The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the funding of a network of nine centers across the US. These centers will use high tech screening methods to identify small molecules for use as probes to investigate the diverse functions of cells. The network - funded at about $70 million annually over the four-year production phase - is designed to increase the pace of development and use of chemical (small molecule) probes, which have become invaluable tools for exploring biologic processes and for developing new therapies for disease.

Medical information provider Wolters Kluwer Health (WK Health) has announced plans to acquire UpToDate, a leading evidence-based electronic clinical information resource. This acquisition is projected to strengthen WK Health’s portfolio in the growing point of care and electronic medical record markets. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Universities in Australia are ranked amongst the world’s top 50 most frequently cited research institutions over a period of five years from January 2003 to December 2007. This is according to data derived from the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) database of the Scientific business of Thomson Reuters. The ranking derived from ESI shows a marked improvement over the data for the earlier time period of 1998-2002 when only two Australian universities were ranked in the world’s top 50.

Zhu Zuoyan, a recently retired deputy head of the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), has reportedly appealed for funding to make several Chinese journals open access (OA). To boost the country's scientific journals, he urged to give priority to domestic science publications. Zhu's remarks come amidst criticisms that Chinese scientists are publishing more in overseas journals than domestic ones.

Publishing company IGI Global has announced that it has selected RSuite as its content management system. Using RSuite will enable IGI Global to accelerate editorial process and drive content to XML for repurposing.

Healthcare publisher Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) has signed an agreement to serve as publisher of The European Journal of Anaesthesiology, starting in 2009. The journal is the official publication of the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA).

Educational publisher Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. (J&B) has announced the acquisition of Blanchard & Loeb’s Nursing Drug Handbook series and Health Leadership Associates widely used series of nurse practitioner certification review guides. The transactions expand J&B’s market leading position in nursing academic and professional publishing. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

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