An accidental discovery by Melbourne researchers has revealed the purpose of ‘mystery’ immune cells in the gut, shown how our immune system interacts with the complex bacteria ecology found there, and opened new paths for drug discovery.
T cell activation by transitory antigens. Credit: Jeffrey Mak, University of Queensland
Our guts, lungs and mouths are lined with mysterious immune cells that make up to 10 per cent of the T cells in our immune system. These immune cells, known as mucosal-associated invariant T cells (MAITs), detect reactive intermediates in the synthesis of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) that is made by many invasive bacteria and fungi.
Feeding livestock on native plants is the key to sustainable profits for Australian farmers, researchers have found.
Photo: Native bushes such as saltbush provide much better food for grazing sheep than previously thought. Credit: Melburnian, Wikimedia, GNU Free Documentation Licence
Dengue fever is on the march and threatening the growing populations of Asia and even northern Australia. But a ‘vaccine’ for mosquitoes could stop it in its tracks.
Photo: A new ‘vaccine’ could stop mosquitos spreading dengue fever. Credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim, Wikimedia, GNU Free Documentation Licence
A team of researchers from Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns and Brazil has found a bacterium, Wolbachia, in fruit flies, which could stop mosquitoes from spreading dengue.
Children with a deadly muscle-wasting disease are regaining the ability to walk and potentially avoiding life-threatening complications, thanks to a new treatment developed by researchers at Perth’s Murdoch University.
Photo: Steve Wilton and Sue Fletcher’s drug therapy is helping children who suffer from Duchenne muscular dystrophy stay active. Credit: Murdoch University
Dingoes play a vital role in reducing damage caused by kangaroos, foxes and feral cats, according to University of Tasmania’s Chris Johnson and his colleagues.
If your pepper mill wears out, it’s annoying. But for mines it’s disastrous when their grinders can no longer smash rocks, often costing them $100,000 an hour in downtime.
Photo: Scanalyse/Outotec won the Eureka Prize for Commercialisation of Innovation for their innovative laser scanning technology that measures wear and tear in key mining equipment. Credit: ScienceNetworkWA/Eureka Winners via YouTube
Now, a three-dimensional laser system, which takes 10 million measurements in 30 minutes, can take over the dangerous work of manually evaluating mining machinery conditions.
Now you can map a mine, cave, building or forest just by walking through it with Zebedee in your hand.
A 3D laser scan by Zebedee of the wreck of the HMQS Gayundah, at Redcliffe, Queensland. Credit: CSIRO
CSIRO scientist Elliot Duff and his colleagues developed a spring-mounted hand-held laser scanner that can make 3D images of spaces previously impossible to map.
A stunning shot of a male weedy sea dragon incubating eggs has earned amateur photographer Richard Wylie, from Safety Beach in Victoria, the 2013 Australian Museum New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography.
From keeping Australian troops safe from explosions, to ensuring military vehicles can maintain flexibility on damaged roads, the Armour Applications Program of the Defence Materials Technology Centre has pioneered high-performance materials.
Bushmaster army vehicles are keeping Australian troops safe. Credit: Australian Defence Department
A University of Melbourne team has developed a device that uses nanoscale diamonds to measure the magnetic fields from a living cell’s atoms and molecules, with resolution a million times greater than current magnetic resonance imaging.
