24 January, 2012
in Other
In his Australia Day address, noted brain surgeon Charlie Teo said he was ashamed to admit to an American friend, who had received a US$50 million grant in the US to study brain cancer, that he works with just AU$150,000 over three years from the Australian government.
Teo says we need another AIS – one for sport, one for science.
And he contrasts Australia’s mentorship of cricket legend Steve Waugh with our support for bright young scientists.
Here’s an extract of the sciencey bits of Teo’s Australia Day address.
A full transcript is in the Daily Telegraph – http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/australia-day-address-by-dr-charlie-teo/story-e6freuy9-1226251661625
Read the full article →
19 January, 2012
in Other
Nature paper reveals the genetic influence on our IQ as we age
Embargo 6 am AEST, Thursday 19 January 2012
Issued for the Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland.
Researchers from Brisbane, Edinburgh and Aberdeen have revisited about 2,000 people who had intelligence tests in 1932 or1947, and shown that genetic factors may account for about a quarter of the changes in intelligence over their lives.
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A 20 year old mystery was solved this week with the discovery that an epilepsy that affects infants is caused by the change of a single letter in one gene. Seizures in infancy are not rare, but this familial epilepsy occurs in probably 60 families across Australia. It can also cause a movement disorder later in life.
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From Marc Duldig, President of the Australian Institute of Physics
Happy New Year and welcome to my bulletin covering physics news and events for January 2012 and beyond.
In January, Korea’s first astronaut Soyeon Yi talks about her work on the International Space Station (ISS) in Canberra and Melbourne, David Awschalom discusses diamond computing in Melbourne, you have the opportunity to register for February’s scientists meet policy-makers day in Canberra and seminars get underway at many of the physics departments across Australia.
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A friendly sugar to fight diabetes; wires just four atoms wide; and debunking the “famous and dead at 27″ curse are just some of the interesting stories that emerged from Australian research published in the last week. Find other stories below.
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Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers, with the help of NICTA’s Victoria ICT Laboratory, are a step closer to being able to model the complexity of our immune system in a computer thanks to research published in Science today. This will be a critical tool in developing new vaccines and better therapies for autoimmune diseases.
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The Science in Public office reopens on 9 January. For anything urgent over the holiday please call Niall on 0417 131 977.
A new test for tracking the spread of breast cancer; Canberra astronomers may have calculated a sweet spot for Martian life; and a microscope that can watch living cells being infected are just some of the interesting stories that emerged from Australian research published in the last week. Find over a dozen other stories below.
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A new sugar that could prevent heart disease; an Alzheimer’s vaccine that cures the memory of mice; real Star Wars bacteria and robot aircraft that copy insects are just some of the interesting stories that emerged from Australian research published in the last week. Find over a dozen other stories below.
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Eggs that talk to each other, the stressed hearts of the broken-hearted and online chat fighting depression are just some of the interesting stories that emerged from Australian research published in the last week. Find over a dozen other stories below.
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From Marc Duldig, President of the Australian Institute of Physics
Welcome to my bulletin covering physics news and events for December 2011 and beyond.
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Tools once used just to diagnose human diseases are being used to save coral reefs; depression patients will be able to monitor their mental health using a computer and a bodybuilder’s health supplement could be the key to treating a life-threatening muscular dystrophy affecting hundreds of Australian children.
These are just some of the interesting stories that emerged from Australian research published in the last week. Find over a dozen other stories below.
Read the full article →
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about diabetes in pregnancy, X-ray body scanners, the language gene, those slippery neutrinos, and more…
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Young leaders from Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide awarded Menzies scholarships to study in US, UK, and Australia
The effect of diet on brain function; whether virtual reality can be used for rehabilitation of arm movements following traumatic brain injury; how chemotherapy damages nerves; and the role of engineering in sustainable development—these are just some of the issues being tackled by this year’s crop of Menzies scholars.
Five of the scholarships were presented on Thursday 24 November 2011 in Melbourne. Find hi-res images from the night here and background information here. Read the full article →
Below are photos of the five 2012 Menzies Scholars who received their award at a dinner on Thursday 24 November. Read the full article →
