inside n National news roundup 1-5
ISSN 1320-8977
March 2010
Linking Australian Science, Technology and Business
n Science and technology 6-8 n Opinion 9 n Feature 10-11 n University news 12 n Innovation watch 13-16 n State roundup 17-18 n People 19 n Rural and resources 20-21 n ICT news 22 n Opinion 23-24 n Guest column & Update 26-27
Enabling technolgy
E
nabling technologies and, more specifically, nanotechnology, were a focus of a series of developments in February, most notably the release of the National Enabling Technologies Strategy (NETS) by the Australian Government, and the report Nanotechnology in Australia, Trends, applications and collaborative opportunities by the Australian Academy of Science (AAS).
The number of Australian publications in nantotechnology has rapidly increased over the past decades.
The National Enabling Technologies Strategy’s themes and objectives (edited): 1. A national approach – working with governments and agencies and a wide range of stakeholders, to encourage collaborative efforts and joint activities. 2. Balancing risk and reward – supporting that enabling technologies are appropriately covered in policy and regulatory frameworks, and policy is informed by an understanding of health, safety, environmental, social and economic considerations. 3. Developing measurement capabilities – developing measurementinfrastructure, expertise and standards for nanotechnology and biotechnology.
National Enabling Technologies Strategy As was announced in the 2009-2010 Budget, NETS will be supported with $38.2 million over four years to provide a framework for the responsible development of enabling technologies, Graph: adapted from Nanotechnology in Australia, Trends applications and collaborative Opportunities; Australian Academy of Science 4. Engaging with the public – increasing public understanding of enabling which it broadly defines “as new technologies or new uses for existing sharing and collaboration. technologies and related issues. technologies that enable new products or services or more efficient The strategy will also establish 5. Using technology for a better future – increasing understanding how enabling processes.” The strategy’s focus is, however, primarily on nanotechnology a Stakeholder Advisory Council technologies may help to address major and biotechnology and builds on the previous National Biotechnology (SAC) to advise the Government global and national challenges and increase Strategy and the National Nanotechnology Strategy, which ceased industry productivity, and encouraging their on important issues arising in responsible development and uptake. in 2008 and 2009, respectively. It emphasises the need for national the development of enabling 6. Planning for the Future – assisting coordination required for the development of enabling technologies, the technologies. This particular stakeholders to prepare for the advent of new technologies through foresighting importance of appropriate information across industry and community initiative was broadly welcomed activities and supporting the development and the need for accurate metrology to underpin effective regulation by stakeholders, although some of policy and regulatory frameworks. supporting responsible and safe use of innovative services and products. stakeholders were reported to have For full text of themes and objectives: www.innovation.gov.au Following extensive consultations with stakeholders, NETS was set raised concerns about it meeting out to address 6 major themes and objectives (see box), which will be only twice a year. In response, Peter supported with $18.2 million for metrology aspects; $9.4 million for Chesworth from the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and public awareness and engagement programs; and $10.6 million for policy Research told the ABC that twice yearly meetings were to ensure that coordination, industry uptake, international engagement, and strategic meetings had a full agenda, but that the schedule might be revised. research related to these activities. The strategy focus is on the development of policy and regulatory With the strategy, the Government aims to achieve a whole-offrameworks to appropriately address health, safety, environmental, and government approach, and it has outlined several key activities to social concerns, but also to support the economic implications associated facilitate better coordinated policy development across all levels of with enabling technologies, particularly nanotechnology. The strategy, governments. These include an Enabling Technologies HSE Working however, does not detail any specific measures addressing these issues. Group addressing health, safety and environmental issues; and a joint Rather, it outlines broad measures which include a review of regulatory Commonwealth/State Working Group as a forum for information ...continued page 25
national roundup
Controlled banking
The CSIRO has launched the ASPREE Healthy Ageing Biobank Cluster, a new collaborative research cluster involving Monash University, Melbourne University, the Australian National University and the Menzies Research Institute (Tasmania). Established within the CSIRO Flagship Collaboration Fund, the cluster will support the collection, storage, collation and curation of base line blood samples from 10,000 healthy Australian volunteers. The samples will serve as valuable controls in studies with volunteers developing age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer. The biobank will support the ASPREE (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly) clinical trial, which over a 5 year period will examine the routine use of low-dose aspirin by elderly people to delay the onset of chronic disorders including cancers, vascular disease, and dementia. Funded by the National Institutes of Health in the USA, the trial will involve 19,000 healthy elderly aged 70 years and over, including 12,500 Australians. More information: www.csiro.au/news/biobank.html
Global knowledge
The Australian Academy of Science has released a Position Paper on the internationalisation of Australian Science, calling for an integrated national strategy that focuses and supports international science efforts across Government departments and agencies. Strategy objectives would include, for example, the identification of international scientific engagement opportunities, threats and priorities; and the coordination of Australia’s collective international science efforts. Technologically and scientifically advanced countries are increasingly interlinked with global networks of technological activity to access information at the earliest stage, commercialise innovations ahead of competitors, and address local problems in the most costeffective manner, the paper states. Developing countries, such as China, also increasingly focus their science and innovation programs on international collaborations. And although the benefits, including direct economic benefits, are difficult to accurately measure, a link between innovation and economic productivity has been established in a number of studies, most recently by the 2008 Cutler Review on Australia’s
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March 2010
Innovation System, the report says. The report highlights elements of Australian support of international research, welcoming the recent $50 million over 5 years boost of the Australia– India Strategic Research Fund. However, a corner stone of Government support The last major Australian invention not involving for international research, interenational input - the stump-jump plough in 1876 the International Science source: Museum Victoria Collections Linkage program needs clarification. The report argues that a recent extension of elements of the ISL program by 12 months, instead of the previous 3-year cycle, precludes administrative and logistical efficiencies. There is also concern about a “regrettable decline in the number of Australian Government science officers working at Australia’s overseas posts”. Among its recommendations for an internationalisation strategy, the paper suggests: n establishing a science, research and innovation network of officers at Australia’s overseas missions; n providing a process for prioritising and funding Australian participation in specific large-scale international infrastructure developments and the associated science; n continuing support for early- to mid-career researchers via competitive funding programs for travelling scholarships, fellowships and exchanges. More information: www.science.org.au
Teutonic friends
The Australian and German Governments will each allocate $250,000 to seed future collaborative research partnerships in key priority areas, which include nanotechnology; environmental research and technologies; information and communication technologies; and geosciences and marine sciences. The Australia-Germany Researcher Mobility Call 2010/11 (‘mobility call’) is a one-off funding source to facilitate bilateral research between Australia and Germany, the fourth most important collaborator as measured by joint publications, behind the US, UK and China. The grants will support travel and living expenses of researchers visiting their counterparts between 01 July 2010 and 31 June 2011. The Australian funding is provided through the Australia-Europe Research Collaboration Fund of the International Science Linkages (ISL) program, and is administered by the Australian Academy of Science. More information: www.science.org
Targeted diversity
Against the backdrop of the International Year of Biodiversity, Environment Minister Peter Garrett says that the Government plans to redirect funds provided through the current Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities (CERF) program to targeted areas of research.
national roundup CERF, which provides more than $20 million each year for environmental research, will end in 2010. For a new future program, the Government considers three or four large research groups or hubs to research emerging biodiversity issues in terrestrial and marine ecosystems, across Northern Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait. It has allocated $7 million per annum for the Great Barrier Reef Hub, including the Torres Strait, which is to complement the $9 million investment in research in support of the Caring for our Country Reef Rescue initiative. Program guidelines and a call for expressions of interest in the new three or four large research groups or hubs will be issued shortly and the outcome of a competitive selection is expected to be announced in July 2010. More information: www.environment.gov.au/
Continued space case
In 1959, the at the time one year old American Space agency NASA decided that the first deep-space station outside the US was to be established in Woomera north of Adelaide. The decision followed 1960 an US-Australian agreement to operate NASA stations in Australia. The Agreement Between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America relating to Space Vehicle Tracking and Communications, under which the US was to meet the costs of the program, became renewed every ten years, with substantial extensions in 1980 and 1990. To date, the US has invested over $610 million in the program. This time around, however, a renewed extension of the agreement will only be for two years. A Government statement on the agreement says that it is meant to provide only a transitional period in the lead up to a “new Antenna at Woomera, Australia image: NASA long-term, strategic treaty” which is to reflect “changes in the space sector and further strengthen the Australia-US relationship”. Late last year, NASA announced it would build new antenna, DSS35, at the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC) at Tidbinbilla, which is managed by the CSIRO and is one of only three in the world to communicate with NASA’s spacecraft. Artist’s impression of DSS35 image:CDSCC/NASA The construction of DSS35 started end of February but NASA has already confirmed that it will construct a further second new antenna, DSS36, by 2016. Both devices are 34 metre Beam Wave Guide Antenna costing each US$45 million, and will be capable of transmitting across a range of radio frequencies for deep space communication to interplanetary robotic spacecraft. Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr says NASA’s commitment is a “great endorsement of the strength of our partnership in space discovery”. More information: http://minister.innovation.gov.au
Spacious collaborations
In the first round of the newly established Australian Space Research Program (ASRP), four research projects will receive a total of $12 million. They include: n A consortium of the Universities of New South Wales and Sydney, the Powerhouse Museum and Cisco Systems Australia Pty Ltd ($1.0 million) – for a project ‘Empowering the Internet Generation’, a collaborative program through which year 10-12 students can gain understanding of space engineering challenges. n An international consortium including four universities (UQ, Adelaide, TALOS rocket carrying the UNSW and USQ), the DSTO, HyCAUSE AIMTEK Pty Ltd, the Australian scramjet Youth Aerospace Forum, BAE experimental payload lifts off Systems Australia, Boeing Research the launch pad and Technology Australia, Teakle at Woomera Image: DSTO Composites Pty Ltd, and international partners ($5 million) – for the first phase in developing an access-tospace industry based on Australia’s scramjet technology, an air-breathing combustion engine which can be combined with rockets to produce a more fuel-efficient hybrid launch system for access to space. n An international consortium including Aerospace Research Pty Ltd, the ANU, EM Solutions Pty Ltd, Environmental Systems and Services Pty Ltd, and international partners ($2.1 million) – for developing satellite-based broadband communications technology for the Antarctic community, and also building expertise in small satellite communications systems that can be applied throughout Australia. n An international consortium including three universities (UNSW, RMIT and Curtin), the Bureau of Meteorology, Electro Optic Systems Space System, GPSat Systems Australia Pty Ltd, and international partners ($2,8) – to develop technologies for space research, including tracking and navigation, weather and climate monitoring, and atmospheric modelling. More information: http://minister.innovation.gov
Sustainable Governance
A new Climate and Environmental Governance Network (CEGNET) at the Australian National University will look at how regulation and governance, including property rights, market, trade regimes, treaties, and national laws both empower and circumscribe action on sustainability. Researchers will also study organisational actors – such as states, governments, international organisations, corporations, and non-governmental organizations – and the ways in which relationships and influences amongst them affect how societies respond to environmental change and crisis. CEGNET will be headed by Professor Neil Gunningham and within ANU College of Asia & the Pacific will be part of the Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet), which comprises scholars from different background in the field of regulation and governance. More information: http://cegnet.anu.edu.au/contact/index.php
March 2010
national roundup
Playing it big
The NHMRC announced the outcome of the 2010 funding round of its program grants and the Australian-European Union (NHMRCEU) Collaborative Research Grants, to commence in 2011. The Australian Government will provide a total of $150 million to the successful applicants, which also include recipients of NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarships and the NHMRC Training Fellowships. Over 102 million will be shared by the ten program grant recipients, five of which are from Victoria; the groups at the University of Melbourne, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and Monash University will alone receive over $60 million for research ranging from malaria to improving treatment of premature babies. Program grant recipients include: Victoria n Professor Sam Berkovic, University of Melbourne ($16.5 million) – Neurobiology of human epilepsy: genes, cellular mechanisms, networks and whole brain; image: Ernst Hempelmann n Professor Alan Cowman, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research ($12.7)– Interaction of malaria parasites with the host: disease, pathogenesis and control; Plasmodium parasites n Associate Professor Stuart Hooper, reside in red blood cells. The Monash University ($8,6 million) shown ‘ring stage’ parasite is an early developmental – Improved respiratory support and stage its life cycle outcomes for very preterm babies; n Professor Trevor Lithgow, Monash University ($8.9 million) – Fighting infection: exploiting host-pathogen interactions; n Professor Colin Masters, University of Melbourne ($14 million) – Neurodegeneration in the aging brain: how the pathways leading to aggregated protein cause disease; South Australia n Professor Kerin O’Dea, University of South Australia ($8.2 million) – Improving chronic disease outcomes for Indigenous Australians: causes, interventions, system change; Queensland n Professor Paul Hodges, University of Queensland ($7.6 million) – Musculoskeletal pain, injury and health: improving outcomes through conservative management; New South Wales n Professor Les Irwig, University of Sydney ($8.9 million)– Screening and Test Evaluation Program: improving the evaluation and use of tests for screening, diagnosis and monitoring in healthcare; n Professor Richard Kefford, University of Sydney ($12 million) – Molecular determinants of risk, progression and treatment response in melanoma; n Professor Mark Onslow, University of Sydney ($4.8 million) – From discovery to innovation in stuttering treatment. More information: www.nhmrc.gov.au
Nano rush
The Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) was established in 2007 with seven links at universities across the states, involving 17 member institutions. The facility was funded through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). March 2010
Its NSW node, the $10 million nanofabrication facility has now opened at the University of New South Wales. Improved cancer treatments, new solar power and communications technologies, and a next-generation bionic eye are among the projects enabled by equipment in the new facility, which is headed by Professor Andrew Dzurak, an expert in the fabrication and measurement of quantum effects in semiconductor nanostructures. Key capabilities include high-resolution electron beam lithography tools for creating nano-scale devices and processing facilities for advanced silicon wafers for use in computing and solar power. More information: www.unsw. edu.au
Eco rolling
The Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Automotive Technology (AutoCRC) will receive with $4.75 million the lion’s share of a total of $8.9 The FlexDi offers a single engine million provided through the to handle all types of fuels and first round of the Australian combustion requirements. Government’s Automotive image: GMG studio Supply Chain Development Program (ASCDP). The AutoCRC will use the grant to deliver coaching, mentoring and training programs that are to improve the operational performance of automotive component suppliers. Further grant receipients are Ford Australia, GM Holden and Toyota Australia to work collaboratively with their main suppliers; and Frontline Australia, Futuris, Toyota Boshoku Australia and ZF Lemforder to work with Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers. The four-year, $20 million competitive ASCDP grants program is funded by the Government’s $6.2 billion New Car Plan for a Greener Future. The next round of ASCDP funding will be open for applications in the second half of 2010. Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr also announced that Perth company Orbital Australia has been awarded a $440,413 grant through the $1.3 billion Green Car Innovation Fund, to apply its air-assisted FlexDI direct injection technology to a four cylinder petrol engine of Chinese automaker Changan Automobile. China’s fourth largest automaker requires the technology to produce a car that complies with new Chinese fuel economy standards. More information: http://minister.innovation.gov.au
Incentive concerns
The Australian Government’s Treasury has written a letter to stakeholders who have submitted comments to the exposure draft legislation for the research and development (R&D) tax incentive. In the letter, Paul McCullough, general manager of Business Tax Division, says that stakeholders have detailed five main areas of concern. He writes: “With the benefit of the feedback, we understand that in some areas the proposed rules could have unintended consequences while in others the draft legislation needs to be made clearer and less complex.” Taking the comments into account, a new version of the draft legislation will be made available for further comment. Despite the renewed consultation, Mr McCullough writes, the new legislation is expected to be effective for income years starting on or after 1 July 2010.
