University of Canterbury (UC) Emeritus Professor Roy Kerr heads to Europe next week to become the first New Zealander to receive the Einstein Medal from the Albert Einstein Society in Switzerland.

The Einstein Medal will be awarded to Professor Kerr at a ceremony at the University of Bern on May 28.

Professor Kerr discovered a specific solution to Einstein's field equations which describes a structure now termed a Kerr black hole. He has made other significant contributions to general relativity theory, but the discovery of the Kerr black hole was so remarkable as to compare with the discovery in physics of a new elementary particle.

With over 100 million trillion black holes in the observable universe, his achievement has been of crucial importance for science.

The Kerr Solution has come to be regarded as the most important exact solution to any equation in physics and has been pivotal in understanding the most violent and energetic phenomena in the Universe.

Professor Kerr's solution has already been recognised by the Royal Society, which awarded him its Hughes Medal in 1984, and by the Royal Society of New Zealand which awarded him its Hector Medal in 1982 and its Rutherford Medal in 1993.

The Einstein Medal is awarded annually by the Einstein Society which is based in Bern, Switzerland, where Einstein completed his revolutionary work in the first decade of the 20th century.

The Einstein Society works with the University of Bern to preserve Einstein's legacy in Bern and Switzerland through different activities and, in particular, by annually awarding a medal "to deserving individuals for outstanding scientific findings, works, or publications related to Albert Einstein".

The medal was first awarded to Stephen Hawking in 1979 and, since then, many distinguished scientists have received the medal including six Nobel laureates.

Professor Kerr says he is honoured to receive the award for his achievements while at UC

``I'm not sure how helpful my award will be for UC but if there are any spinoffs because of it, I will be more than happy. It’s a great university,’’ Professor Kerr says.

Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Town, says UC is immensely proud of Professor Kerr’s achievements.

Neuroscientist Chantelle Fourie has a rare opportunity to spend three months near Boston, Massachusetts, researching her dream project.

Chantelle, a PhD student at the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research, is one of only 12 young neuroscientists from around the world to be awarded a coveted Grass Fellowship in neuroscience research.

Her specialist area, and the subject of her almost completed PhD, is the brain’s hippocampus. At the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, she will focus on using optogenetics to map the inhibitory circuitry and probe its function in the hippocampus.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet some of the world’s eminent neuroscientists and learn from them, and to make connections with other scientists there for later collaborations,” she says. “This research has not been done in Auckland, but I’ll be able to return with the knowledge and experience to set up a similar facility here.”

Chantelle will take up the fellowship in May and spend the northern summer at Woods Hole, returning to New Zealand in September.

“It’s a dream come true and very exciting to be able to work on this project,” she says. “Although it was hard to come up with a project that can be set up and completed in just 14 weeks.”

Chantelle is due to hand in her doctoral research thesis in May, before she leaves to take up the Fellowship, and says it’s great motivation for finishing on time.

Many of the post-doctoral students who do summer research at Woods Hole are able to get results and publish in that short time, partly due to the level of support offered by the scientific community there.

The Grass Fellowship includes all expenses involved with the visit and the research laboratory and equipment, paid for by the Grass Foundation which is a non-profit private foundation set up to support research and education in neuroscience. The Fellowship is intended to help neuroscientists during the early stages of their career to conduct independent research within the intellectual and social group at the MBL community.

A panel of top researchers and some budding young scientists have been appointed to identify New Zealand’s National Science Challenges for the Government.

The 11-person panel has been tasked with identifying the biggest science challenges facing New Zealand and will be chaired by the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Adviser Sir Peter Gluckman.

“Science is essential to addressing some of the key issues facing our nation – whether it be challenges like improving water quality while at the same time lifting our farm productivity, or the state of our health,” says Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce.  “This panel will identify the top science challenges New Zealand needs to solve over the next five to ten years.”

The Government has set aside $60 million funding from Budget 2012 for new investment into the National Science Challenges.

“Over the last few months we have had excellent input from both the public and the science sector, with hundreds of submissions, ideas and proposals on what these key challenges should be. The panel will take this information and recommend between six and 10 final challenges to Cabinet for approval.

