Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has given his strong backing to the fledgling field of systems biology and has outlined other key initiatives in a wide-ranging commentary entitled 'The NIH Roadmap', published in the October 3 issue of Science.

Drawing on the power of a cluster of microcomputers at Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, researchers have used computer modelling to point the way to new findings about the presence of an 'adaptive control function' in the immune system.

An herbal remedy derived from the mukul myrrh tree and used in India to relieve heart symptoms actually raised cholesterol levels instead of lowering them as advertised, researchers said.

Want a supercomputer for about the price of a mini?

As the number of suspected SARS cases in Taiwan grew last week, a group of vendors was banding together to give hospitals and health organisations a way to share possibly life-saving information.

Buoyed by a recent pledge of $US2.4 billion ($AUD3.71 billion) in funding from the US government, nanotechnology researchers, investors and business executives gathered in New York this week to discuss new technologies and the state of their emerging industry.

Smaller and more powerful embedded microprocessors will play a key role in the transformation of healthcare through biotechnology, said the head of ARM in a speech at last week's Embedded Systems Conference in San Francisco.

Sun Microsystems and Intel Corp have proposed a specification that would make it easier for life science companies to run their applications on grids.

The gene-hunting biotechnology company DeCode Genetics may be best known for its quest to establish and commercialise a database of the personal medical records of all the citizens of Iceland.

Apple Computer Inc had introduced a new Xserve configuration specifically designed for customers seeking clustering capabilities. The new Xserve configuration is said to keep the high-end power, but loses equipment not necessary for the clustering marketplace.

Looking to share a candlelit dinner and intimate conversation about the latest microarray scanner with someone special? A new internet dating service has popped up on the web, touting itself as "the first biopharma and healthcare meeting place."Confidential Colleagues (CC) offers the standard fare of generic dating sites but specialises in the biopharma and clinical healthcare communities.