national roundup
Areas of concerns are: n Core R&D activities – stakeholders are concerned that the establishment of ‘core R&D activities’ will require a more demanding test. n Supporting R&D activities – stakeholders are concerned about the scope of the activities excluded from the scheme because of proposed changes. n R&D activities involving software – stakeholders are concerned that the proposed changes, which will tighten the eligibility of software activities, will eliminate much of the R&D they are claiming under the current scheme. n Registration of core and supporting R&D activities – stakeholders have expressed concerns about compliance costs arising from having to separately register core and supporting R&D activities currently not required. n Augmented feedstock rules – stakeholder concerns revolve around the potential scope and application of proposed changes, which were commonly perceived as penalising ‘successful’ R&D. More information: www.ardr.com.au/treasuryletter.pdf
Beefed business
image: Michael C. Berch CC LSC 2.5
On 1 March 2010, new policy came into effect which overturned previous rules on the importation of bovine related products, a comprehensive set of arrangements to protect Australians from exposure to the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or ‘mad cow disease’ agent via the human food chain. The new and highly controversial policy followed recommendations by the ‘Beale Review’ on Autralia’s Quarantine and Biosecurity system, permitting countries where mad cow disease has been discovered to export beef to Australia provided they comply with new regulations set by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). “Since the Government’s decision, there has been considerable community discussion about the methods which would be used to determine protocols for imports,” states Agriculture Minister Tony Burke in a Government release on the 8th of March. In response to the concerns, the Government has asked Biosecurity Australia to undertake an Import Risk Analysis for fresh beef (chilled or frozen) from countries other than New Zealand. “This is a formal review process with specified time lines, guaranteed opportunities for community engagement and consultation as well as the added assurance of review by the Eminent Scientists Group,” he says. Current policy will, however, stay in place. More information: www.maff.gov.au
Precious pills
In February, Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon tabled a report based on independent modelling by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), warning that costs of a Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) are set to rise significantly over the next years, despite PBS reforms providing more savings than originally estimated. PwC also finds evidence that Australian taxpayers still pay much more for some drugs on the PBS than is paid in other countries. Pharmaceutical spending is estimated to grow from $443 real per capita in 2012-13 to $534 real per capita in 2022-23. To address the
challenges, the Government and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia agreed in December 2009 to make savings of $1 billion under the next Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement, says Ms Roxon. According to Medicines Australia (MA) chief executive Dr Brendan Shaw, the findings by PwC show, however, that the PBS is sustainable and that the reforms are working. The report finds that the PBS will grow by just 5.99% a year out to 2018. “A key point of these reforms was to ensure taxpayers didn’t pay over the odds for older, off-patent medicines. Price cuts over the next couple of years will significantly lower prices for those older drugs,” says Mr Shaw. He also points out that new medicines in Australia are 20% cheaper compared to the OECD average. Comparing 13 countries, a recent UK Department of Health found that Australia had in 2009 the lowest prices for new medicines. The PBS will continue to grow which will need to be managed, Mr Shaw says. “... I urge the Government to work with the industry to arrive at a shared understanding of projected growth and an agreed view of what manageable growth might be.” More information: www.health.gov.au; www.medicinesaustralia.com.au
IT champion
The Australian Government will appoint an IT Supplier Advocate as part of its $8.2 million Supplier Advocate Program; the program appoints respected industry leaders to provide leadership in targeted sectors, such as rail and steel. The Government intends to particularly help small businesses access contracts that may not have been on their radar. NICTA’s Australian eGovernment Technology Cluster has offered to work with an IT Supplier Advocate to provide services and facilities to help SMEs field test and prove the scalability of their IT solutions to prospective customers. More information: http://minister.innovation.gov.au
March 2010
science & technology
The power within
A landmark study published in the Lancet* suggests placebo effects are not restricted to sham treatments with sugar pills but commonly occur in conjunction with any form of treatment, promoting the body’s natural healing mechanisms. The international collaboration, led by researchers at the University of Sydney, reviewed the literature on placebo effects and their impacts on patients. They found placebo effects can make routine treatments of any kind more effective and should not be overlooked, according to lead author Damien Finniss from University of Sydney’s Pain Management Research Institute (PMRI) at Royal North Shore Hospital. The task ahead is how to maximise these effects for the benefit of the patient. Particularly in persistent pain management this could have significant benefits, and this potential is investigated in a variety of treatment strategies. However, to fully harness the potential benefits of placebos, which are usually influenced by factors such as patient expectations and beliefs, requires a better understanding of the physiology and psychology of mind-brain-body interactions and how they effect the healing process. More information: www.usyd.edu.au; *Finniss et al (2010) Lancet, 375:686
Dense misfortune
Mammographic density, a term describing the amount of light areas on a mammogram, has previously been associated with breast cancer risk. Various studies have also suggested there are genetic or environmental factors that determine breast density. University of Melbourne researchers have investigated the presumed genetic linkage by comparing mammograms and blood samples from Australian twin pairs and their sisters. They found that at least two out of 12 genetic variants known to be associated with breast cancer were also associated with mammographic density. image: modified from Radiological Society Published in Cancer Research*, the study of North America could help unravel how these genetic variants are associated with breast cancer risk. Co-author Dr Jennifer Stone from the University of Melbourne says “This is the beginning of a new research focus on how cancers begin and the role mammographic density plays.” More information: http://newsroom.melbourne.edu; *Odefrey et al, 2010 Cancer Res. 70:1449
Indigenous diversity
Indigenous southern Africans are among the world’s most genetically diverse people, according to an international study led by researchers from the Children’s Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research (CCIA), the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the US Penn State University. The genome sequencing study added more than 1.3 million new genetic variants to databases of Human Genome Variation, which until now have been largely eurocentric. Significantly, the genomes are personalised, with all participants named and their medical histories recorded. According to study co-leader Dr Vanessa Hayes from the CCIA and UNSW, there were on average as many genetic differences between March 2010
Bushmen than between a European and an Asian. “Human variation is vital in determining disease risk and drug response for complex genetic diseases. It is important to include genetic differences from all global populations in research efforts,” she says adding that Australia’s Aboriginal community is likely to hold a similar genetic diversity. New tests based on the human variation found in the study are already in development and will soon be available globally for medical research efforts, she says. More information: www.unsw.edu.au
Ancient crust
There is little known about the earliest history of Earth, the Hadean eon, a window of about 500 million years from Earth’s earliest formation 4.5 billion years ago. Yet, geodynamically it is likely to have been the most vigorous period. Although previously some rare preserved zircon crystals in the Yilgarn Craton in Western Australia did reveal significant information about aspects of early granitic crust evolution, there are no other The Pilbara preserved terrestrial rocks available that predate 4 billion years ago. A new finding of crustal components in rock and sediment samples collected in the WA Pilbara region could provide new insights into early Earth evolution. Estimated to be over 4.3 billion years old, Macquarie University researcher Dr Svetlana Tessalina and international collaborators found the rock components as a contamination of younger volcanic, sedimentary and hydrothermal rocks from the area. In their paper in Nature Geoscience** the researchers interpret their findings as evidence that the Pilbara crust may have formed much earlier than previously thought, on the substrate of an over 4.3 billion year old mafic crust, an early ‘skin’ covering a magma-ocean early Earth. More information: www.mq.edu.au; *Tessalina, SG (2010) Nature Geoscience 3, 214
Renewable quantum leap
Quantum physics is at the basis of some of the photosynthetic processes through which some single-celled algae can thrive even under low light conditions, according to a study published by an international team of researchers in Nature. * Previous studies have shown that at low temperatures light-harvesting antenna proteins capture and transfer energy according to quantum mechanic probability laws, but in the new study the researchers, including scientists from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), reveal that these processes also occur under biologically relevant conditions. In cryptophytes, single-celled algae living in marine and freshwater environments, light-harvesting proteins were found ‘wired’ together through a phenomenon known as quantum coherence. This enables these proteins to transfer energy from one protein to another with lightningfast speed and so reduce energy loss along the energy conversion pathway. UNSW Professor Paul Curmi says the algae “cannot afford to let any solar energy escape, so they have evolved elaborate antenna systems that trap light”. More information: www.unsw.edu.au; *Collini (2010)Nature, 463, 644
science & technology
Whooping concerns
In Australia, two strains of the whooping cough causing Bordetella pertussis bacterium have changed genetically so much since 1997, they may in future not be effectively controlled anymore by current vaccination programs. Having compared hundreds of samples of the bacterium from Australia and countries overseas, researchers at the University of New South Wales suggest in Emerging Infectious Diseases that the significant mutations in the two strains may be linked to the phasing out of the previously used whole cell vaccine in 1999. While an effective vaccine against many pertussi strains recognising hundreds of bacterial proteins, concerns about possible side effects had it replaced with a new acellular vaccine directed against only 3-5 bacterial antigens. UNSW Associate Professor Ruiting Lan says that the use of the acellular vaccine may be one factor contributing to the genetic changes in the two B. pertussis strains, known as MT27 and MT70, as the increases in mutations but also increases in the number or whooping cough incidences coincide with the switch to the new vaccine type. For example, several significant outbreaks occurred just last year in western Sydney. More information: www.unsw.edu.au
Protective benefits
In February, the US journal PNAS published a series of research reviews papers on temperate and tropical marine reserves. A paper led by Russ Babcock from CSIRO’s Wealth from Oceans Flagship , examined ecological data from coastal marine reserves in New Zealand, Australia, California, the Philippines and Kenya that had been in place for 10 years
Southern rock lobster predating a long-spined sea urchin image Neville Barrett
or more and were monitored before and after protection. Stakeholders in the increasing number of marine reserves want to know how rapidly changes occur after protection, says Dr Babcock. “Our study suggests it will take decades to observe, predict, and validate the full implications of marine reserves because many of the processes we need to understand operate on these timescales.” . For example, while the restoration of fished species can be rapid, the cascading effects on the broader ecosystem including prey such as small fish, invertebrates, algae and corals, may take more than a decade. Neville Barrett, from the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute and coauthor in the study, says it takes a while for primary, secondary and tertiary effects to occur, sometimes 20, 30, and 40 years post-protection. A second comprehensive Australian study focussed on the effect of
a network of protected marine reserves introduced on the Great Barrier Reef five years ago. According to the authors, who are affiliated to a range of Australian organisations, the findings are “a globally significant demonstration of the effectiveness of large-scale networks of marine reserves.” Rapid increases of fish and sharks inside no-take reserves, in both reef and non-reef habitats were observed but, the authors say, they also benefit overall ecosystem health and resilience. “There is now very strong evidence that no-take zones benefit fish populations within those zones. The numbers of coral trout doubled on some reefs within two years of closure to fishing,” the researchers say. And preliminary economic analyses also suggests there are considerable net benefits to environment and to tourism, fishing and related enterprises. “Overall, the results demonstrate that the large-scale network of marine reserves on the GBR is proving to be an excellent investment - in social, economic and environmental terms,” they conclude. More information: www.csiro.au; *Babcock et al (2010) PNAS ; http://cms. jcu.edu.au; **McCook et al (2010) PNAS,
Galactic immigration
Around a quarter of the globular star clusters in our Milky Way are not native to the galaxy but were born elsewhere, a study by Swinburne astronomer Professor Duncan Forbes and a Canadian collaborator has revealed, confirm a previous hypothesis by others. Using Hubble Space Telescope data they compiled the largest highquality database listing age and chemical properties of old star clusters in image: Swinburne University the Milky Way, from which they could deduce key signatures identifying their origin. The Milky Way may also have swallowed-up more dwarf galaxies – ‘mini’ galaxies of up to 100 million stars – than previously thought, their data published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society* implies. “Astronomers had been able to confirm the existence of two accreted dwarf galaxies in our Milky Way – but our research suggests that there might be as many as six yet to be discovered,” says Professor Forbes. More information: www.swinburne.edu.au
Water splitting research
The University of Wollongong (UOW) has been granted an Australian patent* on the use of novel catalytic processes, so called ‘Statistical Proximity’ catalysts, the catalytic activity of which is governed by statistical considerations, through locating sufficient numbers of catalytic groups on a substrate. One aspect of the protected invention is the use of novel electrocatalysts to reduce acidic water into hydrogen gas as a fuel to produce electrical energy in, for example, hydrogen fuel cells. “The process has been shown to be more efficient than the best man-made alternative to date,” says Professor Gordon Wallace from the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute. It is one part of a core technology comprising separate but complementary innovations developed by UOW, CSIRO, Princeton University and Monash University. The complementary technology March 2010
science & technology
Two separate reactions, which combined allow hydrogen production from sun’s energy. The first reaction, the production of oxygen from water occurs in photosynthesis and requires solar energy. The process yields electrons, which in a second reaction can be used to produce hydrogen.