“The final challenges will help focus our overall science funding investment, and help foster links across the research community in New Zealand to maximise the impact of work already underway in the Challenge areas.

“The panel contains a mix of experienced and up-and-coming young scientists, from a wide range of fields to ensure that we are looking at our country’s scientific potential from a variety of angles.”

Members who have been appointed to the panel are:

·         Prof William Denny (who leads the Medicinal Chemistry Group at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre);

·         Dr Ian Ferguson (Departmental Science Adviser for the Ministry for Primary Industries/Chief Scientist of Plant and Food Research);

·         Prof Peter Hunter (Professor of Engineering Science and Director of the Bioengineering Institute at the University of Auckland, and Director of Computational Physiology at Oxford University);

·         Prof Mary O’Kane (NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, Australia);

·         Prof Jacqueline Rowarth (Professor of Agribusiness at the University of Waikato);

·         Prof Richie Poulton (Director of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, Otago University);

·         Charles Royal (Member of MBIE Science Board; Former Director of Graduate Studies and Research at Te Wānanga o-Raukawa, Ōtaki);

·         Prof David Penman (Consultant, previously Assistant Pro Vice Chancellor Research, Lincoln University);

·         Elf Eldridge (PhD student at the MacDiarmid Institute);

·         Rachael Wiltshire (2012 Dux of Samuel Marsden Collegiate, Wellington and a 2012 Royal Society of New Zealand science prize winner).

The panel will meet in late February to consider the challenge proposals and make recommendations on a number of challenges. Cabinet is expected to make a decision on the final challenges in April.

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment will then work with the science sector from May to August to develop detailed themes and projects and decide how selected Challenges will be led. Part of this will involve building a map of current research to cluster around the chosen Challenges and identify gaps and opportunities in existing research..

A Statement of Science Investment Priorities will also be developed this year to determine the total balance of resources to be allocated to the challenges and other science priorities over time.

To see the panel’s Terms of Reference and criteria for selecting the National Science Challenges go to: http://www.msi.govt.nz/update-me/major-projects/national-science-challenges/

The question of how life began on a molecular level 3.5 to 4 billion years ago has been a longstanding problem in science.

However, recent mathematical research by a leading New Zealand mathematical researcher from the University of Canterbury (UC) and other experts has shed light on a possible mechanism by which life may have been born out of the chemical soup that existed on Earth.

UC mathematics professor Mike Steel said today a necessary condition for early life seems to be the formation of a chemical reaction network.

``We are using maths to help understand how such systems can come about, how large they might have been and whether their formation would be incredibly unlikely or expected if you have sufficiently many molecules of different types floating around.

``We are seeking to find out if the formation of these first steps of life were an amazingly lucky accident, or something that might be expected. Many researchers find it hard to imagine how such a molecular network could have formed spontaneously from the chemical environment of early Earth.

``But how else did it start?  Some people propose that life was seeded from other parts of the universe, but that poses the question, `how did it start there?’.

``For scientists the aim in origin of life research is not to find out how life actually began, that's something we may never know, but rather how it might have begun so we know a plausible scenario for its formation by natural processes.

``My personal view is that the formation of life, given the conditions on Earth, was not particularly unlikely. But whether there are other life forms in the universe staring out into space and wondering if they are alone or not - that's a totally different question.’’

Work by Professor Steel and other researchers on how life began on Earth will be presented at the Origins of Life meeting in Princeton, USA, next week and at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research in Switzerland next month. He said the origin of life is quite controversial among scientists with many theories but relatively little data. 

``Our findings are helping to provide a mathematical explanation and they suggest that the spontaneous emergences of the first steps of life are more likely than had been supposed by many working in this field.’’

The work is a collaboration with former UC post-doctorate Dr Wim Hordijk from Switzerland, US-based theoretical biologist Stuart Kauffman and other scientists working on the origins of life and synthetic biology. They are now making use of the BlueFern supercomputer at UC.

They have proposed several competing theories for how life on Earth could have started even before the first genes or living cells came to be.

``Despite differences between various proposed scenarios, one theme in common is a network of molecules that have the ability to work together to jumpstart and speed up their own replication — two necessary ingredients for life.

