The mechanism of water splitting in photosynthesis. Sunlight reaching the earth is used by the vast body of plants and algae living in surface waters and on the land to drive photosynthesis. One of the most fundamental contributions that photosynthesis provides to the Biosphere is the gaseous oxygen produced by its water-splitting chemistry - ~300 gigatons of O2 are released into the atmosphere per year. However, the mechanism behind water-splitting is not precisely known. We will use a range o ....The mechanism of water splitting in photosynthesis. Sunlight reaching the earth is used by the vast body of plants and algae living in surface waters and on the land to drive photosynthesis. One of the most fundamental contributions that photosynthesis provides to the Biosphere is the gaseous oxygen produced by its water-splitting chemistry - ~300 gigatons of O2 are released into the atmosphere per year. However, the mechanism behind water-splitting is not precisely known. We will use a range of unique experimental approaches to determine the molecular mechanism of the photosynthetic water-splitting chemistry. The understanding of this reaction will provide the molecular blueprint for the development of efficient biocatalysts to generate H2 and O2 from water.Read moreRead less
Evolvability and the Evolution of Complexity. Anyone engaging in a moment's reflection on the striking richness, diversity, and complexity of the biological world is faced with the question: how did it get here? Though natural selection is central to answering this question, important new work has identified various conditions that make some lineages of organisms "evolvable": capable of changing in ways that radically expand the range of further possible changes. This project will clarify and in ....Evolvability and the Evolution of Complexity. Anyone engaging in a moment's reflection on the striking richness, diversity, and complexity of the biological world is faced with the question: how did it get here? Though natural selection is central to answering this question, important new work has identified various conditions that make some lineages of organisms "evolvable": capable of changing in ways that radically expand the range of further possible changes. This project will clarify and integrate these various conditions using empirical examples and simple models. The resulting work from this project will provide a clearer general understanding of what biological complexity is, and how science has compelling candidates for understanding how it evolves.Read moreRead less
The contribution of South Asia to the peopling of Australasia. This project focuses on the human fossil record from three regions critical to understanding the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Australia is crucial in view of its diverse array of "gracile" and "robust" human remains of Late Pleistocene/early Holocene age. Equally important are South and Southeast Asia as they lined the tropical route between Africa, our species' Late Pleistocene homeland according to the Out of Africa theory ....The contribution of South Asia to the peopling of Australasia. This project focuses on the human fossil record from three regions critical to understanding the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Australia is crucial in view of its diverse array of "gracile" and "robust" human remains of Late Pleistocene/early Holocene age. Equally important are South and Southeast Asia as they lined the tropical route between Africa, our species' Late Pleistocene homeland according to the Out of Africa theory, and Australia. Osteological and archaeological evidence of the selection pressures that operated on earlier hunter-gatherers will be employed to explain the observed patterns of morphological evolution throughout the study region.Read moreRead less
The Flores hobbit - Homo floresiensis or microcephalic eastern Indonesian? The hobbit is so controversial as it implies that a tiny hominin with a miniature brain coexisted for 30,000 years with modern humans in our region. This would have immense, fundamental implications for understanding the human colonisation of our region and the role of brain size in human evolution. Our research will determine whether the alternative explanation of microcephalic pathology is viable. If so the hobbit would ....The Flores hobbit - Homo floresiensis or microcephalic eastern Indonesian? The hobbit is so controversial as it implies that a tiny hominin with a miniature brain coexisted for 30,000 years with modern humans in our region. This would have immense, fundamental implications for understanding the human colonisation of our region and the role of brain size in human evolution. Our research will determine whether the alternative explanation of microcephalic pathology is viable. If so the hobbit would still be of unique signficance as the only known microcephalic hunter-gatherer who had survived to adulthood. The role of Australian scientists in spearheading the hobbit discovery places a high priority on resolving the debate objectively.Read moreRead less
The Evolution of Embodied Intelligence. The aim of the project is to write a collaborative monograph that integrates the recent development in cognitive science of alternatves to classical cognitivism with recent developments in evolutionary biology. Those developments include in particular the recognition of the importance both of non-genetic inheritence and of the role agents play in constructing their own environments. The monograph will argue that these evolutionary processes are of particul ....The Evolution of Embodied Intelligence. The aim of the project is to write a collaborative monograph that integrates the recent development in cognitive science of alternatves to classical cognitivism with recent developments in evolutionary biology. Those developments include in particular the recognition of the importance both of non-genetic inheritence and of the role agents play in constructing their own environments. The monograph will argue that these evolutionary processes are of particular importance in human evolution, and they are the key to explaining how it is that humans are simulataneously encultured beings and biological agents.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100096
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,000.00
Summary
