Media releases

TOP AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH SHOWCASED AT PEAK SCIENCE EVENT
5 May 2008

The Australian Academy of Science will host its peak annual event, Science at the Shine Dome, this week with over 30 of Australia's top scientists presenting their research.

The Academy's celebration of science incorporates the formal admission of new Fellows, presentation of awards, a topical symposium and the Annual General Meeting.

The event attracts over 300 delegates to Canberra, and brings into the spotlight the great research achievements of some of Australia's brightest scientists.

President of the Academy, Professor Kurt Lambeck, says of this year's event:

'There is an exciting line-up of awardees, new Fellows and symposium speakers, promising three days of great presentations from some of Australia's best researchers.'

The event begins on Wednesday 7 May with Macfarlane Burnet Medal winner Professor Rick Shine FAA* showcasing new biological methods to control cane toads in tropical Australia. He says of the event:

'...the atmosphere at the annual meeting is wonderful, you've got all these people who are really very exceptional scholars who have received the accolade of being inducted into the Fellowship of the Academy and so there's a really great feeling about it all. Sitting and listening to the new Fellows talk is always an incredible experience.'

The new Fellow's talks will follow Professor Shine's lecture and include topics such as:

• Turbo-charged photosynthesis
• Controlling killer T cells, the assassins of the immune system
• Understanding birth defects through mouse development
• The genetics and biology of sex development
• New developments in quantum computing
• The relaxin peptide and its role in memory, learning, motivation and feeding behaviour
• Science and innovation in the 21st Century
• Koalas, eucalypts and climate change
• The accelerating universe
• Biotechnology and new uses for statistics

On Thursday, winners of the Academy's 2008 awards for scientific excellence present their research and receive their awards. This year's winners will speak about:

• Transforming waste CO₂ into the valuable feedstock methanol by using computers for chemistry – Professor Leo Radom FAA
• The formation of mountains and links with changes in climate – Professor Peter Cawood
• The genetic risk of prostate cancer, and the future of genetic tests, diagnosis, prognosis and personalised treatments for the disease – Dr Vanessa Hayes
• Engineering vaccines that mimic natural immune responses to maximise protection – Dr Gabrielle Belz
• How the Australian continent has been influenced by unusual enrichment in heat producing elements such as uranium, thorium and potassium, and their potential for future nuclear and geothermal energy – Dr Sandra McLaren
• Nanoscience and the possible creation of the building blocks of life –
  Dr Ken (Kostya) Ostrikov
• New perspectives and methods in soil research – Dr Ronald Smernik

Friday features an all day symposium which asks the question:'Dangerous climate change: Is it inevitable?' It will showcase the latest Australian research on climate change, and the potential hazards that lie ahead for humanity and the planet.

Talks will include the Australian perspective, the economic perspective, potential impacts on our socio-ecological systems and coral reefs, as well as predictions of sea level rises and discussion on drought and rainfall patterns.

Further information:

Full program:www.science.org.au/sats2008

Information on awards and winners: www.science.org.au/awards/2008awards

*Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science