News Archive

Owen Atkin announced 2019 Entrepreneurial Fellow
Apr 10th, 2019
Plant biologist and Head of the Plant Sciences Division at the ANU Research School of Biology, Professor Owen Atkin, has been named the 2019 Vice-Chancellor's Entrepreneurial Fellow for his work around entrepreneurial agri-technology.

Over the past 18 months, Professor Atkin has worked to bring ANU and AgriTech companies closer together to foster industry collaboration in the area of crop sustainability as a result of a changing...

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Discovery to help wheat cope with salty soils
Mar 26th, 2019
West Australian scientists have discovered two enzymes that explain the sensitivity of wheat plants to salty soils.

The findings could lead to advances that strengthen crops against salinity, an issue costing WA farmers more than $500 million a year.

Published this week in the journal

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Virtual reality makes learning about plant science fun
Feb 4th, 2019
A ground-breaking virtual reality program created by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology (PEB) takes students on an exciting immersive journey through the cells of plants, usually too small to be seen, and highlights plant research that is contributing to global food security.

Virtual Plant Cell (VPC) is being trialled with school students at Trinity College, taking the cutting-edge virtual reality technology into the classroom and providing a fun, interactive educational experience for them.

PEB Science Communications...

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Plants don’t like touch: green thumb myth dispelled
Jan 18th, 2019
Researchers have found that plants are extremely sensitive to touch and that repeated touching can significantly retard growth.

The findings, just published in The Plant Journal, could lead to new approaches to optimising plant growth and productivity – from field-based farming to intensive horticulture...

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Australia to host 1200 of the world’s leading plant molecular biologists
Jan 15th, 2019
A group of 60 plant scientists, led by Associate Professor Joshua Mylne from the University of Western Australia, together with The Cairns Convention Centre have successfully secured the 2021 Congress of International Society for Plant Molecular Biology (IPMB).

The Congress is an important, triennial meeting supported by IPMB and the American Society of Plant Biologists and is expected to attract over 1,200 of the world’s leading plant molecular biologists and agricultural corporations.

The successful...

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It looks like an anchovy fillet but this ancient creature helps us understand how DNA works
Nov 29th, 2018
Today a large international consortium of researchers published a complex but important study looking at how DNA works in animals.

The research focused on a marine organism, a creature called amphioxus (also known as “the lancelet”), to explore some of the steps that took place as animals evolved from invertebrates (animals without a backbone) to more complex back-boned vertebrates, including...

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Vice-Chancellor's Commendation for Derek Collinge
Nov 20th, 2018
Congratulations to Dr Derek Collinge, recipient of a 2018 ANU Vice-Chancellor's Commendation, Innovation (Service & Solution).

Story originally published by ANU Newsroom

Dr Derek Collinge has redefined his position as Laboratory Manager for the Australian Research Council...

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Virtual Plant Cell showcase
Nov 19th, 2018
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology showcased the Virtual Plant Cell, a leading virtual reality (VR) initiative for Australian STEM education during a special event last week.

The showcase, hosted in the state-of-the-art VR facility of partner school Trinity College, aimed to highlight the pioneering work being done for VR education to guests from government, industry and the education sector.

In a special address from the...

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WA research to help farmers make more informed decisions
Nov 13th, 2018
A new partnership between The University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) will see vast amounts of WA agricultural data collected and analysed, at an unprecedented scale, to help farmers make more informed decisions.

Field workers and researchers will compile data on crop varieties, their growth, and how they are impacted by weather conditions, soil varieties and fertilisers. The WA data along with national data will be made broadly available to farmers through the...

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Understanding enzyme could help produce frost-resistant crops
Nov 13th, 2018
Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology have found that an enzyme in plants, ATP Synthase, plays a critical role in how plants respond to the cold.

The discovery, published in New Phytologist, could be used to produce frost-resistant crops, which would save the agricultural industry millions of dollars every...

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Future Fellowships for Plant Energy Biology researchers
Sep 10th, 2018
A number of researchers from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology have been awarded 2018 Australian Research Council funding.

Dr Caitlin Byrt, at the University of Adelaide has received Future Fellowship funding to decipher how plants control water and salt co-transport.

Her project aims to increase understanding of how plant cells regulate solute...

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Plant Energy Biology’s Eureka Prize finalists
Sep 10th, 2018
Two of Plant Energy Biology’s researchers have been nominated for 2018 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.

Dr Caitlin Byrt, from the University of Adelaide, was announced as a finalist for the Macquarie University Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher, and Professor Barry Pogson, from the Australian National University, is a finalist for the University...

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The Virtual Plant Cell a WA Science Awards finalist
Sep 10th, 2018
The Virtual Plant Cell (VPC) was announced today as a Western Australian Premier’s Science Awards finalist for its engagement of the community in science.

Virtual Plant Cell: Classroom VPC is now being trialled with school students at Trinity College, taking the cutting-edge virtual reality technology into the classroom and providing a fun, interactive educational experience for them.

PEB Science...

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Peter Goldacre Award for Dr Caitlin Byrt
Sep 10th, 2018
Dr Caitlin Byrt has been awarded The Australian Society of Plant Scientists (ASPS) prestigious 2018 Peter Goldacre Award, one of the Society's premier research awards.

Caitlin is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the University of Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at the Waite Research Precinct.

Her expertise is in the area of plant biology,...

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Workshopping the energy costs of salinity tolerance in crop plants
Sep 10th, 2018
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology recently hosted the 22nd New Phytologist Workshop ‘Energy costs of salinity tolerance in crop plants’.

The April workshop, held in Adelaide, aimed to develop an energy budget for the different mechanisms of salinity tolerance in crop plants. Such a budget will serve as a guide to the most cost-effective breeding strategies to increase salt tolerance and yield of...

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Virtual Plant Cell enters an Aussie classroom
Sep 10th, 2018
The Virtual Plant Cell (VPC) is about to enter an Australian classroom as part of an exciting partnership between the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology (PEB) and Trinity College, Perth.

This ground-breaking activity will see educational virtual reality (VR) being used to teach high school science.

Classroom VPC will be run on high-end VR headsets, called Oculus Rifts, allowing a whole class of students to explore the microscopic...

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Modern science shows Roman wheat farming advice was on the money
Sep 10th, 2018
Plant biologists have made an important discovery about rising temperatures and wheat crops - and subsequently learned that the Romans suspected the effect more than 2000 years ago.

In research published today in the journal Scientific Reports, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology scientists at the University of Western Australia...

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Soil microbes can suppress nutrient uptake by plant root microbes
Sep 10th, 2018
Plants get nutrients and minerals like phosphorus from the soil via their root systems. This uptake of nutrients is enhanced in many plants by mycorrhizal fungi which colonise the roots, creating a vast connection between the plant roots and the soil around them.

Researchers studying mycorrhizal fungi don’t generally use natural field soils in their experiments. Instead, they use sterilised soil that has been inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi to minimise contaminants and other variables.

New research...

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Human brain drug uncovers key to plant stress response
Sep 10th, 2018
Researchers have discovered that drugs used in the treatment of certain brain disorders, including epilepsy, also alter signalling processes in plants under stress.

Researchers have discovered that drugs used in the treatment of certain brain disorders, including epilepsy, also alter signalling processes in plants under stress.

Published in the journal The Plant Cell, the finding uncovers a key mechanism in the...

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