Worldwide, smoke from landscape fires contributed to an average of 339,000 deaths per year between 1997 and 2006, according to new research published in Environmental Health Perspectives. Chief Investigator on the paper, Dr Fay Johnston, a research fellow from Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, an institute of UTAS, said that the Sub-Saharan Africa (157,000) and Southeast… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Science
Red wine helping to reduce the waistline
It’s been known for some time that drinking red wine can have a positive effect on your health, but now University of Southern Queensland (USQ) researchers have discovered that it might also have a positive effect on your waistline. Research undertaken by PhD student, Sunil Panchal, and Professor of Biomedical Sciences Lindsay Brown has discovered… Continue Reading
Map details Coral Sea highs and lows
James Cook University’s Robin Beaman has produced a new map of Australia’s Coral Sea region that details the reefs, mountains, and canyons that exist under the sea. A marine geologist at JCU’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dr Beaman’s map covers an area of about one million square kilometres of the Coral Sea Conservation… Continue Reading
3D microscopy improves disease understanding
The understanding of diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s is set to take a step forward following groundbreaking technology which will enable cell analysis using automated 3D microscopy. An initiative between the Griffith’s School of Information Communication Technology and the Eskitis Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, the technology will allow the automated identification, separation… Continue Reading
New Analysis Provides Clearer Picture of Cancer Risks Associated with Lynch syndrome
An international study led by the University of Melbourne has provided a clearer understanding of the cancer risks associated with the genetic mutation Lynch syndrome, a finding that could lead to earlier detection of a wide range of cancers in sufferers. People with Lynch syndrome have a genetic mutation that gives them a high risk… Continue Reading
Malaria parasite goes bananas before sex
New research from the University of Melbourne shows how the malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) changes into a banana shape before sexual reproduction, a finding that could provide targets for vaccine or drug development and may explain how the parasite evades the human immune system. The work was conducted by an Australian research team led by… Continue Reading
Research aids nasal drug delivery
RMIT University researchers have developed computer models to design more effective nasal sprays to provide alternate drug delivery to needles or pills. The models explore deep into the human respiratory airway and focus on particle inhalation, allowing researchers to understand how particles move through the nasal cavity and where they deposit. The models allow for… Continue Reading
New power source discovered
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and RMIT University have made a breakthrough in energy storage and power generation. The power generated relative to the energy source size is three to four times greater than what is currently possible with the best lithium-ion batteries. Professor Joel Schindall of MIT explains nanotube power generation… Continue Reading
Single-atom transistor is “perfect”
In a remarkable feat of micro-engineering, UNSW physicists have created a working transistor consisting of a single atom placed precisely in a silicon crystal. The tiny electronic device, described today in a paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, uses as its active component an individual phosphorus atom patterned between atomic-scale electrodes and electrostatic control… Continue Reading
Australian innovators in solar world first
In a boon for the local solar industry, a team of researchers from Swinburne University of Technology and Suntech Power Holdings have developed the world’s most efficient broadband nanoplasmonic solar cells. In a paper published in Nano Letters, the researchers describe how they have manufactured thin film solar cells with an absolute efficiency of 8.1… Continue Reading
Mapping out the future of GPS technology
Ditching satellites and complex, powerful computers and opting for camera technology inspired by small mammals may be the future of navigation systems. Dr Michael Milford from Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Science and Engineering Faculty said his research into making more reliable Global Positioning Systems (GPS) using camera technology and mathematical algorithms would make navigating… Continue Reading
Gearing up for data deluge from world’s biggest radio telescope
The amount of computer data generated by the entire world in a whole year will need to be stored in a single day for the world’s most powerful telescope – the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) – and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) is gearing up to meet that unprecedented need. ICRAR- a… Continue Reading
