Most people remember their first kiss but Victorian scientists have discovered that your first hug is much further back than you think.
The arm-like filopodia ‘hug’ the embryo’s cells, squeezing them into shape. Credit: EMBL Australia
Nicolas Plachta and his team at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute have discovered that embryos, when only eight cells in size, develop arm-like structures that ‘hug’ the cells into shape, helping to determine an embryo’s ultimate success.
The study, which was published in the journal Nature Cell Biology, used live imaging and fluorescent markers to capture the action in mouse embryos.
A Melbourne scientist is harvesting the memory found in reprogrammed adult cells to develop cell therapy techniques that have the potential to cure a number of diseases.
iPS cells expressing a green fluorescent protein indicating the reactivation of the Oct4 pluripotent gene. Credit: Jose Polo
Jose Polo, of Monash University, has found that induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells don’t lose all their memory after reprogramming, flagging the possibility that a better understanding of these stem cells will aid regenerative medicine.
“Basically an iPS cell derived from muscle is more likely to reprogram back into muscle cells, while iPS cells derived from skin will generate skin cells,” says Jose. “And this could influence what type of iPS cell you might choose to generate a specific cell type.”
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.
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
Photo: Alan Cowman’s research may lead to a vaccine against the malaria parasite, which is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Dept Health and Human Services
A vaccine is the holy grail of malaria control. Alan Cowman, of Melbourne’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, has discovered proteins that are key to the malaria parasite’s virulence, and therefore a potential vaccine target. He’s been able to weaken live parasites by manipulating their genes. It’s the culmination of over 20 years’ research into malaria and won Alan a $50,000 Victoria Prize.
Photo: Alan Cowman’s research may lead to a vaccine against the malaria parasite, which is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito.
A fibre may help save millions of children in developing countries who die or who are left malnourished from diarrhoea each year.
Resistant starch in the diet may protect millions of children in developing countries from diarrhoea.
Graeme Young, AM, of Flinders University, is leading a global project that will test his theory that resistant starch increases zinc absorption in the body.
Advanced medical imaging has allowed Tasmanian scientists to trial new therapies for osteoarthritis and to potentially delay the need for joint-replacement surgery.
Photo: Hip replacement surgery may not be needed with Graeme Jones’s new therapy for osteoarthritis. Credit: NIADDK, 9AO4 (Connie Raab-contact); NIH
Graeme Jones and his team from the Menzies Research Institute used dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to see what was happening to a joint’s internal structure as osteoarthritis developed, allowing them to spot changes long before a conventional X-ray could.
The 2013 ATSE Clunies Ross Award Winners follow in the footsteps of past winners such as Ian Frazer, inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine; Nobel laureate Barry Marshall, who discovered the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers; Fiona Wood, inventor of spray-on skin; and Martin Green and Stuart Wenham, international leaders in silicon cell technology.
Australia’s Anzac frigates are being upgraded with Ian Croser’s radar technology to defend themselves against missiles. Credit: Australian Defence Department
Photo: Wouter Schellart’s geodynamics research into the activity of the Earth’s mantle, including the Mt Etna volcano, earned him the AAS Anton Hales medal for Earth Sciences. Credit: NASA
The Australian Academy of Science recognised five individuals for their career achievements in 2013.
The search for dark matter was kicked off by Ken Freeman’s discovery that there wasn’t enough matter to hold spiral galaxies like ours together. Continue reading Academy recognition→
Hundreds of Aussie science achievements that you can share in speeches, posts and publications
