Researchers discover how whooping cough is evolving paving the way to a new
vaccine.
Laurence Luu, The University of New South Wales
Whooping cough strains are adapting to better infect
humans, a team of Sydney researchers has found.
The scientists, led by microbiologist Dr Laurence Luu of the University
of New South Wales, may have solved the mystery of why, despite
widespread vaccinations, the respiratory disease has been resurgent in
Australia across the past decade. There have been more than 200,000 cases
recorded during the period.
We can’t easily monitor the health
of plants, by the time we see that they’re sick it’s usually too late to save
that. That’s an issue for your house plants, a field of wheat, orchards and
plantations.
Karina Khambatta has developed a
way to use the waxy surface of leaves to monitor their health.
Climbing trees reveals a housing shortage for tree-rats and other endangered animals.
Cara Penton, Charles Darwin University
Estimates of tree hollows – which form the houses of
several endangered species in northern Australia – are much too high,
researchers at Charles Darwin University in the Northern Territory have found.
And the discovery could be bad news for several of
Australia’s most vulnerable species, including the Black-Footed Tree-Rat (Mesembriomys gouldii) and Brush Tailed Rabbit-Rat (Conilurus penicillatus).
An “Expansion-Tolerant” Architecture offers stability to ultra-high capacity Lithium-Sulfur battery
Mahdokht Shaibani, Monash University
A lithium sulfur battery that has four times the capacity than existing electric car batteries has been built and tested by researchers at Monash University, revealed in a paper published in Science Advances.
This would allow you to drive Melbourne to Sydney with
just one charge – driving the coastal route. A current edition prius would
require to stop in Albury-Wodonga to recharge.
Maths model
helps rangers protect national parks, despite tight budgets.
David Arnold, Macquarie University
Mathematics can help reduce poaching and illegal logging in national parks, researchers have found.
A
team of applied mathematicians including Macquarie University’s David Arnold
has developed an algorithm that predicts which areas inside park boundaries
offer the greatest possibilities for criminals – and how rangers can most
efficiently combat them.
Researchers
close in on an objective measure for physical distress.
Lindsay Parker, Macquarie University
A new microscope-based method for detecting a particular molecule in the spinal cord could help lead to an accurate and independent universal pain scale, research from Australia’s Macquarie University suggests.
An accurate way of
measuring pain is of critical importance because at present degrees of
discomfort are generally assessed by asking a patient to estimate pain on a
one-to-10 scale. The situation is even more acute in the treatment of babies,
the very old and animals, where speech is absent.
New tech means cars can power houses, as well as the other way round.
Seyedfoad Taghizadeh, Macquarie University
A
new device turns electric vehicles into chargers for houses and stranded cars.
Researchers
led by Seyedfoad Taghizadeh from Australia’s Macquarie University are looking
to commercialise the technology, which may significantly increase the appeal of
the vehicles.
Cognition is influenced by siblings, researchers find.
Autistic children with autistic siblings have better
cognition than those who are the only family member with the condition, researchers
have found.
Importantly, the outcome does not depend on birth order.
Although previous studies have identified that having
autistic siblings leads to better cognition for individual children with the
condition, it was assumed that the order in which the children were born was a
significant factor.
Adelaide researchers find how a bacteria digests a sugar can be key to new treatments
Vikrant Minhas, University of Adelaide
The severity of a common and often lethal type of bacteria
depends on its ability to process a type of sugar, research from the University
of Adelaide reveals.
Streptococcus pneumoniae causes diseases of the
lungs, blood, ear and brain, killing an estimated one million people every
year. Moreover S. pneumoniae causes
otitis media (infection of the middle ear), which devastates Aboriginal
populations. It also rapidly develops resistance to antibiotics, making it
challenging to treat.
