French–Australian scientific projects announced

Investigating the formation of haze in white wine, finding new ways to make an image of the earth's interior, improving the taste of beef and better understanding rheumatoid arthritis are just some of the projects to benefit from over $230,000 in funding under the 2008 round of the French–Australian Science and Technology (FAST) Program.

When announcing the funding, Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, said that the 14 French–Australian partnerships had the potential to harness scientific breakthroughs in a wide array of areas.

"I am delighted to announce a number of fantastic projects, between two research strong countries, that I am sure will yield equally impressive results," Senator Carr said.

"As always, there are some particularly smart collaborations, such as research into white wine by two of the best wine-producing countries in the world.

"Or research into further understanding rheumatoid arthritis: a crippling auto-immune condition that has no current cure, and which affects over 200,000 Australians."

The Australian government recently signed a renewed memorandum of understanding with the French government that reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening scientific and technological collaboration between the two countries.

Other FAST projects will facilitate important research into new-generation energy storage; mapping genetic variation caused by environmental change; improving the quality of canola; and modelling the economic impacts of climate change on energy supply.

More information on the FAST Program is available.