Company Announcements The Agilent Foundation announced in July a collaboration, including scientific and financial support, with the Ideker Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego to develop new leukemia identification methods. Sartorius AG named Reinhard Vogt, who is in charge of Marketing, Sales and Services, and Jörg Pfirrmann, who is in charge of Finance, […]

Earlier this month, the Canadian government announced CAD 75 million ($69 million) in funding over three years for food safety, building upon last year’s $113 million investment. To improve the detection of foodborne-illness risks, a national public health surveillance system will be implemented. In addition, the country’s existing lab network will be strengthened and the […]

Australia’s Business Expenditures on R&D (BERD) increased 14.6% in current prices for the year ended June 30, 2008 to AUD 14,380 million ($12,517 million). The business sector contributed 95% of spending, the government sector contributed 3% and overseas sources provided 1%. Experimental development accounted for 62% of R&D spending, applied research for 32%, strategic basic […]

South Korean spending on R&D increased 10.2% last year to $28 billion to make up 3.37% of GDP, according to a government survey conducted between March and July this year. The public and private sector represented 26.8% and 72.9% of 2008 R&D expenditures, respectively. Foreign R&D represented 0.3%. By source, private companies, public research institutes […]

The World Economic Forum’s “Global Competitiveness Report 2009–2010” ranks Switzerland as the most competitive country, followed by the US, Singapore, Sweden and Denmark. Rankings were based on a Global Competitiveness Index, which is composed of 12 pillars of competitiveness, including innovation. Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Finland were rated the highest for innovation capacity. Switzerland, […]

Emerging Markets Online estimates that $1 billion has gone into algae research for fuel since 2007. Algae require little land to grow, can capture carbon dioxide and can even be grown in wastewater. However, algae’s low yields, contamination and harvesting present challenges. This summer, ExxonMobil, in partnership with Synthetic Genomics, announced a six-year $600 million […]

An investigation by The New York Times has found that violations of the US’s Clean Water Act have increased in recent years, and that the majority of violators are not punished. The Clean Water Act regulates more than 100 pollutants. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) sets limits for 91 chemicals or contaminants in tap […]

Evidence that the EU-12 will continue to attract FDI, but at a lower rate, is provided by the annual United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTD) World Investments Prospects Survey (WIPS). Conducted between February and May, the WIPS is based on 241 responses and 20 interviews with executives at large, nonfinancial, transnational corporations. As […]

Despite extreme market volatility, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and NASDAQ ended the month up 2.3%, 3.6% and 5.6%, respectively. For most of September, the US equity markets were bolstered by the declining US dollar and optimistic statements by the Federal Reserve. In addition, several economic indicators for August, such as industrial production, […]

The second of IBO’s biannual new laboratory roundup primarily focuses on pharmaceutical and biological research. Despite the effects of the global economic downturn, a number of new pharmaceutical and consumer goods testing labs have been announced or completed in China with both government and private support. In the US, although a number of private pharmaceutical […]