Congratulations to cancer researcher Professor Jerry Adams who has won the Australian Academy of Science’s most prestigious award for biological sciences, the 2014 Macfarlane Burnet Medal. Professor Adams studies the natural process of cell death, or apoptosis, and how flaws in this process contribute to the development of blood cancers.

The Academy's Past President Dr Jim Peacock AC has been awarded ACT Senior Australian of the Year 2013 for his work as an agricultural scientist. The ACT award recipients will join recipients from the other States and Territories as finalists for the national awards announced on 25 January 2013 in Canberra.

For more information see the Australian of the year website

Australia and the world are locking in massive investments in fossil fuels in contradiction to the need for emergency action on climate change, thereby grossly overvaluing companies with fossil fuel reserves, speakers will tell the Ticking time bombs in the Human-Earth system conference in Canberra next week.

Organised by the Australian Academy of Science’s National Committee for Earth System Science, the conference being held on 26-27 November at the Shine Dome in Canberra will focus on several key issues in the human-earth system that require urgent attention:

Read the latest edition of Early Days newsletter, especially for early and mid career researchers. This issue explores best practices in Australian science, the Science Pathways meeting outcomes, Science meets Parliament 2012, funding opportunities and more about early career researchers.

Common myths about immunisation have been laid to rest in a comprehensive new booklet written by the nation's top immunologists and published by the Australian Academy of Science.

Devised by a national panel of experts in response to confusion created by contradictory information in the public domain, The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers explains the latest immunology science in accessible language.

A ‘wellness rebate’, strengthening rail networks and speeding up the uptake of renewable energies are among the views put forward by a group of Australia’s top young scientists for the future of Australia’s population. The publication Recommendations from Australia’s population: shaping a vision for our future, launched by South Australian Minister for Science and Information Economy, Tom Kenyon, synthesises their ideas from a two day Think Tank held in July.

View the think tank here.

The National Nanotechnology Research Strategy was launched by Senator the Hon Kate Lundy on 7 December 2012.

The Australian Academy of Science, in association with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, invites applications from Australian researchers to undertake postdoctoral and invitational fellowships in Japan. Closing date is COB Friday 1 March 2013.

For more information see the international programs page

Shelley Peers, the Director of PrimaryConnections, the Australian Academy of Science’s primary science education program, won the Australian Innovation Challenge award for education last night.

The awards, run by The Australian in association with Shell and with support from the Australian Government, aim to drive innovation breakthroughs to commercialisation or adoption.

The December issue of the Academy’s newsletter is full of interesting articles including: UK Chief Scientific Advisor at the Shine Dome, visit by Corresponding Member Sir David Attenborough, Science by Doing update and wrap-up of the 2012 public lectures series.

View the December issue

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