CSIRO first initiated litigation in 2005 and settled major cases in 2009 against 14 companies, recording proceeds of $205 million for that year. Since that time, additional licenses have been granted. CSIRO will receive more than $220 million from this round of WLAN licensing. The WLAN technology was invented by a team of CSIRO scientists – Dr John O’Sullivan, Dr Terry Percival, Mr Diet Ostry, Mr Graham Daniels and Dr John Deane.

An infographic on the development of the Wi-Fi technology is available here

Feel free to use these quotes in your stories.  If you would like to speak to an expert, please don’t hesitate to contact us on (08) 7120 8666 or by email.

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 Nigel Poole is Acting Group Executive, Information Sciences Group at CSIRO

“We are delighted to have made further progress in licensing this very important technology contribution from Australia. The wireless LAN technology, commonly known as wi-fi, is in over three billion devices worldwide – and it will grow to five billion products by 2013 when the patents expire – we guess that means most households in the developed world have more than five wi-fi consumer devices connecting themselves reliably to the internet and to each other without wires.  CSIRO’s commercial and legal teams on both sides of the Pacific have worked very hard over the past several years to gain a reasonable return and I would like to pay particular tribute to them for their extraordinary efforts. Of course, it was the inventors, led by Dr O’Sullivan, whose brilliance in the 1990s made all this possible.  CSIRO has been delivering results to Australia for over 80 years, and to have such an important breakthrough deliver the significant returns announced by the Minister makes us all very proud.”

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 Dr Mark Gregory is a Senior Lecturer in network engineering in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at RMIT University, Melbourne

“The CSIRO Wi-Fi licensing outcomes have now brought in about $430M since the CSIRO patent claims started in 2005. About three billion items now include Wi-Fi and this number is expected to increase to five billion before the patents expire in 2013. CSIRO is a powerhouse of invention and this is a major outcome for Australia. The CSIRO outcome has highlighted the capability to successfully make a patent claim against some of the largest multi-nationals in the world. Wi-Fi has enhanced the development and use of mobile devices and should be seen to be a major contribution to world society.”

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Dr Paul Stephen-Gardner is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the School of Computer Science, Engineering & Mathematics at Flinders University, Adelaide

“The WiFi patent victory for CSIRO is important, not just for drawing license fees into our country, but for giving Australian researchers a great morale boost as they continue to innovate in many areas, punching well above our population would suggest.

Hopefully the government will have the wisdom to invest this windfall into further research and development activities that can generate value, just as the invention of WiFi now helps billions of people to connect, a value that dwarfs the considerable financial return that his invention has generated.

This is also a case where the value of ‘basic’ or ‘fundamental’ research has been clearly proven, with WiFi emerging from radioastronomy.  This is well worth the government’s notice, given that such basic research is discouraged under government research funding schemes in favour of more applied research.”

The committee’s recommendations uphold the current framework which allows Australian researchers to use human embryos to create stem cells but only in licensed research projects.

The report is available for download from the NHMRC website here. There is also more information in a press release from the Australian Stem Cell Centre online here.

Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Any further comments will be posted here. If you would like to speak to an expert, please don’t hesitate to contact us on (08) 7120 8666 or by email.

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Dr Megan Munsie is from the Australian Stem Cell Centre

“The current Australian legislation strikes the right balance between protecting the rights and interests of the donors of the human embryos, and providing Australian researchers with access to these valuable stem cells.

Australian stem cell scientists, along with researchers from around the world, are using human embryonic stem cells to increase our understanding of how the body repairs itself following injury or disease. We are making important steps towards developing new treatments for a number of chronic and currently untreatable conditions.

Investigations into the biology and therapeutic potential of embryonic stem cells will be the bedrock of stem cell research for many years to come.

All stem cell types and research approaches should be actively pursued because it is not yet clear which type of stem cells will be most suitable. The current Australian regulation allows researchers to fully explore all of the different types of stem cells and their potential.

Responsible research towards reducing human pain and suffering, with appropriate safeguards, must continue to remain an imperative in Australia.”

