PRESS RELEASE FROM NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
22 MARCH 2012
Australia is a top performer when it comes to science output per capita and per scientist — that’s the picture emerging from the Nature Publishing Index 2011 Asia-Pacific, released today. According to the Index, Australia consolidated its position as the third most productive country for high-quality primary research in the rapidly developing Asia-Pacific region.
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Having a simple, easy-to-pronounce name is more likely to win you friends and favour in the workplace, an international study has found. The researchers analysed how the pronunciation of names can influence impression formation and decision-making. In particular, they demonstrated “the name pronunciation effect,” which occurs when people with easy–to-pronounce names are evaluated more positively than those with difficult-to-pronounce names.
The study revealed that: people with more pronounceable names were more likely to be favoured for political office and job promotions; political candidates with easy-to-pronounce names were more likely to win a race than those without, based on a mock ballot study, and; attorneys with more pronounceable names rose more quickly to superior positions in their firm hierarchies, based on a field study of 500 first and last names of US lawyers
Dr Simon Laham, University of Melbourne
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology; http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-751
Melbourne scientists led an international research team which has cracked the genetic code and predicted some high priority drug targets for the blood parasite Schistosoma haematobium, which is linked to bladder cancer and HIV/AIDS and causes the insidious urogenital disease schistosomiasis haematobia in more than 112 million people in Africa. The team sequenced the genome of Schistosoma haematobium from a single pair of tiny worms using an advanced approach.
Dr Neil Young, Prof Robin Gasser, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne
Nature Genetics; http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-737
Scientists have determined the structure of the enzyme endomannosidase, significantly advancing understanding of how a group of devastating human viruses including HIV and Hepatitis C hijack human enzymes to reproduce and cause disease.
The findings open the door to the development of new drugs to combat these deadly viruses that infect more than 180 million people worldwide. The team of international scientists studied bacterial endomannosidase as a model for the same human enzyme and successfully determined the three dimensional structure of the enzyme using state of the art synchrotron technology. Knowing the structure of the enzyme reveals details on how viruses hijack human enzymes and use them to replicate and cause infection.
A/Prof Spencer Williams, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-731
A new type of sugar could help prevent heart disease. Researchers have formulated promising new heart disease preventatives based on sugar and selenium. The compounds have been filed under an international patent with the hope of future clinical use.
“Mary Poppins was right in saying – a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Although these compounds are not the kind of sugar most people would buy as a Valentine’s Day gift we are still very excited by their potential.”
Dr Corin Storkey, Prof Carl Schiesser, ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, The University of Melbourne.
Chemical Communications
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-712
Scientists have shown for the first time that salmon can be artificially stimulated to leap through water, opening the door to effective sea lice treatment, an infection that costs the global industry more than $500 million each year.
Dr Tim Dempster, University of Melbourne
Journal of Animal Science
http://jas.fass.org/content/89/12/4281.abstract?sid=9fc7f587-4264-4e0c-873a-a71988419342
Researchers have shown for the first time how Golden orb web spiders (Nephila antipodiana) add a chemical to their web silk to repel invading ants. The finding adds chemical defence to the impressive properties of spider silk, already known to be very strong, elastic and adhesive, and may provide new opportunities for pesticide design.
Prof Mark Elgar, Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-697
An international study in the prestigious journal Nature Biotechnology reveals new information about human pluripotent stem cells and their genetic stability and has important implications for the development of therapies using these cells. Scientists from the University of Melbourne, University of NSW and CSIRO contributed to this study, which examined how the genome of 138 stem cell lines of diverse ethnic backgrounds changed when the cells were grown in the laboratory.
Prof Martin Pera, University of Melbourne and Stem Cells Australia
Dr Andrew Laslett, Qi Zhou, CSIRO
A/Prof Jeremy Crook, Shirani Sivarajah, University of Melbourne and National ICT Australia
A/Prof Kuldip Sidhu, UNSW
Nature Biotechnology
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nbt.2051.html
Adolescent boys are more prone to delinquency if they do not have a father figure in their lives, a Melbourne study has found, while adolescent girls seem unaffected by the presence or absence of fathers in their lives.
The study found that the presence of a father figure during adolescence was most likely to have a preventive effect on whether male youths engage in risk-taking and deviant behaviour. While active involvement and interaction between fathers and youths was found to be beneficial, it did not explain the positive benefits of children who grow up with fathers in the household.
Prof Deborah Cobb-Clark, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-701
By using whole-genome DNA sequencing of strains obtained from patients during persistent bloodstream infections, Melbourne researchers have discovered how golden staph can make one small change to its DNA and then develop resistance to the last-line antibiotic, vancomycin.
Dr Timothy Stinear, A/Prof Ben Howden, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne
PLoS Pathogens
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-689
Australian scientists have developed a new technique using stem cells to replace damaged cells in Parkinson’s disease. The technique could be developed for application in other degenerative conditions.
Dr Clare Parish, Dr Lachlan Thompson, Florey Neuroscience Institutes, University of Melbourne
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-685
A new Melbourne study reveals that clothing, food and electricity are the three biggest culprits for a household’s high water usage. The indirect, or embodied, water usage of an entire household over 50 years – which includes the construction and maintenance of the house, all belongings, food, clothing and other consumable items, financial services, cars and holidays – is equivalent to filling 54 Olympic swimming pools. It represents 94% of a household’s water footprint.
Dr Robert Crawford, University of Melbourne
Building Research & Information
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-691
L’Oréal and UNESCO have just announced that Australian paediatric neurologist Professor Ingrid Scheffer is the Asia-Pacific L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureate for 2012.
She is one of five international winners who will each receive US$100,000 in recognition of their contribution to the advancement of science at the Awards Ceremony on 22 March 2012 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
For more information:
Issued by L'Oreal Australia
L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science grants Australian Scientist US$100,000 in one of the world’s most prestigious Science prizes:
The 14th Annual L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science Award
Honouring five women who are moving science forward, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science partnership announces its five exceptional women scientists from around the world who will receive the 2012 L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards in Life Sciences. Read the full article →Mothers, sisters and daughters from families with known breast cancer genetic mutations do not all share the same high risk of developing the disease, according to a new international study.
Women with the breast cancer genetic mutations BRCA1 or BRCA2 are at least 10 times more likely to develop breast cancer than the average. The new study found that women who do not have a genetic mutation, but are closely related to women who do have genetic mutations are at an average risk of developing the disease.
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-679
Prof John Hopper, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne
Obese people may regain weight after dieting due to hormonal changes, a new Australian study has shown.
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-674
Prof Jo Proietto, University of Melbourne and Austin Health
New England Journal of Medicine
Researchers at the University of Melbourne have proven that a modified shoe can reduce knee load in people with knee osteoarthritis.
Prof Kim Bennell, Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine, University of Melbourne
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-669
Young people at risk of depression are more likely to listen habitually and repetitively to heavy metal music.
Dr Katrina McFerran, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-666
Scientists have identified the genetic blueprint of the giant intestinal roundworm, Ascaris suum, revealing potential targets to control the devastating parasitic disease, ascariasis which affects more than one billion people in China, South East Asia, South America and parts of Africa, killing thousands of people annually and causing chronic effects in young children.
Dr Aaron Jex and Prof Robin Gasser, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne
Nature, http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-672