mimics the water-oxidising centre in photosynthesis where oxygen gas is produced from water by harnessing the sun’s energy, providing the electrons used to produce the hydrogen. “Put together, these technologies offer a highly efficient process for splitting of water into its component parts, hydrogen and oxygen, and also the reverse process – the production of an electrical current from the combination of the elemental hydrogen and oxygen in a H2/O2 fuel cell,” says Professor Wallace. While the water splitting application has been demonstrated in simple ‘proof of concept’ devices, the ultimate aim is to develop commercial devices able to split water into hydrogen and oxygen under sunlight, Professor Wallace says. More information: *entitled: Novel catalysts and processes for their preparation
The virtue of being different
Scientists from the Universities of Sydney and Tasmania have discovered a population of Tasmanian devils that are genetically different and therefore potentially resistant to Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), which has decimated 70% of the devil population since it was first diagnosed in 1996 (see also Jenifer Graves, ‘Feature’, ARDR, Feb 2010). The results published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B describe levels of diversity in key immune genes in the Tasmanian devils that could hold the key for the rescue of the species. The astonishing spread of the cancer was possible as diseased devils biting healthy animals transmitted cancerous cells which they were unable to eliminate as foreign cancer cells because of their immunological similarity. Such an immunological response, however, is more likely in the genetic diverse population now discovered. University of Sydney’s Associate Professor Kathy Belov, lead author of the study, says “We think more animals might survive in the wild than we initially thought.” The finding could have implications for the captive breeding if these devils are found to be resistant to DFTD, although A/Professor Belov says the current insurance breeding program should continue unchanged. “The possibility of breeding and releasing resistant devils into the wild would be an added bonus,” she says. More information: www.usyd.edu.au;
March 2010
The epigenome of cancer
A groundbreaking study led by scientists from the Garvan Institute, and also involving researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the University of NSW, has revealed in Nature Cell Biology the epigenetic processes that underlie pancreatic cancer. The researchers established over a three year period an ‘epigenomic map’ of pancreatic cancer cells, revealing the epigenetic events that control the activity of genes without changing the image: Harvey Millar actual DNA sequence. In prostate cancer , the researchers found many genes are altered in their expression, and are silenced within large regions of DNA – nearly 3% of the cell’s genome. Project leader Professor Susan Clark describes the typical cancer cell as a ‘lean mean machine’, where epigenetic changes reduce the available genome to a point where only the genes that promote cell proliferation are accessible. “We can see that the epigenome is remodelled in a very consistent and precise way, effectively swamping the expression of any gene that goes against the cancer cell’s interests,” she says adding that the cancerous cell works in a programmed rather than a random way, targeting a significant part of the genome, rather than just single genes. “It [the map] tells us that treating cancer will be far more complex than we imagined, as it will first involve understanding and reversing epigenetic change.” More information: www.garvan.org.au
Fish communication
Certain coral reef fish use ultraviolet (UV) vision to tell the difference between their own and other similar species, and may even be able to recognise individual facial features, a study in Current Biology reveals. According to lead author Dr Ulrike Siebeck from The Vision Centre and The University of Queensland, the scientists discovered that certain fish had very distinctive ultraviolet markings on their faces. In carefully designed experiments, the team exposed male Ambon damselfish to males of the same and a different species and found that territorial reactions depended on whether the fish were able to see the UV facial patterns, and not just the ultraviolet coloration. Differences between patterns on the faces of individuals suggest that Ambon damselfish may also be able to use the patterns for the discrimination of individuals. As major predatory reef fish like coral trout, wrasse and rock cod do not seem to have the ability to see ultraviolet markings, the authors conclude that damselfish are effectively exploiting a secret channel of communication among themselves and with other similar, but harmless species – one which cannot be detected by the fish that prey on them. More information: www.vision.edu.au
OPINION
Dr Luigi Palombi Centre for Governance of Knowledge and Development (CGKD), Australian National University
Bad cases make bad law: UWA vs Gray
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n February, the University of Western Australia (UWA) finally lost a ‘land mark’ case over intellectual property against a former employee, Dr Bruce Gray, and the medical company founded by him, Sirtex Medical Limited (Sirtex). The truism that ‘bad cases make bad law’ probably encouraged High Court Justices Gummow, Hayne and Heydon to decide that this was “not an appropriate occasion to consider what are said to be questions of law”. In denying UWA special leave to appeal, the High Court ended a ‘litigation marathon’ against Dr Bruce Gray and Sirtex, in which UWA claimed ownership of intellectual property used by the company to develop and commercialise certain ‘targeted microsphere’ technology. And it was a marathon - the trial alone lasted 50 days and probably cost UWA more than $7 million (taking into account the costs of Dr Gray and Sirtex). Dissatisfied, the UWA issued a media release on the same day rebuking the High Court for leaving “ill-defined” the legal “principles” which, according to its counsel, Ms Katrina Howard SC, were misapplied by Justice French, in the first instance, and by Justices Lindgren, Finn and Bennett, on appeal. The UWA’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robson, warned that as a result “it may become more difficult for universities to obtain the proceeds of commercialisation of research that has been done by their staff members”. Targeted microsphere technology uses ‘microspheres’ to deliver various anti-cancer materials to the site of the cancerous tumour. But that idea was not new when Dr Gray commenced his employment at UWA in 1984 and this was a relevant fact in UWA’s case because just as there is no intellectual property in an abstract idea or a mere discovery so there is none in an idea which is in the public domain. To be a patentable invention, the patent claims (which define the ‘invention’ in the patent document) must describe the ‘invention’ in such a way that it satisfies the patentability thresholds set out in the Patents Act, 1990. Apart from the need for the subject of a patent claim to be patentable subject matter, the ‘invention’ must be both ‘novel’ and ‘involve an inventive step’. In other words, it must be innovative above and beyond what was the relevant state of the art at the time that the patent application was filed. Unfortunately for UWA, this level of detail was problematic because the narrower the ’invention’ was defined, as it had to be in order to distinguish it from what was already known about targeted microsphere technology, the more difficult it was for UWA to prove that the ’invention’ was actually produced during the course of Dr Gray’s (or his colleagues) employment at UWA. The university was caught in a catch-22. Generally, appellate courts accept that a trial judge is in the best
position to assess the credibility and reliability of witnesses. Therefore they are most reluctant to overturn a trial judge’s factual findings absent a manifest error. What appellate courts are mostly concerned about is the correct application of the law to the evidence presented at the trial. The Full Federal Court agreed with Justice French that: – all bar one of the inventions had been made either prior to, or after, this employment at UWA; and – in any event, through a series of decisions made by UWA over some 20 years, both before, during and after Dr Gray’s employment, UWA had not acquired rights over any of the inventions. Therefore, not only was UWA not entitled to claim ownership of the inventions which Dr Gray (and his colleagues) had properly transferred to Sirtex, but Dr Gray could not, on the basis of that transfer, have breached his fiduciary obligations to UWA. Rather than being the harbinger of a commercial disaster for the entire university sector, as Professor Robson warned, the High Court’s decision is nothing of the kind. The case, on its facts, is quite narrow. Its instructive value is in showing how the UWA’s management was simply incapable of adequately maintaining a system to administer the intellectual property developed by its staff. Not only were the university’s Patents Regulations, approved by the university’s Senate in Rather than being December 1971, at first the harbinger not properly promulgated, of a commercial but it also was not until disaster for the November 1997 that a new entire university set of ‘IP Regulations’, this sector, as time properly promulgated, Professor Robson came into effect. The Full warned, the High Federal Court held “this date” to Court’s decision be “important” for the reason that “after March 1997 Dr Gray was not is nothing of the kind. employed by UWA to research or to invent”. Thus during the critical period the UWA was incapable of imposing any implied term in its contract with Dr Gray over any intellectual property developed by Dr Gray. Next, the administrative system established by the Patents Regulations 1971 was “effectively” abandoned by UWA in 1985. Therefore, as Justice French found and the appellate court agreed, the “mechanisms for assessing inventions for commercial development ... could not operate.” This meant, as the Full Court held, the “Patents Regulations could not validly appropriate property to UWA which did not belong to it”. Finally, it is important to recognise that intellectual property has defined legal limits and therefore it is critically important for universities, as indeed it is for anyone that deal with such rights, to carefully define the scope of the contractual obligations imposed, expressly or impliedly, on a member of staff with regard to the development of intellectual property during the course of their employment. March 2010
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Feature
Professor Silvia Bisti University of L’Aquila, ARC Center of Excellence in Visual Science
Professor Benedetto Falsini università Cattolica, Policlinico Gemelli, Rome
Ancient spice saves ageing nerves
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he aging of humans is one of the quiet revolutions of the 20th Century. Between palaeolithic (~2 million years ago) and modern times, the life expectancy of a newborn child remained fairly constant at less than 40 years (world-wild average) until in the last century, with the advent of modern medicine, this figure doubled to 60-70 years, exceeded 80 years in many societies, and continued to rise. One of the many consequences of this quiet revolution has been the recognition of age-related diseases of the central nervous system (the brain and retina of the eye), conditions such as Alzheimer’s dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and age-related degeneration of the retina. All are becoming increasingly important, because the cohort of aged people is increasing faster than the population as a whole. They cause enormous human suffering, destroying the quality of the last decades of individual lives. In devising potential therapies, medical scientists have essayed both the specific and general. For example, Alzheimer-like dementias, which are age-related, and insidious in their onset and progress, are associated with two types of proteins, so called amyloid and tau. These proteins are found either over-expressed (amyloid) or modified (tau) in the dementing brain, and are believed to hold the key to a cure. They have been isolated, sequenced, synthesized, genetically engineered and targeted with inventive therapies. Also, symptomameliorating drugs have been developed – the neurotransmitter dopamine in Parkinson’s disease is perhaps the best known example. Yet, specific treatments able to prevent, stop or even delay the progress of the underlying pathology remain elusive. As a consequence, other scientists have taken a quite different approach; if the diseases are agerelated, then perhaps they can be treated as such. To do that, we need to recall why age-related diseases are so common in the aging brain and retina. The cells in our bloodstream are replenished hourly, those of our gut daily, which means they do not need to repair accumulated damage. By contrast, the nerve cells of the central nervous system, with very few exceptions, are serving a life-long sentence of hard labour. They are all generated before or soon after birth, and we need them to think and see and hear and drive our muscles for our lifetime. As they are not replaced, death of these cells during the course of our life may
condemn us to permanent loss of our motor coordination and control, our memory and even our personality. To achieve longevity, neurons do not stand stoically against the stresses of time, like a pyramid in the desert. To counter stress, nerve cells commit energy and complex, highly evolved mechanisms to the repair of their membranes, of the DNA in their chromosomes, and of their machinery, for example of the Crocus sativus image: Koehlers Medicinal complex mechanisms plants 1887 of the mitochondria. How long they survive (hopefully a lifetime) depends on a balance between the stresses of time, and the ability of cells to self-repair. The margin between death and survival may be small yet it follows the principle of financial survival of Dickens’ Mr. Micawber: “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and sixpence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds and sixpence, result misery”. The question is whether the Micawber Principle also bears relevance for the survival of our nerve cells: Can the ‘diseases’ which result from stress-induced loss of nerve cells be prevented, delayed, slowed or even reversed by reducing, even if only slightly, the oxidative stress which afflicts all nerve cells as we age? We are using an ancient spice, saffron, to do just that for the highly specialized photoreceptor cells of the retina. These are the neurons that detect light and transform its energy into the neural activity essential to vision; when they degenerate we go blind. Saffron is working as a neuroprotectant, in animal models of retinal degeneration as well as in patients with age related macular degeneration. When we feed the animals with saffron, or give patients specially prepared saffron pills, the photoreceptors are more resistant to stress and, in humans, some recovery of function is apparent. How does the saffron work? In Micawber’s terms, we believe, it tilts
The margin between death and survival may be small yet it follows the principle of financial survival of Dickens’ Mr. Micawber...
March 2010
Professor Jonathan Stone Director Bosch Institute, Save Sight Institute and Discipline of Physiology University of Sydney the fine balance between survival and death towards survival. In scientific terms, saffron is a powerful anti-oxidant – and oxidative damage has been identified as a factor in the instability and degeneration of photoreceptors. In the first phase of experimental work we found evidence of the neuroprotective potential of saffron, in a retina/light damage assay.
At this stage, we can say that dietary saffron shows intriguing promise as a retinal neuroprotectant, for patients with early AMD. Saffron was an attractive candidate for testing, because the stigmata of Crocus sativus contain biologically high concentrations of powerful antioxidants (crocin, crocetin), whose multiple C=C bonds give the stigmata colour, fragrance, taste and anti-oxidant potential; and because of its centuries-long use as spice, with no known ill effects. Recently, we tested
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responsiveness to light. So we undertook an approved double-blind trial1 of dietary saffron in human AMD), in which the principal outcome measures were the amplitude and phase of the focal (central 18°) electroretinogram (fERG) to 41 Hz flicker. We found an increase in response amplitude, with a stable phase, indicating a recovery of retinal macular function (see figure 1). This effect was paralleled by an improvement in subjective visual acuity and reading vision. Sufferers regained some ability to read, and recognise faces. Recovery was never complete, and two of the many questions awaiting answers are how much recovery is possible, and how stable the recovery will be. At this stage, we can say that dietary saffron shows intriguing promise as a retinal neuroprotectant, for patients with early AMD.2
...it still seems remarkable that a common, mild spice can ... be so effective in preserving the nerve cells so important for normal life.
Amsler grid as it might appear to someone with age-related macular degeneration.