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Professor Martin Pera is Chair of Stem Cell Sciences at the University of Melbourne. He will lead a new Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative in Stem Cell Science “Stem Cells Australia”

“Australia has a strong record in stem cell research. Like our colleagues throughout the world, we use many types of stem cells – those from adults, those from embryos, and those made using new laboratory techniques – to study human development and disease and to discover leads to novel treatments and cures. We believe this research will allow faster and more effective testing of new medicines, and eventually lead to cell therapy for spinal cord injury, and for diseases like cancer, heart disease and cystic fibrosis.

There has been remarkable progress in stem cell research over the last decade and many of these advances have come from the discoveries made using stem cells obtained from human embryos.  Embryonic stem cells remain the benchmark for research in this field, and in the next decade, critical advances may depend on our ability to develop new cell lines from embryos.

Australia still has one of the strictest set of rules for the use of embryos in research. Similar to the situation in California, where I have worked for the past five years, the level of ethical and practical scrutiny is very high in Australia.  Every experiment has to be justified to a Research Ethics Committee.  No embryos are used in research unless there is a strong scientific rationale to justify such use.

Human embryonic stem cell research signals a revolution in biomedical science that will have the same impact in the 21st century that cancer research and genomics had in the 20th century.  However, there remain gaps in our knowledge and many roadblocks to the translation of basic discoveries in stem cell science into safe and effective therapies.  These hurdles will only be addressed through a concerted international effort. The Review Committee’s recommendations will ensure Australian scientists can help lead this revolution.”

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Professor Justin St. John is Director of the Centre for Reproduction and Development at the Monash Institute of Medical research in Victoria

“We at MIMR are pleased that the Review Panel has recommended that human embryos can continue to be generated through somatic cell nuclear transfer for the production of human embryonic stem cells. Somatic cell nuclear transfer is the process of taking an adult cell, such as a skin cell, and transferring it into an egg that has had its chromosomes removed. This egg can then give rise to embryos and embryonic stem cells in a manner similar to embryonic stem cells generated from surplus embryos donated from patients undergoing IVF treatment. The advantage of using somatic cell nuclear transfer is that we can transfer cells from patients with specific genetic diseases to establish stem cell models of disease. We feel that this work is extremely important as it still remains to be determined whether the generation of stem cells by non-egg based approaches is still going to be an effective approach. We need to generate sufficient knowledge from as many approaches as possible to ensure that we develop the most appropriate stem cells for the future.”

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Professor Bob Williamson is the Australian Academy of Science’s Secretary for Science Policy

“The review committee’s decision to allow the continuation of stem cell research accords with the evidence offered by the Australian Academy of Science, and most other doctors and scientists.  Australian doctors are making major advances in our understanding of human disease by using both adult and embryonic stem cells.

It is important that scientists can continue to use all cell types, and to compare them with each other. “At the same time, it is also important that our laws continue to ban unethical practices, such as human cloning, as recommended by the review panel.

The recommendations of the review mean that Australian scientists will be able to keep pace with medical research being conducted internationally. This allows researchers to carry out similar experiments to those being conducted by their American and European collaborators. Keeping our laws as recommended will allow Australia to carry out medical research that is both ethical and world-class.”

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It takes a lot to get scientists out in the streets to protest. So what’s all the fuss? In a move reminiscent of large UK protests over budget cuts to science research that were being proposed last year, Australian researchers are planning rallies in four cities on Tuesday (and in Perth on Thursday) over proposed cuts of up to $400 million to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) budget.

The cuts are being proposed as part of a slash and burn federal budget to help pay for recent natural disasters such as the Queensland floods and return the budget to surplus. The rallies are part of a  campaign that also involves significant use of social media such as a Twitter rally and iPetitions.

Also, you will find a statement from AAMRI (the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes) regarding the proposed cuts on their website.

The brief discussed the following issues:

• Who initiated the protests and why?
• How does Australia compare to other countries in terms of spending on medical research?
• How will the proposed cuts impact on research spending?
• Is this just scientists looking after their jobs? Why should we care?

Watch the full presentation here (Webex). A transcript of this event is also available here.

