Integrating electrophysiology and molecular biology to understand the role of cell membranes in bacterial responses to chill and osmotic stress. Modern food manufacture is driven by competing demands: consumers prefer foods that are 'natural', i.e. having received minimal processing and containing less preservatives, and last, but are safe. Thus, a challenge is to find minimal sets of treatments and preservatives that limit microbial growth.
Current methods to for determining limits to microbi ....Integrating electrophysiology and molecular biology to understand the role of cell membranes in bacterial responses to chill and osmotic stress. Modern food manufacture is driven by competing demands: consumers prefer foods that are 'natural', i.e. having received minimal processing and containing less preservatives, and last, but are safe. Thus, a challenge is to find minimal sets of treatments and preservatives that limit microbial growth.
Current methods to for determining limits to microbial growth are time and consuming and empirical. We will assess the potential of a new method (MIFE) to rapidly measure limits of bacterial growth under combinations of treatments. At the same time we will study how cells, and in particular how the cell membrane, responds to these stresses to provide insights for the development of new, minimal - yet safe - food preservation technologies.
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Triggering the dormant capacity of fish to make omega 3 fatty acids. Marine fisheries cannot expand further, leaving aquaculture (fish farming) with the challenge of meeting the growing demand for fish, whose consumption is known to enhance human health. Fish oil is an essential component of the feed used in aquaculture, but there is a decreasing global supply of this commodity. This innovative nutritional biochemistry project boosts the capacity of fish to produce their own fish oil from vegeta ....Triggering the dormant capacity of fish to make omega 3 fatty acids. Marine fisheries cannot expand further, leaving aquaculture (fish farming) with the challenge of meeting the growing demand for fish, whose consumption is known to enhance human health. Fish oil is an essential component of the feed used in aquaculture, but there is a decreasing global supply of this commodity. This innovative nutritional biochemistry project boosts the capacity of fish to produce their own fish oil from vegetable oils in their diet. Therefore, this project will enable the expansion of aquaculture as an economically and environmentally sustainable means to produce the highest quality, nourishing fish for human consumption.Read moreRead less
Genetic Basis of Variable Expression of Glycan Xeno-Autoantigens by Cattle. Meat and dairy products from cattle contain sugar structures (glycans) that are not made by humans. These structures can be recognised by the immune system and lead to allergic reactions, inflammation and potentially cancer. These non-human structures are called xeno-autoantigens or XAs. We have discovered individual cattle that do not produce one of these XAs. We will study the gene required to make XA in the XA-free ca ....Genetic Basis of Variable Expression of Glycan Xeno-Autoantigens by Cattle. Meat and dairy products from cattle contain sugar structures (glycans) that are not made by humans. These structures can be recognised by the immune system and lead to allergic reactions, inflammation and potentially cancer. These non-human structures are called xeno-autoantigens or XAs. We have discovered individual cattle that do not produce one of these XAs. We will study the gene required to make XA in the XA-free cattle to find the underlying mutation. The same approach will be used to look for natural XA-free individuals in other food species. This knowledge may enable us to create a test to facilitate the natural breeding of non-GMO, XA-free livestock to benefit Australian primary producers and provide safer food for consumers.Read moreRead less
Stimulation of the mammalian reproductive system by olfactory pathways. This project answers fundamental questions about mammalian reproductive biology but, because we work with the sheep model, our findings can be applied to two of Australia's biggest export industries, wool and sheepmeat. Understanding the reproductive responses of our production animals to exteroceptive factors such as socio-sexual signals, photoperiod and nutrition is an important first step towards refining the management ....Stimulation of the mammalian reproductive system by olfactory pathways. This project answers fundamental questions about mammalian reproductive biology but, because we work with the sheep model, our findings can be applied to two of Australia's biggest export industries, wool and sheepmeat. Understanding the reproductive responses of our production animals to exteroceptive factors such as socio-sexual signals, photoperiod and nutrition is an important first step towards refining the management of breeding programs. It has been argued that this approach will also minimise, and perhaps even remove the need for, exogenous hormones and drugs for controlling the reproductive process.Read moreRead less
Novel coding and decoding in suspension arrays for accelerated biomolecular discovery and personalised medicine. This project will establish an advanced multiplexing technique to rapidly analyse complex biological mixtures, such as cell lysates, food samples or body fluids. It will enable the analysis of not tens, but thousands or more distinctive molecular targets in a single test. This will build the foundations for future generation bioassays, paving the way to emerging personalised medicine. ....Novel coding and decoding in suspension arrays for accelerated biomolecular discovery and personalised medicine. This project will establish an advanced multiplexing technique to rapidly analyse complex biological mixtures, such as cell lysates, food samples or body fluids. It will enable the analysis of not tens, but thousands or more distinctive molecular targets in a single test. This will build the foundations for future generation bioassays, paving the way to emerging personalised medicine. This will lead to new personal diagnostics tools for rapid genotype profiling, to better tailor therapy to the individual patient's specific characteristics. As well as the potential to improve health outcomes, the project will generate significant intellectual property and the opportunity for development of new diagnostic instrumentation in Australia.Read moreRead less
