Archived News for Research Sector Professionals
An international research project to eliminate dengue fever has reported successful results from a field trial in which 150,000 mosquitoes infected with a bacterium called Wolbachia that prevents the dengue virus from growing in the insect were released into two suburbs in Cairns.
The field trial involved releasing Wolbachia mosquitoes every week for 10 weeks. Five weeks after the final release researchers found that 100 per cent of the mosquitoes at one site carried Wolbachia and 90 per cent at the other.
Superdense aluminum discovered
An international team of researchers, including Australians, has pioneered a new method of producing superdense aluminum by simulating the conditions found at the centre of the Earth. The superdense aluminum is around 40 per cent stronger and denser than the conventional counterpart.
Call for comment on review of research income impacts
The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research has called for responses to a consultation paper it released on its 2011 Review of HERDC Category 3 Income.
SIEF research endowments announced
Nine outstanding Australian researchers have been awarded John Stocker Postdoctoral Fellowships and Postgraduate Scholarships that will allow them to continue to conduct advanced research in their respective areas.
Thermopower research advances
Researchers at RMIT University have explored how thermopower waves in thermoelectric materials can convert heat in solid fuels into electrical energy.
Guideline to streamline health professional's access to research
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has introduced its new Standard for Clinical Practice Guidelines to streamline health professional’s access to diagnostic information and treatment.
VisLab to extend reach of Victorian researchers
A new Visualisation Laboratory (VisLab) has been launched at La Trobe University in Victoria, providing sophisticated visualisation technology that will allow researchers to run experiments remotely.
VisLab will link to the Australian Synchrotron and other local and international facilities, including those with existing La Trobe remote stations. It will link to analytical equipment at Berlin's BESSY Synchrotron, the Canadian Light Source at Saskatoon and Chicago's Argonne Advanced Photon Source machine. Within VisLab from their remote location, researchers are able to drive the instrument and perform experiments themselves. Alternately they can collaborate in real time with another team of researchers present at the instrument
VisLab also doubles as a classroom, promoting and teaching science and technology to high-school and university students.
VisLab was funded through the Victorian Government’s Victorian eResearch Strategic Initiative (VeRSI). New funding of $2 million for the initiative has allowed VeRSI's membership to expand to include all of Victoria's eight universities, as well as the Australian Synchrotron and the Victorian Government Department for Primary Industries.
VisLab is a collaboration between the La Trobe eResearch Office, the Centre for Materials and Surface Science at La Trobe University and VeRSI.
New Forensic DNA Laboratory for South Australia
A new Forensic DNA Laboratory dedicated to forensic DNA research has been opened at Flinders University in South Australia.
Victoria fails to monitor biotech spending: Auditor-General
The Victorian Auditor-General, Des Pearson, has release a report into public sector investment in biotechnology in Victoria, finding that the state government had spent more than $722 million to support the biotechnology industry over the last decade without adequate performance data on whether strategic aims had been met.
New US Solar Power Research Centre to be established
Arizona State University (ASU) will spearhead a new Engineering Research Center (ERC) aimed at creating high-efficiency solar technologies and manufacturing methods to increase solar energy uptake.
Conference to investigate new health research funding models
Senior medical researchers and those responsible for sourcing private medical funding will meet later this month with community and business leaders to discuss new ways for health and medical research to be funded.
Go8 opens European Fellowships
The Group of Eight (Go8) has opened applications for its 2012 European Fellowships that will be open to early career researchers from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia, and, for the first time in the program’s history, Russia.
New centre to explore biomass production and use
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls has been launched at the Waite Campus of the University of Adelaide.
Research into wastewater heat conversion
The University of Newcastle and Hunter Water have announced a series of wastewater research initiatives under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Report finds universities struggle for commercial benefit from research
A report on university commerciallisation in Australia has found that university commercialisation activities are mostly an exercise in cost recovery with insufficient deal flow to support large Technology Transfer Offices.
Go8 research leaders to exchange ideas with China Nine Research Universities
The Group of Eight (Go8) has called for applications under the new research leadership executive shadowing program between the Go8 and Consortium of China Nine Research Universities (C9).
Conference to investigate new health research funding models
Senior medical researchers and those responsible for sourcing private medical funding will meet later this month with community and business leaders to discuss new ways for health and medical research to be funded.
Call for applications for Australia-India Strategic Research Fund
The Australian Government has called for applications under Round Six of the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, which provides support to Australian and Indian scientists for the conduct of joint research projects and workshops in specified research areas.
Eighteen Australian universities make top 500 list
Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University has published its annual Academic Ranking of World Universities (AWRU), finding that American and British universities continue to dominate global rankings of tertiary education quality.
Arctic melt could pause
The American National Science Foundation (NSF) has published research that indicates that Artic sea ice melt could temporarily stabilize or expand at times over the next few decades.
ANU light research turns a corner
ANU scientists have successfully bent light beams around an object on a two dimensional metal surface, opening the door to faster and cheaper computer chips working with light.