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Fresh Science 1998
"Fresh Science at ScienceNOW! was an experiment that worked - a new way to present
the work of younger scientists to the public," according to Ian Anderson, Chair of
the ScienceNOW! organising committee and Australian Editor of New Scientist.
"We chose 17 scientists from 89 nominations for the first ScienceNOW! National
Science Forum. They all performed well - presenting complex scientific ideas in plain
English to the public and the media. The guidelines for Fresh Science '98 are available
here. Nominations for Fresh Science '99 will open early in 1999.
Their press releases and some background information are presented here. Just click on
their name at the left of the page or browse through these summaries of their work (in
order of presentation).
· The short-tailed shearwater travels further to feed its
young than most animals known including the albatross. Advanced electronic and satellite
communication is revealing their secrets. Nick Klomp, Charles Sturt
University, Albury
· Stress before birth leads to hypertension in adulthood.
Trial in sheep suggest that high blood pressure ( suffered by 25% of all adults over 45
years of age) may have been programmed by events which occurred before the individual was
born.
Miodrag Dodic, Research Officer, Howard Florey Institute, Parkville,
Vic
· Lasers make micromachines: a human hair with 6
simultaneously-drilled rectangular holes, micropyramids only 6µm wide simulating a moths
eye for telescope optics, a hair held in the clamps of an experimental razor and the
plastic mould for a microturbine rotor only half a millimetre across.
All of these structures have been made using revolutionary new laser projection
micromachining methods.
Erol Harvey, Deputy Director, R & D, Industrial Research
Institute Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Vic
· A 1.2 kilometre deep ice core from Antarctica could tell
us if our summers and winters are really getting warmer
Tas van Ommen, Australian Antarctic Division, Tasmania
· Hidden galaxies on our doorstep: NSW astronomers have
found new galaxies originally thought to be stars. They think there could be 150,000 of
them in our neighbourhood.
Michael Drinkwater, University of NSW
· Australia's Serengeti: Clash of the Marsupial Carnivores
- a Tasmanian researcher’s study of marsupial carnivores and their teeth will help us
conserve our remaining marsupial carnivores Menna Jones, University of
Tasmania
· New insight into the cause of female infertility: a
certain hormone, interleukin 11, is absolutely essential for female fertility.
Lorraine Robb, Research Scientist, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
of Medical Research, Melbourne, Vic
· A new generation of vaccines is closer, thanks to
research work by a young Melbourne scientist on DNA vaccines
Jeff Boyle, CRC for Vaccine Technology, Melbourne
· Conflict: what tactics should police avoid when
attempting to defuse a conflict? This behavioural research observed police on patrol for
more than a year and electronically recorded their tactics for analysis
Helen Braithwaite, PhD (Psychology) Student, The Flinders
University of South Australia
· How are stars born? A new instrument, developed at UNSW
is probing interstellar gas clouds to find out.
Lori Allen, Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Physics, University of NSW,
Sydney, NSW
· Bacteria "talk" using chemical signals to
prepare their attack on humans, animals and plants. Could a chemical from seaweed disrupt
their conversation and stop the invasion?
Mike Manefield Centre for Marine Biofouling and
Bio-innovation, University of NSW
· Soil development at snails' pace: a pioneering study of
soil formation in north Queensland shows that it takes 3000 years to form barely a
millimetre of soil from the rocks beneath - too little, too long….. Too late!
Brad Pillans, Project leader, CRC for Landscape Evolution and
Mineral Exploration, Canberra
· Ancient Technology Could Solve Modern Environmental
Problems: a process used in casting the stone blocks of the Pyramids of Egypt is being
used for safe disposal of industrial wastes - and it could have many other applications.
Johan van Jaarsveld, PhD Student, University of Melbourne,
Parkville, Vic
· How does the Earth’s surface evolve? A geologist is
using 3D animated reconstructions to explore ancient landscapes.
Roderick Brown, Research Fellow, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Vic
· All systems are glow in vertebrate pest control –
new bait markers use hair samples to monitor bait uptake in rabbit and fox control. This
willhelp us to ensure that the baits do the right job.
Penny Fisher, Senior Scientist, Agriculture Victoria, Frankston, Vic
· Geologists fascinated by the scum of the earth: giant
computer models have replaced Jules Verne's fevered imagination in producing images of the
centre of the Earth. We can explore the deep earth and witness mountain building,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the formation of giant ore deposits over millions of
years.
Louis Moresi, Research Scientist, CSIRO Exploration and Mining,
Nedlands, WA
· A young Sydney researcher and surfer is using laser
technology to revolutionise the detection of dangerous bugs like cryptosporidium in water
Mark Gauci, Research Engineer, Australian Environmental Flow Cytometry
Group, Sydney, NSW
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