Using genetics to reconstruct the peopling and diversification of Sahul. A recent landmark study has revealed that people who first arrived on Sahul (the landmass connecting Australia with New Guinea) remained largely genetically isolated from subsequent migrations. However, there is still little known about the route(s) taken into Sahul, or how adaptation has shaped the enormous diversity now observed across Indigenous Australians and Papuans. This project aims to look at these issues by applyi ....Using genetics to reconstruct the peopling and diversification of Sahul. A recent landmark study has revealed that people who first arrived on Sahul (the landmass connecting Australia with New Guinea) remained largely genetically isolated from subsequent migrations. However, there is still little known about the route(s) taken into Sahul, or how adaptation has shaped the enormous diversity now observed across Indigenous Australians and Papuans. This project aims to look at these issues by applying phylogenetic and population genetic tools to the largest genetic dataset yet analysed from populations across Australia, New Guinea, and Island South East Asia. The outcomes of the project should reveal both the route(s) taken into Sahul and how adaptation has shaped the diversity now observed in descendants of the colonisation.Read moreRead less
The genomic history of Indigenous Australia. The aim of the project is to analyse genomic DNA from historic hair samples collected by anthropological expeditions in the early 20th century to generate a detailed genetic map of Aboriginal Australia and to reconstruct Australia’s pre-European genetic history. The genomic data and detailed contextual and genealogical information from museum archives will be used to work with Aboriginal individuals to trace past population movements and augment oral ....The genomic history of Indigenous Australia. The aim of the project is to analyse genomic DNA from historic hair samples collected by anthropological expeditions in the early 20th century to generate a detailed genetic map of Aboriginal Australia and to reconstruct Australia’s pre-European genetic history. The genomic data and detailed contextual and genealogical information from museum archives will be used to work with Aboriginal individuals to trace past population movements and augment oral historical records. The project aims to reconstruct the first detailed genomic history of indigenous Australia, including adaptation to the challenging Australian environment, and to generate important information for indigenous communities and the Australian public more widely.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101574
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$368,583.00
Summary
Evolution and Adaptation of the Human Microbiome. The bacteria within the human body (microbiome) are vital to human health, and alterations to these intricate microbial communities are now associated with disease. Using ancient DNA, this project aims to examine the evolutionary history of the human microbiome by exploring ancient bacterial communities preserved in calcified dental plaque (calculus) over the past 10 000 years. This will provide valuable information that reveals how these bacteri ....Evolution and Adaptation of the Human Microbiome. The bacteria within the human body (microbiome) are vital to human health, and alterations to these intricate microbial communities are now associated with disease. Using ancient DNA, this project aims to examine the evolutionary history of the human microbiome by exploring ancient bacterial communities preserved in calcified dental plaque (calculus) over the past 10 000 years. This will provide valuable information that reveals how these bacterial communities respond to alterations in human diet, environment, culture, and location. By monitoring changes in a natural modern system, this project aims to determine how these microbial communities established themselves within the human body, elucidating how the microbiome may respond in the future.Read moreRead less
Stories from the past: the impact of industrialisation on the human microbiome. This project aims to explore the history and origin of ‘Industrial’ diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and autism. Non-communicable, ‘Industrial’ diseases are rising at an alarming rate in Australia, and changes to the beneficial microorganisms within the human body (microbiota) may be to blame. This project will explore how human microbiota have changed over the past 100 years in response to cultural, ....Stories from the past: the impact of industrialisation on the human microbiome. This project aims to explore the history and origin of ‘Industrial’ diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and autism. Non-communicable, ‘Industrial’ diseases are rising at an alarming rate in Australia, and changes to the beneficial microorganisms within the human body (microbiota) may be to blame. This project will explore how human microbiota have changed over the past 100 years in response to cultural, environmental, and lifestyle factors linked with Industrialisation. This approach will allow stories from the past to inform modern medical treatment strategies and public health decisions in the future. The project will identify changes in environment, diet, hygiene, and medicine that have altered human microbiota in the past and sparked the Industrial disease epidemic in Australia today.Read moreRead less