A unique soft matter high-performance scanning probe microscopy (HP-SPM) facility. Soft matter research touches every aspect of our lives as it covers materials from the range of plastics found in cars, television sets and other mass-manufactured products, to new medical materials for tissue engineering and sensors. The proposed facility will enable Australia's leading scientists in this area to understand better how soft matter, including both biological and new advanced soft materials, behave ....A unique soft matter high-performance scanning probe microscopy (HP-SPM) facility. Soft matter research touches every aspect of our lives as it covers materials from the range of plastics found in cars, television sets and other mass-manufactured products, to new medical materials for tissue engineering and sensors. The proposed facility will enable Australia's leading scientists in this area to understand better how soft matter, including both biological and new advanced soft materials, behaves on the nano-scale level. This will put Australian researchers and engineers in a leading position for developing new treatments against cancer and other diseases, as well as harnessing the power of biology for application in areas such as waste treatment and energy production.Read moreRead less
Design and Synthesis of Photoactive Peptides Based on Photosynthetic Reaction Centres. The aim of this proposal is to generate new and useful electron transfer components for biotechnological applications. We plan to design and synthesize artificial photoactive peptides inspired from natural photosynthetic reaction centres which capture the energy of light and convert it into usable forms of chemical energy. Our research will provide the ground work for the development of light-driven oxidation- ....Design and Synthesis of Photoactive Peptides Based on Photosynthetic Reaction Centres. The aim of this proposal is to generate new and useful electron transfer components for biotechnological applications. We plan to design and synthesize artificial photoactive peptides inspired from natural photosynthetic reaction centres which capture the energy of light and convert it into usable forms of chemical energy. Our research will provide the ground work for the development of light-driven oxidation-reduction catalysts that can be used in the production of clean fuels and chemical products.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100142
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
An integrated liquid chromatography mass spectrometry nuclear magnetic resonance (LC-MS-NMR) facility for applications in proteomics and organic chemistry. This application completes the requested liquid chromatography mass spectrometry nuclear magnetic resonance (LCMS-NMR) facility and will allow the training of over 150 researchers, significantly enhancing their research productivity and translation of outcomes in areas of national importance. New breakthroughs in drug development, smart mate ....An integrated liquid chromatography mass spectrometry nuclear magnetic resonance (LC-MS-NMR) facility for applications in proteomics and organic chemistry. This application completes the requested liquid chromatography mass spectrometry nuclear magnetic resonance (LCMS-NMR) facility and will allow the training of over 150 researchers, significantly enhancing their research productivity and translation of outcomes in areas of national importance. New breakthroughs in drug development, smart materials, organic electronic materials and biomedical research require routine access to cutting edge technology. The LCMS-NMR augments the capabilities of our research teams at the forefront of these efforts. These include understanding the impact of the environment on plant and animal development, pest animal control, development of new biotechnology tools, new drugs and new methods for the detection of narcotics and explosives.Read moreRead less
Polymer Globules: Beyond the Homopolymer Model. Polymers are long chainlike molecules which play a crucial role in many aspects of our lives. As plastics they represent the most versatile and ubiquitous of man-made materials. Moreover, all living things depend on polymers for the structure of their cells and for the inheritance and function through DNA and proteins. Despite their importance our understanding of polymers is rather limited. The research funded by this proposal will enable us to ....Polymer Globules: Beyond the Homopolymer Model. Polymers are long chainlike molecules which play a crucial role in many aspects of our lives. As plastics they represent the most versatile and ubiquitous of man-made materials. Moreover, all living things depend on polymers for the structure of their cells and for the inheritance and function through DNA and proteins. Despite their importance our understanding of polymers is rather limited. The research funded by this proposal will enable us to understand more complicated kinds of polymers. This will help uncover some fascinating physics and in the long term develop new materials and promote new advances in biology. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0237664
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$900,000.00
Summary
High Resolution Mass Spectrometer for (MS)n Chemical Characterisation. A Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance ("FT-ICR") mass spectrometer equipped with electrospray ionisation (ESI) plus a "benchtop" matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometer are required to support the research of ca 28 research groups, including 44 postdoctoral fellows, and 138 honours and postgraduate students. By means of its high resolution and (MS)n capabilities, the FT- ....High Resolution Mass Spectrometer for (MS)n Chemical Characterisation. A Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance ("FT-ICR") mass spectrometer equipped with electrospray ionisation (ESI) plus a "benchtop" matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometer are required to support the research of ca 28 research groups, including 44 postdoctoral fellows, and 138 honours and postgraduate students. By means of its high resolution and (MS)n capabilities, the FT-ICR-MS will provide key structural information on a wide range of synthetic and natural chemical substances, including sequence (e.g. peptides) and fragmentation patterns, while the MALDI-TOF instrument will be used primarily for high through-put proteomic analyses.Read moreRead less