From genotype to phenotype - systems biology bridging the gap. This project is basic research at the forefront of international science and deals with a fundamental question of modern biology: 'How do genes determine the makeup of an organism?' The main outcome will be a deeper understanding of the internal working mechanisms of a higher organism. The project combines some of the most advanced systems technologies - genomics, proteomics, metabonomics, fluxomics and computational biology in a nov ....From genotype to phenotype - systems biology bridging the gap. This project is basic research at the forefront of international science and deals with a fundamental question of modern biology: 'How do genes determine the makeup of an organism?' The main outcome will be a deeper understanding of the internal working mechanisms of a higher organism. The project combines some of the most advanced systems technologies - genomics, proteomics, metabonomics, fluxomics and computational biology in a novel and unique way. This combination is in itself a major advancement of scientific methods that will accelerate discovery in the field of systems biology. In this respect, the project is a premier example of the priority goal Breakthrough Science and of the national research priority Frontier Technologies.Read moreRead less
Emergence of robust, stable structures via computation within natural networks. An ever-increasing challenge for modern society is the sheer complexity of vast infrastructures. Unexpected, and sometimes catastrophic, behaviour often emerges from interactions between elements of large systems. As a result, highly complex systems such as the Internet, international finance markets, and power grids are highly susceptible to costly problems such as cascading failures, inefficiency, and critical sens ....Emergence of robust, stable structures via computation within natural networks. An ever-increasing challenge for modern society is the sheer complexity of vast infrastructures. Unexpected, and sometimes catastrophic, behaviour often emerges from interactions between elements of large systems. As a result, highly complex systems such as the Internet, international finance markets, and power grids are highly susceptible to costly problems such as cascading failures, inefficiency, and critical sensitivity. High-tech industries, such as biotechnology and information networking, also face problems in coordinating swarms of interacting agents. This project will contribute to solving such problems by identifying and adapting solutions from nature.Read moreRead less
Dual phase evolution in networks. A grand challenge for modern society is the sheer complexity of vast networks arising from organizations and infrastructures. Unexpected, sometimes catastrophic, behaviour often emerges from interactions within such systems. As a result, the Internet, financial markets, power grids and other vital infrastructures are susceptible to costly problems such as cascading failures, inefficiency, and unpredictability. High-tech industries, such as biotechnology and info ....Dual phase evolution in networks. A grand challenge for modern society is the sheer complexity of vast networks arising from organizations and infrastructures. Unexpected, sometimes catastrophic, behaviour often emerges from interactions within such systems. As a result, the Internet, financial markets, power grids and other vital infrastructures are susceptible to costly problems such as cascading failures, inefficiency, and unpredictability. High-tech industries, such as biotechnology and information networking, face problems in coordinating networks of interacting agents. This project will expand the horizon of complex systems by deriving the design principles underpinning stable and resilient network structures and validate these principles on real world networks.Read moreRead less
Behaviour of large networks of neurons in a functioning organ: a realistic computer-based model of the enteric nervous system. The organisation of the gut nervous system is well understood, but how nerve cells cooperate to control gut movements and secretions are matters of conjecture. We will test these conjectures by simulating the behaviour of the gut nervous system using an anatomically and physiologically realistic computer model to predict the way the gut responds to specific stimuli and t ....Behaviour of large networks of neurons in a functioning organ: a realistic computer-based model of the enteric nervous system. The organisation of the gut nervous system is well understood, but how nerve cells cooperate to control gut movements and secretions are matters of conjecture. We will test these conjectures by simulating the behaviour of the gut nervous system using an anatomically and physiologically realistic computer model to predict the way the gut responds to specific stimuli and test these predictions using novel methods for recording gut movements and nervous activity. This will provide the first complete description of how a mammalian nervous system generates complex behaviours and will provide substantial pointers to how other nervous systems achieve similar tasks.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354610
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Australian Bioinformatics Grid Network. OzBioGrid will be an open source, collaborative, bioinformatics environment supporting Australian biotechnology and life science researchers on the Grid. Researchers will be able to use distributed resources including databases, computational power and analytical tools, and to collaborate remotely, using customized work environments. With hubs in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne, and nodes elsewhere, OzBioGrid will build on Australia's high performance co ....Australian Bioinformatics Grid Network. OzBioGrid will be an open source, collaborative, bioinformatics environment supporting Australian biotechnology and life science researchers on the Grid. Researchers will be able to use distributed resources including databases, computational power and analytical tools, and to collaborate remotely, using customized work environments. With hubs in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne, and nodes elsewhere, OzBioGrid will build on Australia's high performance computing capacity. It will greatly enhance Australia's research capability by networking ARC and other centres of excellence, major national research facilities, independent researchers, biotechnology companies, bioinformatics research centres, public databases. It will be linked to bio-grid initiatives overseas. Read moreRead less
