A surgically implanted electronic device could restore blinking to those who can’t
Researchers from the University of Sydney have created a device that can restore the ability to blink in people with facial paralysis, solving a medical as well as a social problem.
The Bionic Lid Implant for Natural Closure (BLINC) is an implant which actively closes the eyelid. The smart electronics detect when the individual will blink on their healthy side, triggering the device to blink for the paralysed eye.
Research finds rehab-only treatment yields better long-term results
Adam Culvenor, La Trobe University
Knee reconstructions may lead to more problems later in life than non-surgical rehabilitation, researchers have found.
A team led by Dr Adam Culvenor from La Trobe University looked at health outcomes for athletes with damaged anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) – a devastating injury, particularly common among footballers.
Written by Akila Rekima and the University of Western Australia – UWA press release.
Akila Rekima from The University of Western Australia. Photos credit: Ross Swanborough.
A research team at UWA is investigating the complex
interactions of breast milk with allergens and baby’s gut immune system.
They’ve found that food-derived but also airborne allergens are present in breast milk. Some do give protection and reduce allergies later in life.
Their preclinical data and human birth cohorts analysis strongly suggest that egg-derived allergen protect against egg allergy. But they’ve also found that other allergens in breast milk such as house dust mite derived allergens may interfere with protection from allergies.
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.
For a long time, doctors and patients have dreamed of precision oncology, a process that allows specific, effective treatments for individual tumours.
In the past, the complex nature of tumours has made this impossible.
“Within a tumour, there are many different cell populations, each doing different things and behaving in different ways. Most cells will be killed by chemotherapy, but some are not,” says Associate Professor Frederic Hollande of The University of Melbourne.
A drug based on a molecule naturally present in infants – but which declines in adulthood – can halve the scarring in brains of those who have suffered stroke. And it can be delivered up to a week afterward.
Enlarged cell bodies (pink), with increased scar-forming (green) following stroke. Credit: Leon Teo
“We hope our work will improve the recovery of the elderly, as well as people in rural and remote communities, who haven’t had access to speedy treatment following a stroke,” says Associate Professor James Bourne at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI ), and Chief Investigator of the research. Continue reading Fighting stroke damage→
Harry Messel has been a powerful force in science education—from the Physics Foundation to textbooks and his establishment of International Science Schools. He was awarded the Academy Medal.
Simon McKeon is a prominent business leader and philanthropist who has made extensive contributions to Australian science and innovation including chairing the CSIRO Board and the agenda-setting McKeon report into medical research in Australia. He was awarded the Academy Medal.
The life and death of cells: Jerry Adams has advanced understanding of cancer development, particularly of genes activated by chromosome translocation in lymphomas. By clarifying how the Bcl-2 protein family controls the life and death of cells, he and his colleagues at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research have galvanised the development of a promising new class of anti-cancer drugs. Jerry was awarded the 2014 Macfarlane Burnet Medal. Continue reading Australian Academy of Science medals→
Hundreds of Aussie science achievements that you can share in speeches, posts and publications
