Health And Fertility Of Young Men Conceived Using Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$362,570.00
Summary
The injection of a single sperm into the egg (ICSI) has been the main IVF treatment for men with poor sperm quality since 1993 but is now often used for other types of infertility. Concern has been raised about the health of the children. We will approach >800 parents and their adult sons conceived using ICSI and will assess his general health and development, and fertility. This work will improve patient counselling and practice guidelines, and direct research into the safety of ICSI.
Clinical Review Of A Cohort Aged 22-33 Years Conceived Using Assisted Reproductive Technologies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$946,454.00
Summary
In a recent study, using telephone-interviews, we compared the health and wellbeing of 547 singleton young adults born following assisted reproductive technologies (ART), with 549 matched controls. Reviewing their health when they are 22-33 years is possible because of their ongoing interest. We have a protocol in place to measure their cardiac and respiratory function and other aspects of growth and development. Our findings will fill a major knowledge gap about the longer term safety of ART.
Control of developmental switches by importin 5. Aims: This project will study a key molecular switch called IPO5, a protein that is required for cells and organs to form and function normally, and it will reveal how it works.
Significance: These experiments will provide the first complete description of how this molecular switch controls the behaviour of a cell across its lifespan. IPO5 is highly conserved, so these studies will be relevant to a wide range of animals.
Expected Outcomes: This k ....Control of developmental switches by importin 5. Aims: This project will study a key molecular switch called IPO5, a protein that is required for cells and organs to form and function normally, and it will reveal how it works.
Significance: These experiments will provide the first complete description of how this molecular switch controls the behaviour of a cell across its lifespan. IPO5 is highly conserved, so these studies will be relevant to a wide range of animals.
Expected Outcomes: This knowledge will reveal how IPO5 controls formation of sperm by revealing what other proteins it binds to and how this affects cell signaling and responses to the environment.
Benefits: This will provide information about potential interventions to control fertility or to repair abnormal cells.
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Digital Interferometry: A platform technology for robust optical measurements. Digital interferometry is a new concept which will allow the measurement precision of interferometry to be applied in otherwise inaccessible or unsuitable environments. It will enhance the performance of major scientific instruments, such as gravitational wave detectors and optical telescopes, whilst reducing the cost, giving Australia a high profile in the quest to understand the universe. When applied to everyday ....Digital Interferometry: A platform technology for robust optical measurements. Digital interferometry is a new concept which will allow the measurement precision of interferometry to be applied in otherwise inaccessible or unsuitable environments. It will enhance the performance of major scientific instruments, such as gravitational wave detectors and optical telescopes, whilst reducing the cost, giving Australia a high profile in the quest to understand the universe. When applied to everyday situations, such as surveillance, traffic flow or vibration monitoring, it can give Australian industry a economic and social advantage, increasing the wealth and security of the nation. Read moreRead less
Exposure dating with manganese-53, neon-21 and beryllium-10: a new toolkit for studying long-term landscape evolution. Australia today is the driest inhabited continent but this was not always the case. Tens of millions of years ago the climate of Australia was considerably wetter. Then, several million years ago, aridity in Australia developed producing most of the desert features of the red Centre that we see today. The age of our deserts and other arid features are not, however, well known. T ....Exposure dating with manganese-53, neon-21 and beryllium-10: a new toolkit for studying long-term landscape evolution. Australia today is the driest inhabited continent but this was not always the case. Tens of millions of years ago the climate of Australia was considerably wetter. Then, several million years ago, aridity in Australia developed producing most of the desert features of the red Centre that we see today. The age of our deserts and other arid features are not, however, well known. This project will determine the age of desertification in Australia, thereby enhancing our understanding of such processes and the response of our landscape to changing climate.
