Novel Nano-Pesticides for Animal Healthcare. This project aims to develop a new nano-pesticide with improved safety and performance. Ticks and buffalo fly cause over $400 million each year in economic losses to the Australian livestock industry and are currently treated with highly toxic synthetic pesticides. Spinosad, a naturally derived pesticide with low environmental impact and low toxicity, will be loaded into silica hollow spheres which will improve adhesion to skin or hair and protect aga ....Novel Nano-Pesticides for Animal Healthcare. This project aims to develop a new nano-pesticide with improved safety and performance. Ticks and buffalo fly cause over $400 million each year in economic losses to the Australian livestock industry and are currently treated with highly toxic synthetic pesticides. Spinosad, a naturally derived pesticide with low environmental impact and low toxicity, will be loaded into silica hollow spheres which will improve adhesion to skin or hair and protect against ultraviolet degradation. The nano-spinosad pesticide is expected to have enhanced efficacy and effective duration in field conditions compared to conventional pesticides, significantly reducing the cost of pest control.Read moreRead less
Closing the loop between salience and brain activity. This project aims to understand how animals exposed to an abundance of highly complex information decide what to attend to, that is, how they determine visual saliency. The project will approach this question by systematically tracking visual decision-making in the smallest animal brains, in closed-loop virtual reality environment. This approach will uncover basic working principles applicable to any system that needs to pay attention in a vi ....Closing the loop between salience and brain activity. This project aims to understand how animals exposed to an abundance of highly complex information decide what to attend to, that is, how they determine visual saliency. The project will approach this question by systematically tracking visual decision-making in the smallest animal brains, in closed-loop virtual reality environment. This approach will uncover basic working principles applicable to any system that needs to pay attention in a visually cluttered world, from insects to humans or autonomous vehicles.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,000.00
Summary
Lattice light sheet microscopy for imaging biology in real space and time. This project aims to establish a Lattice Light-Sheet Microscope (LLSM) Facility, to provide the dedicated computing infrastructure needed for terabyte-scale image acquisition and handling. Lattice light sheet microscopy allows four-dimensional imaging of live biological specimens from individual molecules to small organisms. The microscope images live specimens without phototoxicity or photobleaching, enabling prolonged i ....Lattice light sheet microscopy for imaging biology in real space and time. This project aims to establish a Lattice Light-Sheet Microscope (LLSM) Facility, to provide the dedicated computing infrastructure needed for terabyte-scale image acquisition and handling. Lattice light sheet microscopy allows four-dimensional imaging of live biological specimens from individual molecules to small organisms. The microscope images live specimens without phototoxicity or photobleaching, enabling prolonged imaging of significant physiological or biophysical events. Expected outcomes include high impact discoveries and publications in fundamental research, rapid solutions for industry-focussed projects and opportunities for collaboration, research and development. The imaging is expected to reveal key scientific insights and showcase biology to the public.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101513
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$390,000.00
Summary
Ant-inspired rules for self-assembly in swarm robotics and complex systems. This project aims to investigate how ants use self-assembly to build bridges and chains, joining their bodies using simple rules at the individual-level to build complex structures at the group-level. The long-standing conceptual gap between these two organisational levels will be addressed using innovative animal behaviour experiments, computer modelling and embodied testing of theory in a robot swarm. The expected outc ....Ant-inspired rules for self-assembly in swarm robotics and complex systems. This project aims to investigate how ants use self-assembly to build bridges and chains, joining their bodies using simple rules at the individual-level to build complex structures at the group-level. The long-standing conceptual gap between these two organisational levels will be addressed using innovative animal behaviour experiments, computer modelling and embodied testing of theory in a robot swarm. The expected outcomes of the project include new models for understanding self-assembly in complex systems and new control algorithms for robot swarms. The project should provide significant benefits such as programming to allow robot swarms to autonomously self-assemble useful structures that enhance their operational capabilities.Read moreRead less
Neural mechanisms of water flow perception and spatial integration. This project aims to develop a novel zebrafish platform for elucidating the circuits that mediate lateral line perception. The sensory modality by which fish detect and respond to water flow is poorly understood. This project proposes a novel preparation in the zebrafish model for applying controlled water flow using microfluidics, thereby stimulating the lateral line. Because the animal remains stationary, it is possible to per ....Neural mechanisms of water flow perception and spatial integration. This project aims to develop a novel zebrafish platform for elucidating the circuits that mediate lateral line perception. The sensory modality by which fish detect and respond to water flow is poorly understood. This project proposes a novel preparation in the zebrafish model for applying controlled water flow using microfluidics, thereby stimulating the lateral line. Because the animal remains stationary, it is possible to perform whole-brain calcium imaging of cells and circuits that respond to water flow, and to use optogenetics to stimulate or silence these neurons. This will reveal the circuitry mediating flow perception, and its relationship with other senses, in a way that has been previously impossible.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL140100197
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,970,898.00
Summary
Revealing the invisible: new principles of vision in Australian animals. Revealing the invisible: new principles of vision in Australian animals. This project aims to reveal how the visual systems of marine creatures from the Great Barrier Reef receive and interpret colour and polarisation information, much of which is invisible to the human eye. It aims to utilise this data to tackle fundamental questions in neuroscience and inform bio-inspired camera design and machine-vision solutions. The re ....Revealing the invisible: new principles of vision in Australian animals. Revealing the invisible: new principles of vision in Australian animals. This project aims to reveal how the visual systems of marine creatures from the Great Barrier Reef receive and interpret colour and polarisation information, much of which is invisible to the human eye. It aims to utilise this data to tackle fundamental questions in neuroscience and inform bio-inspired camera design and machine-vision solutions. The resulting new generation of polarisation cameras will be used to characterise the environments, animals and brains that inspired them in the first place. This will help the understanding of how nervous systems convey information and may improve our ability to detect dysfunction in neurons and other cells.Read moreRead less
New dimensions in colour and polarisation vision on The Great Barrier Reef. Many animals possess colour vision that outperforms humans and some also have a type of vision we lack altogether, polarisation vision. By comparing design and discovering strategies from the sensory systems of animals on The Great Barrier Reef, the project will enhance our knowledge of their sensory world, their ecosystem and broader visual neuroscience.
Understanding evolution in natural systems using robotic models. This project aims to build biologically-inspired robotic and computational systems, and then modify these in ways which are either not possible, or have not yet occurred in natural systems. A comparison of these two systems will then allow a quantitative understanding of how well optimised biological structures are and where the limitations to optimisation lie. Expected outcomes include advancing the understanding of evolutionary p ....Understanding evolution in natural systems using robotic models. This project aims to build biologically-inspired robotic and computational systems, and then modify these in ways which are either not possible, or have not yet occurred in natural systems. A comparison of these two systems will then allow a quantitative understanding of how well optimised biological structures are and where the limitations to optimisation lie. Expected outcomes include advancing the understanding of evolutionary processes, and will provide significant benefits, such as aiding the manufacture of efficient autonomous robots.Read moreRead less
The control of chromosome division during female meiosis. Mammalian eggs are stored life-long and finally mature in the hours before ovulation. This project examines how the chromosomes in the egg are separated properly so as to produce a mature egg capable of being fertilized by a sperm. Often in eggs chromosome division is imprecisely executed, and this project will help us understand why this occurs.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101503
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Design of a biologically inspired running and climbing robotic lizard. Watch any movie and it will tell you that robots are the future. The trouble is that recent attempts to build running and climbing robots have had limited success. This project explores locomotion of lizards to improve upon shortfalls in current robotic design, to build biologically inspired robots capable of running and climbing up and down walls.