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Science In Public

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Beatrix Potter, pioneering scientist; using whales and fish to trace emerging viruses; travelling back in time; and uniting women in earth and environmental sciences

Female scientists have played a critical role in many scientific discoveries throughout history, but their contributions have often been overlooked.

Ahead of International Women’s Day this Thursday, Macquarie University scientists are celebrating the work of forgotten women of science through history; explaining how their work today is changing the world; and making the case for why women in earth and environmental sciences need to stand together.

  • Lesley Hughes researches the impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems. Now she’s celebrating the work of Beatrix Potter and other pioneering but forgotten women of science, through the exhibition Hidden Figures of STEMM.
  • Evolutionary biologist Jemma Geoghegan is using whales and fish to better understand how new viruses emerge.
  • Kira Westaway uses glowing grains of sand to travel back in time. Her work has transformed our understanding of human evolution.
  • Volcanologist Heather Handley’s research into volcanoes in the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ is improving our understanding of volcanic hazards. She’s also the co-founder and chair of new network Women in Earth and Environmental Sciences Australasia (WOMESSA).

More on each of these stories  below.

[Read more…] about Beatrix Potter, pioneering scientist; using whales and fish to trace emerging viruses; travelling back in time; and uniting women in earth and environmental sciences

New rotavirus vaccine could benefit millions of children

A rotavirus vaccine that can be given days after birth has been developed by Australian and Indonesian researchers.

Rotavirus is the common cause  of severe diarrhoea and a killer of approximately 215,000 children under five globally each year.

The oral vaccine, called RV3-BB, was given in three single doses, the first within five days of birth. Until now, the vaccine against rotavirus was available in Australia and only on the private market in Indonesia, and could only be administered from six weeks of age.

After three doses of RV3-BB administered from birth:

  • 94 per cent of infants were protected in their first year of life against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis
  • 75 per cent of infants were protected to 18 months of age.

The success of the RV3-BB vaccine is the culmination of more than four decades of work, which started with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s Professor Ruth Bishop and the discovery of rotavirus in 1973.

The trial was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and PT BioFarma.

Read the full media release on the MCRI website.

Read an earlier story on the work in our Stories of Indonesia-Australia Innovation collection from 2016.

Physics in footy and Indigenous astronomy activities amongst National Science Week Grant recipients

Media release from Senator the Hon Zed Seselja, Assistant Minister for Science, Jobs and Innovation

Hospitals, art galleries and sports stadiums are amongst the more unusual locations set to come alive with science during this year’s National Science Week, thanks to over $600,000 in Australian Government grants announced today.

The 2018 National Science Week Grants will provide funding for science engagement activities, events, and competitions to take place during Australia’s largest celebration of science this August.

Assistant Minister for Science, Jobs and Innovation Zed Seselja today congratulated the 45 grant recipients, welcoming the diversity of projects to be funded.

“This year’s grants recipients have exhibited tremendous creativity in developing such an exciting range of activities to engage people of all walks of life and in all corners of Australia with science,” Senator Seselja said.

“NASA scientists are headed to Australia to celebrate the end of Kepler and Cassini, in a series of events where audiences can hear about what we learnt from the Cassini spacecraft’s 13 years with Saturn and the hundreds of planets discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope.

[Read more…] about Physics in footy and Indigenous astronomy activities amongst National Science Week Grant recipients

World’s largest-ever ape; more efficient aircraft; and why having more women in science matters

Science needs more women and four Macquarie scientists can tell you why ahead of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science this Sunday.

  • Professor Barbara Messerle is a research chemist and leads a team of 360 academic staff and 6,400 students as the Executive Dean of Macquarie University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering.
  • Dr Shari Gallop was surprised by the level of gender inequality she encountered at the start of her academic career, so she co-founded the network to do something about it.
  • Associate Professor Kira Westaway is leading a team to hunt in China for fossils from Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest ever ape to walk the planet.
  • Dr Sophie Calabretto is developing the maths that will help designers build more efficient aircraft and climate scientists develop the next generation of global climate models – and she’s worried about the declining number of girls studying maths.

More on each of these scientists below.

[Read more…] about World’s largest-ever ape; more efficient aircraft; and why having more women in science matters

Fighting the rise of non-communicable diseases starts with children and adolescents

Indonesia and Australia’s rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is being tackled with a suite of projects designed to bring attention to risk factors early in life and improve overall health.

The work, which is supported by The Australia-Indonesia Centre, focuses on three areas: tobacco use, mental health and improving communication between healthcare providers and young people.

Funding for nine projects in Indonesia comes from The Australia-Indonesia Centre’s Health Cluster, with the aim of building healthier, more empowered communities for generations to come.

NCDs such as diabetes, cancers, cardiovascular disease and mental disorders are the world’s leading cause of morbidity and mortality in adults. Prevention is a critical part of reducing this burden.

[Read more…] about Fighting the rise of non-communicable diseases starts with children and adolescents

2017 CSL Florey Medal – photos from the award night

The Hon Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health presents Professor Elizabeth Rakoczy with her medal (Photo credit: AAMRI/Brad Cummings Photography)
Elizabeth Rakoczy in conversation with Bernie Hobbs. Photographed at the AAMRI dinner event in the Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra. 6 December 2017. (Photo credit: AAMRI/Brad Cummings Photography)
Elizabeth Rakoczy in conversation with Bernie Hobbs. Photographed at the AAMRI dinner event in the Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra. 6 December 2017. (Photo credit: AAMRI/Brad Cummings Photography)

Using viruses to restore sight – 2017 CSL Florey Medal winner profile

Professor Elizabeth Rakoczy, the University of Western Australia

Molecular ophthalmologist developing new treatments for eye diseases wins $50,000 CSL Florey Medal for lifetime achievement

 

Professor Elizabeth Rakoczy is modifying viruses to use their powers for good. She’s created a new gene therapy for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that is reversing vision loss in clinical trial patients. Her treatment means one injection instead of several per year.

Modified viruses are gene therapy’s delivery vehicles, taking genes directly into cells. Elizabeth first showed that they could carry a healthy replacement for a mutated gene that causes degeneration of the eye’s retina. She then showed they can deliver instructions for eye cells to form a bio-factory to produce their own treatment for wet AMD, a more complex eye disease. [Read more…] about Using viruses to restore sight – 2017 CSL Florey Medal winner profile

Improving rail safety in Indonesia and Australia

The sweet spot for rail repair vs efficiency

Computer models to predict how railcars will respond to different track conditions are being developed by Indonesian and Australian researchers, to improve rail safety and efficiency in both countries.

They’ve already created a successful model for passenger carriages, which has been validated against the performance of trains in Indonesia. Now the researchers are working on models for freight trains.

“For railways, it’s standard practice to measure the conditions of the track periodically,” says Dr Nithurshan Nadarajah, a research engineer at the Institute of Railway Technology at Monash University.

[Read more…] about Improving rail safety in Indonesia and Australia