``However, many researchers find it hard to imagine how such a molecular network could have formed spontaneously - with no precursors - from the chemical environment of early Earth,’’ Professor Steel said.

A study conducted by a scientist at The University of Auckland with colleagues at the Oregon Health and Science University in the United States has resulted in findings with the potential to prevent or reverse serious disabilities in children born prematurely.

This research, performed as part of postdoctoral research at the Oregon Health and Science University’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and published online in the 16 January issue of Science Translational Medicine, is challenging the way paediatric neurologists and scientists think about brain injury in preterm infants. Specifically, it overturns the long-held belief that low blood flow to the developing brain causes death of neurons.

“The investigation has shown that brain injury in preterm born babies is not necessarily irreversible, as was previously thought”, says Dr Justin Dean from The University of Auckland’s Department of Physiology and Centre for Brain Research, who is first author for the study.

“Neuronal cells in the cortex of the brain play an important role in thinking or cognition. Loss of these cells can severely impact on normal brain function. It was very surprising to find that neurons were not actually killed in the preterm brain. Rather these cells did not develop or mature as they should, and they had less connections to other cells.”

“This finding has changed the way we consider the cognitive and learning disabilities that occur in preterm babies.”

“It opens new avenues for potential therapies to promote regeneration and repair of the premature brain.”

Lead investigator, Stephen Back, Professor of Paediatrics and neurology at the Oregon Health and Science University, says: “As neurologists, we thought that ischemia killed the neurons and that they were irreversibly lost from the brain. But this new data challenges that notion by showing that ischemia, or low blood flow to the brain, can alter the maturation of the neurons without causing the death of these cells.

“As a result, we can focus greater attention on developing the right interventions, at the right time early in development, to promote neurons to be more fully mature and reduce the often serious impact of preterm birth. This is a much more hopeful scenario.”

In studies using new MRI technology that allows injury to the developing brain to be identified much earlier than was previously feasible, the researchers looked at the cerebral cortex, or “thinking” part of the brain, which controls the complex tasks involved with learning, attention and social behaviours that are frequently impaired in children who survive preterm birth.

Specifically, they observed how brain injury in the cerebral cortex evolved over time and found no evidence that cells were dying or being lost. They did notice, however, that more brain cells were packed in to a smaller volume of brain tissue, which led, upon further examination, to the discovery that the brain cells were not fully mature.

Dr Dean says the findings are particularly exciting when looked at in association with a related study, published in the same online issue of Science Translational Medicine, in which investigators at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto studied 95 premature infants using MRI.

"These researchers found similar MRI abnormalities in the cortex of preterm born babies to those observed in our experimental studies. Impaired growth of these babies was also the strongest predictor of these MRI abnormalities. This suggests that improving neonatal growth may allow normal development and growth of the cortex, which may reduce neurological deficits associated with preterm birth.”

“In New Zealand around 500 babies are born prematurely every year, and between 25 and 50 percent of children born prematurely develop deficits in behaviour, learning and cognition by school age,” says Dr Dean. “These two studies, taken together, provide important directions for further research into the early identification of at risk infants and potential therapies that may make a difference to neurological outcome for these children.”

This study, “Prenatal cerebral ischemia disrupts MRI-defined cortical microstructure through disturbances in neuronal arborization,” was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a Bugher Award from the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, and a Heubner Family Neurobiology of Disease Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Palaeontologists who examined a new fossil found in southern California have thrown doubt on earlier claims that a “killer walrus” once existed.

A University of Otago geology PhD student Robert Boessenecker and co-author Morgan Churchill from the University of Wyoming have today published their paper about the fossil in the online scientific journal PLOS One.

The paper reports that the new fossil-find, of the extinct walrus Pelagiarctos from southern California, prompts a different hypothesis to an earlier one that a "killer walrus" existed, preying on other marine mammals and/or birds.

Fossils of the walrus were originally found in the 1980s. The large, robust size of the jaw bone, along with the sharp pointed cusps of the teeth similar to modern bone-cracking carnivores like hyenas, suggested that Pelagiarctos fed upon other marine mammals rather than the typical diet of fish as in modern walruses.