Fundus photograph of a patient with age-related macular degeneration images: National Institutes of Health
the ‘medicinal’ properties of saffron in a double-blind, clinical trial in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is a major cause of loss of vision in older adults as the central region of the retina, which mediates high-resolution colour vision, degenerates selectively. Sufferers can’t see detail, read or make out the faces of loved ones. AMD occurs in diverse forms, but a common feature is that the condition is progressive, and that recently introduced treatments provide some recovery of function. In the damaged macula, therefore, it is possible that part of the loss of vision results from damage to (rather than death of ) photoreceptors, the partial restoration of vision arising from cellular repair. More generally, we have argued that damaged but repairable photoreceptors are present in many forms of retinal degeneration. Reducing oxidative stress on these damaged survivors may, we argue, allow the cells’ self-repair mechanisms to rebuild the photoreceptors, restoring their specialized structure and mediating an increase in their
We are planning to replicate and extend our results in a cohort of AMD patients to be tested at the Save Sight Institute, Sydney University. We also plan to apply the same therapeutic approach in inherited retinal disorders having oxidative/light damage as a major underlying pathogenetic factor. Although we have been working with the neuroprotective effects of saffron for years now, it still seems remarkable that a common, mild spice can - in carefully designed experiments Focal electroretinogram changes following and trials - be so effective in 3 months of Saffron supplementation in an AMD patient preserving the nerve cells so important for normal life. March 2010
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university news
Seam-ingly cooperative
The University of Queensland and Santos have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together towards developing Queensland’s coal seam gas (CSG) and related industries. CSG is a form of natural gas low in hydrogen sulfide (‘sweet gas’), which is extracted from unmined coal seams. Already an important source of natural gas in America and Canada, CSG exploration and development have also been on the increase in Australia. Santos has been producing coal seam gas in Queensland for many years and since 2000 the company has worked together with UQ on a range of coal seam gas issues. This cooperation is now reinforced by the MoU. Aiming for more efficient utilisation of coal seam gas resources, the partnership is expected to engage in large research projects in the areas of reservoir characterisation, gas extraction, gas processing, water engineering, environmental sustainability and social engagement. More information: www.uq.edu.au
Malignant focus
The new $2.5 million ACRF Cancer Biology Imaging Facility has opened at University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB). Funded by the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) the facility, proclaimed to be the most advanced of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, is an expansion of an existing $1.2 million facility funded by the ACRF in 2003. “It reinforces an already-strong partnership between the ACRF, the IMB and other areas of UQ, including the Queensland Brain Institute and the Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine,” says UQ Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Greenfield applauding the ACRF’s strategic investment in the future of cancer prevention and treatment. Over the past 5 years, the ACRF awarded grants in excess of $40 million. More information: www.uq.edu.au
Waves telling the story
A multi-million dollar southern hemisphere gravitational project, the Australian International Gravitational Observatory, has been launched during an international AIGO conference at the University of Western Australia. image: C. Henze, NASA The $150 gravitational wave detector at Gingin, WA is planned to be completed by 2016, as part of one of the most challenging scientific endeavours ever undertaken: the attempt to directly detect vibrations of space called gravitational waves. The detector will complement other projects including the 3D simulation of gravitational waves produced by merging black holes. The US Advanced LIGO and honeycomb structures are the contours the French-Italian Advanced of the strong gravitational field near the black holes. VIRGO. Scientists around the world will be able to detect gravitational waves from colliding stars and black holes and, with the addition of the detector at Gingin, to pin down their location in the March 2010
universe. AIGO is run by the Australian International Gravitational Research Centre (AIGRC) and is Western Australia’s only gravity wave observatory. According to AIGRC director Winthrop Professor David Blair, AIGO could open the gravitational window to the universe. Gravitational wave detectors are the largest and most sensitive instruments ever built, he says. They detect vibrations much smaller than the size of an atomic nucleus. “We are offered a revolutionary opportunity of exploring a brand new spectrum. They offer us a means of probing the earliest moments of the big bang where time began, and they allow us to probe the birth and coalescence of black holes where time comes to an end.” More information: www.news.uwa.edu.au; www.aigo.org.au/aigo_web_docs/ AustralianPhysics_AIGO.pdf
Playground largesse
Monash University has officially opened a new $100 million bioscience precinct, the largest in Australia, at its Clayton campus. The new buildings, which accommodate 500 research and support staff, form part of a larger precinct, called the Biomedical Sciences Precinct, which incorporates the School of Biomedical Sciences, and centres and institutes including the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute. More information: www.monash.edu.au
Innovative schooling
The University of Sydney is establishing an Institute for Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education (IISME), which it hopes will become a leading national and international centre for research and educational programs promoting new ways to learn science and maths at all levels of schooling. The institute will also be developing programs already being run by the two faculties, including `MyScience’, a scheme that pairs university students studying education with university science students and sends them into primary classrooms. The development is against the backdrop of the Review of Education in Mathematics, Data Science and Quantitative Disciplines, which The Group of Eight (Go8) released in March. The review received considerable media coverage, as it “found that the state of mathematical sciences in Australia has deteriorated to a dangerous level and will require universities to provide additional maths enabling courses and to improve co-operation between education and maths faculties in future.” Major findings include: n From 2001 to 2007 the number of students enrolled in a mathematics major in Australian universities declined by approximately 15%. n The number of students taking Advanced Maths at high school also dropped by 27% between 1995 and 2007. n Demand for mathematics and statistics graduates is predicted to grow by 3.5% per year till 2013. The review concluded that “universities cannot ignore the downward change in mathematics preparedness affecting entering students. In the short term there appear to be only two conceivable responses: the provision of enabling (i.e. remedial) programs and the lowering of standards.” More information: www.usyd.edu.au; Go8 report: www.go8.edu.au
Innovation Watch
Corn makeover
Hexima Limited has produced its first transgenic corn plants containing several different genes producing anti-fungal proteins (AFPs). According to chief scientific officer Professor Marilyn Anderson, expressing AFPS in corn is an important technical achievement but also signals a new phase in Hexima’s ongoing collaboration with Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business and one of the world’s largest developers and suppliers of advanced plant genetics. Fungal diseases cause significant yield and economic losses for corn Southern Corn Leaf Blight image: Purdue University producers, particularly in the US$50 billion market, where an estimated 10-12% of yield is lost each year. Hexima announced it will continue AFP identification, optimisation and construct development during the commencing glasshouse testing phase. After the company has recently completed its new corn transformation facility, it expects that during 2010 up to 10,000 plants could be taken through glasshouse and bioassays. More information: www.hexima.com.au
Measured efficiency
ANSTO’s IRMS technology will be marketed worldwide by Australian Scientific Instruments, a subsidiary of the Australian National University’s commercial arm ANU Enterprise. IRMS is a isotope ratio mass spectrometer which produces highly charged ions in a microwave-driven plasma source to measure the isotopic composition of very small sources of volumes or gas. According to ANSTO, the image: NASA innovation, a prototype of which will be available in 2011, could be particularly useful for climate scientists, for example by replacing current laborious multi-step processes required to measure isotope ratios in extracted ice samples with a simpler one-step procedure. IRMS also allows the simultaneous measurement of IRMS may be useful in the study rare 17O and oxygen isotopes 16O and of solar wind, the stream of highly ionized gas that blows continuously 18 O, which is of particular interest in outward through the solar system. the study of solar winds emanating from the sun. Other potential applications include environmental, earth, forensic and nutrition sciences. More information: www.ansto.gov.au
Prime time
Novel cancer chemotherapies are increasingly targeted at boosting the patients own immune system enhancing the effect of chemotherapeutic agents. CVac™ cell therapy from Prima Biomed Pty Ltd. is based on this paradigm: Dendritic cells, which play a central role in so called cellmediated immunity, are extracted from the patient, grown in vitro and exposed to a cancer antigen – mucin 1. The cancer antigen is coupled to an adjuvant, the sugar polymer mannan, which was found to boost the activity of the primed dendritic cells. After being injected back into the
13 image: adapted from www.primabiomed.com.au
Cytotoxic T-cells Patient T-Cell Cancer cell CVac™ technology: Dendritic cells (DCs) obtained from the patient are grown in vitro and ‘pulsed’ with mucin-1, a cancer antigen, coupled to mannan; the complex is internalised into the cells which can be stored as CVac™ vials. Injected back into the patient the antigen presenting DCs activated T-Cells to produce cytotoxic T-cells attacking and destroying mucin-1 producing cancer cells.
patient the dendritic cells then effectively mediate an immune response against mucin-1 expressing cancer types including ovarian cancer. In August last year, Prima gained approval by the US FDA for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to proceed with a US Phase IIb clinical trial of CVac™. The move sparked considerable market interest, as there are currently no maintenance based therapies for ovarian cancer. In early February, the company then announced that it has started with the trial and transferred the manufacturing from the Peter McCallum Cancer Centre to a US manufacturer. The multi-centre trial in the US and Australia is expected to involve around 60 ovarian cancer patients and will examine whether a treatment with CVac™ can reduce relapse incidences, control cancer metastases, and increase patient life expectancy. A European Phase III trial of CVac™ is planned for later this year. The company further announced that it has received Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) status by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), and expects a final decision by EMEA on Prima’s application for Orphan Medicinal Product Designation for CVac™ by 2nd June 2010. Prima has also completed its recent $11.25 million Share Purchase Plan after raising a further $2.5 million via a shortfall facility. More information: www.primabiomed.com.au
Fame in sight
pSIVIDA has reported an additional 24 months data from its FAME™ Phase 3 study of Iluvien in patients with Diabetic Macular Edema (DME). The company says the data reinforce the positive top-line results announced in December. The study tested two doses of the small glucocorticoide releasing intravitreal inserts, and investigated the percentage of patients improving in the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) by 15 or more letters from baseline on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) eye chart. The additional data from a Full Analysis Set representing all randomised patients show statistically significant improvements with both treatments, in line with the previously reported data. In a combined analysis, low and high dose Iluvien improved the BCVA in 28.7% and 28.6% of patients, respectively, by at least 15 letters. This compared to 16.2% in control patients. Patients with low dose Iluvien were also less likely to receive additional treatment for DME, such as laser treatment or off protocol treatments with other intravitreal injections. Compared to controls, patients treated with low dose Iluvien were, as March 2010
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Innovation watch
was previously reported, more likely to experience increased intraocular pressure; they were also slightly more likely to develop serious glaucoma; and during the trial almost twice as many patients (80% vs 45% in controls) developed a cataract, a common complication in DME. Yet, patients treated with low dose Iluvien experienced slightly less retinal detachment and serious vitreous hemorrhage, compared to control patients. US-based Alimera Sciences, Inc., pSivida’s licensee, announced in December that, based of the 24 months results, it intends to file a New Drug Application (NDA) for low-dose Iluvien with the US FDA. If successful, first sales of Iluvien could already be in the first quarter of 2011. More information: www.pSIVIDA.com.au
Well tolerated happiness
The final results of Bionomics Limited’s Phase Ia clinical trial of BNC210, currently developed as a treatment for anxiety and co-morbid depression, confirm that the drug is also safe and well tolerated at high dose levels of 2000mg. The primary objectives of the trial, evaluating safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of BNC210 in healthy male volunteers, were already met in a first stage, as was reported in October 2009. In the final stage 2, which tested a higher dose of 2000mg compared to 1500mg in stage 1, blood cortisol levels were also measured. This test revealed that in BNC210 treated male volunteers cortisol levels were lower compared to placebo, consistent with the anxiolytic activity of the drug, and indicating that cortisol levels may be a useful biomarker of BNC210 activity. The most commonly reported side-effects were fatigue and headache, although these were mild, according to principal investigator Professor Paul Rolan from the University of Adelaide. In addition to the positive safety and tolerability data, the study also confirmed a pharmacokinetic profile supporting a once a day administration, says Dr Deborah Rathjen, chief executive officer and managing director of Bionomics. More information: www.bionomics.com.au
Protected mending
Mesoblast Limited has been granted a US patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) providing exclusive commercial protection for its bone tissue generating Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs), complementing previous patents of composition-of-matter and manufacturing. The spectrum of potential applications using the technology include products for repair and healing of long bone fractures, spinal bony fusion of the cervical and lumbar intervertebral spaces, treatment of bone defects, and treatment and prevention of osteoporosis-related fractures such as fractures of the hip and vertebral bodies. More information: http://mesoblast.com.au
Come play with me
Avexa Limited’s Phase IIb extension study of the nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor apricitabine (ATC) in drug-resistant HIV patients has resulted in 94% of the 36 patients completing the study March 2010
with undetectable viral loads up to week 144. No resistance to ATC was detected and no ATC-related serious adverse events were observed. In addition, patients were able to maintain CD4+ cell numbers above the critical level of 500 cells per microlitre. ACT included in an optimised background regimen (OBR) was also effective in patients that had entered the study with a higher level of resistance; more than 90% of these patients showed undetectable levels of virus. Together with the positive initial data from Avexa’s Phase III trial, the results “provide a clear indication of the medical value of ATC”, says Dr Jonathan Coates, Avexa’s chief scientific officer. Early in February, Avexa announced top line results from its Phase III trial, in which ATC was compared to the NRTI drug 3TC. The initial data indicated a positive clinical benefit for ATC versus standard of care in HIV therapy. At 24 weeks, 53% of patients had viral loads below detection level, compared to 51% with standard of care. Patients receiving ACT also experienced greater recovery of CD4+ cell numbers and progressed less frequently to clinical disease compared to patients not receiving ACT (3.8% vs. 16.2%). However, the results were found not statistically significant, a result of the early termination of the trial in October 2009 with fewer patients enrolled than expected. At the time, chief executive officer Dr Julian Chick commented on the stop of the trial, which was to continue through 2010, that it would allow an early evaluation of ACT’s potential in the overall HIV treatment landscape, and would provide mature enough data for potential licensing partners. Tibotec not going ahead In a separate development, Avexa announced that Johnson & Johnson’s Tibotec decided not to continue its option on Avexa’s early stage HIV integrase program, which Avexa says has identified a number of novel compound classes highly potent against raltegravir- and elvitegravirresistant viruses. The company will continue to interact with Tibotec on a non–exclusive basis. More information: www.avexa.com.au
On the roll
Australian company HealthLinx’s shares rocketed following the launch of its ovarian cancer test OvPlex™ in the UK by its distribution partner Intus Healthcare. The test, for which sales have also begun in Australia, has received a European Certification in July 2009. In December 2009, Intus reached an agreement with major hospital and healthcare services group Spire Healthcare to market and process OvPlex™ making the test immediately available across England, Scotland and Wales. Dr Fergus Macpherson, National Head of Pathology at Spire Healthcare, says “OvPlex™ is a superior ovarian cancer test to anything in the market that we know of.” Managing director of HealthLinx Nick Gatsios says that marketing OvPlex™ in the first large scale roll out in the UK will catalyse the marketing in other countries; the company has opened discussions with Korea, China and other European countries, and has been approached by some Central South American countries, he says. HealthLinx also announced that it received UK ethics committee approval for a second performance study of its second generation OvPlex™ test. The study, which is partly funded through the Victorian Government’s VSA Grants program, will screen 1150 samples using the existing OvPlex™ panel and additional two novel biomarkers AGR2 and HTX010. Initial results suggest diagnostic accuracy of this new test will be greater than 97% for early stage ovarian cancer. More information: www.healthlinx.com.au
Innovation watch
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Natural human protection
Patrys Limited has been granted a patent by the Australian Patent Office covering its PAT-CM1 natural human antibody and any potentially competitive antibodies with similar structures and functions. PAT-CM1 is currently in development for the treatment of solid tumours and metastases across a number of indications including pancreatic, lung, breast and gastric cancers. Similar patent applications are pending in all major markets, and the company says that in breadth and scope the claims are also comparable to patent applications for six other products, including clinical candidates PAT-SM6 and PAT-LM1. The sustainable protection of proprietary rights is critical as the company advances toward human trials and into collaborations with large partners, says chief executive officer Dan Devine. In January, Patrys announced it had granted CSL an exclusive right to research and develop products based on two early stage antibodies from the company’s pipeline. More information: http://patrys.com/mediareleases/94.pdf
Potential scarring relief
image: Ed Uthman
Pharmaxis has completed the first Phase I clinical trial of PXS25, a new anti-fibrotic agent for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis affecting over 5 million people worldwide with an average life expectancy following diagnosis of 3-5 years. The drug inhibits a key regulatory protein involved in the scarring of lung tissue that occurs in pulmonary fibrosis and inhibits oxygen uptake into the bloodstream. The Phase I trial in 40 healthy volunteers tested five ascending doses of PXS25 which were all found safe and well tolerated with a pharmacokinetic profile consistent with once a Autopsy photo of day dosing. end-stage pulmonary fibrosis (honeycomb Chief executive officer Dr Alan Robertson lung) says that PXS25 could be active in a range of fibrotic diseases. “PXS25 fulfils many of the other criteria we look for in a drug,” he says. More information: www.pharmaxis.com.au
Chinese attraction
QRxPharma Limited, which develops new therapies for pain management and central nervous system (CNS) disorders, has entered a strategic alliance with China Aoxing Pharmaceutical Company. Under the agreement, China Aoxing will fund the development of QRXPharma’s lead product MoxDuo®IV for the China market in exchange for exclusive marketing rights in China. QRxPharma will retain ownership of MoxDuo®IV, an intravenous formulation of the company’s Dual-Opioid™ technology for the acute treatment of moderate to severe pain. QRxPharma will also be able to use the clinical work completed by China Aoxing for product registration purposes outside of China. A comparative proof-of-concept study is underway evaluating safety and efficacy of MoxDuo®IV versus IV morphine alone for patients with moderate to severe post-operative pain following hip replacement surgery. The results are expected to be announced in Q2 2010.
