A most unusual partnership has allowed Dr Jaye McKenzie-Clark (Department of Ancient History) and Professor John Magnussen (Australian School of Advanced Medicine) to combine expertise in ancient artefacts with modern medical imaging. Their work in ceramic composition and Cuneiform analysis is transforming the field of non-destructive analysis of ancient pottery.

“Envelopes are nothing new, nor is the desire to write private messages,” says McKenzie Clark. “Yet some secrets, hidden in envelopes of clay, have remained unopened for up to 5,000 years. These sealed Cuneiform tablets, dating from the Third Millennium BC, preserve fragments of the oldest known form of writing, and the clandestine messages of those times.”

In the past the only way to see what lay hidden inside was to destroy the outer shell. McKenzie-Clark and Magnussen have now reproduced ancient artefacts using 3D printing and used state-of-the-art CT scanners to analyse their composition without even removing them from their box. This has the potential to revolutionize the study of trade, distribution and consumption of goods in the ancient world.

“Few sites in the country would offer the counterpoint of a valuable resource such as aMuseum of Ancient Cultures with the newest in medical imaging technology,” says Magnussen. “The intellectual expertise in the respective departments also made this possible, who through their open-mindedness and intellectual curiosity have given birth to a technique that could revolutionise the approach to archaeological science – and leave behind a growing rather than shrinking resource for future study.”

Their colloquium lecture will explore these developments in ancient artefacts and 3D printing, and highlight their plans for the future. Their two upcoming research projects will  aim to combine 3D printing and scanning techniques to provide an innovative library of 3D objects that can ‘bring the museum out of the box and into the hands of students’, in all parts of the community, from high school to postgraduates alike.

“The dominance of visual learning seems to be at the expense of multisensory education,” says McKenzie-Clark. “However, it has long been realised that object based learning is a powerful pedagogical tool, so we are looking for new ways to see the museum put into the hands of participants, rather than being kept hidden in display cabinets or storage.”

When: Wednesday 29 May
Where: Campus Hub Building (C10A), Level 3, Macquarie University.
Time: 6pm – 8pm.
Parking: Casual parking is available in car parks X3 and X4. Parking rates apply.

More information about the event is available here.

Professor John Magnussen
Professor Magnussen qualified in Medicine and then went on to complete a PhD in Nuclear Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at UNSW. Magnussen qualified in Radiology from RPAH in 2002, where he worked both in diagnostic and interventional radiology, and was the Director of Research. He is a Partner in Specialist Magnetic Resonance Imaging and has completed advanced training in CT Coronary Angiography. Magnussen has presented at numerous international meetings in basic science and clinical research and is the Professor of Radiology at Macquarie University.

Dr Jaye McKenzie-Clark 
Dr McKenzie-Clark is an award-winning consulting archaeologist and ceramic specialist. She has worked on several projects in Greece and Italy and has authored many journal articles, book chapters and most recently her own book. McKenzie-Clark lectures and tutors in both Archaeology and Society and Museum Studies and is an Education Officer at the Museum of Ancient Cultures. McKenzie-Clark is also a Director of Macquarie University’s Australian Carsulae Archaeological Project, which is investigating the ancient Roman city of Carsulae in Umbria. With training in architectural design and construction McKenzie-Clark is conversant with the identification, documentation and analysis of archaeological standing remains. Her long-standing experience as a commercial potter has led to a comprehensive understanding of the manufacture and analysis of archaeological ceramics. She is recognised as an international authority on ancient Roman pottery.

Starting in May, it brings together the works of four Australian visual artists: Meredith Brice, Stephen Copland, Karee S Dahl and Colin G Reaney.

Previously at the Art Gallery NIE-NTU University Singapore and the Art Gallery Virginia Commonwealth University,Doha, Qatar. Macquarie is pleased to become the first Australian gallery to house the exhibition.

“I am delighted that the University has been chosen to provide a stage for this exhibition and to be the first in the artists’ home country is a special privilege,” says Rhonda Davis, Senior Curator at Macquarie University Art Gallery.

The exhibition explores the notion of the artist as global citizen, and utilizes a wide range of media including – installation, sculpture, drawing, collage, painting, construction and multi-media.

“It looks at how the artists are Itinerant in responding to and being influenced by the practices and beliefs of other cultures, where the concept of home translates as a fluid mix interconnected with time and place,” explains Davis.

“The exhibition culminates in a display that evidences the artists’ immersion and exploration of the concept of home, identity and relationship to place.”

The show will also be complemented by public workshops delivered by two of the exhibiting artists.

