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.
Hunting supernovae and dark energy, Finding the first Australians, What it takes to make a human
Where did we come from; how are we made; and how will it all end?
These fundamental questions are being tackled by the 2009 L’Oréal Australia For Women in Science Fellows who received their Fellowship from Mark Tucker, CEO of L’Oréal Australia, at a ceremony at L’Oréal’s Australian head office in Melbourne on Tuesday 25 August.
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? [Read more…] about How did we get here?
Could your hair colour determine your child’s sex?
In Gouldian finches the answer is yes-according to an Australian paper published in the journal Science today. The paper challenges our view of sex determination in animals.
[Read more…] about Could your hair colour determine your child’s sex?
Could your hair colour determine your child's sex?
In Gouldian finches the answer is yes-according to an Australian paper published in the journal Science today. The paper challenges our view of sex determination in animals.
[Read more…] about Could your hair colour determine your child's sex?
Celebrate International Women’s Day with Australian women scientists
Marking International Women’s Day, five of the world’s women leaders in science each received the $US100,000 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Awards For Women in Science at a ceremony in Paris. [Read more…] about Celebrate International Women’s Day with Australian women scientists