How the gut nervous system interacts with bacteria. This project aims to reveal how the enteric nervous system of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract interacts with the gut microbiota. Gut function has largely been studied without considering microbiota. The project will use genetically modified animal models, image analysis of gut motility and sequencing of gut microbes, and develop neurophysiological methods to understand gut function. Expected benefits include better understanding of mechanisms u ....How the gut nervous system interacts with bacteria. This project aims to reveal how the enteric nervous system of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract interacts with the gut microbiota. Gut function has largely been studied without considering microbiota. The project will use genetically modified animal models, image analysis of gut motility and sequencing of gut microbes, and develop neurophysiological methods to understand gut function. Expected benefits include better understanding of mechanisms underlying antibiotic resistance, risks associated with discretionary caesarean sections and the benefits of breastfeeding.Read moreRead less
Mapping the connectome that controls blood pressure. The connections that an individual brain cell receives from other cells ultimately determines its behaviour. Using a revolutionary new technique, the project will create a map of the brain cells that control blood pressure.
Development of sympathetic nerve pathways. The mature nervous system contains many types of neurons connected in precise ways. Developing neurons must make many decisions about what type of neuron to become and what connections to make. This study looks at the mechanisms that guide the developing neurons in these important decisions.
Neural migration: Which cells advance and which stay behind? This project aims to examine the neural crest cells that colonise the developing gut and to identify why some cells advance while others stay behind to populate a region. Directed cell migration is essential for normal development, including for the nervous system. In most of the migratory cell populations that have been analysed to date, all of the cells migrate as a collective from one location to another. However, there are also mi ....Neural migration: Which cells advance and which stay behind? This project aims to examine the neural crest cells that colonise the developing gut and to identify why some cells advance while others stay behind to populate a region. Directed cell migration is essential for normal development, including for the nervous system. In most of the migratory cell populations that have been analysed to date, all of the cells migrate as a collective from one location to another. However, there are also migratory cell populations that must populate the areas through which they migrate, and thus some cells get left behind while others advance. The planned data are likely to be relevant to other cell populations that also populate the areas through which they migrate, including neural crest-derived melanocytes and Schwann cell precursors.Read moreRead less
Radiation and Ablation in Rapidly Expanding Flows. The aim of the project is to record the spectra of radiation from a region of rapidly expanding flow representative of the passage of the shock layer on a re-entry capsule from the windward to the leeward surfaces. The significance of this work is that it addresses a critical area of spacecraft where the uncertainties of our design techniques are of the order of 300 per cent in terms of surface heat transfer, and current vehicles have to use lar ....Radiation and Ablation in Rapidly Expanding Flows. The aim of the project is to record the spectra of radiation from a region of rapidly expanding flow representative of the passage of the shock layer on a re-entry capsule from the windward to the leeward surfaces. The significance of this work is that it addresses a critical area of spacecraft where the uncertainties of our design techniques are of the order of 300 per cent in terms of surface heat transfer, and current vehicles have to use large safety factors to ensure survivability. The outputs from the project will be a data base of radiative parameters which should enable accurate models of the flow to be developed, which is expected to facilitate the design of advanced spacecraft with greater safety and reliability, and with lower structural mass.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100263
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Magnetohydrodynamic aerobraking to land heavy payloads on Mars. This project aims to decelerate space vehicles by applying a magnetic field to the hot ionised gases that form around the vehicle. In the thin atmosphere of Mars, aerodynamic drag alone is not enough to land a spacecraft larger than 1 tonne. A human mission to Mars requires landing of payloads up to 80 tonnes. Interaction of the magnetic field with the ionised flow dissipates kinetic energy and can reduce surface heating. This proje ....Magnetohydrodynamic aerobraking to land heavy payloads on Mars. This project aims to decelerate space vehicles by applying a magnetic field to the hot ionised gases that form around the vehicle. In the thin atmosphere of Mars, aerodynamic drag alone is not enough to land a spacecraft larger than 1 tonne. A human mission to Mars requires landing of payloads up to 80 tonnes. Interaction of the magnetic field with the ionised flow dissipates kinetic energy and can reduce surface heating. This project could make Mars-return missions feasible by enabling greatly increased payloads. It also aims to evaluate magnetohydrodynamic braking and heat mitigation at true flight conditions.Read moreRead less
Turbulent heat transfer during Mars Venus and Earth atmospheric entry. This project aims to design better heat shields for spacecraft. Designing heat shields for re-entry vehicles needs good models to predict aerodynamic heating. Conventional wind tunnels cannot measure aerodynamic heating in ground tests in the region of peak heating, making design uncertain and risky. This project will use a free-piston-driven expansion tunnel that can produce flows fast and dense enough to measure heating for ....Turbulent heat transfer during Mars Venus and Earth atmospheric entry. This project aims to design better heat shields for spacecraft. Designing heat shields for re-entry vehicles needs good models to predict aerodynamic heating. Conventional wind tunnels cannot measure aerodynamic heating in ground tests in the region of peak heating, making design uncertain and risky. This project will use a free-piston-driven expansion tunnel that can produce flows fast and dense enough to measure heating for turbulent boundary layers at the highest speeds encountered during re-entry. This should allow scientists to test and develop theoretical and numerical models of heating and so improve spacecraft design.Read moreRead less
Wiring the gut's nervous system: formation and maturation of synapses. This project aims to determine how nerve circuits controlling intestinal functions develop; specifically how communication between specific nerve cells is established once they appear in the embryonic gut. It will fill a major hole in existing knowledge of mechanisms regulating the development of normal digestive behaviours.
Rhombomeric Topography of Structures in the Adult Mouse: Evidence from Avian Homologies and Transgenic Mice. The brainstem of birds has been shown to be formed by a line of segments, like carriages of a train. The same arrangement exists in the embryos of mammals, but is hidden in the adult mammalian brain. We will transfer our detailed knowledge of bird brains to make a maps of the brainstem segments in adult mice. We will then test this map with special gene markers which will reveal the occul ....Rhombomeric Topography of Structures in the Adult Mouse: Evidence from Avian Homologies and Transgenic Mice. The brainstem of birds has been shown to be formed by a line of segments, like carriages of a train. The same arrangement exists in the embryos of mammals, but is hidden in the adult mammalian brain. We will transfer our detailed knowledge of bird brains to make a maps of the brainstem segments in adult mice. We will then test this map with special gene markers which will reveal the occult segmental pattern in adult mice. This work will give us a new way of understanding the organisation of brainstem centres that control breathing, cardiovascular functions and emotional states.Read moreRead less
Ablative thermal protection systems. The project will study ablative reentry heat shields by experiments simulating hypervelocity atmospheric flight. The results will enable the design of the advanced spacecraft which are needed to extend mans exploration of the universe. Data will be validated by comparison with flights such as the Japanese Hayabusa asteroid sample return mission.