However the new fossil, a lower jaw with teeth, and more complete than the original fossil, suggests to the Otago and Wyoming palaeontologists that the Pelagiarctos was more of a fish eater as it lacked adaptations for being a "killer walrus".

The evidence pointed to the tooth shape being unlikely to have been adapted for feeding upon large prey; instead it was an example of primitively retained tooth shape.

“This new find indicates that this enigmatic walrus would have appeared similar in life to modern sea lions, with a deep snout and large canines,” says Mr Boessenecker.

The researchers estimated Pelagiarctos to be similar in size to some modern male sea lions (about 350 kg or 770 lbs).

“However, modern pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses) of small and large body sizes are dietary generalists, and tend to have diets rich in fish – including sea lions similar in body size to Pelagiarctos, which means that its large body size alone doesn’t make Pelagiarctos an apex predator.”

The new study also analysed the evolutionary relationships of Pelagiarctos for the first time, and found it to be an early sea lion-like walrus that was most closely related to another sea lion-like walrus, Imagotaria downsi, also from California.

The study was supported by a University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship, and grants from the Geological Society of America, The Palaeontological Society, and a National Science Foundation EAPSI Fellowship.

Two New Zealand astronomers from the University of Canterbury (UC) have been successful in applying to research the universe through the world's biggest astronomical project.

UC's Dr Loretta Dunne and Dr Steve Maddox have been awarded time on the Atacama Large Millimetre Array telescope (ALMA) in Chile. ALMA received 1100 proposals from all over the world and 200 were given time to use the facility.

``It is a very competitive facility because it is so much more powerful than anything previously built anywhere in the world,'' Dr Dunne said today.

``Out of the 200 successful proposals only two were from countries not involved in building ALMA. One of those was ours. It's great for New Zealand that astronomers here can get competitive time on a world class facility.

`` ALMA is an array of 66 antennae located high in the Atacama desert at 5000 metres above sea level.  It operates at millimetre wavelengths and can take 3D pictures of gas and dust surrounding nearby stars and in distant galaxies at exquisite angular resolution - better than the Hubble. This will allow us to piece together the complex interactions between stars and the gas from which they form.

``We're looking at galaxies which are being seen when the universe was three billion years younger than it is now or about 3.3 billion light years away. We are looking at the gas content of these galaxies to see how much fuel they have for forming new stars.''

Dr Dunne said galaxies had changed dramatically over cosmic time from incoherent messy patches of stars in the early universe to the complex and beautiful spiral and elliptical shapes seen today.

The UC astronomers want to piece together how galaxies evolve. They need to measure how and when they formed their stars and what determined bursts of star formation.

``To do this properly we need to measure how much gas there is inside galaxies at various times in the history of the universe since gas is the fuel from which stars form. However, it is very difficult to see this gas and, before ALMA, measuring the gas content of galaxies this far away was very difficult. ALMA is allowing us to probe the evolution of the gas inside galaxies for the first time.

``ALMA is such a revolutionary instrument in its scientific concept, its engineering design and its organisation as a global scientific endeavour.''

With its high resolution and sensitivity, ALMA has opened an entirely new window on the universe allowing scientists to unravel long standing and important astronomical mysteries in search of cosmic origins.

In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that human activities are driving global environmental changes, including increasing temperatures.

The changes have had a dramatic influence worldwide on how different organisms interact with each other and with the environment where they live, a University of Canterbury (UC) researcher says.

Dr Stinus Lindgreen, Danish post-doctoral researcher who is currently working on biological sciences at the University of Canterbury, is studying climate change’s impact on ecosystems. Dr Lindgreen was recently awarded a prestigious Marie Curie Fellowship from the European Union as part of his New Zealand study.

``It is extremely important we get a better understanding of what mechanisms are at work and how climate change is influencing the biosphere,’’ he says.

``One of the most serious concerns about climate change is the possibility of so-called positive feedback between rising temperatures and increasing emission of carbon from the soil which then leads to an even greater increase in the greenhouse effect.