Towards Scalable, Internet-Based RFID Traceability Networks. Food and drug safety is a major public health issue in Australia. Recent events involving poisoning of chocolate bars and paracetamol tablets in Australia have demonstrated the urgent need for improved ways of locating and recalling commercial products that have been released into the community. This project will develop novel techniques for locating items in large-scale distribution networks driven by RFID (Radio Frequency Identificat ....Towards Scalable, Internet-Based RFID Traceability Networks. Food and drug safety is a major public health issue in Australia. Recent events involving poisoning of chocolate bars and paracetamol tablets in Australia have demonstrated the urgent need for improved ways of locating and recalling commercial products that have been released into the community. This project will develop novel techniques for locating items in large-scale distribution networks driven by RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology. The outcomes of the project will make it easier to rapidly and accurately pinpoint product locations in the event of problems such as an illness outbreak due to contaminated food or counterfeited drugs. Read moreRead less
Agri-food Applications of Genetically-Modified Organisms: Public Perceptions, Risk and Sustainability. Agricultural and food biotechnologies are being disseminated throughout Australia - despite growing consumer concerns. Employing a sociological framework, this research will investigate ways genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) - and their associated risks - are perceived by consumers. This Australia-wide study is significant because of the nation's current endorsement of GMOs, the reluctance/ ....Agri-food Applications of Genetically-Modified Organisms: Public Perceptions, Risk and Sustainability. Agricultural and food biotechnologies are being disseminated throughout Australia - despite growing consumer concerns. Employing a sociological framework, this research will investigate ways genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) - and their associated risks - are perceived by consumers. This Australia-wide study is significant because of the nation's current endorsement of GMOs, the reluctance/inability of science to recognise lay concerns, and the likelihood that some biotechnologies will compromise environmental sustainability. Outcomes will include: conceptual advances in relation to risk and trust; an understanding of consumer acceptance/rejection of GMOs; and, recognition of the potential for agri-food biotechnologies to contribute to sustainability.Read moreRead less
Mathematical models of diseases with complex transmission routes. This project aims to model diseases that spread via a mixture of routes including food, water, the environment, and direct spread between individuals. Key diseases include: avian influenza, which causes massive disruption to the poultry industry; gastroenteritis, which costs Australia $1,250 million each year; and leptospirosis, which causes one million severe illnesses each year globally. This project will develop mathematical a ....Mathematical models of diseases with complex transmission routes. This project aims to model diseases that spread via a mixture of routes including food, water, the environment, and direct spread between individuals. Key diseases include: avian influenza, which causes massive disruption to the poultry industry; gastroenteritis, which costs Australia $1,250 million each year; and leptospirosis, which causes one million severe illnesses each year globally. This project will develop mathematical and statistical tools to better estimate risk, analyse outbreak data, and provide guidance for disease control. This research will improve policy and enhance our ability to respond to disease outbreaks.Read moreRead less
Globalization, WTO and sustainable development: new challenges, opportunities and implications for Australia. Australia is benefiting greatly from opening its economy and encouraging the same in its trading partners, particularly through the World Trade Organization (WTO). A major new challenge is to ensure that the WTO continues to enhance economic welfare by responding to recent criticisms levelled at it by anti-globalization groups. This project will analyse those groups' claims about the eff ....Globalization, WTO and sustainable development: new challenges, opportunities and implications for Australia. Australia is benefiting greatly from opening its economy and encouraging the same in its trading partners, particularly through the World Trade Organization (WTO). A major new challenge is to ensure that the WTO continues to enhance economic welfare by responding to recent criticisms levelled at it by anti-globalization groups. This project will analyse those groups' claims about the effects of trade and investment policy reforms, and of WTO rules and other contributors to globalization, by going beyond the traditional economic effects to examine effects on income distribution, poverty alleviation, the environment, labour, and food safety and security.Read moreRead less
Understanding and controlling bioavailability: passive dosing of persistent organic pollutants into recombinant cell bioassays. Bioassays with mammalian cell lines may replace animal testing in chemical risk assessment if issues with limited sensitivity can be overcome for very hydrophobic chemicals such as polychlorinated dibenzodioxins. The project will solve this problem by developing a polymer-release dosing technique that assures defined and constant exposure.