Queensland scientists have discovered that an ancient relative of rice contains genes that could potentially save food crops from the devastating effects of global warming. Wild rice plants in hotter and drier parts of Australia tend to be more genetically diverse, they found.
The genetic diversity found by the scientists is seen as a bulwark against climate change because some genes offer plants a degree of resistance to bacterial and fungal pathogens, both of which are known to attack plants under stress.
Prof Robert Henry, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, University of Queensland
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=24218
Many of the animal species at risk of extinction in the United States have not made it onto that country’s official Endangered Species Act (ESA) list, according researchers in Adelaide. Their study compared the ESA list of endangered species with the world’s leading threatened species list, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
They found that of the American species included on the IUCN list, 40% of birds, 50% of mammals, and 80-95% of other species such as amphibians, gastropods, crustaceans, and insects, were not recognised by the ESA as threatened.
Bert Harris, Environment Institute and School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide
Conservation Letters
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news50121.html
Canberra astronomers have found that extensive regions of the sub-surface of Mars could contain water and be at comfortable temperatures for terrestrial – and potentially Martian – microbes. The researchers modelled Mars to evaluate its potential for harbouring inhabitable water. They found more than they were expecting.
“Our models tell us that if there is water present in the Martian sub-surface then it could be habitable – as an extensive region of the subsurface is at temperatures and pressures comfortable for terrestrial life.”
Eriita Jones, Dr Charley Lineweaver, Planetary Science Institute, ANU
Astrobiology Journal
http://news.anu.edu.au/?p=12911
A Brisbane PhD student has developed a test for predicting the likelihood of the spread or return of breast cancer. Her research found that a breast cancer’s interaction with its surrounding environment held the key to predicting whether it would grow, become dormant or spread to other organs. The new test will use the tissue surrounding cancer cells, which is collected for biopsy purposes, but is currently not examined.
Helen McCosker, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, QUT
http://www.news.qut.edu.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/News.woa/wa/goNewsPage?newsEventID=37994
Brisbane researchers have found a link between increases in temperature, shorter pregnancies, and the incidence of stillbirth. The study looked at the incidence of still and premature births in Brisbane over a four-year period from 2005.
“We found that increases in temperature increased the risk of stillbirth, and this was particularly true in the earlier stages of pregnancy before 28 weeks. Our estimated numbers were at 15°C there would be 353 stillbirths per 100,000 pregnancies, as compared with 610 stillbirths per 100,000 pregnancies at 23°C.”
A/Prof Adrian Barnett , Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, QUT
American Journal of Epidemiology
http://www.news.qut.edu.au/cgi-bin/WebObjects/News.woa/wa/goNewsPage?newsEventID=38031
Static stretching warm ups are being overused by athletes even though they can be counter-productive, according to a Melbourne study. Too many athletes were using static stretching such as calf, quad and hip flex stretches just before competing even though it has been shown to reduce power, according to the researchers.
“It’s an epidemic: I see it at almost every AFL club, tennis match or international soccer event where athletes are stretching on the sidelines just prior to playing. People just aren’t getting the message.” The research shows static stretching decreased jumping performance by almost 8 per cent, while a more dynamic warm-up increased participants’ vertical jump by 3 per cent.
James Zois, School of Sport & Exercise Science, Victoria University
http://www.vu.edu.au/media/media-releases/athletes-warming-up-wrong
A rapid screening tool developed by a Melbourne doctoral researcher could enable the instant detection of pesticide residues in Australia’s water catchments. He investigated the development of a portable instrument for detecting the presence of commonly used pesticides in water using chemiluminescence – a highly-sensitive technique that allows the detection of minute quantities of an organic compound in bulk waters.
Dr David Beale, School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University and CSIRO
http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=5n5t14uh58jo1;STATUS=A
The soaring mountain peaks and deep valleys hidden beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet have been revealed in a new map produced using decades of survey data acquired by planes, satellites, ships and dog-drawn sleds. Called BEDMAP2, the close-up view of Antarctica without its ice, is a comprehensive digital map of the bedrock, produced using more than 27 million points of data collected by a range of international partners.
Dr Roland Warner, Australian Antarctic Division
http://www.antarctica.gov.au/science/cool-science/2011/bedrock-map-reveals-ice-free-antarctica
The majority of men diagnosed with cancer in Australia are turning to complementary and alternative medicine to help find a cure, or to improve their health, according to new Adelaide research. A psychology PhD student who analysed a questionnaire of 400 men with various types of cancer shows that many of them modify their diet in conjunction with conventional treatment, as well as turning to meditation, yoga and exercise.
Nadja Klafke, University of Adelaide
Annals of Oncology
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news50141.html
A new study suggests long-term modern fire regimes could pose a threat to WA mistletoes (Loranthaceae sp). Fires ignited by lightning, arson or by prescribed burning often destroy thousands of hectares in the Pilbara region. This scale of damage poses a problem for mistletoe species because of their physical vulnerability and regeneration methods.
Across species, mistletoe foliage and fresh seed are killed when scorched. Mistletoe varieties comprise a key component of Pilbara biodiversity, with many insects dependant on them for larval food, including butterfly genera Ogyris(Lycenidae) and Delias (Pieridae). Mistletoes also support the highly adapted mistletoebird (Dicaeum hiundinaceum) as well as spiny-cheeked and grey honeyeaters, important pollinators within the region.
