Vitality and change in Warlpiri songs at Yuendumu. Vitality and change in Warlpiri songs at Yuendumu. This project aims to understand the reasons behind the reported decline in knowledge of songs amongst younger generations at Yuendumu in the past 40-50 years, using a Central Australian music archive. This project will analyse selected song repertories over time, with insights and advice from today's senior custodians; and design strategies for Warlpiri people to re-engage with this important bo ....Vitality and change in Warlpiri songs at Yuendumu. Vitality and change in Warlpiri songs at Yuendumu. This project aims to understand the reasons behind the reported decline in knowledge of songs amongst younger generations at Yuendumu in the past 40-50 years, using a Central Australian music archive. This project will analyse selected song repertories over time, with insights and advice from today's senior custodians; and design strategies for Warlpiri people to re-engage with this important body of Warlpiri-initiated research in their own country. This research is expected to reinvigorate inter-generational transfer of highly significant cultural knowledge and practices.Read moreRead less
How Meston's 'Wild Australia Show' shaped Australian Aboriginal history. How Meston's 'Wild Australia Show' shaped Australian Aboriginal history. This project aims to produce an authoritative and original interpretation of the Wild Australia Show (1892–93), staged by a diverse company of Aboriginal people for metropolitan audiences. The Show will be the focus of an interdisciplinary study of performance, photography, collections and race relations in colonial Australia, using archival and visual ....How Meston's 'Wild Australia Show' shaped Australian Aboriginal history. How Meston's 'Wild Australia Show' shaped Australian Aboriginal history. This project aims to produce an authoritative and original interpretation of the Wild Australia Show (1892–93), staged by a diverse company of Aboriginal people for metropolitan audiences. The Show will be the focus of an interdisciplinary study of performance, photography, collections and race relations in colonial Australia, using archival and visual records. The project will situate the Show in local, national and transnational narratives informed by contemporary Indigenous perspectives. This research should illuminate Aboriginal agency in the ensemble, reconnect Aboriginal kin to performers, and chart changing concepts of race at a critical juncture in Australian history.Read moreRead less
Serving our country: a history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the defence of Australia. This project researches the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the defence of Australia. The project will provide authoritative accounts of their contributions to nation.
Discovery of new genes for plant cellulose biosynthesis and improved fibre production. Cellulose, the world's most abundant biopolymer, is important to the cotton and forest industries and for human and animal nutrition. Before biotechnology can manipulate cellulose, we must identify the enzymes of the synthesis pathway and understand how their properties determine the properties of the cellulose they produce. Not all enzymes are known and any relationships to cellulose properties remain unexplo ....Discovery of new genes for plant cellulose biosynthesis and improved fibre production. Cellulose, the world's most abundant biopolymer, is important to the cotton and forest industries and for human and animal nutrition. Before biotechnology can manipulate cellulose, we must identify the enzymes of the synthesis pathway and understand how their properties determine the properties of the cellulose they produce. Not all enzymes are known and any relationships to cellulose properties remain unexplored. This study extends our successful mutational analysis of cellulose synthesis in Arabidopsis and initiates the molecular analysis of organisms making cellulose with distinctive properties. It will significantly advance knowledge of cellulose biosynthesis and identify novel genes for fibre improvement.Read moreRead less
Flipping the mattress: infinite polyurethane recycling by synthetic biology. Australia is covered in billions of tonnes of plastic and yet <10% is recycled today. Polyurethane (PU) is ubiquitous in our everyday lives, from lacquer coatings to elastane clothing to durable foam padding in car seats, cushions and mattresses. Currently, there are few avenues for PU recycling and much ends up in landfill e.g., a single mattress produces 15-20kg of PU foam waste. Luckily, biodegradation of PU can occu ....Flipping the mattress: infinite polyurethane recycling by synthetic biology. Australia is covered in billions of tonnes of plastic and yet <10% is recycled today. Polyurethane (PU) is ubiquitous in our everyday lives, from lacquer coatings to elastane clothing to durable foam padding in car seats, cushions and mattresses. Currently, there are few avenues for PU recycling and much ends up in landfill e.g., a single mattress produces 15-20kg of PU foam waste. Luckily, biodegradation of PU can occur naturally via various microbial means and from insects, like Galleria mellonella larvae. The overall aim of this research project is to understand plastic biodegradation and translate nature’s solutions into flexible and efficient synthetic enzyme technologies that can sustainably recycle commonly used PU foams. Read moreRead less
The molecular basis for oocyst and cyst wall formation in apicomplexan parasites. Apicomplexan parasites such as Eimeria, Neospora, Toxoplasma and Plasmodium are single celled organisms - protozoa - that cause some of the most serious infectious diseases of livestock and humans ever known. Transmission of these parasites is dependent on their ability to encase themselves in protective structures known as oocyst or cyst walls. These walls are resistant to harsh environmental conditions, chemicals ....The molecular basis for oocyst and cyst wall formation in apicomplexan parasites. Apicomplexan parasites such as Eimeria, Neospora, Toxoplasma and Plasmodium are single celled organisms - protozoa - that cause some of the most serious infectious diseases of livestock and humans ever known. Transmission of these parasites is dependent on their ability to encase themselves in protective structures known as oocyst or cyst walls. These walls are resistant to harsh environmental conditions, chemicals and attack by the immune system. We will discover and characterise the molecular basis for cyst wall formation. This fundamental knowledge will be the building block for new, highly specific drugs and vaccines to control these extremely important pathogens.Read moreRead less