Science and technology (S&T) funding in Japan’s fiscal 2009 economic stimulus package totaled ¥1,346.5 billion ($13.5 billion), approximately 10% of the stimulus package. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) received 49% of the funding. Of this amount, ¥300 billion will be allocated to a special fund run by the Japan Society […]

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to loans totaling €885 million ($1.2 billion) for Turkey. The Turkish government will receive €335 million for 2009–2010 to help finance R&D at the nation’s 15 leading public universities. The funding will also be used to purchase scientific instruments for the universities. Small- and medium-sized enterprises in the […]

An online survey of 800 chemical industry executives conducted by ICIS and Genomatica in May indicates that sustainable chemistry is gaining momentum. Fifty-seven percent of respondents stated that their companies are already conforming with green chemistry practices, and 47% of respondents said their companies are using renewable feedstocks in manufacturing. Green chemistry is a priority […]

The semiconductor equipment market should begin to improve later this year, having reached bottom in the second quarter. Capital spending by the semiconductor industry is estimated to decline 44.8% this year to $24.3 billion, before rebounding in 2010 to grow 20.9% to $29.4 billion. Capital equipment spending is expected to fall 45.8% this year to […]

San Diego, CA 6/22/09; Washington, DC 6/25/09—The US District Court for the Southern District of California has dismissed Beckman Coulter and Orchid Cellmark’s patent infringement suit against Sequenom (see IBO 6/15/08), following the parties’ stipulation for dismissal. Sequenom stated that the patent infringement action was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again, and […]

Guildford, UK 6/26/09; London, UK 6/26/09—IDBS, a provider of data management solutions, has agreed to acquire InforSense for £5 million ($8.2 million = £0.61 = $1 ) in cash. InforSense supplies integration technologies and web-based interactive analytics. “This is a major enabling step towards becoming the number one informatics partner of R&D worldwide,” commented Neil […]