Dr A.N. Start, WA Department of Environment and Conservation
http://www.sciencewa.net.au/3808-pilbara-mistletoe-faces-sub-regional-extinction.html
A new sugar that could prevent heart disease; an Alzheimer’s vaccine that cures the memory of mice; real Star Wars bacteria and robot aircraft that copy insects are just some of the interesting stories that emerged from Australian research published in the last week. Find over a dozen other stories below.
Read the full article →
Australian scientists have urged greater consideration for the brilliantly hued parrot fishes that tend and renew the world’s imperilled coral reefs. In a major new study published marine biologists have investigated parrot fish populations on 18 coral island reefs from Mauritius in the west Indian Ocean to Tahiti in the central Pacific.
“Parrot fish fulfil a number of key roles on the reef. They remove sick and dead corals and clean areas for new corals to settle, they remove weedy growth, and they cart away literally tonnes of sand and sediment that would otherwise smother the corals.”
Prof David Bellwood, Dr Andrew Hoey and Prof Terry Hughes, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS) and James Cook University
Proceedings of the Royal Society
http://www-public.jcu.edu.au/news/JCU_094633
A vaccine that slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia has been developed by Sydney researchers. The vaccine, which targets a protein known as tau, prevents the ongoing formation of neurofibrillary tangles in the brain of a mouse with Alzheimer’s disease.
This progressive neurodegenerative disease affects more than 35 million people worldwide. The tau protein is also involved in front temporal dementia, the second most common form of dementia in people younger than 65 years.
A/Prof Lars Ittner, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney
PLoS ONE
http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=1&newsstoryid=8384
A huge, shrimp-like marine creature that pursued its prey through the warm waters of the Earth’s Cambrian Period 515 million years ago had more acute vision than most of its diminutive modern-day relatives. An international team of palaeontologists discovered its fossilised eyes while excavating in the Emu Bay Shale on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island.
“Anomalocaris is the stuff of nightmares and science fiction films. It is considered to have been at the top of the earliest food chains because of its metre-long body, the formidable grasping claws at the front of its head, and its circular mouth with teeth-like serrations. And this new discovery confirms that it had superb vision to support its predatory lifestyle.”
Dr John Paterson, University of New England
Nature
http://blog.une.edu.au/news/2011/12/08/fossil-find-shows-ancient-super-predator-had-high-powered-vision/
The treatment of male infertility could soon be boosted through intervention at a sub-DNA ‘epigenetic’ level, according to researchers in Canberra.
The research team has uncovered a new mechanism of gene activation which will have important implications in understanding how cellular differentiation is achieved. The team made the breakthrough by looking at what’s happening in our bodies at the epigenetic level, which controls how our DNA is activated.
Prof David Tremethick, Dr Tanya Soboleva, Dr Maxim Nekrasov, John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU
Nature Structural and Molecular Biology
http://news.anu.edu.au/?p=12861
The century-old mystery of a missing mineral in coral reefs has been solved by a team from Canberra. The team uncovered a hidden stash of the mineral dolomite in coral reefs around the globe.
“We have discovered that dolomite is in fact present in large quantities in modern coral reefs, but from an unexpected source.” The team’s eureka moment came when they found large quantities of dolomite packed inside a ‘reef builder’ species of red algae, Hydrolithon onkodes.
Dr Bradley Opdyke, Ms Marinda Nash, Dr Uli Troitzsch, Research School of Earth Sciences, ANU
Biogeosciences
http://news.anu.edu.au/?p=12891
Australian vision scientists today unveiled a novel way to help pilotless aircraft accurately determine their heading and orientation to the ground – by imitating how insects do it. The technology can improve the navigation, flight characteristics and safety for civil and military aircraft, as well as pilotless drones.
“UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles or pilotless aircraft) are used in crop dusting, bushfire monitoring, tracking algal blooms or crop growth and infrastructure inspection as well as defence roles. Some of these tasks require the aircraft to fly close to the ground and amongst obstacles, so it is crucial that the aircraft knows its heading direction and roll and pitch angles accurately.”
Mr Richard Moore, The Vision Centre and The Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland
Australian scientists have discovered that some tropical fish have a greater capacity to cope with rising sea temperatures than previously thought – by adjusting over several generations. The discovery sheds a ray of hope amid the rising concern over the future of coral reefs and their fish under the levels of global warming expected to occur by the end of the 21st century.
Understanding the ability of species to acclimatise to rising temperatures over longer time periods is critical for predicting the biological consequences of global warming – yet it remains one of the least understood aspects of climate science. The scientists were seeking to discover how fish would cope with the elevated sea temperatures expected by 2050 and 2100.
Professor Philip Munday, Ms Jennifer Donelson, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University
Nature Climate Change
http://www-public.jcu.edu.au/news/JCU_094504
Global carbon dioxide emissions increased by a record 5.9 per cent in 2010 following the dampening effect of the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), according to scientists working with the Global Carbon Project (GCP). The GCP annual analysis reported that the impact of the GFC on emissions has been short-lived owing to strong emissions growth in emerging economies and a return to emissions growth in developed economies.
Contributions to global emissions growth in 2010 were largest from China, USA, India, the Russian Federation, and the European Union, with a continuously growing global share from emerging economies. Coal burning was at the heart of the growth in fossil fuel and cement emissions accounting for 52% of the total growth.
Dr Pep Canadell, Dr Mike Raupach, CSIRO
Nature Climate Change
http://www.csiro.au/en/Portals/Media/Global-Carbon-Project.aspx
