Coping With Pressure: Respiratory Biology of Marine Mammals. Many marine mammals undergo severe, protracted lung collapse during deep dives. They also exhibit prolonged periods of apnea during sleep. In humans, lung collapse and sleep apnea both represent severe respiratory dysfunction. Pulmonary surfactant, a complex mixture that lines the lung, stabilises the lungs in terrestrial mammals, preventing lung collapse. Here, we propose a comprehensive examination of respiratory function in marine m ....Coping With Pressure: Respiratory Biology of Marine Mammals. Many marine mammals undergo severe, protracted lung collapse during deep dives. They also exhibit prolonged periods of apnea during sleep. In humans, lung collapse and sleep apnea both represent severe respiratory dysfunction. Pulmonary surfactant, a complex mixture that lines the lung, stabilises the lungs in terrestrial mammals, preventing lung collapse. Here, we propose a comprehensive examination of respiratory function in marine mammals. This study will significantly advance our knowledge of the diving physiology of Australian marine mammals. A detailed examination of the respiratory and surfactant systems of marine mammals may also reveal adaptations that enable these animals to endure sleep apnea and lung collapse.Read moreRead less
Modulating the molecular and cellular physiology of ageing skeletal muscle. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of how ageing affects muscle is of increasing importance to the community as the number of older persons in the population continues to escalate and the age of retirement increases. Old muscles are slower and weaker than young muscles, and are more easily injured. This proposal is focussed on developing safe therapies to prevent or reverse these age-related effects. Making old musc ....Modulating the molecular and cellular physiology of ageing skeletal muscle. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of how ageing affects muscle is of increasing importance to the community as the number of older persons in the population continues to escalate and the age of retirement increases. Old muscles are slower and weaker than young muscles, and are more easily injured. This proposal is focussed on developing safe therapies to prevent or reverse these age-related effects. Making old muscles young again, is a research strategy that will promote healthy ageing and enable older Australians to enjoy a better quality of life.Read moreRead less
The comparative physiology of oxygen delivery to the kidney. The kidney is in danger of hyperoxia because the kidney receives so much blood relative to its mass. It is proposed that shunting oxygen between arteries and veins substantially mitigates the risk of hyperoxia, but under certain circumstances shunting substantially increases the risk of kidney hypoxia. Using a combination of synchrotron and histological imaging, This project will carefully define the three-dimensional vasculature of th ....The comparative physiology of oxygen delivery to the kidney. The kidney is in danger of hyperoxia because the kidney receives so much blood relative to its mass. It is proposed that shunting oxygen between arteries and veins substantially mitigates the risk of hyperoxia, but under certain circumstances shunting substantially increases the risk of kidney hypoxia. Using a combination of synchrotron and histological imaging, This project will carefully define the three-dimensional vasculature of the renal cortex in several different species and interpret its functional significance using computational modeling. The outcome of this project will be a new understanding in the comparative physiology of oxygen transport and shunting in the kidney.Read moreRead less
SKELETAL MUSCLE: REVERSIBLE TEMEPERATURE-INDUCED UNCOUPLING OF CONTRACTION FROM THE ACTIVATOR Ca2+ AND TUBULAR SYSTEM ROLES IN MUSCLE FUNCTION REGULATION. Skeletal muscles represent the largest organ in the body of vertebrates and are responsible for major functions including maintaining posture and locomotion. Skeletal muscles are also a major source of heat production. The project focuses on temperature-induced effects on the ability of the skeletal muscle to contract in warm blooded animals, ....SKELETAL MUSCLE: REVERSIBLE TEMEPERATURE-INDUCED UNCOUPLING OF CONTRACTION FROM THE ACTIVATOR Ca2+ AND TUBULAR SYSTEM ROLES IN MUSCLE FUNCTION REGULATION. Skeletal muscles represent the largest organ in the body of vertebrates and are responsible for major functions including maintaining posture and locomotion. Skeletal muscles are also a major source of heat production. The project focuses on temperature-induced effects on the ability of the skeletal muscle to contract in warm blooded animals, including marsupials, and on the complex roles played by a cellular structure unique to the muscle fibre, the tubular system, with respect to regulation of muscle function at physiological temperatures. The project will test hypotheses that will have far-reaching implications for muscle physiology, cell biology and evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less
Natriuretic peptide hormones and the stress response of fish. There are two main benefits of our research to Australia. Firstly, the team that we have assembled have international reputations, and include scientists from overseas. This team will be led by Australian Institutions and will put Australian science in the forefront of a competitive field, internationally. Secondly, our research examines questions that are critical in our understanding of how animals respond to stressful events. T ....Natriuretic peptide hormones and the stress response of fish. There are two main benefits of our research to Australia. Firstly, the team that we have assembled have international reputations, and include scientists from overseas. This team will be led by Australian Institutions and will put Australian science in the forefront of a competitive field, internationally. Secondly, our research examines questions that are critical in our understanding of how animals respond to stressful events. The response to stress, if excessive, leads to ill-health in both humans and other animals. Our research examines new connections between stress and fish biology, which could lead to discoveries that are valuable in managing stress and health in wild and farmed fishes.Read moreRead less
