In Brief
- The United Nations has voted in favour of a political declaration calling on nations to ban all forms of human cloning. Richard Gardner, chair of the Royal Society's working group on stem cells and cloning, is disappointed by the declaration, but stresses that it is non-binding and that the UK can continue to pursue carefully regulated human therapeutic cloning.
- Europe's largest biotech company, Serono, has upgraded its Swiss site at Corsier-sur-Vevey by increasing its bioreactor capability from 22 800L to over 200 000L. Serono's blockbuster product is Rebif (interferon ?), a leading multiple sclerosis drug. The plant is on the site of an old tobacco factory and is used for process development as well as manufacturing.
- Nominations are invited for the 2005 Long-range research innovative science award. The award, supported by Cefic and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, aims to promote innovation in the fields of toxicology and ecotoxicology. The winner will receive a ? 100 000 (£69 640) research grant. Applications must be made by 6 May 2005. Finalists will present their work to a judging panel in Brussels. See www.cefic-lri.org for further details.
- The Centre for Process Innovation has sponsored a chair of chemical engineering at Newcastle University, UK, for the next five years. The aim is to become the focus for research in advanced process manufacturing and green energy sources in the region. Ian Metcalfe, who has been appointed to the chair, will work to develop miniaturised chemical processing through catalysis.
- Arsenic contamination can be cleared from waterways using powdered dry roots of the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), report UK researchers in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring (JEM). The significance of the study meant the manuscript was accepted, edited and published on the same day, report publishers at the RSC.
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