Understanding how cells compact and segregate DNA in vertebrates. How a cell compacts and divides its DNA is still a major unanswered question in biology. This project will determine the way in which a cell compacts its DNA nearly ten thousand fold to allow the faithful and accurate segregation to daughter nuclei.
Testing metabolic theories in ecology. There are striking similarities in the way plants and animals take up and use energy (metabolism), despite enormous variation in size and life-style. This project will make the first experimental comparison of the predictions of the two major theories for these broad patterns. The results will significantly progress this controversial and exciting field.
A Universal Power Law for Growth and Diversity of Dinosaur and Bird Beaks. Universal rules that govern how animals grow have tremendous power to explain the highly complex processes of growth and development. The project investigators have recently discovered a new rule of growth that controls how teeth, horns, claws and beaks are generated in animals. This project aims to use this new rule to examine the evolution and diversity of beaks in birds and dinosaurs. By combining 3D modelling, biomech ....A Universal Power Law for Growth and Diversity of Dinosaur and Bird Beaks. Universal rules that govern how animals grow have tremendous power to explain the highly complex processes of growth and development. The project investigators have recently discovered a new rule of growth that controls how teeth, horns, claws and beaks are generated in animals. This project aims to use this new rule to examine the evolution and diversity of beaks in birds and dinosaurs. By combining 3D modelling, biomechanics and genetic analysis of bird beak development with the study of dinosaur fossils, this project expects to reveal the underlying processes controlling the growth and evolution of beaks. The anticipated goal of this project is to show the power of new theoretical models to explain the diversity of life.Read moreRead less
Skin in the game: biomimetics, fitness and the springtail cuticle. This project aims to examine the relationship between cuticle (skin) properties, water balance, and fitness in springtails, key players in soil systems. Springtail cuticles are diverse, responsive, and extremely resistant to wetting by water, alcohol and other substances. Their Australian diversity has not been well explored for biomimetic new materials. This project expects to explore options for new applications in materials sc ....Skin in the game: biomimetics, fitness and the springtail cuticle. This project aims to examine the relationship between cuticle (skin) properties, water balance, and fitness in springtails, key players in soil systems. Springtail cuticles are diverse, responsive, and extremely resistant to wetting by water, alcohol and other substances. Their Australian diversity has not been well explored for biomimetic new materials. This project expects to explore options for new applications in materials science and engineering by generalising the cuticle structure-function relationship. Expected outcomes are new information to harness for industry the diversity of nature’s self-cleaning, water repellent surfaces. Significant benefits lie in potential new biomimetic manufacturing options.Read moreRead less
Branes and unification. This project will explore theories which hypothesis that our universe is a 3-dimensional mem-(brane) residing in higher dimensional space. We will construct completely realistic theories and find ways to test them experimentally. This project is at the forefront of international developments in our understanding of the universe - an area that has grown in importance following the construction of the Large Hadron Collider at the European Giant accelerator laboraroty. The p ....Branes and unification. This project will explore theories which hypothesis that our universe is a 3-dimensional mem-(brane) residing in higher dimensional space. We will construct completely realistic theories and find ways to test them experimentally. This project is at the forefront of international developments in our understanding of the universe - an area that has grown in importance following the construction of the Large Hadron Collider at the European Giant accelerator laboraroty. The project will expose postgraduate students to exciting developments in this fascinating field pf physics.Read moreRead less
Particle physics and cosmology of neutrinos. Neutrinos are a particularly interesting class of elementary particle. The Standard Model of particle physics sees neutrinos as having exactly zero mass. However, recent experimental data have all but demonstrated that massless neutrinos are inconsistent with observations. If neutrinos have mass, then quantum mechanics allows them to oscillate between the different neutrino types as they propagate through space. Nonzero neutrino masses and the associa ....Particle physics and cosmology of neutrinos. Neutrinos are a particularly interesting class of elementary particle. The Standard Model of particle physics sees neutrinos as having exactly zero mass. However, recent experimental data have all but demonstrated that massless neutrinos are inconsistent with observations. If neutrinos have mass, then quantum mechanics allows them to oscillate between the different neutrino types as they propagate through space. Nonzero neutrino masses and the associated oscillations lead to important new physics in the elementary particle domain and in cosmology. This project will explore the implications of neutrino oscillations in diverse areas in particle physics and cosmology.Read moreRead less
