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.
Can muscles tune foot stiffness to enhance efficiency of human locomotion? This project aims to understand the key role that muscles might play in supporting the arch of the foot and determine if this improves the efficiency of human walking and running. The human foot is known to act like a spring to store and return energy during walking and running. The project hypothesises that this function is enhanced by muscular contributions within the foot that act to tune the stiffness of the foot and ....Can muscles tune foot stiffness to enhance efficiency of human locomotion? This project aims to understand the key role that muscles might play in supporting the arch of the foot and determine if this improves the efficiency of human walking and running. The human foot is known to act like a spring to store and return energy during walking and running. The project hypothesises that this function is enhanced by muscular contributions within the foot that act to tune the stiffness of the foot and maximise efficiency of force production. Exploration of how foot stiffness is controlled during human movement is expected to improve our understanding of the evolution of human walking and running and contribute to improving the design of modern footwear.Read moreRead less
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.
Lively reproduction: do common molecules underlie all vertebrate live birth? Most animals lay eggs, but some (most mammals, including humans and some reptiles) give birth to live young. This project will reveal the molecules underlying the evolution of live birth and fundamental processes of early pregnancy, which potentially will lead to future developments in reproductive science.
Structural domains of beta-tubulin and their role in microtubule dynamics and transport. This study aims to obtain a fundamental understanding of how the structural domains of the cytoskeletal protein beta-tubulin are involved in microtubule structures during cell division and vesicular transport. Using gene-editing technology and coupling this with cell biological approaches and high-resolution cell imaging will enable detailed analysis of the role of beta-tubulin domains in these important cel ....Structural domains of beta-tubulin and their role in microtubule dynamics and transport. This study aims to obtain a fundamental understanding of how the structural domains of the cytoskeletal protein beta-tubulin are involved in microtubule structures during cell division and vesicular transport. Using gene-editing technology and coupling this with cell biological approaches and high-resolution cell imaging will enable detailed analysis of the role of beta-tubulin domains in these important cellular processes. The outcomes will include fundamental new knowledge in cell biology and lead to the development of unique biological models that can be used to understand disease.Read moreRead less
The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on trop ....The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on tropical reefs or rainforest communities, through careful temporal niche partitioning where reliance on other sensory systems takes over from vision and olfaction as the principal method of prey detection. This project aims to elucidate how the modern fish diversity was shaped by such significant early evolutionary events.Read moreRead less
Pure and applied nuclear structure research with radioactive ion beams at Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU). The structure of exotic neutron-rich nuclei will be investigated at the Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) radioactive ion beam facility using new and novel detector systems. The results will enhance our fundamental understanding of the atomic nucleus and stellar nucleosynthesis as well as provide important data for the development of next generation nuclear reactor ....Pure and applied nuclear structure research with radioactive ion beams at Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU). The structure of exotic neutron-rich nuclei will be investigated at the Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) radioactive ion beam facility using new and novel detector systems. The results will enhance our fundamental understanding of the atomic nucleus and stellar nucleosynthesis as well as provide important data for the development of next generation nuclear reactors.Read moreRead less
Using performance to predict the survival of threatened mammals. This project aims to use a new mechanistic approach to quantify how the performance of cats and dingoes interacts with habitat complexity to drive population loss of prey species—namely, how the density of obstacles and refuges contributes to prey escape. Expected outcomes include discovering how rocky and savanna habitat structure affect the survival of threatened mammals hunted by cats and dingoes. It will provide a globally cust ....Using performance to predict the survival of threatened mammals. This project aims to use a new mechanistic approach to quantify how the performance of cats and dingoes interacts with habitat complexity to drive population loss of prey species—namely, how the density of obstacles and refuges contributes to prey escape. Expected outcomes include discovering how rocky and savanna habitat structure affect the survival of threatened mammals hunted by cats and dingoes. It will provide a globally customisable model, and inform management of an important Indigenous Protected Area.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