Flavour enhancing functional feeds for farmed Barramundi. This project aims to improve the flavour quality of Australian farmed barramundi through developing novel functional feeds. The project expects to expand our fundamental knowledge of flavour enhancement, whilst providing practical benefits with respect to final product quality. The project will enable industry to achieve higher product quality benchmarks, towards the ultimate goal of improving the marketability of barramundi both locally ....Flavour enhancing functional feeds for farmed Barramundi. This project aims to improve the flavour quality of Australian farmed barramundi through developing novel functional feeds. The project expects to expand our fundamental knowledge of flavour enhancement, whilst providing practical benefits with respect to final product quality. The project will enable industry to achieve higher product quality benchmarks, towards the ultimate goal of improving the marketability of barramundi both locally and overseas. This project will provide significant benefits to the Australian barramundi industry by increasing product values, thereby facilitating an economically sustainable growth of this important regional industry.Read moreRead less
Can coastal floodplains of north Australia survive ferals and rising seas? Tropical Coastal Floodplains are an iconic feature of northern Australia; however, they are experiencing widespread degradation due to complex interactions between feral ungulates and relative sea level rise. Using cross-cultural multidisciplinary methods, this project will discover if feral ungulate control by the Aboriginal Yirralka Rangers will reduce vegetation decline and erosion and enhance floodplain resilience to ....Can coastal floodplains of north Australia survive ferals and rising seas? Tropical Coastal Floodplains are an iconic feature of northern Australia; however, they are experiencing widespread degradation due to complex interactions between feral ungulates and relative sea level rise. Using cross-cultural multidisciplinary methods, this project will discover if feral ungulate control by the Aboriginal Yirralka Rangers will reduce vegetation decline and erosion and enhance floodplain resilience to sea level rise. This project will provide significant new data to inform feral ungulate management strategies as well as coastal carbon models as these processes are likely to create a carbon source rather than sink. Our collaborative science will have local to national benefits for natural and cultural resource management.Read moreRead less
Australia’s first Green Biopharm . Protein-based medicines and vaccines represent the fastest growing sector of the pharmaceutical market, but their production by Australian small and medium enterprises is prohibited by the high infrastructure and operating costs of traditional manufacturing systems. This project aims to develop advanced methods to produce protein-based medicines using a native plant. The power of this technology will be demonstrated by making a biologic anti-parasite treatment, ....Australia’s first Green Biopharm . Protein-based medicines and vaccines represent the fastest growing sector of the pharmaceutical market, but their production by Australian small and medium enterprises is prohibited by the high infrastructure and operating costs of traditional manufacturing systems. This project aims to develop advanced methods to produce protein-based medicines using a native plant. The power of this technology will be demonstrated by making a biologic anti-parasite treatment, as an alternative to outdated chemical treatments. Expected outcomes include a unique scalable technology which will support Australia's sovereign capacity to produce high-value proteins, rapidly, affordably, and at scale, and with less complexity than current plant-based systems. Read moreRead less
Australia’s first direct-detection dark matter search, at Stawell Gold Mine. This project aims to develop an underground integrated laboratory at Stawell Gold Mine in Victoria to host the Southern Hemisphere's first-ever direct-detection dark matter experiment. Following the Higgs boson discovery, the direct detection of dark matter is seen as the next major challenge for particle physics. This project sees Australian physicists team up with local and international partners in research and indus ....Australia’s first direct-detection dark matter search, at Stawell Gold Mine. This project aims to develop an underground integrated laboratory at Stawell Gold Mine in Victoria to host the Southern Hemisphere's first-ever direct-detection dark matter experiment. Following the Higgs boson discovery, the direct detection of dark matter is seen as the next major challenge for particle physics. This project sees Australian physicists team up with local and international partners in research and industry to join the search for dark matter. This Australian experiment aims to help to confirm or deny current results from Northern Hemisphere experiments. As the mine nears the end of its working life as a gold mine, this project is expected to benefit the local economy and provide opportunities for education and outreach.Read moreRead less
Saving Nemo: Reducing animal use in toxicity assessments of wastewater. Every day, Australians produce ~5 billion litres of wastewater, which contains a cocktail of chemicals. Industries that discharge wastewater are required to assess chemical risks to the receiving environments by conducting whole animal direct toxicity assessments (DTA), which are expensive and pose an ethical dilemma. Our preliminary research shows that new in vitro bioassays provide an ethical and cost effective alternative ....Saving Nemo: Reducing animal use in toxicity assessments of wastewater. Every day, Australians produce ~5 billion litres of wastewater, which contains a cocktail of chemicals. Industries that discharge wastewater are required to assess chemical risks to the receiving environments by conducting whole animal direct toxicity assessments (DTA), which are expensive and pose an ethical dilemma. Our preliminary research shows that new in vitro bioassays provide an ethical and cost effective alternative that could be incorporated into DTA programs if their ecological relevance can be demonstrated. This project will develop and validate a new and internationally significant suite of in vitro bioassays for incorporation into DTA programs, leading to more ethical, cost effective and improved environmental protection.Read moreRead less
