Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Sat, Aug 29, 2026 04:28 PM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

Mark Blaskovich

Senior Research Officer, The University of Queensland
Mark tweets at @Mark_Blaskovich

Dr. Mark Blaskovich is a Senior Research Officer at the University of Queensland.

He has extensive medicinal chemistry expertise resulting from more than 16 years of industrial drug development experience.

As Chief Operating Officer at Mimetica (Australia), he managed the drug discovery and development program for melanocortin-5 receptor antagonists, leading to a compound currently in Phase II human trials.

In his role at CEPTYR (Seattle) he led a multidisciplinary team that developed a preclinical candidate that inhibited protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B for the treatment of diabetes, while at Molecumetics (Seattle) he headed a $2m/yr industrial collaboration on peptidomimetic compounds targeting proteases and GPCRs.

Mark is currently project leader for a Wellcome Trust and NHMRC-funded program that is developing new antibiotics to treat drug resistant pathogens.

He has published more than 30 articles and patents, and is author of 'The Handbook on Syntheses of Amino Acids'.

How do bacteria actually become resistant to antibiotics?

Nov 08, 2023 12:01 pm UTC| Science

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest global threats to health, food security and development. This month, The Conversations experts explore how we got here and the potential solutions. What doesnt kill me...

When an artist looks at a chemical element, what do they see?

Jul 18, 2019 07:19 am UTC| Insights & Views Entertainment

Artistic depictions of several chemical elements feature in a new exhibition from today as part of Australias celebrations for the International Year of the Periodic Table. They are the work of artists Damon Kowarsky...

From peaceful coexistence to potential peril: the bacteria that live in and on us

Oct 20, 2018 06:04 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

Bacteria are everywhere, including in and on our bodies. There are estimated to be as many bacteria in a human body as there are human cells. Much like Pig Pen in the comic strip Peanuts, we actually carry around a...

Economy

Canadian Dollar Slides as Fed Rate Hike Bets Boost US Dollar

The Canadian dollar weakened on Friday and was on track for its sharpest weekly decline in more than two months, as a stronger U.S. dollar overshadowed surprisingly robust Canadian economic growth. The loonie traded near...

Bessent Defends US Yen Intervention Over Treasury Market Risks

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has defended Washingtons decision to support the Japanese yen in late July, arguing that severe currency volatility could threaten global financial stability and ultimately push U.S....

US Dollar Hits Two-Week High After Hawkish Fed Speech

The U.S. dollar climbed to a near two-week high on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivered a hawkish message at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, strengthening expectations for a September...

Oil Prices Slip as Venezuela Supply Prospects Weigh on Market

Oil prices edged lower on Friday as traders assessed reports that the United States was nearing a deal for long-term access to Venezuelan crude reserves, potentially opening the door to billions of dollars in investment...

Gold Prices Tumble 3% After Hawkish Fed Speech Boosts Dollar

Gold prices fell sharply on Friday as the U.S. dollar strengthened following Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warshs hawkish Jackson Hole speech, prompting traders to increase bets on a September interest rate hike. Spot gold...

Politics

Nepal Declines Foreign Rescue Aid After Deadly Flash Flood

Nepal has said it does not currently require foreign search-and-rescue assistance following a devastating flash flood that killed nearly 500 people and left hundreds of foreign nationals missing. The disaster struck...

Norway’s King Harald Dies at 89, Haakon VIII Takes Throne

Norways King Harald has died at the age of 89 after more than three decades on the throne, ending a reign marked by modernization, national unity and enduring public support. The Norwegian royal palace said Harald died...

Israeli Airstrike Kills Hamas Operative, Two Others in West Bank

An Israeli airstrike killed a Hamas operative and two other people in the occupied West Bank on Friday, marking a relatively rare use of deadly air power in the territory amid heightened Israeli-Palestinian violence. The...

Iran Condemns New US Sanctions as Hormuz Standoff Deepens

Iran condemned a fresh U.S. economic pressure campaign on Friday, calling the measures state terrorism as Tehran faces soaring inflation, mounting financial strain and continued tensions over the Strait of Hormuz six...

Tennessee Plans to Rename Nashville Airport After Dolly Parton

Tennessee officials plan to rename Nashville International Airport in honor of country music legend Dolly Parton, who died earlier this week at age 80 in Nashville. The proposed name change follows a social media campaign...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Pinterest Stock Falls as CFO Julia Brau Donnelly Resigns

Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS) shares fell sharply in after-hours trading on Friday after the social media company announced the resignation of Chief Financial Officer Julia Brau Donnelly, prompting investor attention on the...

PayPal Shares Sink as $50 Billion Takeover Bid Collapses

PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL) shares plunged in extended trading after a consortium led by private equity firm Advent International and payments giant Stripe reportedly ended its pursuit of the digital payments company....

Nvidia Pauses AI Cloud Financing Deals Amid Antitrust Concerns

Nvidia has temporarily halted some deals tied to a recently introduced financing program for artificial intelligence cloud companies, amid internal concerns that the arrangement could attract greater antitrust scrutiny,...

Google Changes EU Spam Policy Amid Antitrust Scrutiny

Google has revised its spam policy in Europe after concerns from European Union regulators raised the possibility of a significant antitrust fine for Alphabet, the search giants parent company. The company said Friday that...

U.S. Probes Apex Logistics Over Nvidia AI Chip Shipments to China

The U.S. government is investigating Singapore-based Apex Logistics over allegations that the freight company helped transport Nvidia AI chips and computer systems to China despite U.S. export restrictions, Bloomberg...