Australian and New Zealand researchers are part of an international project of mutual interest (and age-old bad jokes) – the sequencing of the sheep genome. The difference for the International Sheep Genomics Consortium is the availability of short-read sequencing technology.

Deciphering vertebrate development, sorting out the roosters from the hens and taking on bird flu – dare we say, all in one fowl swoop – that is the job of CSIRO’s Dr Mark Tizard, who has created a new microRNA catalogue for the humble chook.

Rightly or wrongly, concerns over GM crops contaminating their non-GM kin have led to a stalemate in progress towards acceptance of GM crops and foods. We look at a new approach using gene silencing and gene imprinting.

US company Thermo Fisher Scientific has achieved a number of breakthroughs in RNAi technology in the last couple of years and says it has come up with another – a method for delivering siRNAs to all cells, even the tough ones.

The Sydney Project aims to have human embryonic stem cells in clinical trials to treat type 1 diabetes in four years.

Tom Gonda has taken a robotic approach to functional genomics.

Federal science minister Kim Carr outlines his thinking and his philosophy to Australian Life Scientist.

Biochemical geneticist Kevin Carpenter discusses how he helped tracked down the blip in the Bindeez beads.

Genome-wide association studies show the way forward for global genomic research.

How did a chemistry PhD become one of the 50 most powerful women in business by hooking up the world's largest computer company with the life sciences?