``This increasing emission is partly caused by micro-organisms living in the soil. It is also important to remember that micro-organisms are involved in some of the most crucial environmental processes such as nitrogen metabolism, respiration and decomposition.

``We need to investigate how microbes respond to climate change. To date, research in climate change and ecosystems has focused mostly on plants and animals, ignoring the important role of micro-organisms. So my research at UC is important at scientific, political and socio-economic levels.’’

Dr Lindgreen will use a field study where UC researchers have established a number of plots to investigate how the ecosystems respond to different drivers of climate change. Some plots have been heated by cables to have a temperature 3Cdegrees above the daily temperature. Other plots have been treated with nitrogen to simulate the use of fertilisers. The role of invasive species is also studied. All of these factors will also be combined during the study.

Dr Lindgreen will investigate how factors affect the microbial community in the soil by looking at which micro-organisms are there and what they do. This can be done using the latest technology to directly find out which genes are actively being used and from this he can find out not only which micro-organisms are present but also what they are doing.

``In our research we’ll be asking `does increasing temperatures change the composition of micro-organisms in the soil? If so, how does that affect the ability to fix nitrogen in the soil? Do other micro-organisms take over a specific function when an organism disappears or does the ecosystem as a whole change behaviour?’

``The answers to those questions can be used to guide decisions about how to respond to changes in the climate and it will help us get a much better understanding of an important part of the ecosystems on which we all depend.’’

Dr Lindgreen will return to the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, in early 2015. He will be researching on the project in collaboration with Professor Jason Tylianakis, Dr Anthony Poole and Dr Paul Gardner.

Research in the iconic, and some say maligned, New Zealand weta is challenging ideas about how a large group of insects including crickets and katydids hear, and has revealed an unexpected similarity to whale hearing.

Scientists from the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Auckland, with colleagues from Plant & Food Research in New Zealand and the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, have discovered that weta rely on a unique lipid (a compound that includes oils and fats) to hear the world around them.

“In the weta, as in other members of the Ensiferan group which includes katydids and crickets, sound is detected by ear drums on the front legs,” explains Dr Kate Lomas from The University of Auckland who led the research.

The sound is known to be transmitted through a liquid-filled cavity to reach the hearing organs, but until the current research was done it was presumed that the liquid was simply the insect equivalent of blood (called haemolymph).

The researchers found that it was in fact a lipid of a new chemical class. They believe the role of the lipid is to efficiently transmit sound between compartments of the ear, and perhaps to help amplify quiet sounds.

Whales are the only other creatures known to use lipids to hear: with no external ears they use lipid-filled cavities in their jaw to detect sound vibrations in the water.

Using new tissue analysis and three-dimensional imaging techniques the scientists also discovered a tiny organ in the insects’ ears, which they named the olivarius after Dr Lomas’ son Ollie. The organ appears to be responsible for producing the all-important lipid.

It may have been overlooked in previous studies because standard analytical techniques, which are much harsher, would have damaged or destroyed the fragile tissue. “The ear is surprisingly delicate so we had to modify how we looked at its structure and in doing so we discovered this tiny organ,” says Dr Lomas.

The researchers did their work with the Auckland tree weta. They believe that the same method of hearing is likely to be used by other members of its biologic class, including crickets and katydids, which are famous for the sounds they produce.

“We suspect that the use of lipid in insect ears is much more common than previously realised and that other researchers in the field may need to rethink how these animals hear,” says Associate Professor Stuart Parsons from The University of Auckland.

As to why both weta and whales – creatures that couldn’t be further apart in terms of their biology or public appeal – use lipids to hear: “The short answer is we don’t know, though it’s likely they both converged on a very similar solution to a similar problem,” he says.

Applications have been invited for $52.8 million of Government research funding in the 2013 science investment round, Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

Proposals are invited for science and research that will improve New Zealanders’ health and wellbeing with $52.8 million per annum available for new projects starting next year.

“Science and innovation are major drivers of progress and are key strands of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda. We want to focus our efforts on issues that are important to New Zealand,” Mr Joyce says.

“This investment sits alongside the work we are doing developing the National Science Challenges which are seeking input from New Zealanders on the big science issues we should invest in for our country over the next several years.”