Cross-bridge cycling-dependent activation of force production in the absence of Ca2+ in fast- and slow-twitch skeletal muscle fibre types. The project will contribute new knowledge about how skeletal muscle works, which will be published in top international journals in biological sciences. This will increase the reputation of Australian science in muscle research and will have the potential to benefit Australian people and Australian athletes. The project will also provide several Australian re ....Cross-bridge cycling-dependent activation of force production in the absence of Ca2+ in fast- and slow-twitch skeletal muscle fibre types. The project will contribute new knowledge about how skeletal muscle works, which will be published in top international journals in biological sciences. This will increase the reputation of Australian science in muscle research and will have the potential to benefit Australian people and Australian athletes. The project will also provide several Australian research students the opportunity to develop sophisticated laboratory and reasoning skills.Read moreRead less
Calls and constraints: do male frogs signal direct benefits? There is international concern over recent declines and disappearances of many species of amphibians. Australia is a hotspot for declines, but causes of declines remain enigmatic. Approximately one quarter of Australia's 230 amphibian species breed in terrestrial situations, but processes such as salinity, wetland and urban developments and climate change are altering the hydrology of our landscape, and preventing the flood events nece ....Calls and constraints: do male frogs signal direct benefits? There is international concern over recent declines and disappearances of many species of amphibians. Australia is a hotspot for declines, but causes of declines remain enigmatic. Approximately one quarter of Australia's 230 amphibian species breed in terrestrial situations, but processes such as salinity, wetland and urban developments and climate change are altering the hydrology of our landscape, and preventing the flood events necessary for the completion of the lifecycle of many species. This research has important conservation implications because it examines the effects of variable moisture regimes on the physiology and reproductive behaviours of terrestrial breeding frogs.Read moreRead less
Muscle fibre excitability and calcium regulation in skeletal muscle of amphibians and mammals. The fundamental role of skeletal muscle is posture and movement. Essential for this is a specialised cell structure and a complex regulation of function. This project will define key aspects of muscle structure and functional regulation crucial to developing targets for improving function under stressed states such as fatigue, disease and age.
FERTILIZATION IN VIVO AND IN VITRO IN AUSTRALIAN MARSUPIALS. Using reproductive technology previously undeveloped in Australian marsupials this study addresses the most significant question still unresolved in marsupial reproductive biology - 'How does fertilization occur?' We propose to investigate the morphological and functional characteristics of fertilisation and its roles in early development in marsupials, the uniqueness of these events and their evolutionary significance. These findings ....FERTILIZATION IN VIVO AND IN VITRO IN AUSTRALIAN MARSUPIALS. Using reproductive technology previously undeveloped in Australian marsupials this study addresses the most significant question still unresolved in marsupial reproductive biology - 'How does fertilization occur?' We propose to investigate the morphological and functional characteristics of fertilisation and its roles in early development in marsupials, the uniqueness of these events and their evolutionary significance. These findings will not only further our knowledge of reproduction in marsupials and shed light on the evolutionary factors underlying sperm and egg design but will provide tools for assisted breeding programs for threatened wildlife and for the regulation of over abundant species.Read moreRead less
Regulated muscle-based thermogenesis for body temperature regulation. Mammals maintain a constant core body temperature by generating heat in resting muscles in response to changes in the environmental temperatures. This project aims to show how the skeletal muscles that are closer to the body core contribute the majority of heat, how the muscles of the limbs have their heat generation curtailed as necessary, and how this is coordinated by the body in response to ambient temperature. Project out ....Regulated muscle-based thermogenesis for body temperature regulation. Mammals maintain a constant core body temperature by generating heat in resting muscles in response to changes in the environmental temperatures. This project aims to show how the skeletal muscles that are closer to the body core contribute the majority of heat, how the muscles of the limbs have their heat generation curtailed as necessary, and how this is coordinated by the body in response to ambient temperature. Project outcomes include defining, for the first time, how heat generation in the muscles of the body is regulated. This should provide critical knowledge of mammalian evolution and ways to manipulate metabolism, which may provide ways to assist the production of meat by managing hypothermia and hyperthermia risk in agriculture.Read moreRead less