Dual-Opioid™ contain Morphine the ‘prototypical opoid produced in poppy plants, and the semi-synthetic derivative from the opium derived thbaine
China Aoxing will also market in China, the most advanced of QRxPharma’s three complementary Dual-Opioid™ products in development. The product is presently investigated in two pivotal US Phase 3 trials to meet US FDA requirements for regulatory submission and market approval. The first trial, initiated in December 2009, aims to meet the ‘Combination Rule’ requirement by the US FDA by demonstrating that in bunionectomy patients MoxDuo®IR has superior analgesic effect than does each of its component doses of morphine and oxycodone alone. The initiation of the second trial was announced in February; the trial will evaluate the analgesic effect and safety in patients who have undergone total knee replacement. Once these two pivotal studies are completed successfully, no additional pharmacology, toxicology or long-term clinical safety studies will be required for regulatory submission and market approval, says the company. More information: www.qrxpharma.com/
Another one bites the dust
According to the New South Wales Life Science Directory one of the most innovative Australian companies, Polartechnics Limited is in liquidation. The development ends a survival battle, which entered crisis point when the company was forced to abandon a merger with Fermiscan Holdings early last year. In August, the company, which developed a range of screening technologies for cervical cancer and other sexual diseases, such as TruScreen and CerviScreen, was placed into administration to carry out a restructure of the company. In February this year, Administrators McCleod and Associates, now appointed as Liquidators, announced that the decision to wind up was made at a creditors’ meeting. The liquidator note to the market states that there is no likelihood that shareholders will receive any distribution in the winding up of the company. More information: info@mcleodpartners.com
Heart buddies
Australian company Cellmid is focussing its research and commercialisation strategies on midkine, a low molecular weight heparinbinding growth factor of the neurite growth-promoting factor family (NEGF) . The name midkine stems from its increased production in certain tissues during mid-gestation, but it is also found strongly induced during oncogenesis, inflammation, and tissue repair. Its anti-apoptotic March 2010
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innovation watch
activity, reducing cell suicide in ischemic diseases, is one target of Cellmid’s clinical research efforts. Investigating a potential of midkine in the prevention of apoptosis in the heart following acute ischemic events, the company found in preclinical animal trials that a single dose of midkine soon after ischemia can significantly reduce the size of an infarct, and reduce mortality rates from 33% to 10%. In preparation for clinical trials, the company announced a development and collaboration agreement with global pharmaceutical company Pharmahungary, which will support the pre-clinical and early validation program for midkine to treat heart-attack. Pharmahungary agreed to perform pre-clinical studies in small and large animals and provide its proprietary exclusion criteria studies, which are expected to increase the success of the clinical trials. In return, Pharmahungary will receive milestone payments from Cellmid. If successful, the companies plan to also collaborate in the proof-of-concept clinical stage (Phase 1b/2b) under similar terms.
In a separate development, Sirtex announced the start of a new trial conducted by the University of Oxford, which will compare a combined treatment of chemotherapy and SIR-Spheres® microspheres with standard chemotherapy in patients with bowel cancer that has spread to the liver. The FOXFIRE study is expected to involve 490 patients in 24 hospitals across the UK. In an earlier SIR-Spheres, tiny microspheres loaded with yttrium-90. The spheres smaller trial a combination therapy are trapped in the tumours vascular with SIR-Spheres and chemotherapy bed, there destroying the tumour by reduced in 90% of treated patients the emitting pure beta radiation size of the tumour compared to only image: modified from www.Sirtex.com.au 50% of patients treated with just chemotherapy.
More information: www.cellmid.com.au
More information: www.sirtex.com
Anti-fungal progress
Broad ownership envisaged
More information: www.halcygen.com
More information: www.phylogica.com
Spherical options
Japanese protection
HalcyGen Pharmaceutical develops and licenses new improved proprietary generic drug formulations known as ‘Super Generics’ or ‘High Functionality Generics’. Its product range includes a generic formulation of itraconazole, a synthetic broad-spectrum anti-fungal agent marketed worldwide as Sporanox®. The drug is registered for use in indications including: onychomycosis candidosis, aspergillosis, histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis. HalcyGen’s SUBA®-Itraconazole is based on an improved formulation which increases the bioavailability of the drug, reducing the amount of drug that is administered to patients to 50% compared to Sporanox®. As the company announced in March, preliminary results of a European pharmacokinetic study did confirm this improved bioavailability as SUBA®-Itraconazole given at a half dose was found clinically bioequivalent to Sporanox® within EU guidelines. The study had been requested by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to confirm that SUBA®-Itraconazole’s clinical bioequivalence with the US-derived Sporanox® was similar to the European-registered Sporanox®. Based on the results, the company now intends to file for registration in the UK in August 2010, with potential first sales in 2011. The company aims for a dual registration strategy by simultaneously seeking approval in the USA through the US FDA and in Europe with the UK as the Reference Member State.
Sirtex Medical Limited has announced that its SIR-Spheres®, tiny resin microspheres loaded with beta-radiation emitting yttrium-90, will be used in combination with Bayer Healthcare’s Nexavar® in a European trial with approximately 375 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The trial, known as ‘SORAMIC’ will compare the effectiveness of the Nevaxar-SIR-Spheres combination to the use of Nevaxar therapy alone for the treatment of patients with intermediate and advanced stage HCC, for whom surgery is no option. Sirtex’s chief executive officer Gilman Wong expects that the study, which will involve more than 30 European treatment centres over approximately 3 years, will establish a new standard of care for patients who have currently limited treatment available. March 2010
The allowance of a European patent (06003767.8) is a major milestone that broadens Phylogica’s ownership of the Phylomer peptide drug class, says the company. It expects that the patent will proceed to grant in the near future, which would extend the company’s ownership beyond methods of constructing and screening Phylomer libraries, to include composition-of-matter on the libraries themselves. The patent covers the use of any combination of compact sequenced genomes from both Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes regardless of their origin, and is not restricted to the size of genomic fragments required to construct the Phylomer® libraries. Phylomer® peptides are derived from diverse natural sequences and selected for their tight binding of disease associated target antigens. They can potentially be administered by a number of means including parenteral or intranasal delivery, and Phylogica is collaborating with Aegis Therapeutics to develop the delivery of Phylomer® peptides through Aegis’ Intravall® transmucosal delivery. In a recent letter to shareholder’s, Phylogica’s executive chairman Dr Doug Wilson comments that the company has been pursuing an aggressive international business development path, which includes the signing of a discovery contract with Europe’s largest pharmaceutical company Roche, and a recent collaborative agreement with UK-based Isogenica Ltd aimed at optimising Phylomer peptides.
Xenome Limited has been granted a patent Novel Peptides ( nr. 4447783) by the Japanese Patent Office relating to the company’s novel class of norepinephrine transporter (NET) inhibitors, chi-conopeptides, and its lead product Xen2174. The patent extends Xenome’s proprietary position to all major pharmaceutical markets. Xen2174, is a novel conopeptide analogue for the treatment of moderate to severe pain through its activity as a non-competitive inhibitor of norepinephrine transporter (NET). The drug has been tested in an international Phase I/II clinical trial with cancer patients, where a single intrathecal administration of Xen2174 was found safe and well-tolerated, and showed positive analgesic effect. More information: www.xenome.com
state roundup Mental expansion...
The New South Wales Government has given planning approval to the new Neuroscience Research precinct, expanding the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute to become one of the biggest research institutes in Australia. The approval covers the entire $265 million expansion including construction approval for a new $118 million sevenstorey research building. At completion, the new precinct will house up to 700 researchers who will focus on the prevention of major brain related diseases. More information: www.osmr.nsw.gov.au
...and nervy support
A new NSW Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Research and Clinical Trials Network will be set up to bring the State’s researchers together and streamline the clinical process. NSW Government and Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia (MSRA) will provide a total of $1.4 million, which will include support of a Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Trials Coordinator, and provide secretariat and grant writing support. The funding will include $970,000 provided by MSRA for two new fellowships supporting continued research into genetics and In MS the myelin sheath around the nerve neuopathology. Recipients of the axon is destroyed with inflammation and fellowships are Associate Professor scarring. image: adapted from NIH David Booth from the Westmead Millennium Institute and Dr John Parratt from the University of Sydney. More information: www.msra.org.au
Biosecure upgrade
The NSW Government’s $56 million upgrade of biosecurity facilities at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI) has started and will include a new secure laboratory precinct. EMAI was originally built as one of a number of regional veterinary facilities in NSW. It is now the State’s central veterinary facility and has taken on additional roles in plant health, and soil and aquatic science. EMAI is the State’s only high containment animal, plant and aquatic biosecurity diagnostic facility, with its laboratory facilities dating from the 1980s. While at the time of highest international standard, the upgrade is now required to meet current international biosecurity standards and retain accreditation. The project includes: n Construction of new high containment laboratories for virology, bacteriology, microbiology and molecular biology ; n Refurbishment of existing animal and plant health laboratories; and n Major upgrade of electrical and safety systems. More information: www.nsw.gov.au
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Back from the dead
Thought extinct for 30 years, the Yellow-spotted Bell Frog has been (re)discovered in the NSW Southern Tablelands. According to NSW Environment Minister Frank Sartor the finding is as significant as discovering a Tasmanian tiger. A statement released by the NSW Government emphasises the combined threat of habitat loss, climate change and the fungus Chytrid pose to the survival of amphibians, citing a global assessment of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), according to which 30-50% of amphibians are now endangered. The Chrytid fungus has a major impact on amphibian survival, the statement notes. The disease is fatal to many frog species as it effectively suffocates them alive,” says Mr Sartor. To abate the spread of the fungus the Government has initiated a number of activities which over the next five years include: n undertaking research and surveys on the dispersal of the fungus; n managing the risk to threatened species at key locations; n supporting training, education and communication programs; and n implementing a Chytrid fungus threat abatement program. More information: www.environment.nsw.gov.au
Network disruption
The NSW Government and the Oncology Children’s Foundation (OCF) have joined to create a Cancer Cytoskeleton Network (CCN), which aims to pool the expertise of leading Australian cancer researchers for research on the structure of the cancer cell ‘skeleton’, which may lead to new ways to stop the cancer by disrupting the cancer cells. Microtubules, a major NSW Minister for Science and component of the cytoskeleton, here shown in a fixated cell. Medical Research Jodi McKay says the image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Btub.jpg CCN would be modeled on other similar networks such as the Spinal Cord Injury Network and Cardiovascular Research Network, which aim for greater collaboration between Government, the knowledge sector and the community. The NSW Government will contribute $150,000 over two years for the establishment of a CCN network coordinator, while the OCF will contribute $3.2 million over four years for eight fellowships each worth $100,000 a year. More information: www.business.nsw.gov.au
Weed control
The Queensland Government has announced the release of two information products that will assist more effective control management of the significant invasive pests lantana and bellyache bush. A manual for bellyache bush, which is a toxic and highly adaptable Class 2 weed, is the first of its kind and was produced by Biosecurity Queensland following seven years of research by several state, federal and territory agencies. The development of the map was funded by the Australian March 2010
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state roundup
Government’s newly formed Australian Weeds Research Centre. Two further products address the Class 3 weed lantanta, which in 2001 was declared a Weed of National Significance. These products comprise a lantana distribution map developed using satellite and computer modelling technology, and a national plan to protect the country’s most at-risk environmental assets.
by late 2015. The technology is estimated to store up to 90% of the produced CO2 emissions. The Queensland Government was seeking public feedback by 15 March 2010 on draft terms of reference for environmental investigations. If approved, the $4.3 billion proposal could be the first commercial-scale power plant combined with a CCS capability.
More information: www.deedi.qld.gov.au
More information: www.cabinet.qld.gov.au;
Liquefying progress...
Plant lovers
The Queensland Government has issued Arrow Energy Ltd a pipeline licence to transport natural gas from coal seam gas (CSG) fields to the proposed 1.5 megatonne a year Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plant at Fisherman’s Landing. It is the first of several proposed pipeline licences to the seven CSG to LNG Plants currently under consideration in the Gladstone area. Shortly after the announcement, the company received a $3.3 billion conditional bid by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina, reflecting increasing interest in Queensland’s vast coal seam methane reserves. The takeover bid was still unresolved at the time of publication. Earlier in February, Arrow had announced its acquisition of the entire Fisherman’s Landing Plant including associated infrastructure. The project is to date the only proposed Gladstone CSG to LNG project having received Queensland Government approval for its Environmental Impact Statement. The pipeline connecting the Surat Basin with the Gladstone Plant would transport around 90 petajoules of coal seam gas a year over a distance of 470km; the project is estimated to cost approximately $600 million with construction anticipated to start in 2011 and first gas to be supplied to the plant in late 2012. In a related development, the Queensland Government currently seeks public comment on a supplementary environmental impact statement (SEIS) for a $8 billion Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas project in Gladstone. Project proponent Queensland Gas Company plans to extract coal seam gas from the Surat Basin and pump it to Gladstone for liquefaction before it is exported. The LNG liquefaction and export facility would have a potential capacity of more than 12 million tonnes LNG a year. More information: Fisherman’s Land LNG project: www.dme.qld.gov.au; Curtis LNG project: QCurtisLNG@dip.qld.gov.au
...and clean ambitions
In December, the Australian Government announced a proposed ZeroGen power plant project in the Bowen Basin west of Gladstone as one of four projects selected for a pre-feasibility study under its $2 billion Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Flagships Program. The company is proposing to build a commercial scale baseload Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) low emission coal power plant in Central Queensland March 2010
The Victorian Government has signed a new research agreement with DowAgroSciences, which builds on an alliance formed following the BIO2009 conference. Premier John Brumby says the agreement will acclerate and expand the alliance and development of improved plant traits. “Through this agreement, Dow will expand their work and therefore our research capability, specifically in the fields of biomass and yield enhancement, agronomic enhancement and modification of food, feed, fibre and oils characteristics in crops,” Mr Brumby says. Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, employs nearly 300 people with Victorian offices in Altona, Camberwell and Geelong. More information: www.premier.vic.gov.au
Fishy investment
The Victorian Department of Primary Industries has started construction of its new $1.3 million native fish production facility at the DPI’s Snobs Creek Centre. The facility is expected to be opened by the end of this year. The investment will allow Fisheries Victoria to significantly increase production of traditional recreational species such as Murray cod and golden perch but also produce large numbers of lesser known species including trout cod and Macquarie perch. More information: www.premier.vic.gov.au
Victorian browny points
Macquarie Perch
image: ccourtesy Ben Twist, La Trobe University
The Victorian Government will provide $700,000 for three projects developing new technologies to cut greenhouse emissions from brown coal. Funded projects are all led by Monash University and include: n $212,000 for a project also involving the University of Melbourne and Australian Char to investigate whether Victorian brown coal could be processed inexpensively to produce a carbon material able to absorb/desorb carbon from power station flue gases. n $238,000 for a project also involving CSIRO, HRL Technology and Australian Char to investigate whether Victorian brown coal can be heated and chemically treated to become similar to coking coal added to iron furnaces to remove the impurities from iron ore to obtain pure iron for steel production. n $269,000 for a project also involving HRL Technology to look at the gasification of brown coal and ways to improve the synthetic gas produced to develop value-added products. More information: www.premier.vic.gov.au
people Organic onlooker
Dr Tim Schmidt, from the University of Sydney, is the first Australian receiving the Coblentz Award; the prize is awarded annually by the US Vibrational Spectroscopy Association to outstanding young molecular spectroscopists under the age of 36. The 2010 award, which includes US$2000 prize money and US$500 travel allowance, recognises Dr Schmidt’s work on new spectra of Tim Schmidt moderately large organic molecules. Such molecules are important in processes on Earth such as combustion, atmospheric pollution, and are of possible astrophysical interest.
