How does developmental plasticity shape adaptation to environmental change? This project aims to address how animals adapt to environmental change by examining a process largely ignored in current studies: how the environment alters animal development. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of the genetics of adaptation using an innovative approach to determine how genetic variation, environmental conditions, and development interact to shape adaptation to changing environmen ....How does developmental plasticity shape adaptation to environmental change? This project aims to address how animals adapt to environmental change by examining a process largely ignored in current studies: how the environment alters animal development. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of the genetics of adaptation using an innovative approach to determine how genetic variation, environmental conditions, and development interact to shape adaptation to changing environments. Expected outcomes of this project include enhancing predictions of how species respond to climate change and building capacity for international collaborations. The intended impact of this project is to increase our understanding of how animals respond to environmental change by determining how multiple environmental cues act together to alter development, and how the genetic makeup of the individual affects these responses.Read moreRead less
Linkages between productivity and consistent behavioural traits in fish: implications for harvesting, climate impacts, and selective breeding for aquaculture. The extent to which behavior, growth and reproduction are genetically linked in fish populations is unknown, but critical for predicting the impacts of fish harvesting and climate warming, and developing fish stains for aquaculture. If strongly linked, fish harvest will always remove aggressive, large and productive fish, requiring their p ....Linkages between productivity and consistent behavioural traits in fish: implications for harvesting, climate impacts, and selective breeding for aquaculture. The extent to which behavior, growth and reproduction are genetically linked in fish populations is unknown, but critical for predicting the impacts of fish harvesting and climate warming, and developing fish stains for aquaculture. If strongly linked, fish harvest will always remove aggressive, large and productive fish, requiring their protection; in aquaculture, selecting for productive fish will also increase aggression-related injuries. If not strongly linked, we may be able to select for high productivity and low aggression in fish, or high productivity and low metabolism, thus reducing feed costs in aquaculture associated with aggressive behaviour leading to injury and infection, and reduced growth at warmer temperatures.Read moreRead less
Spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein Condensates. This project will explore fundamentally new quantum states, the spin-orbit Bose-Einstein condensates, predicted theoretically by Galitski et al. and subsequently observed experimentally. These states host a variety of fascinating novel phenomena, which can be exploited for ultra-sensitive interferometry and topological quantum computing. The project will develop a complete description of these phases and design new quantum devices that utilise their ....Spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein Condensates. This project will explore fundamentally new quantum states, the spin-orbit Bose-Einstein condensates, predicted theoretically by Galitski et al. and subsequently observed experimentally. These states host a variety of fascinating novel phenomena, which can be exploited for ultra-sensitive interferometry and topological quantum computing. The project will develop a complete description of these phases and design new quantum devices that utilise their properties. The fundamental significance of the project is in bringing together ideas from the diverse fields of atomic and molecular physics, condensed matter, quantum information, and topology and its direct relevance to the development of a new generation of quantum devices.Read moreRead less
Continuous tooth replacement in mammals: revealing the fundamental processes in tooth generation and movement. This project will investigate how molar teeth are made in mammals by examining the nabarlek, or little rock-wallaby, which is one of a handful of mammals that is able to regenerate new molars throughout its life. These new teeth migrate through the bone in order to move into the correct position in the mouth. By investigating two well-studied organisms, the mouse and the tammar wallaby, ....Continuous tooth replacement in mammals: revealing the fundamental processes in tooth generation and movement. This project will investigate how molar teeth are made in mammals by examining the nabarlek, or little rock-wallaby, which is one of a handful of mammals that is able to regenerate new molars throughout its life. These new teeth migrate through the bone in order to move into the correct position in the mouth. By investigating two well-studied organisms, the mouse and the tammar wallaby, as well as the nabarlek itself, the developmental processes and genes involved in molar generation and movement will be revealed. This project will integrate findings in regenerative medicine, evolutionary biology, materials engineering and palaeontology to reveal the mechanisms and origins of this astounding capability.Read moreRead less
Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Horde ....Identifying novel salinity tolerance mechanisms by spatial and temporal analysis of lipids in barley. Agrifood production faces the dual challenges of an increasing world population and the threats of abiotic stresses arising from climate change and the erosion of arable land. Cereals, the major food crops, are poorly adapted to tolerate most abiotic stresses, including salinity. This project applies new technologies investigating spatial and temporal biochemical mechanisms a model cereal, Hordeum vulgare (barley), utilises to adapt and tolerate salinity. The aims are to investigate the role of specifically plasma membrane lipids modulating either signalling pathways or membrane fluidity that impacts on adaptation during salinity. The results will provide new leads for the development of cereal germplasm with increased salt tolerance.Read moreRead less
Evolution of vascular tissue in land plants. This project will investigate genetic mechanisms of secondary cell wall thickening in a new genetic model representing an ancient plant lineage. This research will reveal the evolutionary origin of plant vascular tissue; a significant innovation that allowed increased size of plants and the origin of wood.
