News
20 April 2010
Ancient DNA from eggshells
There has been considerable excitement over work done in an international collaborative effort led by researchers at Murdoch University in Western Australia and published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society. DNA was extracted from fossilised avian eggshells, the oldest dated at 19,000 years. Ancient eggshell was not previously considered as a source of DNA but the researchers managed to extract the DNA from extinct moa and elephant bird eggs and from those of old Australian emus and owls.
Researchers at the AMMRF at the University of Western Australia used microscopy to reveal the presence and location of the DNA within the fossils. Consequently, by tailoring the DNA extraction technique to the specific characteristics of eggshell, the team was able to extract significantly larger amounts of the ancient DNA than can be extracted from other types of material. It appears that the particular structural features of eggshell are conducive to the preservation of DNA and to keeping bacterial contamination at bay.
This work will allow much more extensive characterisation of historic and fossil collections of eggs making it possible to link genetic information to changes in diets and the environmental conditions in which the birds lived. The technique could also be relevant to conservation and forensic applications.
09 April 2010
Microscopy essential to microelectronics breakthrough
Prof. Jin Zou from the AMMRF at the University of Queensland (UQ) along with collaborators at the University of California, Los Angeles and at the Intel Corporation, have created magnetic quantum dots made of germanium and manganese, a highly advanced semiconductor technology that could revolutionise the microelectronics industry.
The work was published recently in the journal Nature Materials. Confirming the structure of the dots and understanding how the components are distributed within them was dependant on the microscopy carried out at the AMMRF at UQ. Prof. Zou said “Developing quantum dots that are able to harness both charge and spin of electrons may help to significantly reduce the size of electrical devices and reduce power dissipation inherent in electrical systems, because the collective spins in spintronics devices are expected to consume less energy than current charge-based technology.” The result that makes this work so important is that their dots function at temperatures much higher that had been thought possible, which along with their unique structure, allows the dots to interface effectively with current silicon-based technology.
05 March 2010 Many species of termites tend to fly in the rain, probably to avoid predators and to be sure that there will be mud available for establishing a new nest when they arrive at their destination. By using a variety of microscopic techniques at the AMMRF, the team has found that these termite wings are covered with long, grooved hairs interspersed with small star-shaped domes that effectively repel different-sized water droplets, allowing water to roll easily off the wing. |
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 Scanning electron micrograph of the water-repelling structures on a termite wing. |
| The ability to produce efficient water-repelling surfaces is essential to many industrial applications from medical diagnostics to large-scale anti-fouling surfaces. Therefore, understanding how nature has created its own efficiencies will be extremely valuable to innovation in the design of new types of water-resistant surfaces. As in the pharmaceutical industry, biodiversity provides ready-made reservoirs of useful molecules and structures that, when understood and harnessed, can bring significant benefits to many aspects of our lives. | ||
19 January 2010
AMMRF – supporting conferences in 2010
A number of upcoming conferences will be sponsored by the AMMRF in 2010 and numerous presentations will feature work carried out using AMMRF capability. The conferences will span a diversity of topics from nanotechnology at the International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Sydney in February, to specialised plant structures at Plasmodesmata 2010. Latest advances in cell biology will also be supported at the 10th Hunter Cell Biology Meeting in March. A major sponsorship opportunity is the 21st Australian Conference on Microscopy and Microanalysis (ACMM-21) in Brisbane in July. This conference brings together all the leading lights in the field of microscopy and microanalysis in Australia. Around the same time are several synergistic specialist meetings that will also be supported by the AMMRF, including IFES 2010, the 52nd International Field Emission Symposium in Sydney and the Scanning Probe Microscopy Workshop in Adelaide.
As well as these Australian conferences, the directors of the two NSW nodes of the AMMRF, Prof. Simon Ringer and Prof. Paul Munroe, are leading the bidding to host the 18th International Microscopy Congress in Sydney in 2014. If successful, this will bring thousands of international experts in microscopy and microanalysis to Australia, providing the opportunity for important interactions with our international colleagues and the chance to raise our profile further within the international research community.
01 December 2009
Australian National Fabrication Facility at ANU – a new Linked Centre
The Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) node at the Australian National University (ANU) has become an AMMRF Linked Centre. The ANU node of ANFF has expertise and facilities in the area of photonic electronic materials growth, and the processing and fabrication of devices including micro‐electromechanical systems (MEMS).