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Global Gravitational Wave Astronomy. To listen to the universe with gravitational waves needs a global array of gravitational wave observatories, and one of these must be in the southern hemisphere - in Australia. By definitively answering outstanding questions about an Australian gravitational wave observatory - Where should it be? How sensitive? What astronomy will it aid? - we make the case for the international community to help build this observatory, investing hundreds of millions of dolla ....Global Gravitational Wave Astronomy. To listen to the universe with gravitational waves needs a global array of gravitational wave observatories, and one of these must be in the southern hemisphere - in Australia. By definitively answering outstanding questions about an Australian gravitational wave observatory - Where should it be? How sensitive? What astronomy will it aid? - we make the case for the international community to help build this observatory, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in rural Australia and keeping Australia on the cutting edge of all branches of astronomy. As a flagship client of advanced data GRID technologies, we will also shape the growth of Australian knowledge of, and infrastructure for, next-generation communications technologies.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775546
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,000.00
Summary
Construction of the blue-arm of the ANU 2.3m telescope Wide-Field Spectrograph. The new blue and red arms of the WiFeS spectrograph on the SSO 2.3m telescope utilizes new optical techniques and advances in detector technology to provide unique capabilities for front-line research and student training. The novel integral field units on WiFeS extract spectra across the face of faint, distant galaxies enabling the dynamics of the stellar and gas content to be analysed in unprecedented detail. Anoth ....Construction of the blue-arm of the ANU 2.3m telescope Wide-Field Spectrograph. The new blue and red arms of the WiFeS spectrograph on the SSO 2.3m telescope utilizes new optical techniques and advances in detector technology to provide unique capabilities for front-line research and student training. The novel integral field units on WiFeS extract spectra across the face of faint, distant galaxies enabling the dynamics of the stellar and gas content to be analysed in unprecedented detail. Another important project will be to follow-up interesting objects discovered by the new SkyMapper telescope and establish those that need to be observed on 8 m telescopes such as Gemini, Magellan or VLT. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453879
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$184,163.00
Summary
Electron beam induced deposition and ablation nanofabrication facility. Electron beam induced deposition and ablation(EBIDA) is rapidly emerging as a new technology capable of fabricating three-dimensional nanostructures on nearly any substrate with very high precision. This proposal aims to establish a nanoscale EBIDA facility by integrating a specialized nanolithography attachment with an existing state-of-the-art 1nm resolution high current variable pressure scanning electron microscope. This ....Electron beam induced deposition and ablation nanofabrication facility. Electron beam induced deposition and ablation(EBIDA) is rapidly emerging as a new technology capable of fabricating three-dimensional nanostructures on nearly any substrate with very high precision. This proposal aims to establish a nanoscale EBIDA facility by integrating a specialized nanolithography attachment with an existing state-of-the-art 1nm resolution high current variable pressure scanning electron microscope. This combination of instrumentation will enable the high-speed production of conductive and insulating structures with 1-to-10nm dimensions. The unique facility will be used to manufacture and prototype novel nanoscale devices and structures and will enable measurement of their physical and chemical properties.Read moreRead less
Discovering the First Generation of Stars in the Galaxy - The Most Metal-Poor Stars. The most metal-poor stars carry a fossil record of the early chemical and dynamical evolution of the Galaxy. The most interesting objects are those with the lowest metal abundances representing the earliest generation of stars in the Galaxy. The aim of the present project is to extend the mining of the HES objective spectra to identify extremely metal-deficient giants, which together with the already identified ....Discovering the First Generation of Stars in the Galaxy - The Most Metal-Poor Stars. The most metal-poor stars carry a fossil record of the early chemical and dynamical evolution of the Galaxy. The most interesting objects are those with the lowest metal abundances representing the earliest generation of stars in the Galaxy. The aim of the present project is to extend the mining of the HES objective spectra to identify extremely metal-deficient giants, which together with the already identified dwarfs will be further distilled using 6dF and the DBS. We anticipate trebling the total number of the most metal deficient stars known and targeting these for observations with 8m telescopes.Read moreRead less