Virtual colliders: high-accuracy models for high energy physics. This project will create an advanced and general model of high-energy processes, focusing on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. New analytical and numerical solutions will be developed and combined to reach unprecedented accuracy and detail. This will clarify important phenomenological questions in the Standard Model and will enable more precise searches for deviations from it (new physics). A publicly available numerical code will ....Virtual colliders: high-accuracy models for high energy physics. This project will create an advanced and general model of high-energy processes, focusing on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. New analytical and numerical solutions will be developed and combined to reach unprecedented accuracy and detail. This will clarify important phenomenological questions in the Standard Model and will enable more precise searches for deviations from it (new physics). A publicly available numerical code will be produced, with a large number of applications. These include, for instance, precision extraction of fundamental parameters and improved absolute calibrations of experimental measurements, explicit theoretical modelling of new physics phenomena, and optimisation of detector design and analysis strategies.Read moreRead less
Quest for dark matter and new phenomena at the energy frontier. This project aims to develop technologies and techniques to detect dark matter. Particle physics research seeks to understand the universe at its most fundamental level. The Higgs boson discovery confirmed the Standard Model of particle physics, but many fundamental questions about the microscopic nature of the universe remain. The universe predominantly consists of dark matter, which the particles within the Standard Model do not e ....Quest for dark matter and new phenomena at the energy frontier. This project aims to develop technologies and techniques to detect dark matter. Particle physics research seeks to understand the universe at its most fundamental level. The Higgs boson discovery confirmed the Standard Model of particle physics, but many fundamental questions about the microscopic nature of the universe remain. The universe predominantly consists of dark matter, which the particles within the Standard Model do not explain. The Large Hadron Collider and Australia’s SABRE provide a huge opportunity to discover physics processes by enabling searches for new particles at the high-energy frontier and the direct detection of dark matter.Read moreRead less
Understanding physics through flexible calculations. This project aims to explore and interpret physics at the high energy frontier with calculations and computational techniques. It will develop and apply techniques and software to arbitrary physics models and make predictions in models. This will expand the set of ideas that can be rigorously scrutinised using data from collider and astrophysical experiments. This may shed light on the origin of dark matter and why the Higgs mass is so light, ....Understanding physics through flexible calculations. This project aims to explore and interpret physics at the high energy frontier with calculations and computational techniques. It will develop and apply techniques and software to arbitrary physics models and make predictions in models. This will expand the set of ideas that can be rigorously scrutinised using data from collider and astrophysical experiments. This may shed light on the origin of dark matter and why the Higgs mass is so light, and expand understanding of nature at the most foundational level.Read moreRead less
Beyond Higgs: Exploring the high-energy frontier. The recent discovery of the Higgs boson confirmed the remaining element of the Standard Model of particle physics, yet many fundamental questions about the microscopic nature of the Universe remain. Observations have shown the Universe to predominantly consist of dark matter, which is not explained by the particles within the Standard Model. The Large Hadron Collider upgrades provide a huge opportunity to discover new physics processes by enablin ....Beyond Higgs: Exploring the high-energy frontier. The recent discovery of the Higgs boson confirmed the remaining element of the Standard Model of particle physics, yet many fundamental questions about the microscopic nature of the Universe remain. Observations have shown the Universe to predominantly consist of dark matter, which is not explained by the particles within the Standard Model. The Large Hadron Collider upgrades provide a huge opportunity to discover new physics processes by enabling direct searches for new particles at the high-energy frontier. This project aims to fully exploit the unique datasets anticipated, and develop key electronic components and new techniques. It will expand the reach of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider and cement Australia’s role at the forefront of particle physics.Read moreRead less