Green dean
Flinders University has appointed Dr Andrew Millington as Dean of the University’s new School of the Environment. Dr Millington is currently director of Environmental Programs in Geosciences and Professor of Geography at Texas A&M University Andrew Millington in the United States and will take up his new role in July. His previous research has focused on the impact of people on vegetation and land use-land cover change, landscape fragmentation and biodiversity and used extensively remotely sensed images from satellites and aircraft.
This chair is everywhere
Griffith Institute for Health and Medical Research (GIHMR) has announced Professor Clive Palmer, chairman and founder of Mineralogy Pty Ltd., will chair the new GIHMR Development board. The board has been established to provide strategic development advice to the institute. Professor Palmer is among the richest Clive Palmer Australians, owner of Gold Coast A-League Soccer Club - Gold Coast United and a life member of the National Party. According to GIHMR, he has also significant expertise in biotechnology development and has previously been involved in the development of a pharmaceutical research and development company.
Traceable appointment
Dr Adrian Linacre will be the inaugural Justice Chair in Forensic DNA Technology at Flinders University. Since 1994, Dr Linacre has worked at the prestigious Centre for Forensic Science at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, specialising in DNA profiling for human identification and the investigation of wildlife crimes.
Rewarded pursuit
In recognition of half a century pursuit of excellence in scientific research and extending the frontiers
of medicine, Professor Kanti Bhoola, an adjunct professor at The University of Western Australia, was awarded the Art and Science of Medicine Gold Medal by the South African Medical Association. Professor Bhoola is a senior research fellow in the inflammation, immunology and cancer unit at the Lung Institute of Western Australia (LIWA) and honorary professor at the University of Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Busy leader
Professor Mark Toleman, from the University of Southern Queensland, is the new president of the Australian Council of Professors and Heads of Information Systems (ACPHIS). The organisation is the peak body established to represent Australian information systems academics on matters of national and international importance to the Mark Toleman discipline. As ACPHIS president he is also a member of the Australian Computer Society’s Information Systems Professional Board, a member of the Australasian Association of Information Systems Executive Committee, a member of the Executive Committee of the Australasian Conference on Information Systems and an invited observer on the Australian Council of Deans of ICT (ACDICT)
Crop’s saviour
The director of the WA Herbicide Resistance Initiative (WAHRI) at the University of Western Australia, Winthrop Professor Stephen Powles, has been awarded the 2010 Grains Research and Development Corporation Western Region Seed of Light award. The annual award recognises significant contributions Stephen Powles to communicating the outcomes of research. Professor Stephen Powles is an international authority on herbicide resistance and was influential in supporting WA farming systems threatened by widespread herbicide resistant weeds. Previously, he received the Centenary Medal in 2003 and was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
Knowledge measurer
Professor Kaye Basford, head of University of Queensland’s School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences, has commenced a two-year term as president of the International Biometric Society (IBS). The society promotes since 1947 the development and application of statistical and mathematical theory and methods in the biosciences. Kaye Basford
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IBS has over 5,300 members (from 80 countries), and publishes two professional journals, Biometrics and the Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics.
Humid authority
Associate Professor Peter Valentine, from James Cook University ( JCU), is the new chair of the Wet Tropics Management Authority, which is charged by the Queensland Government with managing the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area according to Australia’s obligations under the World Heritage Peter Valentine Convention. A/Professor Valentine has been an academic at JCU for over three decades and was involved in establishing the original Wet Tropics World Heritage Area 20 years ago. Currently he is also director, World Heritage, with the local Wet Tropics resource management organisation, Terrain.
Only the best will do...
Professor Gareth Evans, former cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating Governments, has been formerly installed as new Chancellor of the Australian National University. He is succeeding Professor Kim Beazely who in February took up an appointment as Australia’s ambassador to the US. Professor Evans is also President Emeritus of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. Gareth Evans Following his exit from politics he worked on the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, the UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, and the Blix Commission on weapons of mass destruction.
Eye opener
An expert in technologies preventing blindness, Dr Kanagasingam Yogesan, will be new research director of the Australian e-Health Research Centre (AEHRC), a joint venture of CSIRO and Queensland Government, which as a national research facility develops information and communications technologies for health services and clinical treatments. Dr Yogesan is an internationally Kanagasingam Yogesan recognised scholar in the field of tele-medicine and e-health. His research interests include developing low-cost, non-invasive diagnostic imaging technologies for early detection of a range of conditions directly threatening sight, through to stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.
March 2010
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rural and resources
Rural research inquiry
The Australian Government has announced the terms of reference of the Australian Productivity Commission’s inquiry into rural research and development corporation arrangements, which will consider the economic and policy rationale for Government investment in rural research and development and examine the interactions and potential overlaps across governments and programs. Rural Development Corporations (RDCs) play a central role for Government investment in rural R&D. They commission research and development from public and private providers and are funded by a coinvestment model based on industry levies and matching Government funding. In 2008-09, expenditure by RDCs on R&D was about $460 million, including $207 million from the Australian Government. Under the inquiry’s terms of reference the review will broadly consider various aspects of the RDC model. In addition, the review will also: n examine the economic and policy rationale for Commonwealth Government investment in rural R&D; and n examine the appropriate level of, and balance between public and private investment in rural R&D; The Commission will hold hearings for the purpose of the inquiry and produce a draft and final report by February 2011. More information: www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/rural-research
Sunny days
Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson has announced the seven members of the Solar Flagships Council which will assess the 52 received applications for grants under Round One of the Australian Government’s $1.5 billion Solar Flagships program. The council will be chaired by former chancellor of the University of Tasmania, Dr Mike Vertigan, who currently is also an Advisory Board member to the Education Investment Fund. Other members of the council include: n Antony Cohen – chief financial officer of Better Place Australia and previously partner, board member and head of Energy and Natural Resources at KPMG; n Kathy Hirschfeld – managing director and refinery manager at BP’s Bulwer Island Refinery; n Gaye McMath – executive director, Finance and Resources at The University of Western Australia and previous pro vice-chancellor (Resource Management) and chief financial officer at Murdoch University. n Dr Jenny Purdie – general manager at Rio Tinto Alcan’ Pacific Primary Metals Business and smelter operations manager of Alcoa. n Dr John Tamblyn – chair of the Australian Energy Market Commission. n Mr Mark Twidell – executive director of the Australian Solar Institute. The project selection for Round One will be over two stages with a short-list of the most competitive proposals to be invited to undertake detailed feasibility and design studies. The two final projects - one solar March 2010
thermal and one photovoltaic - will be announced end of 2010. Australian Solar Institute signs MoU with German research institute The Australian Solar Institute has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute, Europe’s largest research institution, to strengthen the development and deployment of solar energy technology including joint R&D projects, informationsharing and support for skills development. More information: http://minister.ret.gov.au
Genetically modified benefit...
A study by Curtin University, undertaken independently after being commissioned by Monsanto Australia Ltd, identified enconomic and environmental benefits for farmers in Western Australia who use a genetically modified canola brand Roundup Ready® as a result of higher crop yields and reduced herbicide use. The study compared the GM canola with non-GM, herbicide resistant and conventional systems Carl Davies, CSIRO Plant Industry of canola and found profitability of GM canola was equal or superior. In addition, the estimated environmental impact of GM canola was less than half of the most widely used system in WA, triazine tolerant canola: to grow GM canola requires 5-6% less fuel because of a reduced need to spray herbicides, which are also more benign to the soil. Although some other canola systems were found to have less environmental impact than GM canola, they were generally not suitable to WA conditions. Curtin researcher Dr James Fisher warns, however, that GM canola should not be expected to be a silver bullet for local farmers. “The technology must be used in a way that ensures that it will still be a viable tool 10 years from now, and that potential negative effects are minimised,” he says. “Also, yield differences must be sufficient to offset trait fee (the charge for the GM seeds), especially in the low rainfall zone.” More information: http://news.curtin.edu.au
...but do we want it?
The majority of Australians are still uncomfortable with GM foods as public perceptions of GM agriculture have barely changed in the past five years. This is the major finding of a study by Swinburne University which analysed data from a 2008 annual national survey by the university’s National Science and Technology Monitor (SNSTM). As part of the 1000 phone interviews, people were questioned about their ‘comfort’ with a variety of technologies. Respondents scored on average 3.9 when asked to rate on a scale ranging from zero (not comfortable) to ten (very comfortable) how comfortable they were with genetically modified plants. Importantly, the study results, which were published in People and Place, indicate that this low score was not so much because of public ignorance, but rather a lack of trust in the institutions responsible for its commercialisation. More information: www.swinburne.edu.au
Power house down under
Geoscience Australia and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) have released an Australian Energy
rural and resources
More information: www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/ controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&catno=70142
Uplifting waste use
The first helium plant in the southern hemisphere has officially opened at the BOC Wickham Point plant in Darwin. The $50 million project will extract helium from waste trace gases from the ConocoPhilips Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plant, providing a new export opportunity for Australia, according to Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson. Domestically the project will replace imports from the USA and Middle East. Helium has well-established international markets due to its wideranging industrial uses, such as in space and defence industries, for laser welding, and for production of semi-conductors and optical fibres. More information: http://minister.ret.gov.au
Wet gold is gettin’ rarer
The CSIRO has released the report of its South-West Western Australia Sustainable Yields Project. It projects a marked decrease in river flows and water yield in south-west Western Australia by 2030, due to climate change and increased demand. Funded by the Australian Government with $5.2 million, the project covered almost 40,000 square kilometres between Geraldton and Albany. Key findings include:
n the south-west WA will face a one-quarter reduction in water availability by 2030, relative to the last 30 years; n under the best-case scenario, mean annual surface water yields will decrease by 4% by 2030; and n under the worst-case scenario, that reduction will be 49% by 2030. The report also projects that under an extreme dry future scenario, water yields in three important groundwater areas – including the Gnangara aquifer supplying tap water to Perth – could decline by over South-west corner of Western Australia; shaded one-third by 2030. More information: www.clw.csiro.au/publications/ waterforahealthycountry/swsy/#main
areas indicate ground and surface water resources.
Renewable consensus
The Australian Senate has passed legislation to create the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy (ACRE), which is part of the $4.5 billion Clean Energy Initiative and draws together more than $560 million of renewable energy investment to develop and deploy renewable energy. ACRE will be a one-stop shop for Australian renewable energy businesses and will consolidate the: n $235 million Renewable Energy Demonstration Program (REDP); n $15 million Second Generation Biofuels Research and Development Program; n $50 million Geothermal Drilling Program; n $20 million Advanced Electricity Storage Technologies Program; n $14 million Wind Energy Forecasting Capability Program; n $18 million Renewable Energy Equity Fund; and n more than $200 million for other initiatives, including funding for Solar REDP projects. More information: www.ret.gov.au
Dry benefits
A new report by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation states that climate change has the potential to change the mix of agriculture in many regions of Australia and to strongly challenge a number of current agricultural industries. However, New Rural Industries for Future Climates also predicts it will open opportunities for a range of new industries. For example, the southern regions of Australia are expected to become warmer and drier and crops Native foods, such as quandong may that can do without irrigation for periods provide opportunities as conditions become drier and warmer. of time may be better suited under these scenarios. Possible crops include olives, pomegranates, capers, Australian native foods (such as quandong, bush tomato, desert lime), and dates. The report also outlines new dryland farming systems which include crops such as mustards, quinoa, Australian native grass crops and eucalypts for oil. It suggests that policy makers need to recognise the role new rural industries play in increasing the diversity and resilience of Australian agriculture in a changing climate. More information: https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/items/10-010
March 2010
image: adapted from CSIRO Sustainable Yield project
Resource Assessment, which the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism requested as a contribution to future energy policy. The report reviews Australia’s identified and potential energy resources and assesses the factors that will influence their use until 2030. Launching the report, Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson says: “The two big findings are the extraordinary potential of coal seam methane and unconventional gas resources, and for the first time, we can see just how extensive Australia’s renewable energy resources are. Key facts and messages include: n Australia has abundant and diverse energy resources. As a percentage of world energy resources, Australia holds 38% of uranium, 9% of coal and 2% of natural gas resources; it is the world’s largest exporter of coal, and 6th largest LNG exporter. On an energy content basis, energy sources produced were coal (54%), uranium (27%), gas (11%) and renewables (2%). The resource base is capable of meeting both domestic and increased export demand for coal and gas, and uranium exports, over the next 20 years and beyond, with good potential for futher growth of the resource base through new discoveries. n Of the rich and diverse renewable energy resource base (wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, wave, tidal, bioenergy), only hydro is mostly developed, and wind energy is strongly growing. The other resources are largely underdeveloped. n Australia’s energy usage is expected tochange significantly by 2030 due to a 20% Renewable Energy Target and various Government initiatives. Worldwide, Australia ranks presently 15th in terms of per capita use of energy. However, coal is playing a larger role in Australia’s fuel mix than in many other OECD countries, while the use of wind, solar and gas is average. Compared to other OECD countries, there are also less hydroenergy resources, less use of bioenergy and no use of nuclear power in Australia. n Long-term, Australia’s energy production is expected to nearly double by 2030, due to increased export, primary energy consumption (+35%), and an increase in electricity demand (+50%).