One presented by Meredith Brice will explore ideas of how fabric can shape, document and communicate the notion of travel both physically and through memory – past, present and future.

The other is an international workshop by Stephen Copland that will show students how artist books have the potential to function as an informed alternative space to celebrate migration heritage and cultural diversity.

“These workshops offer a great opportunity for the public to connect with the artist and their work in a way that extends beyond the exhibition,” says Davis.

Upcoming Art workshop in conjunction with the transit exhibition:

Travels in textile presented by Meredith Brice
Friday 7 June, 10am-1pm
Macquarie University Art Gallery

For more information on the exhibition and workshops visit: www.artgallery.mq.edu.au

Endangered brush-tail rock wallabies raised in captive breeding programs carry antibiotic resistance genes in their gut bacteria and may be able to transmit these genes into wild populations, according to research published May 22 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Michelle Power and colleagues from Macquarie University.

Brush-tail rock wallabies are currently being raised in species recovery programs and restored to the wild to bolster populations of this endangered species. Here, researchers found that nearly half of fecal samples from wallabies raised in these programs contained bacterial genes that encode resistance to streptomycin, spectinomycin and trimethoprim.

None of these genes were detected in samples from five wild populations of wallabies. The authors add, “How these genes made their way into the wallaby microbes is unknown, but it seems likely that water or feed may have acted as a conduit for bacteria carrying these genes.”

Previous research shows that proximity to humans can increase animals’ exposure to antibiotic resistance genes and the organisms that carry them. Antibiotic resistant bacteria have been reported in the wild from chimpanzees in Uganda, Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and a wide range of fish, birds and mammals.

According to the researchers, their findings highlight the potential for genes and pathogens from human sources to be spread. Power says, “We found that antibiotic resistance genes from human pathogens have been picked up by endangered rock wallabies in a breeding program, and may spread into the wild when the wallabies are released.”

The funding for this work was provided by the Australian Research Council in collaboration with Office of Environment and Heritage and the Australian Museum, and the Ian Potter Foundation. Through its grants, the Ian Potter Foundation seeks to encourage excellence and support Australia’s talent: the visionaries, social entrepreneurs, scientists, academics and researchers, artists and teachers, and those who dedicate themselves to bettering our communities for the benefit of all.

Citation: Power ML, Emery S, Gillings MR (2013) Into the Wild: Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance Determinants via a Species Recovery Program. PLoS ONE 8(5): e63017. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063017  http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0063017

MGSM’s Interim Dean, Associate Professor Guy Ford said: “For some time a significant proportion of participants in the school’s programs have come from the health care sector and while strategy, change management and leadership are common across all sectors, the heath care sector faces specific challenges around these items that are sufficient to warrant a specific and deeper focus.”

The unique feature of this unit will be the delivery of classes by key industry leaders from the health care sector, including: Chris Rex, CEO of Ramsay Health Care; Chris Roberts, CEO of Cochlear; Steven Rubic, CEO of I-MED Network Radiology; Dr Rachel David, Healthcare and Public Sector, McKinsey & Company; Michael Roff, CEO of APHA; Wayne Cahill, Partner at Ashurst and Evan Rawstron, COO, Macquarie University Hospital. These experts will work in the classroom with MGSM faculty to ensure a highly relevant learning experience.

The unit will be led by MGSM’s Graham Millett and has been developed in collaboration with Professor Mark Compton AM. Professor Compton is the CEO of St Luke’s Care, Vice Chancellor and non-executive director of St John Ambulance Australia and a non-executive director of Macquarie University Hospital.

Professor Compton said: “MGSM will be among the leading business schools in the world to offer a specific health care elective as part of its MBA program. The School is well placed to provide this opportunity due to its physical proximity to many health care, life science, pharmaceutical and medical device organisations and also its relationship with the Australian School of Advanced Medicine at Macquarie University.

He continues: “Due to Australia’s ageing population and the increasing demand on health care services, along with tight government budgets and the continuing global economic conditions it is critical that we offer further specific training and education to our current and future health care leaders and managers. This will make a very significant contribution to securing a strong and stable future for the sector.”

Other than MGSM MBA students, the unit is open to MGSM alumni and industry professionals who may wish to participate in this unit.

As part of the assessment, participants will work on a project developed in conjunction with the presenters and supported by an advisory committee of experts in the field. This approach is complemented by MGSM’s current Living Case Study with Pfizer Oncology.