Incorporation of legume protein in liquid breakfast for a healthy Australia. This project aims to understand and control the properties and interactions of legume protein with other ingredients (e.g. whey protein and dietary fibre) to formulate healthy liquid foods with superior techno-functionality. This research should significantly broaden our understanding of the behaviour of legume protein-phospholipid complexes and their contribution to malodorous flavour development. The expected outcomes ....Incorporation of legume protein in liquid breakfast for a healthy Australia. This project aims to understand and control the properties and interactions of legume protein with other ingredients (e.g. whey protein and dietary fibre) to formulate healthy liquid foods with superior techno-functionality. This research should significantly broaden our understanding of the behaviour of legume protein-phospholipid complexes and their contribution to malodorous flavour development. The expected outcomes are protocols to prevent undesirable sensory characteristics in liquid foods. This should benefit the food industry by improving the sensory attributes of beverages enriched with legume protein, leading to the creation of novel, highly nutritious products with superior sensory attributes and long shelf-life.Read moreRead less
Towards non-thermal hydrogen-boron fusion. Laser-induced non-thermal fusion of hydrogen and boron 11 is a promising approach to reach practical sustainable energy generation. In addition, being aneutronic, this specific fusion reaction virtually avoids the deleterious environmental impact associated with high energy neutron radiation. The recent observation of this reaction under non-thermal conditions is not only exciting but begs for a better understanding of its dynamics. This industry suppor ....Towards non-thermal hydrogen-boron fusion. Laser-induced non-thermal fusion of hydrogen and boron 11 is a promising approach to reach practical sustainable energy generation. In addition, being aneutronic, this specific fusion reaction virtually avoids the deleterious environmental impact associated with high energy neutron radiation. The recent observation of this reaction under non-thermal conditions is not only exciting but begs for a better understanding of its dynamics. This industry supported proposal thus aims at establishing an experimentally-proven analysis framework underpinning the future development of a viable hydrogen-boron fusion reactor. In the long term, its successful implementation would constitute a sea change by providing a virtually limitless source of energy.Read moreRead less
Improving the efficiency of CRISPR gene editing in cells. Human red blood cells are well-characterised and the globin gene locus is a model system for the study of gene regulation. Gene editing technologies and delivery tools are evolving rapidly and the globin gene locus is the perfect model for gene editing optimisation. This collaboration between UNSW Sydney and CSL aims to bring together our combined expertise and new technologies to develop an optimal platform for genetic modification in a ....Improving the efficiency of CRISPR gene editing in cells. Human red blood cells are well-characterised and the globin gene locus is a model system for the study of gene regulation. Gene editing technologies and delivery tools are evolving rapidly and the globin gene locus is the perfect model for gene editing optimisation. This collaboration between UNSW Sydney and CSL aims to bring together our combined expertise and new technologies to develop an optimal platform for genetic modification in a red blood cell line. Simultaneously, this project aims to generate fundamental insights into mechanisms of human gene regulation. The technological and biological outcomes of this project will be of benefit for future gene editing applications.Read moreRead less
Intelligent bioprocessing for next-generation nutritional yeast extracts. This project aims to provide new, science-based levers for optimising the industrial production of tailormade yeast extracts for food applications. Advanced biochemical and engineering methods will be used to develop new knowledge of the links between yeast growth conditions, cell biochemistry, processing and the flavour and texture profiles of yeast hydrolysates. This understanding will allow the properties of yeast hydro ....Intelligent bioprocessing for next-generation nutritional yeast extracts. This project aims to provide new, science-based levers for optimising the industrial production of tailormade yeast extracts for food applications. Advanced biochemical and engineering methods will be used to develop new knowledge of the links between yeast growth conditions, cell biochemistry, processing and the flavour and texture profiles of yeast hydrolysates. This understanding will allow the properties of yeast hydrolysates to be accurately tuned during yeast production and processing. The resulting process improvements and innovations will increase the efficiency and quality of current yeast extract products and allow the development of new food products.Read moreRead less
A novel platform for the biosynthesis of commercially valuable saxitoxins. Saxitoxins are potent microbial toxins, which pose a significant threat to food and water quality. Highly pure saxitoxins are required for environmental monitoring and studies of cell physiology. Certain analogues have also shown promise as long-lasting and non-addictive pain blockers. However, the procurement of these compounds from natural sources is convoluted and unsustainable. This project aims to use the latest synt ....A novel platform for the biosynthesis of commercially valuable saxitoxins. Saxitoxins are potent microbial toxins, which pose a significant threat to food and water quality. Highly pure saxitoxins are required for environmental monitoring and studies of cell physiology. Certain analogues have also shown promise as long-lasting and non-addictive pain blockers. However, the procurement of these compounds from natural sources is convoluted and unsustainable. This project aims to use the latest synthetic biology techniques to characterise, modify and express saxitoxin biosynthesis pathways, thereby providing a sustainable source of toxin analogues of value to industry and research. This novel 'green technology' will benefit the environment, human health and the Australian economy.Read moreRead less