Numerical simulation of the fish-like swimming of linked bodies. Although Zoologists have made detailed observations of swimming fish there are still many unanswered questions about how they swim. We do not know how the fins and undulating body work together to produce the high speed of the tuna, or the fast turns of a fish escaping danger. We see dolphins swim through the sea's surface but we don't know if they do that because it is much more efficient. This project is designed to simulate arb ....Numerical simulation of the fish-like swimming of linked bodies. Although Zoologists have made detailed observations of swimming fish there are still many unanswered questions about how they swim. We do not know how the fins and undulating body work together to produce the high speed of the tuna, or the fast turns of a fish escaping danger. We see dolphins swim through the sea's surface but we don't know if they do that because it is much more efficient. This project is designed to simulate arbitrary fish motion and give answers to these and other questions concerning swimming. It may also help humans to swim more efficiently and provide simulation tools for the design of robotic undersea vehicles.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0231228
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
Victorian Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy Facility. The aim of this proposal is to establish a state-of-the-art Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) facility in the Melbourne region. ESEMs have considerable advantages over conventional instruments in that they allow imaging and analysis to be performed in gaseous or high pressure environments. This enables electron microscopy to be used for the detailed analysis of insulating, wet or out-gassing specimens in their natural ....Victorian Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy Facility. The aim of this proposal is to establish a state-of-the-art Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) facility in the Melbourne region. ESEMs have considerable advantages over conventional instruments in that they allow imaging and analysis to be performed in gaseous or high pressure environments. This enables electron microscopy to be used for the detailed analysis of insulating, wet or out-gassing specimens in their natural state as well as the investigation, in real time, of dynamical processes such as crystallisation and corrosion. The new facility will support a wide range of multi-disciplinary research programs from four Universities and three CSIRO divisions.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence - Coherent X-ray Science. The twenty first century is said to be the century of biology. And there is no doubt that the development of our understanding of biological system is continuing at a massive rate. However as our understanding deepens, we need to draw on the whole range of scientific disciplines to proceed. This Centre draws together a multidisciplinary team of world-leading scientists to address one the key questions in modern biology, the structure of a membra ....ARC Centre of Excellence - Coherent X-ray Science. The twenty first century is said to be the century of biology. And there is no doubt that the development of our understanding of biological system is continuing at a massive rate. However as our understanding deepens, we need to draw on the whole range of scientific disciplines to proceed. This Centre draws together a multidisciplinary team of world-leading scientists to address one the key questions in modern biology, the structure of a membrane protein. We will develop techniques based on the latest developments in theoretical physics & chemistry, imaging, biology and technology - including the new Australian Synchrotron - to create new approaches to structural biology.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354636
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Australian Computational Molecular Science Network. Computational Molecular Science (CMS) involves the use of theory and computational methods to simulate and visualise molecular systems ranging from small atmospheric species to proteins, nucleic acids, chemical polymers and materials. It represents our most incisive expression of what we understand about the molecular basis of nature. The CMS network will integrate and cross-fertilize both fundamental and application-based expertize in molecula ....Australian Computational Molecular Science Network. Computational Molecular Science (CMS) involves the use of theory and computational methods to simulate and visualise molecular systems ranging from small atmospheric species to proteins, nucleic acids, chemical polymers and materials. It represents our most incisive expression of what we understand about the molecular basis of nature. The CMS network will integrate and cross-fertilize both fundamental and application-based expertize in molecular scale computations in the fields of nanoscience, biomaterials, biotechnology, biomedical science and environmental science. It will uncover and explore critical new interdisciplinary science and create new molecular-based paradigms that will drive advances in these fields over the next decade.Read moreRead less
Membrane structure and lipid interactions of the pore-forming toxin Equinatoxin II by NMR. The structure of Equinatoxin II, a pore-forming protein, will be determined in model cell membranes using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The relationship of molecular structure to bioactivity and the nature of the pore-forming mechanism of this toxin will be determined. The results will aid in understanding how toxins lyse cells and could lead to the design of improved antibiotic peptides. Currently the st ....Membrane structure and lipid interactions of the pore-forming toxin Equinatoxin II by NMR. The structure of Equinatoxin II, a pore-forming protein, will be determined in model cell membranes using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The relationship of molecular structure to bioactivity and the nature of the pore-forming mechanism of this toxin will be determined. The results will aid in understanding how toxins lyse cells and could lead to the design of improved antibiotic peptides. Currently the structure of membrane proteins are difficult to determine and the newly developed techniques used for the structural determination of this membrane-associated protein will be suitable for studying other membrane proteins and receptors of pharmaceutical importance.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354553
