Research

Fight against the fungus: Understanding the relationship between fungal pathogens and plant infection.

By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan Ensuring our ongoing food availability in the face of a rising global population is a critical challenge. Infectious plant diseases pose a significant threat to our agricultural food production, costing the global economy around $220 billion USD each year. One particularly destructive disease is ‘blast disease’, which targets […]

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Will the rivers run dry?

Understanding how decreasing rainfall is impacting river regions in South-Western Australia. By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan Global rainfall patterns are changing, leading to dryer conditions in numerous biodiversity hotspots. Rivers in the Southern Hemisphere are particularly sensitive to these climate-induced changes. To mitigate biodiversity loss and manage our precious water resources, we need

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Cosmic clocks in Antarctic rocks: Forecasting future sea-levels by understanding the response of Byrd Glacier, East Antarctica, to climate change.

By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan The Antarctic ice sheet holds 61% of all the fresh water on Earth. How this ice sheet is responding to climate warming remains the biggest source of uncertainty in determining future global sea levels. Interpreting clues from the past ice margins is critical to understanding the future, and

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Beneath the Ice: Climate change is impacting the building blocks of polar marine food webs

By Rebecca Duncan & Georgia Barrington-Smith The polar food web at risk from shrinking sea ice Standing on the frozen ocean, it’s hard to imagine life thriving in such a harsh environment. Yet, on the underside of the ice lies a bustling world: a community of sea ice algae and tiny animals called zooplankton. These

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Research spotlight: Caleb Stamper (Wollongong University)

Improving energy materials by understanding heat flow on the atomic scale By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan With advancements in technology and increases in population leading to a looming energy crisis, it is vital to optimise energy use to meet our future needs. One of the major issues in energy generation is the production

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Tiny solutions to a big problem: Targeted delivery of anti-cancer drugs using pH-responsive nanoparticles

By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan Cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide, claiming the lives of millions of people each year. One of the first-line treatments of cancer is chemotherapy: powerful drugs that attack cancer cells and prevent their spread. Historically, the main drawback of chemotherapy drugs has

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Research spotlight: Bohao Dong (The University of Melbourne)

by Georgia Barrington-Smith, 31st October 2024 The Environmental History of the Great Barrier Reef, as told by a Giant Clam Shell Although archaeology has made waves on land, we know comparatively little about the history beneath our shores. A few centuries ago, the Earth experienced a Little Ice Age (LIA) with harsh winters and cool

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Research spotlight: Alexandra Bastick (Charles Sturt University)

by Georgia Barrington-Smith, 11th October 2024 How Pipelines Impact the Marine Food Web AINSE’s focus for October is Oceans Month, which we are kicking off by spotlighting Alexandra (Alex) Bastick: an Honours student from Charles Sturt University, AINSE Pathway Scholar, and emerging young voice in environmental research! With our oceans facing increasing threats from pollution

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AINSE 2024 Gold Medal Ceremony and Networking Dinner

On Tuesday 21st May 2024, AINSE Scholar Gold Medals for excellence and impact in research were formally awarded to: The Gold Medal ceremony was hosted from the AINSE Theatre and livestreamed via Zoom, with Dr. Paull and his family present in the Theatre and Dr. Meng joining remotely from Switzerland. Dr. Meng and Dr. Paull

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2023 Year in Review

We begin our review of 2023 by acknowledging the passing of Emeritus Professor John William White in August and reflecting on his enduring legacy. John was a member of the AINSE Council for 20 years, from 1988-2008, and served as the AINSE President from 2005-2006 and AINSE Vice-President from 2003-2004. In recognition of his long

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