NSW

Computing with a single electron – background

Background information about the ‘single electron reader’ invention as published in Nature

Australian engineers and physicists have developed a ‘single electron reader’, one of the key building blocks needed to make a quantum computer. Their work was published online by Nature on Monday 27 September.
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2010 award ceremony photos

The three L’Oréal Australia For Women In Science Fellows received their awards on Tuesday night at the Melbourne Museum. Here are some photos from the night. All the images are available for use in the context of the L’Oréal Australia For Women In Science Fellowships and should be credited to SDP Photo. To view the […]

2010 Fellows announced

How does breast cancer start? Capturing and releasing gases with smart crystals? Giving malaria a kick in the gut L’Oréal Australia For Women in Science Fellows announced The 2010 L’Oréal Australia For Women in Science Fellows are (click on links to see full citation, videos and photos): Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of […]

Mopping up gases

Deanna D’Alessandro University of Sydney A sponge that filters hot air and captures carbon dioxide We need better ways of capturing carbon dioxide emissions from power stations and industry. And we won’t be using hydrogen cars until we’ve developed practical ways of carrying enough hydrogen gas in the fuel tank. Deanna D’Alessandro’s understanding of basic […]

Aussie lizard reveals cancer secrets

A compound produced by a pregnant lizard may provide important information on the origins and treatment of cancer in humans, according to zoologist Bridget Murphy from the University of Sydney, who discovered the protein, which is pivotal to the development of the lizard placenta.

“Our egg-laying ancestors probably never got cancer, but things changed when we started having live young. Embryos need an extensive network of blood vessels to allow them to grow. So do tumours.  I found that the three-toed skink, which gives birth to live young, uses a particularly powerful protein to encourage the growth of blood vessels. The only other place where this protein has been found is in pre-cancerous cells grown in the laboratory,” she says.

The placenta of the three toed skink is highly vascular (photo: Bridget Murphy)

Future research on unlocking the secrets of how the protein works might well provide the basis of new therapies for cancer, and to promote wound healing or the regeneration of blood vessels in patients with heart disease. Bridget’s work is being presented for the first time in public through Fresh Science, a communication boot camp for early career scientists held at the Melbourne Museum. She was one of 16 winners from across Australia.

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L’Oréal Australia Fellowships in 2010

Applications for the 2010 L’Oréal Australia For Women In Science Fellowships have now closed. Below is the April bulletin for 2010. We’re pleased to include progress reports on our 2009 Fellows. As you will read, their work spans the full extent of space and time—from Marnie’s studies on how genes are controlled, through Tamara’s exploration […]

L’Oréal For Women In Science November 2009 Bulletin

In this bulletin:

2010 Laureates announced
Two former Laureates win Nobel Prizes in Medicine and Chemistry
Prime Minister recognises L’Oréal Fellow with physical sciences prize
Updates from our 2007 and 2008 Australian Fellows – Tara Telescope in business, and more
Applying for Australian Fellowships for 2010

International Laureates announced
The winners of the 2010 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Awards were announced on 14 October 2009.
The […]

How did we get here?

Zenobia Jacobs

University of Wollongong

Zenobia Jacobs wants to know where we came from, and how we got here. When did our distant ancestors leave Africa and spread across the world? Why? And when was Australia first settled? [continue reading…]