Research Highlights

Full article issued by Charles Sturt University.

New ARC-supported research has has debunked the myth that all early varieties of wheat were less allergenic than the varieties grown on Australian farms today.

Charles Sturt University PhD candidate, Mr Chris Florides, has investigated 170 wheat varieties grown in Australia from 1860 to 2015 as part of his research through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Centre for Functional Grains (FGC). While examining the allergenicity of the different varieties, which included some brought from England that were bred to suit Australian conditions, Mr Florides discovered that one of the most allergenic varieties was one grown in the 1800s. This contradicts a common speculation that early wheat varieties were not immunogenic and that modern genetic techniques have created wheat varieties that are more allergenic.

The outcome of Mr Florides' research includes the development of a new diagnostic method, and a database with information on the allergenicity of these wheats, which can better inform the development of low-allergenic wheat varieties which would be suitable for people who have mild gluten intolerance.

Full article issued by fibre2fashion.com.

Scientists at the Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, and the ARC Research Hub for Future Fibres, have developed an efficient, low-cost method to convert waste denim into viscose-type fibres that are either white or the original colour of the garment. With rising clothing waste, the study is significant since the current processes for textile recycling are inefficient and expensive. 

The research team have been able to demonstrate a textile recycling process whereby waste denim is dissolved using a unique ionic liquid solvent, to create a new cellulose fibre, which can be either the original colour of the waste garment, or colourless. The research has been published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

Full article issued by The University of Queensland (UQ).

A team of civil engineers at the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Nanoscience-based Construction Material Manufacturing (the Nanocomm Hub) has invented and patented a 'floating forest' they say is capable of reducing wind and wave damage during a natural disaster.

UQ researcher and ARC grant recipient, Professor Chien Ming Wang, said the invention could prevent beach erosion and protect coastal infrastructure and floating assets such as boats. The structure consists of a concrete deck tilted upstream to allow a wave run-up, which will dissipate the wave’s energy, similar to the way a truck safety ramp can slow a speeding truck. Several arrays of hollow column tubes are placed on top of the breakwater deck to form the 'trees' of the floating forest and ultimately reduce wind speed, the first time that a wave-breaker has incorporated a windbreak.

The researchers are hoping to commercialise the technology, with particular application in places that experience strong cyclone seasons.

Full article issued by The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language.

Two teachers of Australian Indigenous languages are the joint winners of the Patji-Dawes Award, for achievement in teaching languages other than English, and bestowed by The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language. Professor Nicholas Evans, Director of the Centre of Excellence and ARC Australian Laureate Fellow, said that the Centre has been thrilled by the spike in nominations of and by Indigenous people in the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

Sophia Mung, a Gija woman from Purnululu (East Kimberley, WA), has been recognised for decades of tireless work to ensure the Gija language is passed down to future generations. Brother Stephen Morelli is a Christian Brother, teacher and linguist who has worked closely with Aboriginal communities on the mid-north coast of NSW for over 30 years to revive and teach the Gumbaynggirr language.

The Patji-Dawes Award recognises outstanding achievements in language teaching by an accomplished practitioner in Australia, whether teaching in primary or secondary school, university, language schools or centres. It is named after Aboriginal woman Patyegarang and First Fleet Lieutenant William Dawes, who shared a student-teacher relationship that saw Dawes master the Eora language in the earliest documented instance of a settler learning an Indigenous language.