Tuesday 31 October 2023

Winners of the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia’s Metcalf Prizes announced today

Scientists available for interviews, see below for contact details

• Jiao Jiao Li: full profile and photos
• Dustin Flanagan: full profile and photos

Researchers working with stem cells to find treatments for osteoarthritis and stomach cancer are the two winners of the 2023 Metcalf Prizes for Stem Cell Research, awarded by the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia.

• Images
• Abstract
• Additional quotes
• ESO media release

An eight-billion-year-old burst of energy has been discovered, demonstrating that we can detect and measure matter between galaxies. The discovery opens a path to using fast radio bursts to explore the expansion of the Universe and ultimately even ‘weigh’ the Universe.

But it will require even more powerful telescopes.

From Perth across the North to Sydney tell us if you do or don’t see a sawfish for National Sawfish Sighting Week October 23-29, 2023

Sawfish are remarkable creatures that detect the electrical impulses of fish, then slice and dice them for dinner.

“Today it’s rare to see large sawfish,” says Dr Barbara Wueringer, Principal Scientist and Director at Sharks And Rays Australia. “Most reports are three metres or smaller. But we could be wrong. There may still be some big ones out there.”

Boosting exhausted T cells: Dr Daniel Utzschneider, Melbourne and
On the path to a liver cancer vaccine: Dr Ankur Sharma, Perth are the two research programs selected as a part of the global biotechnology company’s long-standing promise to support scientists in Australia

• Photos and HD footage available
• Ankur Sharma biography, photos, videos and HD footage
• Daniel Utzschneider biography, photos, videos and HD footage

MELBOURNE – 12 October 2023 – Two Australian scientists have each been awarded CSL Centenary Fellowships, valued at $1.25 million over five years. They are each developing new kinds of potential cancer therapies, based on their fundamental research into cancer biology.

The Fellowships were presented at the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Annual Meeting on Thursday 12 October 2023 in Brisbane.

Monash University’s Emerging Technologies Research Lab unveils massive shifts in future household energy demands in a new report published today. The pivotal study offers energy distribution networks an invaluable glimpse into the future – empowering them to sharpen their forecasts, develop future business plans, and ensure the lights stay on.

The increase in home-based care, a rise in the energy needs to support study and work from home and the increased adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) are among the 51 specific trends found by the research to be affecting Victorians’ future energy needs.

New technology that could help restore power quickly even on high bushfire risk days

Some of Victoria’s worst bushfires have been started by power lines. So, power distribution companies have installed devices that limit the energy flowing to the fault to cut the fire risk. However, in networks equipped with these devices, communities might experience power outages for hours while network operators attempt to track down a fault along tens of kilometres of power line.

“In trials in China and Switzerland we demonstrated that our technology can find the fault location to within hundreds of metres in a few minutes, instead of hours or days,” says Monash University engineering researcher, Dr Reza Razzaghi.

“In Australia, that would allow power to be restored to the community quickly, which can be vitally important for air conditioning during extreme heat, for people who rely on life-supporting electric medical devices, and for the many other home and business users.”

Inventors of brain-cell-based computer work with international team of ethicists exploring ethical applications of bio-computing

No longer limited to the realm of science fiction, bio-computing is here, so now is the time to start considering how to research and apply this technology responsibly, an international group of experts says.

The inventors of DishBrain have partnered with bioethicists and medical researchers to map such a framework to help define and address the problem in a paper published in Biotechnology Advances.

Early career researchers and young professionals are invited to apply to undertake study, work experience and/or research in Switzerland, through the following programs:

• Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships – for doctoral and postdoctoral candidates, as well as candidates wishing to undertake research in the realm of their PhD or medical specialisation. Open now.
• Mertz Fellowship – for early-career researchers from the polar and high-altitude science fields. Now closed.
• Young Professionals Programme – for Australian citizens aged 20-30 who have completed vocational training (apprenticeship or university degree) now working in the profession in which they trained. Open for applications year-round.
• ThinkSwiss program for students who have completed their second year of under-graduate studies or are currently enrolled in a post-graduate (Master’s) degree. Open now.

Hear from past scholars below:

“Children are not little adults, their cancers are different”

Sydney’s Professor David Ziegler plans to be able to improve treatment for every child with cancer.

He’s working in the clinic to trial treatments for the fatal brain stem tumour DIPG, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.

And he’s driving the development of the national Zero Childhood Cancer Program (ZERO) – to give every child with cancer the best chance of an effective treatment.