Lorne conference season 2014
The seaside town of Lorne, less than two hours' drive from Melbourne, will soon host its traditional series of life sciences conferences. The Mantra Lorne offers beachfront accommodation surrounded by 12 acres of landscaped gardens, making it an ideal setting for the two-week conference series. Read more »
Liver cells under the microscope
The purpose of the University of Queensland's Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis (CMM), located at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), is to promote, support and initiate research and teaching in the applications of microscopy and microanalysis. Appropriately, the centre is now home to Australia's first in-situ sectioning electron microscope. Read more »
An online resource for tracking gene patents
Researchers have stated that overworked patent offices are struggling to keep up with the rapid explosion in information and technology that genetic sequences represent, while the public at large is kept in the dark about gene patenting practices. It is hoped that a free online resource will bring some transparency to an otherwise opaque system. Read more »
Oldest known human DNA found
Researchers investigating the Sima de los Huesos ('pit of bones'), an underground cave in the Sierra de Atapuerca in northern Spain, have extracted and analysed mtDNA from the femur of a 400,000-year-old hominin, an ancient human. DNA this old had until recently been retrieved only from the permafrost. Read more »
Australian Innovation Challenge 2013 winners announced
Eight of the country's best innovators were recognised last week in the third annual The Australian Innovation Challenge. The challenge is run by The Australian in partnership with Shell Australia with support from the Department of Industry and Innovation Australia. Read more »
Gravitational waves provide new way of studying the universe
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that it will create an observatory in space to detect ripples in the fabric of space-time, known as gravitational waves, which are created by celestial objects with very strong gravity, such as the merging of black holes. Researchers say this will expand the way in which they can observe the universe. Read more »
Why beer bubbles over or the physics of beer bottle foam-over
Finally, some important physics - researchers have worked out why if you tap the bottom of a newly opened beer bottle it froths up and foams everywhere. Read more »
Equip your lab for less - 3D print your equipment
With a 3D printer, open-source software and free digital designs, cash-strapped scientists can now fabricate their own lab equipment at a fraction of the cost. Read more »
Ancient viruses in modern humans
Researchers at Oxford and Plymouth Universities have discovered ancient viruses from Neanderthals in the DNA of modern humans. Their research was supported by the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council (MRC) and published in the journal Current Biology. Read more »
3.5 billion-year-old bacterial ecosystem found in WA
A team of researchers has discovered the well-preserved remnants of a complex microbial ecosystem in a nearly 3.5 billion-year-old sedimentary rock sequence in Western Australia. Read more »
NZ Prime Minister's Science Prizes awarded
The 2013 Prime Minister's Science Prizes were this week awarded at the Royal Society of New Zealand in Wellington. With a total of $1 million in prize money, the awards aim to highlight the contribution science makes to New Zealand's economy. Read more »
Ants can change their priorities while househunting
All animals have to make decisions every day - often as a group to help their survival. Researchers from Arizona State University, hoping to understand how the collective decision-making process arises out of individually ignorant ants, have conducted an experiment which found that the creatures can change their decision-making strategies based on experience. Read more »
There was more than one winner at the Prime Minister's Prize for Sciences night
From mathematics and statistics, through electronics, quantum computing and defeating zombie ideas in ecology, to inspirational primary and high school teaching, this year's winners of the Prime Minister's Prize for Sciences show the depth of talent in the Australian science scene. Read more »
Non-invasive blood sugar monitoring
A team of German researchers has devised a novel, non-invasive way to make monitoring of blood glucose easier. Read more »
Golden gumleaves reveal hidden mineral deposits
CSIRO scientists have discovered that eucalyptus trees in Western Australia's Kalgoorlie are drawing up gold particles from the earth via their root system and depositing it in their leaves and branches. Their findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications. Read more »
Enhancing DNA and oligonucleotide sample preparation
When sourcing a concentration method for their microtitre plates containing oligonucleotides (oligos), researchers at high-throughput genome analysis centres must take care to choose an evaporator system that will not only provide fast drying, but also take good care of their samples. Read more »
Scorpions and spectrometers to improve cancer surgery
Scorpions could hold the secret to better cancer treatment, according to researchers from the Queensland Tropical Health Alliance (QTHA). The alliance recently acquired a $1.2 million nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer and facility to investigate the structure of promising molecules, some of which are found in scorpion venom. Read more »
Measuring age of human tissues reveals breast tissue ages faster than the rest of the body
A biological clock embedded in our genomes may shed light on why our bodies age and how we can slow the process. Read more »
Technological breakthrough for skin regeneration
Researchers have demonstrated new multimodal optical microscopy technology which, when coupled with advanced image co-registration algorithms, can account for soft-tissue deformations that may occur over the timecourse of weeks and months. Read more »
New imaging system uses unconventional way of focusing light
For hundreds of years, optical devices like microscopes and telescopes have relied on solid lenses that slide up and down to magnify and to focus. In pursuit of ever-smaller imaging systems, researchers are now working to create entirely unconventional ways of focusing light. Read more »
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