A modelling challenge: bridging the gap between molecular and neuronal networks. We will develop innovative frameworks, which unify small-scale molecular activity with electrical signals in branches of brain cells. This research aims to enhance our understanding how molecular scale phenomena influence brain disease, via studying the model dynamics using cutting-edge techniques on a supercomputer. The socio-economic benefits to Australia include: (i) Enhancing Australia's international reputation ....A modelling challenge: bridging the gap between molecular and neuronal networks. We will develop innovative frameworks, which unify small-scale molecular activity with electrical signals in branches of brain cells. This research aims to enhance our understanding how molecular scale phenomena influence brain disease, via studying the model dynamics using cutting-edge techniques on a supercomputer. The socio-economic benefits to Australia include: (i) Enhancing Australia's international reputation for cutting-edge multidisciplinary research; (ii) international collaborations will be strengthened; (iii) outcomes will potentially lead to commercialisation opportunities; (iv) results will ultimately lay the foundations to explore the cellular and molecular origin of brain disorders.Read moreRead less
Automated bioinformatic analysis of vertical and lateral gene transmission among microbial genomes. Genetic information is transmitted "vertically" from parents to offspring within species. Biologists have long assumed that this mechanism, extrapolated far into the past, explains the distribution of genes among genomes, thus the potential properties of all phenomes. But genome sequences show that some, perhaps many, genes have been transmitted "laterally" between species. We are building a uniqu ....Automated bioinformatic analysis of vertical and lateral gene transmission among microbial genomes. Genetic information is transmitted "vertically" from parents to offspring within species. Biologists have long assumed that this mechanism, extrapolated far into the past, explains the distribution of genes among genomes, thus the potential properties of all phenomes. But genome sequences show that some, perhaps many, genes have been transmitted "laterally" between species. We are building a unique automated computer-based system to find all instances of lateral transmission in all microbial genomes, using rigorous methods. Our results will be important both fundamentally and practically, e.g. in explaining sets and dynamics of phenomic traits, and quantifying background levels of "natural genetic engineering".Read moreRead less
Understanding how the primate brain processes visual information. Being able to see is a crucial aspect of our daily lives, which happens so effortlessly that it tends to be taken for granted. In comparison with other animals and artificial systems, the primate visual cortex is unsurpassed in its capacity to interpret complex and dynamic environments, in a manner that is fast and computationally robust. Discovering how this happens in terms of interactions between cells in the brain can help us ....Understanding how the primate brain processes visual information. Being able to see is a crucial aspect of our daily lives, which happens so effortlessly that it tends to be taken for granted. In comparison with other animals and artificial systems, the primate visual cortex is unsurpassed in its capacity to interpret complex and dynamic environments, in a manner that is fast and computationally robust. Discovering how this happens in terms of interactions between cells in the brain can help us design more efficient artificial systems capable of vision. This in turn can have profound implications for the creation of new technologies such as artificial eyes, autonomous robots, and intelligent sensors, and may also result in future benefits for medical science.Read moreRead less
To flee or not to flee: surviving on incomplete information. Even lowly animals, like the Australian fiddler crabs we will be investigating, are surprisingly competent in making the right decisions in complex situations. They actively acquire information and make good use of it to assure their immediate safety and their long term gains. Animals are exquisitely honed by evolution and we would benefit greatly by understanding what makes them so competent: on a theoretical level, we may learn about ....To flee or not to flee: surviving on incomplete information. Even lowly animals, like the Australian fiddler crabs we will be investigating, are surprisingly competent in making the right decisions in complex situations. They actively acquire information and make good use of it to assure their immediate safety and their long term gains. Animals are exquisitely honed by evolution and we would benefit greatly by understanding what makes them so competent: on a theoretical level, we may learn about efficient rules of good decision making and on a practical level, we may be able to design more flexible, robust and clever machines. Besides being useful in this wider context, the results of our research will thus also contribute to a new and 'sophisticated' appreciation of the cognitive design of animal.Read moreRead less
Comparative Biogeography of Australasian biota. Establishing an internationally recognised biogeographical research program will help scientists, policy makers and the public understand the past and future distribution patterns of the plants and animals of Australia. Discovering these patterns will help conservation biologists and government implement the right policies and practices to deal with biodiversity loss and climate change.