The Origin of Mass at the Large Hadron Collider. The Large Hadron Collider is an enormous worldwide effort to understand the building blocks of the Universe. This project will help strengthen world-class research capacity in one of the most exciting frontiers of basic research. It will excite more high-achieving students to pursue careers in science increasing the number of talented graduates in Australia. In addition the big fundamental questions addressed in this research are of great fascin ....The Origin of Mass at the Large Hadron Collider. The Large Hadron Collider is an enormous worldwide effort to understand the building blocks of the Universe. This project will help strengthen world-class research capacity in one of the most exciting frontiers of basic research. It will excite more high-achieving students to pursue careers in science increasing the number of talented graduates in Australia. In addition the big fundamental questions addressed in this research are of great fascination to the general public and will help to further advance the public education of science.Read moreRead less
Origin of the Mass. A hundred metres below ground, under the French-Swiss border, scientists are preparing to travel back in time to study matter as it was in the first fractions of a second after the beginning of the Universe. They are building the world's largest scientific instrument to help reveal how this primordial matter developed into the building blocks that form the great diversity of today. Australian physicists are preparing to extract the few fundamental particles that will explain ....Origin of the Mass. A hundred metres below ground, under the French-Swiss border, scientists are preparing to travel back in time to study matter as it was in the first fractions of a second after the beginning of the Universe. They are building the world's largest scientific instrument to help reveal how this primordial matter developed into the building blocks that form the great diversity of today. Australian physicists are preparing to extract the few fundamental particles that will explain the origin of the mass from the debris of billions of proton collisions. While solving the major issue confronting particle physics today, we will train students who will subsequently apply their skills in fields as diverse as science, medicine, industry and finance.Read moreRead less
Frontiers of Theoretical Particle Physics. This project will involve PhD and other students, who will work at the frontiers of theoretical particle physics, which provides excellent training in model building and problem solving. They will serve the nation as physicists, but also as teachers, in the finance industry, in the public service and in think tanks, as our former students have done. The quest to understand the ultimate structure of matter has been a part of western culture for the las ....Frontiers of Theoretical Particle Physics. This project will involve PhD and other students, who will work at the frontiers of theoretical particle physics, which provides excellent training in model building and problem solving. They will serve the nation as physicists, but also as teachers, in the finance industry, in the public service and in think tanks, as our former students have done. The quest to understand the ultimate structure of matter has been a part of western culture for the last 2000 years or more. Media stories on this subject are popular, and our work will enable authoritative public outreach as the subject develops, and we find that our present understanding is not the complete story.Read moreRead less
The standard model of particle physics and beyond in the era of the Large Hadron Collider. This project will enhance the nation's intellectual culture and international standing through the study of original ideas about the nature of our universe. The advent of the Large Hadron Collider era, courtesy of the giant European accelerator laboratory called CERN, will revolutionise particle physics in the next few years. High achieving students are very excited by the research questions addressed in t ....The standard model of particle physics and beyond in the era of the Large Hadron Collider. This project will enhance the nation's intellectual culture and international standing through the study of original ideas about the nature of our universe. The advent of the Large Hadron Collider era, courtesy of the giant European accelerator laboratory called CERN, will revolutionise particle physics in the next few years. High achieving students are very excited by the research questions addressed in this proposal, so it will add significantly to the pool of highly-trained young Australians. They emerge as general problem solvers and flexible thinkers of high calibre in addition to becoming experts in particular areas. The big fundamental questions to be considered are also of great fascination to the general public.Read moreRead less