Toxins from snakes, spiders, jellyfish and scorpions are helping scientists to better understand how pain works, with the hope of managing chronic pain more effectively.
The blue coral snake is just one of the species helping scientists to better understand pain. Credit: Lou Boyer.
Pain comes in many forms, requiring different treatments and often making it difficult to manage. Many painkillers have negative side effects including addiction, and for some the painkillers don’t even work.
“Many drugs achieve around 50 per cent pain relief in only one-third of patients. That’s not good enough,” says Dr Irina Vetter, Deputy Director of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience’s Centre for Pain Research at The University of Queensland.
Miniscule plastic particles with the potential to cause havoc in our waterways and oceans have been found in the stomachs of over a quarter of fish sampled in Sydney Harbour.
Named microplastics, the tiny plastic fragments, beads and fibres are sometimes made directly as beads, and sometimes created by the break-down of plastics used in clothing, packaging, fishing gear, nappies and wipes.
The credit limit you’re not using on your card is costing the bank money, and that’s increasing the cost for all customers’ cards.
Jonathan left a ‘big four’ bank to pursue his PhD at the University of Melbourne and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, drawing on his experience to address a real-world problem.
Now, Melbourne mathematicians have developed a way of minimising this using the bank’s data on customer spending behaviour.
The unused credit costs the bank money because regulators require them to have funds in reserve – which they can’t invest elsewhere for profit – to cover the possibility you’ll make a large purchase and not pay the money back.
Life-saving first aid can now be offered to oiled penguins and other wildlife thanks to tiny oil-absorbing iron particles and a magnetic wand.
Removing oil with a wave of the wand. Credit: Phillip Island Nature Parks
Developed by Professor John Orbell and his team at Victoria University, the technology delivers emergency stabilisation that acts within minutes.
“Oiling of our wildlife is happening on a continual basis worldwide,” John says.
“Compared to the traditional approach of detergent-based treatment at rescue centres, our highly portable dry-cleaning method enables us to quickly remove the most toxic and corrosive oil components.”
Prototypes of a portable test for Zika virus and a range of other diseases, using just a microchip plugged into a smartphone, may be available by the end of 2016.
Patients will soon be able to test themselves for diseases like Zika virus or breast cancer from the comfort of their own home. Credit: Siro Perez, Molecular Warehouse Ltd.
Zika – a rapidly-spreading, mosquito-borne disease – doesn’t always show symptoms and currently has no treatment or vaccine.
The new test could be performed from the comfort of the patient’s own home according to Professor Kirill Alexandrov from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) at The University of Queensland.
How much do barnacles and algae slow our ships; energy efficient houses to suit tropical climates; a new vaccine for tuberculosis—Indonesian and Australian scientists are tackling some of the biggest challenges facing both nations.
With its supporters, the Australia Indonesia Centre is funding collaborative research in health, energy, food and agriculture, infrastructure, and resilient communities. Here are some highlights.
Modern airplanes use up to half their fuel to overcome the drag caused by turbulence at the surface of an airplane.
The University of Melbourne’s specialised wind tunnel is helping them unlock the mysteries of boundary layer turbulence. Credit: The University of Melbourne
In 2010, Professor Ivan Marusic’s team of engineers at the University of Melbourne became the first in the world to predict and model the behaviour of the eddies that cause this drag—known as boundary layer turbulence. And now they are trying to control them.
“Even a five per cent reduction could save billions of dollars, and millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide,” says Ivan, “which is a big deal to aircraft operators like Qantas.”
For years we’ve been identifying genetic markers linked to mental disorders. Now it appears those same markers could also tell us who will best-respond to treatment.
Genetic data are another piece in the puzzle of personalised treatment for anxiety. Credit: Chris Stacey, Macquarie University
A study of over 1,500 children, as part of the international Genes for Treatment collaboration, found those with a specific genetic marker were more responsive to psychological therapy than those without.
A unique national centre is working to build an emotionally healthy community through science and practice.
From four-year-olds with anxiety, to 90-years-olds with depression, the Centre for Emotional Health at Macquarie University takes a ‘lifespan approach’ to mental health.
They’ve spent the past 20 years studying, developing, testing and rolling out mental health programs – which are now available in eight languages and 15 countries including Denmark, the UK and Norway.
A new mapping tool will help shape a healthier Australia through sport and recreation.
Developed by researchers at Victoria University and Federation University Australia, the Sport and Recreation Spatial tool is a consolidated national database combining data on exercise, recreation and sport participation as well as demographic and health statistics. It also includes information on existing sports venues and organisations.