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ICT news
Broad bandits on the roll
In February, the Australian Government released an exposure draft legislation to establish a regulatory framework for the National Broadband Network company, NBN Co Limited. The proposed legislation was released in two separate bills: n the National Broadband Network Companies Bill 2010, which sets out ownership, governance and sale arrangements for NBN Co; and n the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures – Access Arrangements) Bill 2010 , which sets out the access arrangements for NBN Co that reflect its wholesale-only status. Comments from the public were invited by 15 March. The Government says, the draft bills intend to change the competitive dynamics of the telecommunications sector by ensuring NBN Co will operate as a wholesale-only company, offering open and equivalent access. The draft legislation received mixed responses from the sector. The executive director of the Competitive Carriers’ Coalition, David Forman, welcomed the opportunity for community comment on the draft legislation, including the outlined protections to ensure that NBN Co would remain wholesale. “Competitors, for example, will want to know if the government has properly defined ‘wholesale’, or if we believe there is room for improvement,” he told The Autralian newspaper. However, some commentators aired concerns, including Telstra, writing in a letter to shareholders that the legislation raised “for the first time the prospect of NBN Co becoming a Government-funded retailer, not just a wholesale network provider. Such an outcome would run counter to the core purpose of the NBN and the Government’s primary policy objective of restructuring the industry to have separate providers for retail and wholesale fixed network services.” $100 million injection into NBN Tas An equity injection of $100 million into NBN Tasmania is to facilitate the further roll out of fibre-to-the-home broadband in the State. Minister for Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, says stage 3 of the NBN rollout, delivered by NBN Tasmania and Aurora Energy, would extend to 90,000 premises in Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, bringing the total number of premises targeted in the first three stages to 100,000. Ultimately, the Tasmanian NBN rollout will provide 200,000 premises with access to optic fibre broadband. NBN implementation study delivered In August last year the Government appointed a consortium of McKinsey & Company and KPMG to undertake a $25 million NBN implementation study; a full report has been submitted to the Government but may not be released in full to the Parliament or the public. More information: www.minister.dbcde.gov.au
Need it in peak time? – too bad
A study by researchers from the University of Melbourne warns that the ‘smart meter’ rollout for energy use could negatively impact on the least advantaged Australian households. The research is based on focus groups with pensioners, parents with young children and people with disabilities. Study co-author Michael McGann says that while smart meters March 2010
benefit electricity distributors through improved operational efficiencies, the ‘time-of-use’ pricing penalises consumers who need to use most of their electricity during the daytime and cannot shift their use to the off-peak period. “A pensioner with electric heating could pay $150 extra per year if put on to a time-of-use pricing plan like those used in smart meter trials.” More information: http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-238
Carbon strategy helper
University of Melbourne researchers have developed a research tool to help businesses operating in a carbon constrained environment such as under a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. Depending on the specific carbon reduction targets, the software CarLO (Carbon Liability Optimiser) selects projects that could maintain profits while limiting emissions, and then schedules them over a long-term horizon. This allows companies to formulate strategies for reducing and offsetting their carbon liability, while better accounting for their emissions liability when making investment decisions across all areas of their business. The university is partnering with CARBONcontrol, which is seeking to combine the CarLO tools with its enterprise software for Greenhouse Gas Emissions inventory management. The company is currently canvassing organisations interested in becoming a partner for the implementation and setup of the system. More information: http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-247
Flexible brother
Curtin University of Technology and transit security company Digital Technology International (DTI) are commercialising Curtin’s Virtual Observer software, a new security software system that replaces traditional fixed cameras on vehicles with mobile cameras and a new software system that monitors the location of the vehicles using GPS technology. Possible applications are crime prevention, policing, intelligence collection, counter terrorism and in the assessment of insurance claims and court actions. More information: http://news.curtin.edu.au
Supercalculating flops
A partnership between the University of Melbourne (UoM) and IBM will build the world’s most powerful supercomputer dedicated to life science. The Victorian Life Sciences Computational Initiative (VLSCI) will cost $100 million and will be located at UoM in Parkville. The Victorian Government announced it will contribute $50 million to the project, which will be established in stages, with the aim of building a system of over 800 Teraflops by 2012 (One Teraflop capacity enables a computer to make one trillion calculations per second). Vice President of IBM Research Tilak Agerwala says as the largest IBM collaboration in life science, the VLSC holds great potential for driving new breakthroughs in the understanding of human disease and translating that knowledge into improved medical care. More information: www.ibm.com/research
opinion
Dr Mark Matthews Director of the Forum for European-Australian Science and Technology cooperation (FEAST)*
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International research collaboration: overcoming the impediments
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n science, tensions between competing national interests and collective responsibilities have always existed. Nations compete and cooperate at the same time via differing sets of alliances and bilateral arrangements. This competition-cooperation tension applies to both national security concerns and also to less sensitive scientific and technological work. The result is that gaps in scientific and technological capability between nations are unlikely to disappear via a simple process of convergence. The existence of these capability gaps are Possessing what others want, themselves a source of power and competitiveness for and being able to do what others would like to be able to the most capable nations. do, provides many commercial Possessing what others want, and being able to and security advantages. These do what others would like advantages are not given away to be able to do, provides lightly. many commercial and security advantages. These advantages are not given away lightly. Complex trade-offs therefore need to be made between the advantages that arise from allowing other nations to catch-up via technology transfer and capacity-building and the commercial and military disadvantages that may arise as these nations also become stronger high-tech competitors. Against this geopolitical backdrop to global science and technology, there is a growing recognition of the need to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of those areas of research that address collective international interests. This is especially important in regard to addressing major global challenges – areas in which there tend to be collective security concerns – broadly defined as health, environment, climate change, energy and food security etc. In such cases the advantages of more effective international cooperation tend to outweigh the disadvantages ...there is a growing recognition because of both the of the need to improve the collective benefits and the efficiency and the effectiveness enormous collective costs of those areas of research that of failure. In order to address address collective international these challenges, barriers to interests. researcher mobility need to be lowered. Open and/or reciprocal relationships via which researchers in one country can access research mechanisms in another country need to be built-up. Impediments to stronger bilateral and multilateral research cooperation need to be identified and targeted for reduction. It also requires new forms of
standardised ‘agile’ contractual arrangements that make it easier to exploit synergies between existing research projects via international cooperation without long delays and high transaction costs. Moves in this direction should reduce unhelpful duplication of efforts in research and allow the economies of scale and scope associated with coordinated global research to be better exploited. European programs increasingly support the Impediments to stronger cooperation of European bilateral and multilateral countries with countries research cooperation need to outside of Europe. A significant be identified and targeted for example of this is the launch reduction. It also requires new of a set of inter-connected forms of standardised ‘agile’ projects which aim to raise the awareness of Europecontractual arrangements based researchers for funding that make it easier to exploit opportunities that support synergies... collaboration with colleagues in a range of non-European nations. Projects with this pragmatic focus, funded by the European Commission, are now underway in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, and the USA. These projects target both research and innovation support programs. The Australian project is led by the International Bureau of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and also involves the Forum for European-Australian Science and Technology cooperation (FEAST), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the British Council. The various national projects are cooperating over the development of a standard database architecture that aims to make it easier to understand and compare different nations’ research funding arrangements. In addition to aligning efforts with those in the other participating countries, the Australian project is also carrying out some exploratory work on the potential for developing measures of openness and reciprocity in access to national research funding systems. Details of this new collective initiative, which is known as ACCESS4EU, can be obtained from: http://www.access4.eu/. These moves to develop a more coordinated relationship between the European Union and a range of non-EU countries collaborating with the EU in research may point the way toward more effective multilateral coordination over these matters in the future. Institutions, agencies and non-government organisations that offer research and innovation support programs accessible by overseas nationals are encouraged to contact FEAST to discuss their engagement with this new initiative. *Dr Matthews is also a member of the new Centre for Policy Innovation at the Australian National University.
March 2010
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Opinion
Carla Gerbo Director, Australian Nanotechnology Alliance
Effective networks the key to success
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or many the concept of nanotechnology is the name given to their Apple Ipod that can hold ever increasing numbers of songs, films and photos. Yet, in America nanotechnology is the largest federally funded science initiative since the country put a man on the moon. This reflects the significant opportunities provided by this enabling technology in the fields of research, development and new commercial products. Nanotechnology is the precision engineering of materials at the scale of 10-9 metres and emerged only in the last 50 years, as with new developments in Scanning Electron Microscopes scientists became aware that at this scale new functionalities can be obtained, resulting in products, devices and processes that are able to transform various industries. While the science at the scale of 10 hydrogen atoms may be baffling, it’s the economics behind these efforts that make sense. Back in late 2004, a report by New York based research firm Lux Research forecast
of collaborations between different types of organisations, particularly collaborations between universities/institutes and industry/business, and between universities/institutes and government research organisations”. Accordingly, a key recommendation addresses the need for long term funding to be allocated by the Australian Government to an integrated nanotechnology network that simultaneously represents the needs of research and industry, and which is supported according to typical innovation development timeframes. At the Australian Nanotechnology Alliance (ANA), the peak body for nanotechnology in Australia, we agree wholeheartedly. The ANA is based on a triple helix business model in which the key groups (research, industry and government) ...the transfer of research into consumer products and knowledge stakeholder are encouraged to interact and collaborate. While transfer related to nanotechnology has not been funded. As a the model has worked quite well, adequate resourcing result, take-up of nanotechnology by industry has been slow. is becoming critical, especially when the majority of businesses that need to become aware of the technology that the global value of goods incorporating nanotechnology could be are in the small and medium category. as high as US$2.6 trillion, with international demand for two million I acknowledge the argument that business associations and networks direct and seven million indirect employees . Lux has since updated its should be self-sufficient. However, this should not be expected in the case forecast upping the value to over US$3 trillion. In Australia, Queensland of an enabling technology that has reach and application for every single Chief Scientist Professor Peter Andrews has estimated that the value of industry within Australia! nanotechnology for Australia could be as high as $60 billion, employing The Nanotechnology community is very aware of the importance of some 250,000 Australians. having a network that can bring those links from research into industry Nationally and internationally, Australia has a strong reputation for both domestically and internationally. Since the cessation of the federally research and development, innovation and entrepreneurial endeavour. funded Australian Office of Nanotechnology almost two years ago, the So are we a serious player in this revolution that some predict could be ANA and other materials science networks have been patiently waiting for incorporated into around 15% of all products in a few years from now? the Government’s next move. Finally, in February the Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr also announced the much awaited National Enabling There are promising efforts. Australian nanotechnology research Technologies Strategy (NETS). has already led to product applications by delivering breakthroughs in In financial terms NETS offers $38.2 million over four years, with key areas of climate change, energy, medicine, consumer goods as well as already $18.2 million earmarked for the National Measurement Institute. applications for sectors including mining, manufacturing, health care, This leaves $10.6 million to support policy and regulatory developments, construction, automotive and chemicals. and $9.4 million for public awareness and community engagement. Australia’s commitment to research in nanotechnology is strong and ANA support the idea that project money is available for engagement we have world leading researchers operating in excellent infrastructure activities, and we shall be submitting a number of proposals looking at facilities through both universities and publicly funded research institutes. innovative ways to encourage companies (regardless of their size) to look Australian research especially in materials, nano-bio (medical), electronics at utilising materials science in their production processes. and photonics and energy and environment are strong. In terms of The launch of NETS coincided with Australia’s premier research and infrastructure, funding from the Federal Government nanotechnology conference The International Conference on Nanoscience especially has been strong. However, the transfer of research into consumer and Nanotechnology (ICONN) and in the discussions there was a products and knowledge transfer related to nanotechnology has not been general feeling that NETS could deliver one of the missing pieces to the funded. As a result, take-up of nanotechnology by industry has been slow, nanotechnology and materials science eco-system, and deliver a number a view supported by a report released in February 2010 by the Australian of significant projects rather than a large number of small projects that Academy of Science (AAS), which analysed the state of nanotechnology in will not consolidate existing activities. With the tremendous research and infrastructure structures that Australia based on qualitative and quantitative research during 2009. Governments at all levels have developed, it would be a terrible shame The Nanotechnology in Australia Trends, Applications and if as a result of lacking resourcing we cannot build the collaborative Collaborative Opportunities report demonstrates that although Australia links necessary in this new technology sector for getting the research to continued to grow its international research reputation in the nano-field, commercialisation. “the most significant issue identified was the need to increase the number March 2010
...Page 1 ...continued from page 1 frameworks at State/Territory levels; supporting key regulatory agencies in their review activities; and supporting the engagement of Australian policy and regulatory agencies with overseas counterparts. In addition, NETS will also facilitate research on the social, economic and ethical impacts of enabling technologies. The lack of specific measures has drawn criticism, particularly from organisations concerned about the safety of nanotechnology, for example Friends of the Earth Australia, whose spokesperson Georgia Miller commented: “Without precautionary measures to safeguard people and the environment from nanotechnology’s risks, with no commitment to close regulatory gaps, or to guarantee the right to know, this Strategy is a cop out.” The Government’s emphasis, however, is on the development of appropriate standards and tools for better risk assessments. A major element of the strategy is to support the development of measurement infrastructure, expertise and standards for nanotechnology and biotechnology (nanometrology and biometrology) by the National Measurement Institute (NMI). This involves, for example, measuring the size distributions of nanoparticles, and also characterising their physico-chemical properties, relevant in areas such as toxicological and environmental testing, food applications and occupational health and safety applications. NMI will also expand its biometrology expertise for applications such as the detection of genetically modified organisms or materials; cancer diagnostics and prognostics; pre-natal diagnostics; the detection of gene doping in sports and the image: Mark Seggie, Resin Design, Victoria emerging applications of gene therapy and pharmacogenomics. The need to engage with the public on these issues is acknowledged in the strategy with the establishment of a public awareness and community engagement program. The program will also link to relevant initiatives provided under the recently announced National Science Communications Strategy. Stakeholders have been advocating increased support of activities that assist industry in understanding and uptake of enabling technologies. The strategy includes a number of measures aimed at raising awareness in industry sectors of the potential benefits and also the risks of enabling technologies; providing information about regulatory frameworks, funding programs and research infrastructure; facilitating collaboration between stakeholders, domestically and internationally; and establishing policy and a regulatory environment that supports businesses to undertake R&D and commercialisation. Finally, the NETS has also a ‘foresighting’ component that is to identify new and converging technologies and their implications. This will be supported by a new Expert Forum for Enabling Technologies, which will meet twice a year and will also link to the newly formed SAC.
