This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about surreptitious sleep; feeding hummingbirds; why bats don’t like the rain; and more. [continue reading…]

This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about arsenic-eating microbes; vegetarian pandas; frog pee; the swine flu wash-up; and more [continue reading…]

This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about ditching fingers for bean bags; evolving to beat climate change; the downside of space tourism; running before breakfast; and more…

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People with diabetes invited to participate in trial

Media release: Geelong, Friday 23 April 2010

Modern drugs can stabilise adult onset diabetes but with some serious side effects. A Geelong-based company, Verva Pharmaceuticals, has a new approach – a drug used for many years to treat eye disease. In animal testing, the drug restored sensitivity to insulin. But will it be effective and safe in people? [continue reading…]

Marking International Women’s Day, five of the world’s women leaders in science each received the $US100,000 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Awards For Women in Science at a ceremony in Paris. [continue reading…]

In this bulletin

• – The 2009 international FWIS laureates announced
• – Update on Australian Fellows – Gouldian finches, black holes and more
• – French Fellow studying at QIMR
• – Plans for the Australian Fellowships in 2009 [continue reading…]

In this bulletin

• – The 2009 international FWIS laureates announced
• – Update on Australian Fellows – Gouldian finches, black holes and more
• – French Fellow studying at QIMR
• – Plans for the Australian Fellowships in 2009 [continue reading…]

Ian Frazer

Follow this link to Ian Frazer’s acceptance speech: http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=16238

Ian Frazer has created four vaccines to fight cervical cancer. Two of them-Gardasil and Cervarix-are now on the market. Both prevent infection with the virus responsible for most cervical cancers. The other two vaccines are in clinical trials and are designed to treat women who have already been infected.

And Ian isn’t finished-he’s already working on the next generation of cervical cancer vaccines. But his greatest challenge is to get the vaccines to where they can do most good, in developing countries where screening programs are not widely available and 200,000 women die every year from cervical cancer.

Only then will his battle against cervical cancer be complete.

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Jamie Rossjohn

Proteins are the molecular machines of all life. Their shape is the key to understanding how they function, or malfunction. We can use this knowledge to understand the natural world, and to guide the development of tests, vaccines and drugs to fight disease.

Jamie Rossjohn is one of Australia’s leaders in structural biology and X-ray crystallography, a burgeoning field of science built around understanding the shape and function of proteins and other biological molecules. [continue reading…]