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Science In Public

Science writers, communicators, media, training, and public relations

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Using stem cells to give sight – Anai Gonzalez-Cordero

Dr Anai Gonzalez-Cordero. Credit: Children’s Medical Research Institute

Dr Anai Gonzalez-Cordero research aims to restore sight in people with inherited retinal diseases, by repairing or replacing damaged photoreceptor (light-sensing) cells in the eye.  

She has already shown that she can grow cultures of healthy photoreceptor cells in a dish in the lab and then use the cells replace the defective cells and restore sight in laboratory models of hereditary blindness. And she has shown that gene therapy can repair diseased human retinal cells grown in the lab as ‘mini-organs’ (or ‘organoids’), providing them with normal light-sensing ability. 

Her $55,000 Metcalf Prize will contribute to developing systems to progress both concepts towards clinical trials. She is based at Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) in Western Sydney.  

[Read more…] about Using stem cells to give sight – Anai Gonzalez-Cordero

Controlling rogue blood stem cells – Ashley Ng

Dr Ashley Ng seeing a patient. Credit: WEHI.

Dr Ashley Ng is revealing how blood stem cells are controlled, and how they sometime go rogue, leading to blood cancers. He has discovered how a protein known as ‘ERG’ underpins healthy development of blood cells, and how it also plays a role in Down syndrome-associated leukaemia and a range of other blood cancers.

As a researcher at WEHI and a clinician at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter Mac, Ashley will use his $55,000 Metcalf Prize to advance his ideas from the laboratory into treatments for blood and blood cancer diseases.

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National action needed to fast-track life-saving discoveries and to ensure that all healthcare is evidence based

  • Cancer survival rates, COVID response and rapid vaccine development show how research can rapidly transform healthcare outcomes
  • But Australia is not currently translating the findings of research efficiently into benefits for patients because of fragmentation within the health system and between health, academia and industry.
  • Report reveals how integrating routine clinical care with generation of evidence represents our best pathway to deliver better patient experiences, improve patient outcomes, and increase staff satisfaction.
[Read more…] about National action needed to fast-track life-saving discoveries and to ensure that all healthcare is evidence based

Spin flips show how galaxies grow from the cosmic web

The alignment between galaxy spins and the large-scale structure of the universe reveals the processes by which different components of galaxies form.

Like our own Milky Way, most galaxies have two components: an extended disk in which new stars form from gas and a central bulge of mostly older stars that grows over time.

An observational study recently published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society found that the size of the galaxies’ bulge changes how their spins align with the surrounding structure.

[Read more…] about Spin flips show how galaxies grow from the cosmic web

Dozens of newly discovered gravitational lenses could reveal ancient galaxies and the nature of dark matter

Thousands more potential lenses await assessment

Earlier this year a machine learning algorithm identified up to 5,000 potential gravitational lenses that could transform our ability to chart the evolution of galaxies since the Big Bang.

Now astronomer Kim-Vy Tran from ASTRO 3D and UNSW Sydney and colleagues have assessed 77 of the lenses using the Keck Observatory in Hawai’i and Very Large Telescope in Chile. She and her international team confirmed that 68 out of the 77 are strong gravitational lenses spanning vast cosmic distances.

[Read more…] about Dozens of newly discovered gravitational lenses could reveal ancient galaxies and the nature of dark matter

How do collisions of rocks with planets help the planets evolve?

Brisbane

Planetary scientist Katarina Miljkovic is available to discuss the nature of planets in Brisbane this week. She will give free public talks on Thursday 29 September and Friday 30 September. It’s part of a national tour of public and school talks promoting opportunities for women in physics.

The planets in our solar system are vastly different although they all formed from the same cloud of gas and dust around a star – our sun. Why is this?

Associate Professor Katarina Miljkovic thinks the answers lie in studying how asteroids, comets and meteors bombarded the planets in the past, changing the surface conditions.

She works at Curtin University’s Space Science and Technology Centre and School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and uses data from several NASA missions.

[Read more…] about How do collisions of rocks with planets help the planets evolve?

How do collisions of rocks with planets help the planets evolve?

Newcastle

Planetary scientist Katarina Miljkovic is available to discuss the nature of planets in Newcastle this week. She will give a free public talk on Wednesday 28 September. It’s part of a national tour of public and school talks promoting opportunities for women in physics.

The planets in our solar system are vastly different although they all formed from the same cloud of gas and dust around a star – our sun. Why is this?

Associate Professor Katarina Miljkovic thinks the answers lie in studying how asteroids, comets and meteors bombarded the planets in the past, changing the surface conditions.

She works at Curtin University’s Space Science and Technology Centre and School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and uses data from several NASA missions.

[Read more…] about How do collisions of rocks with planets help the planets evolve?

Minister Bowen speaking from 7:30 am: Wednesday at the Better Futures Forum at UNSW Canberra

BETTER FUTURES FORUM Wednesday 7 September

Minister Bowen will speak to the Better Futures Forum at breakfast, 7.30 to 8.30 am, at the Adams Auditorium, UNSW Canberra, Wednesday 7 September 2022.

Media invited onsite for breakfast. Minister Bowen’s speech will be streamed in the morning session starting 9AM.

[Read more…] about Minister Bowen speaking from 7:30 am: Wednesday at the Better Futures Forum at UNSW Canberra