For enquiries regarding enrolment, please contact the Student Services Team via studentservices@mgsm.edu.au

Speaking at a free community information evening at Macquarie University, Johnco will speak about late-life anxiety and depression and the treatments available. She will also be reviewing some of the research into the risk factors, maintenance and management of late-life anxiety and depression and answering questions from the public.

“The aim of the information evening is to promote a clearer understanding within the community that these feeling are not simply a part of getting older and that there is help available,” says Johnco.

Carly Johnco has a special interest in the mental health of older adults. Currently in the final stages of completing her PhD, Johnco is looking at the impact of cognitive factors on older adults’ ability to learn and benefit from psychological treatment. Her research aims to improve the treatment of psychological issues in later life.

“Older people often think of mental health issues carrying a stigma but it’s just like treating any other medical issue. It’s important that people understand that there is an alternative to living with depression and anxiety in later life,” says Johnco.

Event Information:

Date:              Thursday 23 May 2013

Time:              6.00pm-7.00pm (doors open 5.30pm)

Venue:           Australian Hearing Hub, level 1 lecture theatre,
16 University Ave, Macquarie University NSW

Register online or call (02) 9850 8711

A mix of students, Sport Clubs, staff and sport enthusiasts kept the game going with high energy and spirit throughout the match. Players came dressed in their pyjamas, onesies, lycra and even an unidentified player in a chicken suit graced the field within the early hours of the morning.

“The score was tight throughout the lengthy event,” said Cindy Hoad, General Manager Sport and Recreation, “but the final score saw the MacWarriors take out the win, with 291 against the Mini MacWarriors at 246. It was a great effort by all who took part in both teams.”

As a local sporting institution, Macquarie was determined to tick all the boxes for an official world record, with the match played down by the iconic campus lake, and under Touch Football Australia Rules with an official referee.

“The amount of support received was overwhelming” says Cindy Hoad, General Manager Sport and Recreation. “Macquarie University Sport would like to thank everyone who participated in the event or helped out on the day. The effort and enthusiasm of students, staff and the community was vital to the events success”.

With the option to play in the overnight games, and camp out on the campus, it was a fun and unique way for participants to spend time with their sporting teams, group of friends or work colleagues while contributing to the big goal.

Players and spectators even got to take part in Friday morning’s other big event, the solar eclipse, by joining Macquarie’s astronomy team down at Macquarie’s atrium, located next to the lakeside game.

The event also helped raise money for local Sports Clubs, with a number of BBQ fundraisers held throughout the 30 hours.

This year, Macquarie University will mark the event on 16 May, with a barbecue party in the the Central Courtyard from noon till 2pm. X-Factor finalist Carmelo will entertain the crowds, joined by Drag Kings and members of the University’s Queer Collective under the inflatable rainbow. Guests are invited to take part in the Ally Network’s “Messages of Love” activity, reinforcing positive messages for LGBTI equality and inclusion.

IDAHO this year will be run by the Macquarie University Queer Collective – a student group, which in association with the QueerSpace, aims to promote equality and provide a safe area on campus for staff and students who identify as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer or Questioning (GLBTIQ), and straight allies. It will be supported by the University’s Equity and Diversity Unit and the Ally Network.

Homosexuality was removed from the World Health Organisation’s list of mental illnesses on 17 May 1990; IDAHO celebrates this decision annually, with schools, businesses and community organisations holding events to demonstrate support for their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex colleagues and members.

Everyone is welcome. No RSVP required.

“The temperature of the atmosphere and its self-cleaning capacity depends a lot on clouds,” says one of the article’s authors, Professor Stephen Foley. “The lifetime and brightness of clouds is affected strongly by aerosols, which are currently thought to be the greatest single unknown factor in models of climate and climate change. Sulphur aerosols and their interactions with other elements, including dust, are thought to have an important cooling effect on the atmosphere, making them essential to climate models.”

It is aerosols that form haze, which is often said to be due to industrial pollution. But aerosols have both natural and pollution origins, and it is essential that we know more about the balance between these, and about the microscopic chemical processes that take place on the surfaces of aerosol particles.

Lead author and Australian atmospheric scientist Dr Eliza Harris started this research in the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany. Together with an international team of scientists, including Macquarie University’s Professor Stephen Foley, Harris studied chemical reactions in the same cloud before, after, and on top of a mountain, which enabled changes in the chemistry of the cloud and its aerosols to be understood for the first time.

“Sulphur plays an important role in cloud formation, but the exact chemical reaction by which it becomes oxidized has been treated differently in the major climate models,” Foley explains.

