Alzheimers Disease is an insidious disease that so far has no cure. But research has indicated the development of brain scans that can detect AD before the symptoms arise. Here is some Australian television footage (it comes after Spain’s defense of their cucumber). FYI, the Research Fellow is a friend of mine.
I’m a Climate Scientist Rap is a great video clip by those creative folks at Hungry Beast
I just stumbled upon this awesome gallery of pictures of the universe released by NASA. Below is a great example of the images in the gallery.
Professor Chubb was formally appointed to his new role by Innovation Minister Kim Carr at Parliament House in Canberra today.
Professor Chubb has had a distinguished career in higher education and research and recently retired after a decade as vice-chancellor of the Australian National University.
A neuroscientist by training, he has co-authored some 70 full papers and co-edited one book all related to his research. He later took on leadership roles in university administration and sector advocacy bodies.
Professor Chubb will work closely with the Gillard Government to provide highest quality advice on science and technology issues that impact on Australia and the world.
The Prime Minister said as a past advocate in the university sector Professor Chubb would effectively engage with industry, researchers and the wider community as part of important scientific debates
Senator Carr said a lifetime of work in the research community was recently recognised in Canberra when Professor Chubb was named the ACT’s Australian of the Year for his contribution to higher education.
“He also understands that government needs frank and objective advice and communities need strong advocates. Professor Chubb is an outstanding leader. I congratulate him on his appointment and look forward to working with him.”
Professor Chubb will begin his three year term on 23 May 2011.
The above was taken from the Chief Scientists website.
It’s that time of year again. Hot cross buns are turning up in offices all over Victoria, the sound of foil crinkling back, revealing the sweet perfume of chocolate (the quality of which will vary) shaped into cute small furry animals. Then it’s a HOLIDAY where you get to see those things you love so much that you don’t often see. Things like…the bed…the couch…and then maybe family.
But even more importantly, the MEDIA 140 Frontiers conference is on, on the 27th of April in Brisbane. [insert rapturous applause]
Teaching science communication and doing some research into the effects of social media on science communication, I am going to be flitting around the conference like a humming bird, trying to find out what I can from people in the know.
But that leads me to ask you all a question:
What types of social media do you use when communicating science?
Facebook? Twitter? Youtube? Flickr? Linkedin? TweetLater? Digg?
Let me know. And I hope to see you in Brisbane. I will be the guy with a poppy in his left lapel (wink wink). Otherwise, enjoy those Easter eggs in bed!
Yesterday in Melbourne and Sydney, rallies were held to protest against the possible $400m (20%) reduction in the National Health and Medical Research budget. Thousands gathered outside Parliament house in Melbourne, scientists, students and professors stood alongside those who were the recipients of the medical research scientists had conducted.
From a student at the rally:
I am a student at La Trobe University studying double science. The budget cuts in medical research threaten my future job posibilities and those of my friends and colleagues…Australian medical research provides treatments and cures for millions of people around the world and govement funded research often funds research that big pharma companies would not fund as it does not have a high return, such as treatments and cures for third world diseases like malaria.
And from a neuroscience researcher at the rally:
I am an early career researcher whose salary is funded by the NHMRC. I will be conducting brain imaging research to investigate the neurobiological basis of psychosis and schizophrenia.
The changes will have a direct impact on the funding available to conduct medical research. This will have a direct effect on the ability for me to obtain competitive research grants (which are already very competitive with a success rate of about 15-20%) and ultimately to conduct research.
>What was the atmosphere like?
It was a static rally involving some speakers talking about the importance of medical research, a lot of chanting (no cuts to research! etc etc), a lot of cheering and clapping. Many people came down in their white lab coats which was great to see. There were a lot of people holding banners with various slogans (I didn’t have one unfortunately). There were students to Professors there, so it wasn’t just a ‘young’ rally. The atmosphere was alive, you could tell people there felt very passionate about the proposed cuts, not only because of their jobs being at stake but because people are passionate about their area of research and ultimately want to understand and provide better treatments for patients.
A rally is going to be held in Perth on Friday. So get out their and communicate about these expected budget changes!
Today, in 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly into space. To celebrate the occasion, a film of the event, recreating the event has been released. Below is the trailer and the film itself, both available on Youtube.
On 12th April 2011 it will be 50 years to the day since Yuri Gagarin climbed into his space ship and was launched into space. It took him just 108 minutes to orbit Earth and he returned as the World’s very first space man.
To mark this historic flight we have teamed up with the astronauts on board the International Space Station to film a new view of what Yuri would have seen as he travelled around the planet.
Weaving these new views together with historic voice recordings from Yuri’s flight and an original score by composer Philip Sheppard, we have created a spellbinding film to share with people around the World on this historic anniversary.
The Google Science Fair 2011 has been on science January and closes in a few days, on the 4th of April, 2011.
The fair is jointly sponsored by Google, Lego, National Geographic and Scientific American. Open to 13-18 year olds to most countries around the world, it is a mixture of science experiment and science communication. Participants get the opportunity to hypothesise on an experiment, conduct the experiment and then use a variety of internet tools to present their findings.
The grand prize includes a National Geographic trip to the Galapagos Islands, a US$50,000 scholarship, and finalists get the opportunity to experience work with the sponsoring organisations as well as US$25,000 scholarships.
Not bad for an experiment! I look forward to see who wins 
Click here for more information
Autism is a neural development disorder that is characterised by impaired social interaction and communication. Impairments in communication can be observed in children within the first age of life, with diminished babbling, the use of unusual vocal patterns and physical gestures. This diminished use of early gestures and verbal communication can lead to relatively impoverished language, with many children unable to make requests to caregivers.
This was the experience of Irish mum, Lisa Domican, who found it difficult to communicate with her daughter Grace, who had been diagnosed with autism from a young age. Grace had difficulty using words to communicate and Lisa would often be unable to understand what Grace’s requests related to. While limited in speaking ability, Grace was able to communicate by pointing to pictures and could arrange them in a sequence to create sentences. Over time, Grace and Lisa developed a picture book which they used to communicate. However, as Grace’s vocabulary grew, so did the book, proving to be unwieldy.
Lisa, keen to develop her daughter’s vocabulary without the difficulty of carrying a large picture book developed an iphone app – Grace. Grace provides a convenient means by which to store more and more images and allows the user to add photos, personalising the range of images used. The app has won several app awards and may be useful with children with order disorders such as Down Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy.
I love this clip. A great example for what one might take for granted as obvious. But clearly not so obvious.
A recent survey of scientific literacy in Australia found 30% believe it takes one day for the Earth to go around the sun. This video provides qualitative evidence for the finding from Sydney’s Eastern beaches.