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Network on Control, Dynamics and Systems (NCDS). Control systems theory provides principles and methods for design of complex engineering systems that automatically maintain desired performance despite changes in their environment (e.g. autopilot in an aircraft). This field is facing many new exciting challenges at the dawn of new millenium, such as design of complex engineering systems in possibly networked, asynchronous and distributed environments. The network will play a major role in addres ....Network on Control, Dynamics and Systems (NCDS). Control systems theory provides principles and methods for design of complex engineering systems that automatically maintain desired performance despite changes in their environment (e.g. autopilot in an aircraft). This field is facing many new exciting challenges at the dawn of new millenium, such as design of complex engineering systems in possibly networked, asynchronous and distributed environments. The network will play a major role in addressing these challenges by providing a national research focus, facilitating collaboration and the sharing of people and ideas. By delivering a National Graduate School, the network will enhance learning conditions for graduate students. Moreover, it will provide an important catalyst between Australian universities and industry. This initiative will be essential in assessing the present state of control research in Australia and drafting a detailed plan for the network's leading research role in the future. Read moreRead less
Joint Theoretical and Experimental Electron Momentum Spectroscopic Studies for DNA Bases. The study of DNA structure is an area of intense research activity and continues to reveal new levels of complexity and diversity. Recent experiments (Science, 2002) provided direct evidences of the adenine non-planarity, indicating non-rigidity of DNA bases. Electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS) has been identified to be an appropriate technique in the study of chemical binding mechanism and orbitals at mol ....Joint Theoretical and Experimental Electron Momentum Spectroscopic Studies for DNA Bases. The study of DNA structure is an area of intense research activity and continues to reveal new levels of complexity and diversity. Recent experiments (Science, 2002) provided direct evidences of the adenine non-planarity, indicating non-rigidity of DNA bases. Electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS) has been identified to be an appropriate technique in the study of chemical binding mechanism and orbitals at molecular level. The aims of the project is to study orbitals and interactions of DNA and RNA bases such as adenine, thymine (uracil), guanine and cytosine using momentum space quantum mechanics and EMS experimental techniques. The outcome of the project will improve our understanding of the DNA double helical strand structure.Read moreRead less
Industrial-strength X-ray Phase Tomography. The unique 3D imaging capability provided as a result of this project will have application to advanced manufacturing as a non-destructive evaluation for materials and micro-components. For instance, the internal structure of aerogels, porous light metals, polymers and carbon fibre based materials can all be imaged at the microscale. Similar benefits flow in health sciences where organic processes can be observed in place and where, for instance, small ....Industrial-strength X-ray Phase Tomography. The unique 3D imaging capability provided as a result of this project will have application to advanced manufacturing as a non-destructive evaluation for materials and micro-components. For instance, the internal structure of aerogels, porous light metals, polymers and carbon fibre based materials can all be imaged at the microscale. Similar benefits flow in health sciences where organic processes can be observed in place and where, for instance, small animals used in research and clinical testing can be inspected internally without having to destroy them, thus allowing for repeated measurements.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560725
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$127,042.00
Summary
Enhancing the Monash-VIEPS Stable Isotope Facility. This proposal is to enhance the Monash-Victorian Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences (VIEPS) Stable Isotope Facility to expand our capacity for state-of-the-art research in hydrogeology, hydrology, aqueous chemistry, modern and palaeoclimatology, sedimentology, geochemistry, economic geology, and biological sciences. This facility will then have an analytical capability that is at least the equal of those elsewhere in Australia and which ....Enhancing the Monash-VIEPS Stable Isotope Facility. This proposal is to enhance the Monash-Victorian Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences (VIEPS) Stable Isotope Facility to expand our capacity for state-of-the-art research in hydrogeology, hydrology, aqueous chemistry, modern and palaeoclimatology, sedimentology, geochemistry, economic geology, and biological sciences. This facility will then have an analytical capability that is at least the equal of those elsewhere in Australia and which will maintain our position as a World Class stable isotope research facility. The enhanced facility will permit new research to be carried out that will lead to new collaborations both within the traditional Earth Sciences and across disciplines.Read moreRead less
New and computationally feasible methods of constructing efficient and exact confidence limits from count data. Biological and health science data is commonly in the form of counts. The statistical analysis of such data should be (a) efficient i.e. it should not, in effect, throw away valuable data, (b) exact i.e. it should have precisely known statistical properties and (c) computationally feasible. Kabaila and Lloyd (1997-2001) have proposed and analysed a radically new method of confidence li ....New and computationally feasible methods of constructing efficient and exact confidence limits from count data. Biological and health science data is commonly in the form of counts. The statistical analysis of such data should be (a) efficient i.e. it should not, in effect, throw away valuable data, (b) exact i.e. it should have precisely known statistical properties and (c) computationally feasible. Kabaila and Lloyd (1997-2001) have proposed and analysed a radically new method of confidence limit construction which, for the first time, possesses all of these requirements. The purpose of the project is to establish further theoretical support for the new method, to develop efficient computational algorithms and to write easy-to-use computer programs for its practical use.Read moreRead less