Breeding out bad genes to protect biodiversity

Although their presence in the landscape has been relatively short, the impact feral cats have made on Australia’s native wildlife has been significant, with estimates of nearly two thousand native animals – birds, reptiles, mammals, and frogs – falling prey to feral cats every minute. These cats are also considered to have been largely responsible […]

Continue Reading

Birds suffering in a changing climate

            Results of a 50-year study published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show more than 60 northern hemisphere bird species have been impacted by changes to both climate and their environment. The findings support research published in late 2021 in the CSIRO publication Action Plan for Australian Birds 2020 that […]

Continue Reading

Research aims to end vaccine refrigeration

The World Health Organization estimates that at least 50 per cent of vaccines are wasted globally each year, with a lack of facilities and temperature control the major cause.  Recently published in Acta Biomaterialia, CSIRO researchers encapsulated live virus vaccines with a dissolvable crystalline material called MOFs (metal organic frameworks), which protected the integrity of the […]

Continue Reading

Saving Tasmania’s handfish

A fundraising appeal was launched in December aimed at supporting the work of researchers from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, CSIRO, and the University of Sydney in their effort to save Tasmania’s endangered handfish species from extinction. The Tasmanian state government committed $10,000 towards the Handfish Conservation Project, to enable scientists to study […]

Continue Reading

A genomics-informed, SNP association study reveals FBLN1 and FABP4 as contributing to resistance to fleece rot in Australian Merino sheep

BACKGROUND: Fleece rot (FR) and body-strike of Merino sheep by the sheep blowfly Lucilia cuprina are major problems for the Australian wool industry, causing significant losses as a result of increased management costs coupled with reduced wool productivity and quality. In addition to direct effects on fleece quality, fleece rot is a major predisposing factor […]

Continue Reading