Linked Centre partnerships are formed with major research centres at institutions or publicly funded research organisations through the joint funding of a support engineer. The engineer plays a major, and pivotal, role in assisting that centre’s researchers perform high‐level microscopy and microanalysis at the local node as well as at other AMMRF nodes across the country.
A support engineer will be appointed early in 2010 to facilitate linkages between the characterisation and fabrication centres and will require a unique blend of skills in characterisation and fabrication with the experience to enable them to advise researchers from ANU on the most appropriate techniques and facilities to solve the users' research problems. The engineer will assist in the training of researchers from the node in fabrication processes, microscopy and microanalysis techniques, assist in the acquisition of data and give support in data analysis and interpretation.
20 October 2009
Fidel Castro, Jr. visits the AMMRF at the University of Sydney
Dr Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, Scientific Advisor of the State Council of Cuba, recently visited the Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis (AKCMM) at the University of Sydney as part of a visit by a Cuban delegation, coordinated by the Commonwealth Government’s Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. Dr Castro is the eldest son of Fidel Castro, the former prime minister and later president of Cuba. He and the rest of the Cuban delegation were here to examine Australia’s research in the fields of biotechnology and nanotechnology, looking for opportunities for collaboration and exchange of ideas. Dr Castro was particularly interested to learn about the innovative collaborative structure of the AMMRF and to see the facilities and the research done within one of its nodes. He was fascinated by the detailed tour of the some of the unit’s major instruments and laboratories, led by the AMMRF CEO, Prof. Simon Ringer, and was keen to meet the students and staff doing the work. Dr Castro has an extensive scientific and research background with a masters degree in nuclear physics and a PhD in physical-mathematical sciences from Russian institutions during the 1970s, and did postdoctoral research in nuclear-power generation in Moscow. In later years, he also undertook a masters degree in strategic planning and higher management and he was awarded a doctor of sciences in 2000. Dr Castro has received several prizes and distinctions during his career and has more than 150 scientific publications and 10 books.
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Dr Fidel Castro Diaz-Balarat inspecting the AMMRF atom probe instruments. |
25 August 2009
AMMRF – its engagement with industry
Prof. Simon Ringer, Executive Director and CEO of the AMMRF, recently attended the annual conference of the Australasian Industrial Research Group held in Parliament House, Canberra, on 20 August 2009. He had been invited to address the conference on the industrial use of NCRIS-funded research infrastructure. In a very-well received presentation to key government officials and industry leaders, he spoke on the many ways that the AMMRF engages with industry to maximise innovation across the sector.
The AMMRF continues to work closely with industry, providing testing services, contract research services and long-term research collaborations that enable solutions to many industrial R&D questions. They also provide training and access to the facilities. There is increasing recognition that a great deal of quality research is done in industrial research programs and that the NCRIS-funded research infrastructure is in a prime position to support these endeavours.
27 July 2009 |
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In-vitro assembly of virus-like particles visualised with cryo-electron microscopy. Image: Centre for Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Queensland and AMMRF. |
01 July 2009
AMMRF Executive Director calls for infrastructure support
AMMRF Executive Director and CEO, Prof. Simon Ringer, is quoted in The Australian, Higher Education on 1 July, 2009, supporting the call to recognise the critical importance of 'super technicians' to support Australia's peak researchers. The federal government's commitment to spend $1.1 billion on upgrading the national research infrastructure is widely welcomed and Prof. Ringer says it is "very exciting, but Australia needs brains as well as new stainless steel". "There's a skills shortage of hundreds across the peak science infrastructure necessary for the infrastructure road map of the future."
"It may not sound like much, but it's a huge number of people given these are high-end specialists who will have a really important impact on Australia's global competitive position, to take us up the innovation rankings." Prof. Ringer is one of numerous voices emphasising that the provision of operating costs to support the impressive new hardware is just as crucial, if Australian research and innovation is to flourish in the 21st century.
18 June 2009
AMMRF joins the Sydney Forensic Medicine and Science Network
Microscopy and microanalysis are crucial to forensic science. The AMMRF is fostering links with researchers in this field and has become a corporate member of the newly established Sydney Forensic Medicine and Science Network. This broadly-based network provides a forum for highlighting a range of activities in forensic medicine and science, leading to the development of new interactions and initiatives. The AMMRF is in a prime position to add value to research programs in many areas of forensic science, and is already forging collaborative links with the New South Wales Police Forensic Services Group.
