September 3, 2010
Baroness Susan Greenfield-Annual Florey Lecture
The Human Brain is now wired for change 
Date/Time: Friday, 3 September 2010, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Location: Bonython Hall, University of Adelaide, North Terrace
Cost: Gold coin entry at the door with proceeds to Florey Medical Research Foundation
More information: Visit website
July 27, 2010
Waite Research Institute Launch
Congratulations to the Waite Research Institute on its launch!
If you missed the launch, you can listen to Prof Roger Leigh’s talk via this link.
June 11, 2010
World Cup Soccer Ball – the Physics of the Jabulani
The 2010 World Cup is about to commence and there has been a lot of speculation on the accuracy of the new soccer ball. The University of Adelaide’s Professor Derek Leinweber decided to take a closer look this new ball (Jabulani) to investigate further.
If you missed Professor Derek Leinweber’s lecture on the physics behind the new ball, listen to the podcast.
May 4, 2010
Yale University Professor presents:The evolution of the genetic code
Professor Dieter Söll from Yale University will be guest speaker at the 3rd Bob Symons lecture, ‘The evolution of the genetic code: a work in progress‘:
At the time of its elucidation the genetic code was suggested to be universal in all organisms, and the result of a ‘frozen accident’ unable to evolve further even if the current state were suboptimal. How do we see the genetic code today – 40 years after the familiar ‘alphabet’ with 20 amino acids was established? Professor Soll, with over 470 scientific publications, has led the team which discovered selenocysteine and pyrrolysine, the 21st and 22nd amino acids which are directly inserted into growing polypeptides during translation. Based on the realization that protein plasticity is a feature of living cells, man-made expansion of the genetic code has begun by adding non-standard amino acids to the repertoire of the cell. Professor Soll will discuss these present evolutionary developments and how they underpin the creation of new organisms in the realm of synthetic biology.
Date/Time: Monday 24th May, 4pm
Location: Plant Research Centre Auditorium, Waite Campus
School of Agriculture, Food & Wine Named Lecture Series: The Bob Symons Lecture 2010
Contact: Dr Amanda Able, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Business: +61 8 8303 7245
At the time of its elucidation the genetic code was suggested to be universal in all organisms, and the result of a ‘frozen accident’ unable to evolve further even if the current state were suboptimal. How do we see the genetic code today – 40 years after the familiar ‘alphabet’ with 20 amino acids was established? Of course, the ‘genetic code’ is the product of its interpretation by the translational machinery and it is only static as long as the components of this machinery do not evolve or are strictly conserved between organisms. Professor Soll, with over 470 scientific publications, has led the team which discovered selenocysteine and pyrrolysine, the 21st and 22nd amino acids which are directly inserted into growing polypeptides during translation. Based on the realization that protein plasticity is a feature of living cells, man-made expansion of the genetic code has begun by adding non-standard amino acids to the repertoire of the cell. Professor Soll will discuss these present evolutionary developments and how they underpin the creation of new organisms in the realm of synthetic biology.
February 10, 2010
Paying their way
David Sly recently interviewed Dr Bob Hill about the Faculty of Sciences’ commercial partnerships. These partnerships have yeilded millions of dollars in research funding for the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Adelaide and this in turn has allowed the Faculty to recruit the best of the best from around the world. A few examples include Professor Andy Lowe from the UK who heads up the Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology & Biodiversity which focuses on plant change biology; Professor Corey Bradshaw, Research Director of Ecological Modelling who is conducting joint research with South Australian Research and Development Institute at West Beach; Professor Barry Brook, director of the Research Institute for Climate Change & Sustainability, whose blog BraveNewPlanet has attracted more than 500,000 hits.
Read the Adelaide Review article for more details.
Please note the following important fact corrections for the article:
- The Faculty of Science attracted approximately $60 million, not $160 million through research grants in 2009
- The correct title and spelling of Professor Tanya Monro’s surname (not Dr Munro). Dr Monro heads up the Institute for Photonics & Advanced Sensing (IPAS)
December 18, 2009
Rob Morrison at ‘re-launch’ of Aust Science Communicators (sa chapter) at RiAus
Earlier this week, Dr Rob Morrison delivered a brief prose in the style of C.P. Snow, in which he examined the ill-health and work ethic (amongst other things) of Charles Darwin. This was part of the re-launch of the South Australian Chapter of the Australian Science Communicators association, held at the beautifully refubished RiAus.
December 7, 2009
Podcast:From the Big Bang to the Dark Side of the Universe
Are there completely new groups of particles as suggested by supersymmetry? What is the nature of astrophysical dark matter? What are the fundamental particles of Nature and how do they compose the world in which we live?
If you missed this exciting lecture, you can listen to it on our podcast.
Lecture: “Modern Subatomic Physics: From the Big Bang to the Dark Side of the Universe ”
Speaker: Professor Tony Thomas, Australian Laureate Fellow and Elder Professor of Physics at the University of Adelaide
Podcast: “Modern Subatomic Physics: From the Big Bang to the Dark Side of the Universe ”
A blog about science at Adelaide 
