Australia

Agilent Technologies new genome analysis technology set to accelerate Australia fight against mesothelioma

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that its breakthrough Human Genome CGH Microarray technology will be used by researchers at Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in a three-year study designed to better understand mesothelioma, a cancer found in the lining of the chest, the abdominal cavity and around the heart, usually caused by exposure to asbestos. Due to its act...

Did humans cause ecosystem collapse in ancient Australia?

Massive extinctions of animals and the arrival of the first humans in ancient Australia may be linked, according to scientists at the Carnegie Institution, University of Colorado, Australian National University, and Bates College.* The extinctions occurred 45,000 to 55,000 years ago. The researchers traced evidence of diet and the environment contained in ancient eggshells and wombat teeth over t...

Australian first to save sight

A new system of storing eye tissue, to be launched on Tuesday 14 February at the Lions Corneal Donation Service (LCDS), will help save the sight of hundreds of Victorians a year by extending the time between donation and needing to perform the transplant. Thanks to the new facilities, LCDS can now store corneas at human body temperature levels (34C) for up to a whole month. Previously, cor...

Diabetes hits 275 Australians each day as pandemic spreads

A new national health study funded by the NH&MRC, industry and state governments released today by the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne shows diabetes is hitting up to 275 new victims each day throughout Australia. The findings of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab) were presented today to the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Mr Tony Abbot...

West Australian fossil find rewrites land mammal evolution

A fossil fish discovered in the West Australian Kimberley has been identified as the missing clue in vertebrate evolution, rewriting a century-old theory on how the first land animals evolved. Monash University PhD students Mr Erich Fitzgerald and Mr Tim Holland were part of the research team, led by Museum Victoria's Head of Science Dr John Long, that made the spectacular discovery by stu...

Virus may control Australia's

Researchers at CSIRO Livestock Industries' Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong ?with the Department of Primary Industries Victoria ?are investigating Koi herpesvirus as a means of controlling the introduced fish. Project leader Dr Mark Crane says the virus, which first emerged in Israel in 1998*, caused mass mortalities in carp in the US, the UK, Israel, the Netherlands,...

Australian wins prestigious prize in biodiversity informatics

The 2007 Ebbe Nielsen Prize has been awarded to Paul Flemons of the Australian Museum, Sydney. The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) established the Prize in honor of Dr. Ebbe Schmidt Nielsen, who was an...