Cerebral Blood Flow During Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$397,322.00
Summary
We don't understand what happens during a non-epileptic seizure. Patients can't tell us and we can't use normal brain scanning during a seizure as the patient moves too much. Our idea is to take patients with non-epileptic seizures on the epilepsy wards who are being monitored and inject them with a radioactive tracer as soon as the seizure starts, then we can scan them afterwards to see what parts of their brain were active during the seizure, so we will understand what was happening.
Correlative Structure-function Studies Of Cis- And Trans-Golgi Membrane Traffic In Mammalian Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$649,531.00
Summary
This project combines imaging by light and electron microscopy with additional techniques for studying protein function at the molecular level, to elucidate how changes in the 3D organisation of cellular machinery can lead to fundamental changes in the function and health of mammalian cells. Although this work includes detailed investigation of the 'insulin factory', it has the potential to modify established concepts on membrane traffic and protein secretion well beyond the field of diabetes.
Elucidating The Mechanisms Of Action Of And Resistance To Endoperoxide Antimalarials
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$716,755.00
Summary
Artemisinin-based antimalarials (ARTs) save hundreds of thousands of lives every year. Unfortunately resistance of P. falciparum to ART is now emerging in South East Asia and it is critical to know how and why. We will determine what is different about resistant parasites and will develop assays to monitor drug resistance in the field. We have found that the immature form of the malaria parasite is more resistant to ARTs, which helps explain resistance. We will build on this to develop new targe ....Artemisinin-based antimalarials (ARTs) save hundreds of thousands of lives every year. Unfortunately resistance of P. falciparum to ART is now emerging in South East Asia and it is critical to know how and why. We will determine what is different about resistant parasites and will develop assays to monitor drug resistance in the field. We have found that the immature form of the malaria parasite is more resistant to ARTs, which helps explain resistance. We will build on this to develop new targetted treatments.Read moreRead less
The Structural Basis Of Direction Selectivity In The Retina
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$401,705.00
Summary
The retina is part of the central nervous system and there are almost one hundred types of retinal neurons which process visual information before it is passed up the optic nerve to the brain. This project examines how some of these neurons are wired together to form a simple neuronal circuit that detects the direction of a moving object. The elucidation of the cellular mechanisms of direction selectivity will provide an important paradigm of complex processing by simple neuronal circuits, with ....The retina is part of the central nervous system and there are almost one hundred types of retinal neurons which process visual information before it is passed up the optic nerve to the brain. This project examines how some of these neurons are wired together to form a simple neuronal circuit that detects the direction of a moving object. The elucidation of the cellular mechanisms of direction selectivity will provide an important paradigm of complex processing by simple neuronal circuits, with direct relevance to information processing in other parts of the central nervous system. In particular, the project may provide strong evidence for two neuronal strategies that may be of general significance. First, information may be processed at a very local level, which would greatly increase the computational power of a single neuron. Second, neurons may make selective contact with only some processes of an input neuron, which would require novel mechanisms for producing the necessary specificity.Read moreRead less
Spatial Arrangement And Three-dimensional Structure Of Human Centromeres
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$283,000.00
Summary
Centromeres occur at the main constriction of chromosomes. They allow duplicated chromosomes to divide, control cell division and are involved in the control of gene expression. Faulty centromeres are found in many types of cancer and in other genetic diseases. They are also implicated in extra-chromosome disorders such as Down syndrome. Centromeres have a different structure to the rest of the chromosome and it is this structure we wish to study. We want to see how centromere DNA folds up tight ....Centromeres occur at the main constriction of chromosomes. They allow duplicated chromosomes to divide, control cell division and are involved in the control of gene expression. Faulty centromeres are found in many types of cancer and in other genetic diseases. They are also implicated in extra-chromosome disorders such as Down syndrome. Centromeres have a different structure to the rest of the chromosome and it is this structure we wish to study. We want to see how centromere DNA folds up tightly at the centromere. We also want to find out why centromeres locate in certain regions of the nucleus, because this may influence how the centromere works and how they regulate genes. Human centromeres come in many sizes and forms; by looking at a wide range of human centromeres, common structural and spatial properties will emerge. We have discovered very small centromeres - neocentromeres - which are much easier to study than other centromeres. We have used these centromeres to construct human minichromosomes, which we believe represent the main, all-human way forward to treat people with gene therapy. One way to help us achieve our aims is to stretch out centromeres in a controlled way to make it easier to visualise their structure. Our tools will be antibodies, fluorescently-labelled proteins and high resolution microscopes. These include an electron microscope, and microscopes that can produce optical sections and in turn a 3D image. One of these is the confocal laser scanning microscope; the other involves removal of out-of-focus light from images using deconvolution software to achieve the same goal. We will detect different centromere proteins with different fluorochromes for fluorescence microscopes and different sizes of gold particles for the electron microscope. Using these microscopes we have already been able to find out where one of our neocentromeres is located within the nucleus. We have also started to look at centromeres with the electron microscope.Read moreRead less