A five-year, $23.7 million dung beetle project has been announced this week that will help control parasites. Two new species of French dung beetle will be provided to over 1,000 livestock producers around south-eastern Australia. The scheme will use dung beetles as ‘ecosystem engineers’ in order to improve the health of soil and pastures and reduce the spread of diseases and nutrient run-off into waterways. These beetles will be active in spring and it is hoped that they will decimate […]
The Australian biotech industry has concerns about an overhaul of the R&D tax incentive scheme, which could involve eligibility restrictions and cuts. The government has proposed capping R&D tax refunds at $2 million, which could be realised in this month’s federal budget. The uncertainty has already impacted the sector, with both Australian and international companies reconsidering doing clinical trials here. As Chris Nave, managing director of Brandon Capital Partners commented, “$2 million isn’t worth the cost of setting up an […]
The Australian Cyber Security Growth Network (ACSGN) estimates that Australia’s cyber security sector will triple in the next decade, reaching revenues of $6 billion by 2026. By 2020, the global cyber security market could be worth $170 billion US. On 20th April, the Australian Government launched its Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan (SCP), which aims to grow and strengthen the Australian cyber security sector. There is a huge growth in demand for security across the Indo-Pacific, giving Australia an advantage […]
After spending the highest annual amount on research and development ever, apple shows no signs of slowing down in its R&D investment for 2017 despite a drop in the company’s overall revenue. In 2016, Apple spent $10.39 billion on R&D which was a significant increase, over $2 billion, from the previous year. This equates to 5% of its total net sales on research alone in 2016. In early 2017, there was vast speculation regarding what projects the company would be investing in. […]