“The investments will both focus on this Government’s desire to see value created from new ideas, as well as ensuring the purpose-driven research we invest in benefits New Zealand.”

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is calling for research proposals in the areas of biological industries, high value manufacturing and services, energy and minerals, and health and society.

Researchers have until early April 2013 to submit proposals, which will then be peer reviewed and assessed by independent expert panels. The Ministry’s Science Board will decide on what proposals get funded by August 2013.

Two separate, innovative ‘sandpit’ investment processes will also run early next year specifically for environmental research to address freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity and biosecurity issues.

Click here: for more information on the 2013 science investment round

Experts and enthusiasts involved in deep-sea research will meet at Te Papa in Wellington next week for the 13th International Deep-Sea Biology Symposium – the first time this international conference has come to the Southern Hemisphere.
The symposium provides the opportunity for members of the international deep-sea science community to discuss and present their latest research results. Over 200 participants from over 27 countries will attend.

NIWA’s Ashley Rowden, convenor of the symposium, says, “The symposium will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase the work that New Zealand researchers are doing to find out more about life in the deep sea, and how seabed resources may be exploited in the future while protecting this biodiversity.”

Hosted by NIWA, the symposium has attracted leaders in deep-sea research from around the globe. Also at the meeting will be environmental managers from government departments, mining and fishing industry representatives and non-governmental organisations.

The symposium programme includes presentations on biodiversity, human impacts and management in the deep sea. Presentations also address the evolution, reproduction, behaviour and the dispersal of deep-sea invertebrates and fish.

Presentations include those of international significance, as well as those focused on New Zealand issues.

Global-focused highlights for the symposium:

The Deep Water Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 resulted in one of the world’s largest accidental oil spills. Charles Fisher, of Pennsylvanian State University, USA, will present on the impact of the oil spill on deepwater coral gardens.

Global Ocean Legacy, a project of the Pew Environment Group and its partners, aims to establish a worldwide system of very large, highly protected marine reserves where fishing and other extractive activities are prohibited. Robert Mazurek, of Pew, will speak on the need for conservation of deep-sea areas at very large scales and the opportunity these areas offer as scientific reference sites.

Signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. The Convention established five key goals for 2020.

Telmo Morato, of the University of the Azores, Portugal, will speak about the development of an assessment framework that may represent an important tool to mitigate seamount biodiversity loss and help achieve the 2020 goals of the Convention.

Model simulations of global climate change predict major reductions in the biomass of seabed organisms. Dan Jones, of the National Oceanography Centre, UK, will be discussing the likely ramifications of climate change that may lead to widespread change in seabed ecosystems and the functions they provide.

Energy limitation in the deep sea impacts ecological and evolutionary processes from the individual to the ecosystem. Craig McClain, of National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, USA, presents a framework to understand and link energetics across multiple scales of biological organisation in the deep sea.

New Zealand-focused highlights for the symposium:

New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has areas that are up to 10,000 metres deep. Little is known about these extreme habitats. Alan Jamieson, of the University of Aberdeen, will talk about scavenging animals that can be found in the deepest part of New Zealand’s EEZ.

NIWA’s Malcolm Clark presents a report that discusses whether the creation of closed areas for the protection of seabed communities of seamounts on the Chatham Rise, put in place after the impact of fishing, has been effective.

Recent work has shown that populations of some seabed species in New Zealand’s deep sea are not genetically similar. Ellie Bors, of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, USA, will be talking about the implications of this finding for the re-design of marine protected areas in the New Zealand region.

In the past, orange roughy has been overfished in New Zealand waters. NIWA’s Matt Dunn argues that, despite this, some fisheries have the potential to be operated in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way. He asks if some orange roughy fisheries could achieve Marine Stewardship Certification.

A study carried out on the Chatham Rise shows food for seabed animals not only falls from the surface but that a significant amount of food particles are also delivered to them horizontally. NIWA’s Scott Nodder will present a report on particle fluxes and implications for the energy requirements of deep-ocean benthic communities.

During the week of the symposium, the Kermadec Voices Art Exhibition, sponsored by the Pew Environment Group, will also be held at the City Gallery Wellington.