SPEAKERS:

• Professor Doug Hilton, Director, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne | Listen (mp3)
  
• Professor Suzanne Cory, President, Australian Academy of Science | Listen (mp3)
  
• Dr Cathy Foley, President, Federation of Australian Science and Technological Societies (FASTS) (Sydney based) | Listen (mp3)
  
• Listen to the Q and A session here (mp3)
  

BRIEFING DETAILS:

DATE:  Tue 12 April 2011
START TIME: 10.30am AEST
DURATION: 35 min
VENUE:  Online

For further information, please contact the AusSMC on 08 7120 8666 or email.

ONLINE BACKGROUND MEDIA BRIEFING – Wed 9 March at 10.30am AEDT online

The sudden departure of the Chief Scientist, Penny Sackett, last week has left many wondering about this advisory role in Australian politics. Are we making the best use of our senior science advisors? Penny Sackett was asked to brief Kevin Rudd once and Julia Gillard not at all during her two and a half years as Chief Scientist and yet many of the issues being debated in parliament have strong linkages to science – climate change, water allocations, carbon pricing, the flood levy, natural disasters and so on. Are policy debates being properly informed by science and what is (and what should be) the role of the Chief Scientist?

The AusSMC has brought together former Chief Scientist, Dr John Stocker (Chief scientist from 1996 to 1999), former Science Advisor to Brendan Nelson (2002-2004), Dr Thomas Barlow and CEO of the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS), Anna-Maria Arabia to discuss this important issue.

The briefing discussed the following issues:

• The role of the chief scientist and how it has changed over time
• The independence of the role – should it be more independent than it is?
• Are Australian Chief Scientists as high profile as they should be? How does this compare with countries like the UK and the US?
• Is there a lack of interest in and respect for scientific evidence at the senior political level in Australia?

Watch the full presentation here (Webex)

SPEAKERS:

• Ms Anna-Maria Arabia, Chief Executive Officer, Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS). Anna-Maria Arabia has a background in neuroscience and was a policy advisor to Kim Beazley and Anthony Albanese. bio | Listen (mp3)
  
• Dr John Stocker, Foursight Associates. John Stocker is a well-known immunologist and was Chief Scientist from 1996 to 1999 and Chairman of CSIRO from 2007 to 2010. bio | Listen (mp3)
  
• Dr Thomas Barlow, Barlow Advisory Services. Thomas Barlow was Senior Science Advisor to the Minister for Education, Science and Training, Brendan Nelson from 2002 to 2004. Bio link | Listen (mp3)
• Listen to audio from the Q and A session here (mp3)

BRIEFING DETAILS:

DATE:  Wed 9 March
START TIME: 10.30am AEDT
DURATION: Approx 40 min
VENUE:  Online

For further information, please contact the AusSMC on 08 7120 8666 or email us.

An independent committee is reviewing the Australian legislation governing the use of human embryos and therapeutic cloning in scientific research.

What will this review mean for stem cell research in Australia?

You can read more about the legislation review on the NHMRC website and in an Australian Stem Cell Centre media release.

The briefing discussed the following issues:

• What is happening in stem cell research in Australia?
• What is the difference between human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells?
• Why is it important to use embryonic stem cells for research? Why not use iPS cells?
• What are the public perceptions of stem cell research in Australia?
• How do Australian regulations compare with the rest of the world?
• What does the future hold?

Watch the full presentation here (Webex)

SPEAKERS:

• Dr Andrew Laslett, Research Team Leader, CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering | Bio (pdf) | Slides (pdf) | Listen (mp3)
  

• Dr Megan Munsie, Senior Manager – Research and Government, Australian Stem Cell Centre | Bio (pdf) | Slides (pdf) |Listen (mp3)
  

• Dr Julia Schaft, Manager of Strategy and Regulation – Sydney IVF Stem Cells (the only holder of a licence for therapeutic cloning in Australia) | Bio (pdf) | Slides (pdf) | Listen (mp3)
• Listen to the Q and A audio here (mp3)

BRIEFING DETAILS:

DATE:  Wednesday, March 2, 2011
START TIME: 10.30am AEDT
DURATION: 45 min
VENUE:  Online

For further information, please contact the AusSMC on 08 7120 8666 or email.