Mobile DNA activity in the mammalian primordial germline. Early in pregnancy, a handful of cells in the embryo become primordial germ cells (PGCs). These PGCs will eventually give rise to sperm or egg cells, representing a critical inter-generational genetic link. Mobile DNA sequences target PGCs to create new heritable genetic changes. This proposal aims to analyse the activity, regulation, and consequences of mobile DNA activity in PGCs. This project expects to generate significant knowledge a ....Mobile DNA activity in the mammalian primordial germline. Early in pregnancy, a handful of cells in the embryo become primordial germ cells (PGCs). These PGCs will eventually give rise to sperm or egg cells, representing a critical inter-generational genetic link. Mobile DNA sequences target PGCs to create new heritable genetic changes. This proposal aims to analyse the activity, regulation, and consequences of mobile DNA activity in PGCs. This project expects to generate significant knowledge about the origins of mammalian genetic diversity. Expected outcomes include enhanced national and international collaborations across disciplines and new experimental systems. The expected benefit is an enhanced understanding of the mutational processes underlying genetic diversity and disease in mammals.Read moreRead less
Determining principles for successful episode retrieval of repeated events. This project aims to develop the first-ever set of explanatory principles for how people successfully retain and retrieve individual episode memories from repeated experiences (e.g., one occurrence of a routine social encounter or job-related activity). By deepening our understanding of how memory works, this new knowledge is expected to lay the foundation for interview guidance and ongoing research aimed at enhancing th ....Determining principles for successful episode retrieval of repeated events. This project aims to develop the first-ever set of explanatory principles for how people successfully retain and retrieve individual episode memories from repeated experiences (e.g., one occurrence of a routine social encounter or job-related activity). By deepening our understanding of how memory works, this new knowledge is expected to lay the foundation for interview guidance and ongoing research aimed at enhancing the proficiency of investigations into matters that rely on detailed and accurate accounts of specific episodes. This includes workplace or traffic accident investigations, infectious disease contact tracing, as well as prosecution of repeated sexual offences.Read moreRead less
Foundations of a good egg: correctly transitioning from mitosis to meiosis. Production of viable offspring is essential to the survival of any species. In all sexually reproducing species, this requires a unique cell type, the germ cell. Germ cells undergo a special type of cell division, called meiosis, so that they can eventually produce gametes (sperm in males and eggs in females). This project aims to discover how germ cells halt the standard form of cell division, called mitosis, and initia ....Foundations of a good egg: correctly transitioning from mitosis to meiosis. Production of viable offspring is essential to the survival of any species. In all sexually reproducing species, this requires a unique cell type, the germ cell. Germ cells undergo a special type of cell division, called meiosis, so that they can eventually produce gametes (sperm in males and eggs in females). This project aims to discover how germ cells halt the standard form of cell division, called mitosis, and initiate meiotic division instead. It is important to understand all the fundamental processes that occur during normal germ cell development so that, in the future, we can use this knowledge to support agricultural advances, rescue endangered species and solve human problems such as infertility and genetic disease.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms that control the inheritance of mitochondrial DNA mutations. How do humans and other organisms prevent the accumulation of dangerous mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) mutations across generations? This Project aims to uncover the cellular and molecular pathways that help prevent the inheritance of mtDNA mutations to offspring by employing cutting-edge genetic technologies that the laboratory has recently developed in the germline of an animal model system. This Project will generate new kn ....Mechanisms that control the inheritance of mitochondrial DNA mutations. How do humans and other organisms prevent the accumulation of dangerous mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) mutations across generations? This Project aims to uncover the cellular and molecular pathways that help prevent the inheritance of mtDNA mutations to offspring by employing cutting-edge genetic technologies that the laboratory has recently developed in the germline of an animal model system. This Project will generate new knowledge in the area of mitochondrial genetics and evolution. Expected outcomes include the development of new theories for mtDNA inheritance, which should provide significant benefits for agricultural breeding programs and the interpretation of mtDNA inheritance patterns in the human population.Read moreRead less
To imitate or innovate: A new look at children's social learning strategies. Children learn many important things by copying others. But how do we best facilitate this where it’s culturally appropriate or encourage innovation to support more general learning? This developmental psychology project aims to provide answers, using novel experiments and comparisons of different cultural groups to show how children acquire skills while becoming valued community members. Expected outcomes include the r ....To imitate or innovate: A new look at children's social learning strategies. Children learn many important things by copying others. But how do we best facilitate this where it’s culturally appropriate or encourage innovation to support more general learning? This developmental psychology project aims to provide answers, using novel experiments and comparisons of different cultural groups to show how children acquire skills while becoming valued community members. Expected outcomes include the refinement of core developmental psychology theory, introduction of new experimental techniques, and strengthening of international collaborations. This should provide significant benefits to educators, policy makers, parents and those invested in understanding and improving the inter-generational transmission of knowledge.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100561