Researchers from Australia and New Zealand are at the forefront of techniques using adult stem cells to grow corneal tissue suitable for corneal transplants.

The cornea is the clear outer lens on the front of the eye. Corneal transplants are required when the cornea is damaged in some way due to trauma or disease. “In Australia and New Zealand, at least 2000 people per year need corneal transplants. However, globally, millions of people go blind each year from corneal disease,” said Prof Charles McGhee, Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Auckland, and Director of the New Zealand National Eye Centre.

“There are three cell layers in the cornea and we can already grow all those cell types, so it won’t be long until we can grow them into a functional biological cornea,” said Prof McGhee. “Whether that’s the whole cornea, or whether it’s specific layers of the cornea – we’ll suit it to the needs of the person.”

“It’s not unreasonable that in 10 years we might have a biological cornea created in the laboratory and transplanted into the patient. That’s a realistic goal for the next decade. And by that we mean we’ll use some kind of a matrix as a substitute for a cornea and then grow a person’s own cells – or donated cells – into that matrix.”

Prof McGhee is one of the key speakers at the Annual Scientific Congress of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists – being held in Melbourne this week from 24-28 November.

“In Australia and New Zealand, we’ve already treated 40-50 people using adult stem cell transplants. In some cases it’s appropriate to just transfer individual cell groups we want. The aim is to be able to treat corneal diseases that aren’t treatable with full corneal transplants. It’s a real tipping point at the moment.”

“It is important to note this technique does not use ‘embryo’ stem cells, but adult stem cells. We can take bits of stem cells and re-program the cells to another purpose, to repair parts of the body – in this case, the cornea,” said Prof McGhee.

Other research presented at the RANZCO Congress:

Teach your Children to Never Stare at the Sun
Eye specialists at RANZCO's Congress today will discuss the case of an eleven year old girl who presented to the emergency department with distorted vision (metamorphopsia) and missing areas of her vision (central scotoma) in her right eye after one-eye gazing into the sun while viewing the Transit of Venus (June 2012).

Trainee Ophthalmologist Dr Ye Chen explains the case “Once the diagnosis had been made, nothing could be done, no treatment is available.Despite this, the girl was very fortunate, her vision improved significantly with time.  Over a few months her vision improved to 6/6 ie 20/20—which is of course wonderful.  However, she notices that her vision does not 'feel' normal because there is a small black spot in her central vision.”

Since the solar eclipse on 14 November 2012 three children have presented to the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital after having stared at the Sun.

Senior Ophthalmologist Dr Susan Carden warns “Sun-gazing is extremely dangerous.  The central part of the retina, called the macula, can easily be 'burnt' by the light rays from the Sun.  This cannot be treated.  No-one should ever gaze at the Sun directly with the naked eye.   Sunglasses and smoked glass filters increase the danger. Indirect methods are safest.”

The next important solar event is the Annular Eclipse on the 10 May 2013.  The largest town in Australia to fall under the antumbra will be Tennant Creek, but most of Australia will experience a partial eclipse. “Now is the time for schools and parents to prepare for the event so that children can appreciate this great wonder of science safely.”

Prevalence of Blindness in Children
It was estimated that 0.02% of children in Western Australia are living with a blinding eye condition.  Only half of these children are currently registered with the state provider of support services.

There are very little accurate data available on the prevalence of blindness in children.

“Childhood blindness carries a high financial cost for the community as well as a high individual cost impacting normal motor, language and social development of the child. These factors are all compounded when the child enters the education system and adulthood,” said Dr Julie Crewe, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University.

A ‘live’ register would help in the planning and provision of appropriate and equitable healthcare resources; evaluating new treatments or targeted rehabilitation programs for children living with a blinding eye condition.

“It would be extremely beneficial if each state had ‘live’ registers of people who are blind and vision impaired.  These registers regularly up-date the data so that if a person’s vision is improved by a new treatment we can evaluate and quantify this benefit”

“We would like to source sufficient funding to develop software specifically designed to capture accurate data and to establish a ‘live’ register of blind and vision impaired children in Western Australia.”