represents 6.5 times Dako’s revenues for calendar 2010, which stood with $339.2 million only 2% higher than in 2009. The last publicly-available annual report also revealed that while operating profits and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and armortisation) both rose by 20% to $51.8 million and $111.6 million, respectively, net loss more than doubled from $22.4 million to $46.2 million in the same period. The company invested 14%, or $48 million, of its 2010 revenues - or almost as much as its net losses - on R&D projects. William Sullivan, Agilent’s president and

(Via.)

(Via.)

This message is being sent out by your industry association as a reminder to make sure you're free of the "DNS-Changer" malware.

The ACMA, together with other Australian government agencies, has developed a site (dns-ok.gov.au) for users to check if they are infected. People whose computers are still infected come July 9 will lose their ability to go online, and they will have to call their service providers for help deleting the malware and reconnecting to the internet."

(Via.)

The lights are off and the doors shut at the Forensic Science Service’s laboratory in London. Its closure at the end of March was the final step after closures of the Forensic Science Service (FSS) laboratories at Birmingham, Chepstow, Chorley, Huntingdon and Wetherby ended their support of criminal investigations in England and Wales.

These services are now to be provided by commercial companies. What will this mean for expertise and the quality and future of research? And how will that affect our ability to catch criminals?

Originally, the FSS comprised six operational laboratories together with the FSS Central Research Establishment (CRE) at Aldermaston, the only research institution in the world that undertook study into all aspects of forensic science. The CRE closed in 1995. The FSS was used by many countries as a model for setting up their own forensic science provision. The FSS was also the first UK forensic provider to gain International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) accreditation, with its scientists also taking a leading role in the development of national and European quality initiatives.

In 1995 the Home Office’s Forensic Science Service had become an executive agency. In December 2005 it changed from being a trading fund to become the Forensic Science Service Ltd, a government-owned company expected to be self-financing. Politically seen as a way to cut the burden of costs, staff were concerned about the future of high-quality scientific support for detecting crime.

Scientific research and complex laboratory analysis is costly, but what is the true cost of closing our leading provider of forensic science? Some 1,600 jobs were reportedly lost; but in true forensic terms, that equates to thousands of years of specialist experience.

Forensic science is not simply a process where a few automated analytical instruments are set up to process samples at the end of a conveyor belt. Each exhibit is particular to a set of circumstances at a specific point in time. Exhibits are often far from perfect and limited in size or volume. Analytical laboratory procedures form only a small part of each case and there is no room for error; if a mistake is made, repeat analysis can rarely be undertaken.

Each forensic case has three stages: the initial review, when the scientist decides on tests to be undertaken, the laboratory examination/analysis and, finally, interpretation of results. Many providers of analytical laboratory services should be able to set up instrumentation and procedures to provide routine analyses, however a significant proportion of forensic casework is not routine and requires specialist skills. Some commercial providers may lack the experience and expertise for a competent initial case review and the final crucial interpretation of results. The Home Office has created a Regulator of Forensic Sciences to meet such concerns: now all forensic providers must be accredited against ISO standards. Mandatory professional practice guidelines are being produced and a framework for national quality standards implemented. But securing agreement between companies with individual commercial needs may take time.

Unfortunately such accreditation does not adequately ensure the quality of interpretation of results or presentation of that evidence in court. This is best achieved by independent peer review, a key aim of the Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners before it was disbanded, also on cost grounds. And although rare, allegations of miscarriages of justice arising from scientific examination and/or interpretation have been directed at the FSS. If this can occur in a highly experienced and quality-driven body, what is the potential for miscarriages of justice with less experienced providers?

Finally, research: will commercial organisations fund specialist research without financial return? It is expensive, seen by many in academia as non-academic, “too near the customer" and of low priority. Until forensic research is properly recognised and funding is made available the future looks bleak.

Professor David Osselton was formerly Head of Toxicology for the Forensic Science Service and is Head of Forensic Sciences at Bournemouth University. He chairs the United Kingdom and Ireland Association of Forensic Toxicologists

"

(Via. The Times)

The common challenge amongst businesses of any size is typically MOTIVATION. How to motivate people and keep them motivated when you need their input the most. By understanding your people better, you will know how to work with them in a way in which they NEED to be worked with—not a way in which you have ALWAYS worked with them in the past. This is a paradigm shift for many lab professionals. Understanding motivation is about adapting to the needs of your people.

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(Via .)