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Buddhist singing bowls inspire solar cell design
Buddhist singing bowls resonate with sound and have inspired a Canberra scientist to create nano-bowls that do the same with light. Using these bowls in solar cells will increase their ability to capture more light and convert it into electricity.
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A ‘tango’ between light and mirrors
Francis Torres from The University of Western Australia has developed the mirror device at the heart of a new amplifier technology, which uses an interaction between a high-powered laser and mirror motion to magnify subtle metal, temperature and biological vibrations so they are more easily detected.
Pet abuse a warning for family abuse
Different forces on bones can tell a story—an animal’s skeleton keeps a distinct record that indicates the force applied to bones from past injuries, breaks or fractures.
Repairing the brain with its own stem cells
Kaylene Young believes she can persuade lazy stem cells in our brain to repair brain injuries and even treat diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s.
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Why are cells different?
Genes are not enough to explain the difference between a skin cell and a stem cell, a leaf cell and a root cell, or the complexity of the human brain. Genes don’t explain the subtle ways in which your parents’ environment before you were conceived might affect your offspring.
Another layer of complexity—the epigenome— is at work determining when and where genes are turned on and off.
Ryan Lister is unravelling this complexity. He’s created ways of mapping the millions of molecular markers of where genes have been switched on or off, has made the first maps of these markers in plants and humans, and has revealed key differences between the markers in cells with different fates.
Using Japanese to inspire students
Many teachers struggle to make science fun for their students. For a Canberra teacher, this means creating an environment where every student can see the impact of science in daily life. And an Adelaide teacher is keeping kids engaged by teaching science in Japanese.
Geoff McNamara from Melrose High School in Canberra has created a hothouse of science learning—complete with a seismometer, GPS antenna and weather station, each transmitting real-time data straight into the classroom.
“We all need science literacy to navigate the complexity of the modern world,” says Geoff. So he reaches out to each student’s interests— from genetics to driving to cosmology— to demonstrate the inevitable relevance of science.
Ocker cells shake up skeletal science
A population of versatile stem cells that snap into action after injury may also be the key to preventing and treating certain cancers.
Reprogrammed stem cells ‘remember’ past life
Stem cells generated from adult cells still retain a memory of their past despite being reprogrammed, Australian scientists have found. Now scientists think they can teach the cells to forget their past.
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