“It is thought to have an important cooling effect, but this depends on exactly which chemical reactions occur. By measuring the isotopes of sulphur, Eliza could show exactly which reaction pathways are important, distinguishing between natural and pollution-induced ones.”

The study’s results show that the oxidation of sulphur dioxide is influenced mostly by natural mineral dust, and not by pollutants. Transition metals in mineral dust aerosols, particularly titanium, are catalysts for the most important oxidation pathway for sulphur in clouds.

“This means that wherever dust is carried in the atmosphere, it will gobble up the sulphur dioxide and be removed quickly because of its larger size, which lets it settle out relatively easily,” says Foley.

Harris and her colleagues conclude that the cooling effect is shortened and has, to date, been over-estimated.

Sulphur emissions in China and India are expected to rise in the next few years because of increasing industrialisation, and wind-blown dust is also high in these countries. Cooling by sulphur aerosols is likely to be significantly lower than predicted by climate models up to now, so this work is likely to have a significant impact on assessments of climate change.

Original Publication:  “Enhanced role of transition metal ion catalysis during in-cloud oxidation of SO₂”: Eliza Harris et al., Science Vol. 340, 727-730, doi: 10.1126/science.1230911, Published May 10^th, 2013.

Contact:

Dr. Eliza Harris
Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tel.: +1 617 324 3948, Email: elizah@mit.edu

Prof. Stephen Foley
ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems
Dept. Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University
Tel: 02-9850-6125, Email: stephen.foley@mq.edu.au

Lymphoedema is a life-long complication of some cancer treatments for breast, prostate, melanoma and gynaecological cancers including ovarian cancer. It can also occur in a form known as primary lymphoedema. There is no cure for the condition, with 12,500 Australian cancer patients likely to develop symptoms each year.

Munnoch first visited the Australian School of Advanced Medicine and Macquarie University Hospital in April 2012, to launch the Macquarie University Cancer Institute’s lymphoedema program and lead its first arm lymphoedema liposuction procedure.

In the following 12 months, the MCI has successfully treated 10 patients with the procedure, opened Australia’s first multidisciplinary Advanced Lymphoedema Clinic at Macquarie University Hospital and grown its program into a new research stream for the Australian School of Advanced Medicine. Its first leg lymphoedema surgery has also now been undertaken, under the leadership and experience of Munnoch.

“It’s been an exciting first year since our first patient, Megan Southwell, bravely signed up to the arm liposuction procedure,” says Director of the Macquarie University Cancer Institute, Professor John Boyages.

“As Megan and others in our first group of patients came through our surgical program, we have been researching the composition of their lymphatic fluid, to give us new insight into what’s physically happening within the lymphoedema, and how it can be treated better, earlier, or even avoided altogether.”

Munnoch is keen to use this 2013 visit to both teach and learn from the local practitioners once again.

“I’ve been involved in the liposuction treatments for lymphoedema for some time,” said Munnoch, “providing research and surgical articles so that other sites, such as those at Macquarie University Hospital can train up in these skills. Now, though, they also have something to share with me, in the lymph node transfer procedure.”

Munnoch is also being trained in a new lymph node transfer surgery that Boyages’ team has been trialling over the last 12 months.

A suite of lymphoedema treatments are now available through the Macquarie University Cancer Institute (MCI), from early detection and intervention methods to new surgical options, including liposuction of arm and leg lymphoedema.

For further information about these options in lymphoedema treatment, please contact the MCI Cancer Hotline (during business hours) on +61 2 9887 8887.

You can also find local lymphoedema therapists using the National Lymphoedema Practitioners Register or learn more about the Cancer Care options at Macquarie University Hospital.

Dr Andrew Barron, Macquarie University with David Khoury and Dr Mary Myerscough, The University of Sydney have developed a model that predicts complex interactions between food availability and forager death rates in shaping a colony’s fate.

“Honeybees are increasingly in demand as pollinators for various key agricultural food crops, but globally their populations are in decline, and colony failure rates have increased.

It is imperative that we understand exactly how colonies respond to forger deaths,” says Dr Andrew Barron, Macquarie University.

With the current debate over the impact of pesticides on bee populations around the world, the researches say their model has particular significance.

“Our model will add to an increased understanding of the how changes in the environment – both natural and by human intervention – are really effecting bee colonies,” says Dr Barron

Article: Modelling food and population dynamics in honey bee colonies,
David S. Khoury, The University of Sydney, Andrew B. Barron, Macquarie University, Mary R. Myerscoug, The University of Sydney
Article first published online: 7 May 2013 in The Public Library of Science ONE.