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
The essence of being an animal: sponge allorecognition and the evolution of individuality. The human genome encodes the ability to recognise self from nonself at the cellular level. In medicine, this innate ability results in the rejection of transplanted (grafted) tissues from unrelated individuals. This project seeks to get to the evolutionary foundation of self-nonself recognition by studying this process in a simple and tractable model - a sponge from the Great Barrier Reef. Like humans, spo ....The essence of being an animal: sponge allorecognition and the evolution of individuality. The human genome encodes the ability to recognise self from nonself at the cellular level. In medicine, this innate ability results in the rejection of transplanted (grafted) tissues from unrelated individuals. This project seeks to get to the evolutionary foundation of self-nonself recognition by studying this process in a simple and tractable model - a sponge from the Great Barrier Reef. Like humans, sponges reject cells and tissues derived from another individual. By defining the genetic basis of self-recognition in sponges we reveal the antiquity of this system and the core features of histocompatibility and immunity. Such insights can inform a range of regenerative medical pursuits.Read moreRead less
Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The pr ....Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The project will provide fundamental advances in our knowledge of the nutrient transport during pregnancy that is required to produce a healthy baby.Read moreRead less
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.
Origin of animal sensory and nervous systems: a case study in cell type evolution. The origin of the nerve cell and the nervous system allowed the first animals to interact with their biotic and abiotic environment in rapid and complex ways. These capabilities are the primary agents for success in the animal kingdom, underpinning the ability to capture food, avoid predation, and find a mate. These same nerve cells have bestowed on the human brain cognitive abilities that have driven our biologic ....Origin of animal sensory and nervous systems: a case study in cell type evolution. The origin of the nerve cell and the nervous system allowed the first animals to interact with their biotic and abiotic environment in rapid and complex ways. These capabilities are the primary agents for success in the animal kingdom, underpinning the ability to capture food, avoid predation, and find a mate. These same nerve cells have bestowed on the human brain cognitive abilities that have driven our biological and cultural evolution. Despite the phenomenal importance of the nerve cell, we know almost nothing about its origin and early evolution. This basic research project seeks to make a major contribution towards addressing this gap in knowledge.Read moreRead less
Combining biomechanics and movement ecology of kangaroos and relatives. Kangaroos and their relatives are unique in their body form, hopping gait and by the fact that increased speed does not come at an increased energetic cost. This project aims to build 3D musculoskeletal models to understand how muscles and tendons interact, enabling greater distances to be travelled using less energy. Further, it will use animal tracking devices and machine-learning tools to quantify movements in the wild. T ....Combining biomechanics and movement ecology of kangaroos and relatives. Kangaroos and their relatives are unique in their body form, hopping gait and by the fact that increased speed does not come at an increased energetic cost. This project aims to build 3D musculoskeletal models to understand how muscles and tendons interact, enabling greater distances to be travelled using less energy. Further, it will use animal tracking devices and machine-learning tools to quantify movements in the wild. This framework will provide novel insights into how energetics, morphology, and habitat have shaped the evolution of this unique group. This may open doors to a range of future ecological, physiological, and conservation studies and provide biological inspiration for energetically efficient robotic and assistive devices.Read moreRead less
Seeing without eyes: the evolution of non-visual photoreceptors in vertebrates. Australia's underwater biodiversity is second to none with endemic species representing the earliest stages in vertebrate evolution, many of them relying heavily on vision for survival. Tracing the evolution of light detection and image formation will provide crucial information about the lifestyles of our vertebrate ancestors, the environmental selection pressures driving speciation and colour communication. Charact ....Seeing without eyes: the evolution of non-visual photoreceptors in vertebrates. Australia's underwater biodiversity is second to none with endemic species representing the earliest stages in vertebrate evolution, many of them relying heavily on vision for survival. Tracing the evolution of light detection and image formation will provide crucial information about the lifestyles of our vertebrate ancestors, the environmental selection pressures driving speciation and colour communication. Characterisation of optimal light environments and extra-ocular light detection will also help protect and manage endemic species in wild and captive environments. Read moreRead less
Battle of the sexes: can surroundings differentially affect male and female mammalian preimplantation embryos. Equality between the sexes is an issue even at conception. The environment surrounding the embryo can bias the development of one sex over another. This project will assist in the understanding of how male and female embryos differ and will improve assisted reproductive technologies for domestic animal breeding programs, endangered animal conservation and human infertility treatment.
Aquatic eye design: sharks and rays as models of underwater colour and luminance vision. Sharks are usually assumed to be colour blind. We have discovered that they may in fact see colour very well and that the eyes of different species are adapted to their particular lifestyles. Our research will help to raise the profile of sharks and portray them as animals with advanced sensory systems and complex visual behaviours rather than just dangerous killing machines. Studying the vision of sharks m ....Aquatic eye design: sharks and rays as models of underwater colour and luminance vision. Sharks are usually assumed to be colour blind. We have discovered that they may in fact see colour very well and that the eyes of different species are adapted to their particular lifestyles. Our research will help to raise the profile of sharks and portray them as animals with advanced sensory systems and complex visual behaviours rather than just dangerous killing machines. Studying the vision of sharks may also help to reduce the number (currently >50,000) that are killed each year as bycatch by Australian long-line fisheries and make a valuable contribution to one of Australia's National Research Priorities (an Environmentally Sustainable Australia) for managing and conserving our biodiversity.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