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$462,440.00
Summary
Applying ecologically valid approaches to social cognitive ageing. Social functioning is a critical predictor of wellbeing, particularly in older age. This project aims to investigate how important social cognitive capacities, that lay the foundation for effective social functioning, are impacted by normal adult ageing. This project will use cutting edge experimental techniques to investigate, for the first time, how ageing alters our capacity to visually attend and understand emotional informat ....Applying ecologically valid approaches to social cognitive ageing. Social functioning is a critical predictor of wellbeing, particularly in older age. This project aims to investigate how important social cognitive capacities, that lay the foundation for effective social functioning, are impacted by normal adult ageing. This project will use cutting edge experimental techniques to investigate, for the first time, how ageing alters our capacity to visually attend and understand emotional information in others during real time social interactions, both in and out of the laboratory. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of how older adults navigate social interactions, with potential to lay a foundation for improving social wellbeing in older Australians.Read moreRead less
Imitation learning in infancy. We copy others all the time, to learn new skills and to connect socially and emotionally with those around us. But where does this ability to imitate come from? This is a long-standing question in developmental psychology that the proposed project aims to answer. Using a unique combination of EMG and behavioural observations, this project will chart infants’ imitation skills from birth through the first year of life, and test whether infants learn to imitate from ....Imitation learning in infancy. We copy others all the time, to learn new skills and to connect socially and emotionally with those around us. But where does this ability to imitate come from? This is a long-standing question in developmental psychology that the proposed project aims to answer. Using a unique combination of EMG and behavioural observations, this project will chart infants’ imitation skills from birth through the first year of life, and test whether infants learn to imitate from watching themselves and being imitated by others. The new knowledge arising from this research will clarify the origins of our uniquely human sociality. The outcomes should also enable earlier identification of developmental problems and provide novel avenues for intervention.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$451,075.00
Summary
The development of cognitive offloading: Children's use of thinking tools. Modern humans routinely use external thinking tools (e.g., calculators, GPS, smartphones) to solve problems that we once solved internally: a behaviour termed cognitive offloading. This developmental psychology project aims to chart the processes underlying children's use of such tools, and to uncover the associated benefits and harms. Using innovative methods specifically designed for children, the project expects to gre ....The development of cognitive offloading: Children's use of thinking tools. Modern humans routinely use external thinking tools (e.g., calculators, GPS, smartphones) to solve problems that we once solved internally: a behaviour termed cognitive offloading. This developmental psychology project aims to chart the processes underlying children's use of such tools, and to uncover the associated benefits and harms. Using innovative methods specifically designed for children, the project expects to greatly advance scientific understanding of one of the most powerful facets of human behaviour. Expected outcomes include knowledge of critical factors that promote and impede efficient use of thinking tools. This knowledge will provide significant benefits, such as an enhanced capacity to train children to be more proficient.Read moreRead less
The Epigenetics of Sex in the Dragon. Genetic codes do not directly translate to phenotypes -- environment acts through epigenetics to modify development. We use advanced molecular techniques to examine how epigenetics responds to temperature to reverse sex in our novel animal model, the dragon lizard. How does the cell sense temperature? Once the extrinsic signal is captured, how does it influence chromatin modification to release or suppress key genes in the sex differentiation pathway? Which ....The Epigenetics of Sex in the Dragon. Genetic codes do not directly translate to phenotypes -- environment acts through epigenetics to modify development. We use advanced molecular techniques to examine how epigenetics responds to temperature to reverse sex in our novel animal model, the dragon lizard. How does the cell sense temperature? Once the extrinsic signal is captured, how does it influence chromatin modification to release or suppress key genes in the sex differentiation pathway? Which sex genes are targets? Epigenetic enzymes are astonishingly conserved, providing exciting opportunities to draw from human systems to unravel novel signatures of temperature-induced sex switching in reptiles. This project will advance knowledge of developmental programming generally.Read moreRead less
Open(ing up) goals in physical activity: What works, when, and for whom? This project aims to advance knowledge of open goals as a new goal-setting approach to optimise the adoption and maintenance of physical activity among insufficiently active individuals. This project expects to generate substantive insights into the mechanisms that explain why, when, and for whom open goals are particularly beneficial in this population. Expected outcomes include a theory of open goals that will inform phys ....Open(ing up) goals in physical activity: What works, when, and for whom? This project aims to advance knowledge of open goals as a new goal-setting approach to optimise the adoption and maintenance of physical activity among insufficiently active individuals. This project expects to generate substantive insights into the mechanisms that explain why, when, and for whom open goals are particularly beneficial in this population. Expected outcomes include a theory of open goals that will inform physical activity promotion efforts, with the potential for broad population-level dissemination and scale-up. Significant benefits include the ability to set physical activity goals that are enjoyable and intrinsically motivating to pursue, while also avoiding detrimental effects of current practice (eg high failure rates).Read moreRead less