University News

ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology

Hayden Walker and Dr Estelle Giraud with the new deep sequencer

UWA's DNA sequencer set to make its mark in fighting crop diseases

Wednesday, 22 February 2012

Imagine capturing the entire human genome in a single day, for a few thousand dollars.

Now, researchers at UWA will be able to do just that, with the launch of its first Hi-Seq Illumina Deep Sequencer, the most powerful platform worldwide for next-generation sequencing.

PhD student Rachel Shingaki-Wells at work in the lab

The power of three: the amino acids that help wheat cope with floods

Monday, 17 October 2011

What do liver cells have in common with wheat seedlings? PhD student Rachel Shingaki-Wells has found that both cope with oxygen starvation better when fed three amino acids: glycine, serine and alanine.

David Day with Harvey Millar and Nicolas Taylor

David's influence on plant researchers takes root

Monday, 17 October 2011

When Professor David Day flew in from Adelaide earlier this year for a retreat involving scientists from The University of Western Australia, it was almost like a family reunion, with him as the ‘great-grandfather’.

David is a Chief Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology (PEB) and, in effect, is responsible for cultivating a crop of eminent plant researchers who now all work with PEB.

Professor Harvey Millar

UWA researchers among world's most influential plant scientists

Thursday, 17 February 2011

Three UWA plant researchers – Professor Harvey Millar, Professor Steve Smith and Professor Jim Whelan – have been included in a list of highly cited plant scientists.

Tiago Tomaz

Surfer scientist investigates key to plant vitamin C levels

Thursday, 17 February 2011

Promising young UWA researcher and avid surfer Tiago Tomaz has recently published the discovery that removing a protein called mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase (mMDH) from plant leaves can increase levels of vitamin C and have large effects on plant growth.

Tiago Tomaz

Perth surfer-scientist discovers key to plant vitamin C levels

Tuesday, 16 November 2010

Young Perth researcher and avid surfer, Tiago Tomaz, recently published the discovery that removing two proteins from plants can increase levels of Vitamin C and have large effects on plant growth.  This surprising discovery from The University of Western Australia arose from altering plant respiration - the way plants "breathe" and produce energy.

Study reveals how plants solve problems

Tuesday, 9 November 2010

A new study by researchers at The University of Western Australia has provided a unique insight into how the same protein plays different roles in plant and animal cells.

Winthrop Professor Harvey Millar

UWA plant energy professors among world's most recognised

Tuesday, 26 October 2010

Two Professors from The University of Western Australia are among the world's most cited plant scientists, according to the publisher of the two leading international journals for the advancement of plant science.

Special commendation…Dr Kamel Hammani is continuing his research overseas

Kamel's protein research earns kudos

Monday, 18 October 2010

One of Plant Energy Biology’s recently graduated PhD students, Dr Kamel Hammani, has been honoured with a special commendation by UWA for his research into plant proteins.

Kamel’s research characterised six previously undiscovered pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins. PPR proteins are of great interest due to their ability to change the way that a gene is expressed.

Team Green Machine

Energised by research: Team Green Machine

Wednesday, 21 November 2007

Some may consider that spending your day conducting cutting-edge research in plant energy biology is quite an exhausting task. Staff from The Centre of Excellence Plant Energy Biology have realised, that they have extra energy to burn in the name of team spirit!

On Sunday March 11th there will be a new force to reckon with, as Plant Energy Biology's Team Green Machine hits the corporate triathlon scene at the annual BRW/BP Ultimate Corporate Triathlon at Langley Park.