Extra funding announced for Australia's centre for plant genomics.

South Australia doesn't bother trying to compete with larger states in volume terms in the biotech game - it just does things a little differently, writes Kate McDonald.

BresaGen (ASX:BGN) has been awarded a Commercial Infrastructure Grant of AUD$200,000 from Bio Innovation SA, the South Australian government's biotechnology agency.

A major venture capital investment of tens of millions of dollars is currently being secured for the South Australian bioscience industry.

At the suggestion of eminent UK neuroscience researcher Baroness Susan Greenfield, the South Australian Government is establishing an Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) in Adelaide to serve as a national portal for the media to obtain expert advice on science subjects.

The Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, which was officially opened in Adelaide last week, has taken on the headquarters for the International Triticeae Mapping Initiative (ITMI) -- an international forum for the discussion and coordination of public sector research into the genetics and genomics of cereals including wheat, barley, rye and their wild relatives.

The future of the Victorian wheat industry has moved from a biosecure glasshouse into a small, netted field plot at the International Centre for Cereal Breeding (CIMMYT) in Mexico.

Two Cambridge University plant molecular geneticists are quitting the UK to work in Australia because of the nation's climate of virulent opposition to genetically modified (GM) crops.

A $1.5 million Biotechnology Fellowship Fund, launched last week by the South Australian government agency Bio Innovation SA, will bring three internationally renowned scientists to South Australia's universities.

Adelaide-based company BresaGen has received $8.9 million from the South Australian government to build a new research facility at the Thebarton Biotechnology Precinct.