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Nanotechnology Australia Recommendations (edited): 1) The Australian Government Nanotechnology in Australia: Trends, should lead the production of applications and collaborative opportunities a National Strategic Plan for Nanotechnology Research. The Academy’s report on the state of 2) Long-term funding (e.g. nanotechnology research in Australia is based 10 years ) by the Australian on a survey of the nanotechnology research Government for an integrated nanotechnology network community, a meeting of approximately representing simultaneously 40 Australian stakeholders in 2009, and research and industry needs. a bibliometric analysis of Australian and 3) Develop a single, centralised, international nanotechnology publications. national support mechanism for international collaborations and The findings indicate that Australia’s linkages at all scales. publication rate on nanotechnology is now 4) Governments should fund: around 90% of world averages, a significant in the short-term ongoing costs of existing nanotechnology improvement over the 60-70% found in 2004. infrastructure/equipment; and Australia’s academic output in in the long-term incorporate operational costs. nanotechnology, as in science overall, is strongly integrated in the international research 5) Encouraging ‘market driven, problems-based’ research should community - only 35% of publications were receive some support and Australian-only authored papers. Notably China funding. 6) Establishing a nanotechnology has become Australia’s second most frequent entrepreneurial fellowship as collaboration partner by publication. part of the Commonwealth Australian nanotechnology research covers Commercialisation Institute. a broad range of fields yet most of the projects 7) Governments should maintain support and funding are in the earliest stages of development of mechanisms for Australian-based basic and/or applied research. In the survey, nanotechnology collaborations. participants predicted applications for 8) Continuing successful efforts to integrate research, industry nanotechnology with a commercial outcome, and business in the development but this would require well developed regulatory of science-based regulation and direct community engagement mechanisms and community engagement. Indeed, only a limited number of collaborations on nanotechnology issues. full text: www.science.org.au were found to involve funding, particularly industry funding, and the report says this is a concern with respect to the potential to commercially leverage Australian nanotechnology research. The report further emphasises that a series of changes during 2009 have effected the sector, although the “complete impact remains unclear”. Nanotechnology industry members estimated the number of nanotechnology companies has dropped from previously reported 80 to 55-60 companies, most of which are small SMEs (5-20 staff ). The report indicates that, in addition to the effects of the global financial crisis, the termination of the Commercial Ready program was also a factor. Also in 2009, the National Nanotechnology Strategy was terminated, and several Australian nanotechnology networks closed due to lack of funding. This included the national Australian Nano Business Forum (ANBF), and Nanotechnology Victoria (NanoVic). The Australian Research Council Nanotechnology Network (ARCNN), Australia’s largest nanotechnology network, is also under threat; the ARDR was told by the ARCNN that the organisation is only operational due to carry-over funding. This would leave the Australian Nanotechnology Alliance (ANA) as the only national nanotechnology network, together with the Victorian A to Z Nanotechnology (AZoNano). The report states that the lack of funding to support Australian nanotechnology networks could “severely reduce linkages between the members of the community and the formation of linkages with industry and business communities, and international nanotechnology researchers. This lack of connectivity would likely impede, and could potentially halt, the advance of nanotechnology research in Australia.” More information: National enabling technologies strategy, www.innovation. gov.au; Nanotechnology in Australia, www.science.org.au
March 2010
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Guest column
D. Patrick O’Reilly President of the Licensing Executives Society International
Embracing open innovation
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experience in creating value from such intangible assets. LESI members he innovation landscape is ever-changing. A new corporate worldwide are bringing to these groups experience in transactions that management approach, ‘open innovation,’ reflects a growing trend accord value to intangible assets. for companies to use external invention sources in their innovation It is clear that intellectual property and technology are very important programs. in business today. How companies acquire such assets is changing. How A departure from the traditional ‘closed innovation’ paradigm; the companies value such assets is changing. And how such assets are used for tendency to focus on internal development (which peaked in the 70s), the benefit of less developed countries is changing. LESI, its 32 Member open innovation is defined by attempts to seek innovative and novel ideas Societies representing over 90 countries and its nearly 12, 000 members or technology from sources outside of the company and internal R&D are at the leading edge of such change. departments. Indeed as Bill Joy, founder of Sun Microsystems said “not all the smart people in the world work for you”. Despite its detractors Despite its detractors and in contrast to what and in contrast many believe, seeking innovation from outside to what many the company does not change the competitive believe, seeking environment – companies will still seek ownership innovation from or exclusive positions in new products and outside the company processes. What it does mean, however, is a greater does not change emphasis on transactions and negotiation with the competitive outside innovation sources including intellectual environment property assignments, intellectual property – companies will still licenses and joint development and collaboration seek ownership or agreements. exclusive positions On a larger scale, open innovation seeks to in new products and create more effective innovation systems that processes. encourage the transfer of knowledge for the benefit of public good both on a local scale and The 2010 Licensing Executives Society of Australia and New Zealand internationally. Greater awareness and access to information resources for Annual Conference titled Public Good and Intellectual Property Rights** innovation can only benefit developing countries by spurring innovation. will cast light on the emergence of the new ‘knowledge-based economy’ Proponents of open innovation have coined it ‘the democratisation of and explore the debate around intellectual property rights and the free information’ and believe it will be one of the most effective tools in helping use of intellectual property for public good. developing countries address the challenges they face. * D. Patrick O’Reilley is President of the Licensing Executives Society International In an effort to progress this movement and encourage open and will deliver a keynote address to delegates of the LESANZ 2010 Conference in innovation, we, at the Licensing Executive Society International (LESI), Adelaide from 22nd -24th April 2010. **To register for the event and for program details visit: http://www.arinex.com. are working with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) au/lesanz2010/index.php to address technology transfer policies and to train professionals in developing countries. We are also working with the World Economic Forum to develop a ‘Global Responsibility License’ to encourage companies to license intellectual property to developing countries. Additionally, LESI is working with UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) and the EPO (European Patent Office) to evaluate the effects of intellectual property on licensing of green technology to developing countries. As an organisation we are also committed to actively bringing our collective experience and skill in intellectual property and technology transactions to policy and regulatory fora to ensure that they act with complete knowledge of the subject. For example, many financial bodies are trying to develop accounting standards by which corporations can place a value on intangible assets such as technology and intellectual property. These bodies often have no one on their committees with actual March 2010
Update
Professor Oscar Moze Scientific AttachÉ, embassy of italy, canberra
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Australian & Italian synchrotron synergies
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recent workshop entitled Photons for Medicine and Materials Science, the fourth in a series of bilateral Italian-Australian workshops on synchrotron radiation, focused on the application of synchrotrons to medical and materials science. More than 30 leading scientists from the Australian and Italian synchrotrons (AS and ELETTRA) and their national user communities participated in the event, which took place in Melbourne between the 19th and 21st of February. Synchrotrons are sources of highly intense light ranging from infrared to x-rays and are now routinely used for many different research and industrial purposes. The Australian Synchrotron, together with the OPAL research reactor located at the Lucas Heights laboratories of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, are Australia’s largest stand-alone national collaborative research infrastructures. The Synchrotron provides leading edge analytical facilities to researchers from all over Australia in
through provision of research infrastructure, support for international collaboration and the cooperative development and shared use of national and international research facilities. Specifically supported were the areas Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries and associated priority goals. With regard to the Promoting and Maintaining Good Health area, the workshop brought together leading scientists from Italy and Australia to co-operate on the development of a clinical research capability in mammography for the Australian Synchrotron. The ELETTRA synchrotron has the worlds’ only clinical mammography facility that uses synchrotron x-rays for early detection of breast cancer, producing x-ray images with much finer detail than is possible from conventional hospital x-ray machines – at a much lower x-ray dose. ELETTRA is a mature light source with well-developed facilities for
...the workshop brought together leading scientists from Italy and Australia to co-operate on the development of a clinical research capability in mammography for the Australian Synchrotron. The ELETTRA synchrotron has the worlds’ only clinical mammography facility that uses synchrotron x-rays for early detection of breast cancer, producing x-ray images with much finer detail than is possible from conventional hospital x-ray machines – at a much lower x-ray dose. disciplines of biotechnology, health and medicine, materials, minerals and manufacturing to name a few. Furthermore, it is an enabling technology which supports all of Australia’s National Research Priorities. Both AS and its Italian counterpart ELETTRA have very active research programs in the fields of medical and materials science, and the many areas of common interest are reflected by an increasing number of collaborations. The workshop reviewed the present status of the scientific and instrument development programs for research carried out at these facilities in biomedical imaging, as well as in microscopy and the analysis and characterisation of materials. Areas of common interest were covered in some detail, and it was explored how further close collaboration could lead to synergies and advance the use of synchrotron generated photons to help achieve national scientific goals in both countries. In this context the workshop perfectly reflected the Australian Government’s horizons for research infrastructure as promulgated in the recent Super Science Initiative. The project was also aligned with the Super Science initiative
materials characterisation, including microscopes and methods for fine chemical analysis of surfaces and nanostructures. Prior to the construction of the Australian Synchrotron, Australian users visited the Italian synchrotron frequently under the auspices of the Australian Synchrotron Research Programme (ASRP). The workshop allowed for further significant input based on the experience of ELETTRA. The workshop also provided an important opportunity to consolidate and expand existing collaborations in materials science. The Australian Synchrotron has completed its first suite of beamlines and is planning its future development and expansion for further materials science facilities, for example for coherent diffractive imaging, photoabsorption microscopy, and other methods of analysis and structural characterisation. Since its opening, Italian users have been attracted by the very advanced beamlines available successfully applied for merit-based time at the Australian Synchrotron . Financial support for the workshop was provided equally by the Office of the Scientific Attaché, Embassy of Italy in Canberra and the Commonwealth of Australia under the International Science Linkages program. March 2010
JOINT TECHNOLOGY FUND TO BOOST VICTORIAN INNOVATION A new round of funding is available for Victorian companies to turn their innovative ideas into commercial products under the joint fund agreement between the State of Victoria and Israel. Innovation Minister Gavin Jennings has opened the seventh round of funding for the Victoria–Israel Science and Technology R&D Fund (VISTECH) which provides matching grants of up to US$500,000. VISTECH was launched in 2006 with Victoria and Israel each providing half of the US$6 million fund. To date VISTECH has awarded almost A$2 million to Victorian companies supporting eight projects worth around A$7.8 million. The first ever VISTECH funded project to move out of the research and development stage is now available in the market. Sustainability Ventures in Victoria partnered with Aqwise of Israel to work on a “Sustainable Water System for Dairy Farms”. Built and tested on a Shepparton farm over the last two years, the system is now available for other farmers to purchase and install. The system re-uses effluent water from the farm, pushing it through aquaculture tanks which grow Murray Codlings. The water then goes through a horticulture system producing both hydroponic and aquatic plants. This means valuable farm water is able to be utilised in four ways rather than just one. Two other VISTECH projects are due to reach commercialisation in 2010 – a “Severe Asthma Monitor” and an “Industrial Floor Cleaning Robot”. These projects show the breadth of technology that VISTECH can fund. The VISTECH fund demonstrates the value of international partnerships to commercialise research and helps Victorian companies connect with Israeli companies to commercialise their R&D and break into new markets on an international scale. VISTECH offers Victorian companies access to additional skills, capital, technology and knowledge transfer. The program also provides support to Victorians in finding suitable Israeli technology partners. Companies working in biotechnology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, the environment, water, nano- and micro-technologies, information communications and synchrotron technologies are encouraged to apply. Round Seven VISTECH project applications are now open and will close on Tuesday 1 June 2010. To apply for VISTECH grants, visit www.business.vic.gov.au/vistech, phone (03) 9651 8170 or email roland.diggens@iird.vic.gov.au.
oN THE rADAR & JOBS
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For details of jobs and conferences: www.sciencealert.com.au On the radar Nominations are now open for the Prime Minister’s Science prizes. Closing date 21 May. More information: www.innovation.gov. au/scienceprizes Funding to grow venture capital: car for further applications More information: www.ausindustry. gov.au
More information: www.business.gov.au/ bep2005/grantfinder/grantfinderlist.aspx
and Applications (AINA) 20 - 23 Apr 2010, Perth, WA
Collective - Past, Present & Future 9 Jul 2010, Melbourne, VIC
ARC Centres of Excellence (for funding commencing 2011) – applications open in Feb 2010 and close 19 April 2010.
Advances in Mobile Computing and Applications: Security, Privacy and Trust 20 - 23 Apr 2010, Perth, WA
27th International Congress of Applied Psychology 11 - 16 Jul 2010, Melbourne, VIC
ARC Future Fellowships – applications close Apr 2010
The 9th Annual National SCADA Conference 2010 6 - 7 May 2010, Sydney, NSW
College of experts – First meeting 12 April to Wednesday, 14 April 2010 More information: www.arc.gov.au/ media/important_dates.htm
Nominations for Eureka prize close 07 May More information: http://eureka. australianmuseum.net.au/
Grants and programs
January 2011 – applications close May 2010
Clean Business Australia Government Grants More information:www.ausindustry.gov.au
Conferences
The $1.3 billion Green Car Innovation Fund is open for application. Applications can be lodged at any time. More information: Patrick Pantano, 0417 181 936 NHMRC: Partnership Projects – applications close 30 Apr 2010.
World Congress of Internal Medicine 20 - 25 Mar 2010, Melbourne, VIC Coal Seam Methane World Australia 2010 23 - 25 Mar 2010, Hilton Brisbane, Brisbane, QLD New Directions in Leukaemia Research 28 - 31 Mar 2010, Sunshine Coast, QLD
Programs Grants – applications open 10 Mar 2010 and close 1 Jun 2010.
Antarctic Conference for Gondwanan Palaeontology 1 Apr 2010, Australia
Career Development Awards – applications close 30 Mar 2010
3rd International Nurse Education Conference 12 - 14 Apr 2010, Sydney, NSW
Training Fellowships – applications open 03 Mar 2010 and close 30 Apr 2010
The Internet Show 13 - 14 Apr 2010, Melbourne, VIC
Development Grants – applications open 28 Apr 2010 and close 2 Jul 2010
Healthcare World Australia 2010 19 - 22 Apr 2010, Swissotel, Sydney, NSW
Postgraduate Scholarships – applications open 5 May 09-31 July 09
10th Behavioural Research in Cancer Control 14 – 16 April 2010, Perth, WA
Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) – applications open 9 July 2010 and close 1 Oct 2010 More information: www.nhmrc.gov.au
World Drug Safety Congress Americas 2010 20 - 23 Apr 2010, Westin Washington DC City Center, QLD
ARC:
Smart Electricity World Australia 2010 20 - 22 Apr 2010, Sofitel, Melbourne, VIC
Linkage Projects (including Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities), for funding commencing
Advanced Information Networking
Jobs
5th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport 20 - 23 May 2010, Sydney, NSW Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases Inc Annual Scientific Meeting 2010 26 - 29 May 2010, Darwin, NT Biochar Conference 27 - 28 May 2010, Sydney, NSW World Mining Investment Congress 2010 1 - 3 Jun 2010, NSW, Australia
IC’10 and ICCC39 25 - 30 Jul 2010, Adelaide, SA 19th World Congress of Soil Science: Soil Solutions for a Changing World 1 - 6 Aug 2010, Brisbane, QLD 19th World Congress of Soil Science 1 - 6 Aug 2010, Brisbane, QLD The 5th Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region 8 - 12 Aug 2010, Sydney, NSW World Library and Information Congress: 76th IFLA General Conference and Council 15 - 19 Aug 2010, Brisbane, QLD
IEEE Symposium on Technology and Society 7 - 9 Jun 2010, Wollongong, NSW Environment Research Event 2010 27 - 30 Jun 2010, Rockhampton, QLD International Climate Change Adaptation Conference 29 Jun – 1 July, Gold Coast, QLD CONNECT 2010 4 - 8 Jul 2010, Melbourne, VIC Australian Earth Sciences Convention 2010 4 - 8 Jul 2010, Canberra, ACT RACI2010 Chemistry for a Sustainable World 4 - 8 Jul 2010, Melbourne, VIC 52nd International Field Emission Symposium 5- 8 Jul 2010, Sydney, NSW 4th International Conference on Psychology Education 8 - 11 Jul 2010, Sydney, NSW Second International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts and Responses 8 - 10 Jul 2010, Brisbane, QLD Alternative Practices in Design: The
institution
closing date
Professor / Associate Professor Public Health
University of Western Sydney | NSW
07 Apr
Senior Lecturer / Associate Professor in Equine Surgery
University of Adelaide | SA
30 Apr
Professor / Associate Professor Sport and Exercise Science
University of Western Sydney | NSW
07 Apr
Senior Lecturer in Medicine ( Rheumatology )
University of New South Wales | NSW
12 Apr
Associate Professor in Pharmacy, Faculty of Health
University of Canberra | ACT
09 Apr
Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Health
University of Canberra | ACT
23 Apr
Associate Professor or Senior Lecturer - Orthodontics
University of Melbourne | VIC
28 Mar
Professor of Health Informatics
University of Melbourne | VIC
26 Mar
Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
University of Melbourne | VIC
21 Mar
Associate Professor / Professor of Clinical Education Innovation - Health Sciences
University of Queensland | QLD
21 Mar
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