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MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS Late November to January 2010 University News: • Official launch of REDMAP An innovative new website that aims to engage the community in mapping the effect of climate change on Tasmanian waters was recently launched by the Minister for Primary Industries and Water, David Llewellyn. The Coastal Climate Change Range Extension Database and Mapping Project (REDMAP) was created by the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (TAFI) with extensive support from many different community and industry groups, as well as local schools. TAFI was awarded a Tasmanian Community Fund grant to implement the project. Coverage: Southern Cross ABC TV ABC 936 local Win TV HOFM • Visit from the Dalai Lama His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited the University Sandy Bay campus in December to celebrate the academic exchange between the UTAS School of Philosophy and the Central University of Tibetan Studies. The School of Philosophy has had a successful Buddhist Studies Program exchange for both scholars and students for 10 years. The Program provides a unique opportunity for exchange between Australian students and scholars and their Tibetan counterparts. Coverage: Hobart Mercury (x2) Launceston Examiner ABC 936 Hobart ABC Brisbane ABC Gold Coast Win Hobart • Creative Arts Summer School The fourth annual Tasmanian Creative Arts Summer School kicked off at The UTAS Academy of the Arts at Inveresk recently with the school’s director Peter Hammond welcoming participants. It involved around 500 participants, including 200 attending the Newstead Campus Rock Music Summer School and the Launceston College Music Centre Summer Schools. Over ten days students and community members 1 from Tasmania and interstate attended workshops on subjects as diverse as public speaking, painting, food design, improvisation and Aboriginal philosophy. Coverage: Launceston Examiner (x13) Hobart Mercury (x2) Sunday Examiner Burnie Advocate Heart FM • Second side of telescope triangle completed A new 12-metre antenna was lifted into place to create a new radio telescope at Katherine, Northern Territory, adding an important component to an Australia-wide network of telescopes. A similar structure was erected in Mount Pleasant, Tasmania, in April this year. The Katherine antenna is the second part of what will eventually be a triangle-shaped network when the final telescope is installed at Yarragadee in Western Australia. The telescopes are part of the AuScope Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Project, which comprises the construction and operation of the three new radio telescopes by the UTAS School of Maths and Physics. Coverage: Katherine Times ABC 936 Hobart 7LA Launceston Hobart Mercury • December Graduations Tasmania became a sea of caps and gowns last December with UTAS graduates celebrating their achievements at ceremonies and street parades. The first annual University of Tasmania graduation ritual will be held in Burnie. 59 graduates from the Cradle Coast campus received awards and degrees at the ceremony at the Burnie Arts and Function Centre. The Burnie graduates are among almost 2300 who received their degrees across Tasmania in 13 separate ceremonies. Coverage: Hobart Mercury (7 x) HOFM Southern Cross News Burnie Advocate (9 x) Launceston Examiner 2 Research News: • Apple and pear research boost Increasing apple and pear orchard profitability and sustainability will be the main focus of a new $12 million research program that has been announced. The Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research (TIAR) – a joint venture between the University of Tasmania and the State Government – is managing the national program funded by Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL). The research program, “Productivity, Irrigation, Pests and Soils Program”, commonly known as the PIPS Orchard Program, PIPS is designed to increase profitability of orchards, minimise water use and protect the environment and consumers from agricultural chemicals. Coverage: Hobart Mercury ABC 936 Hobart 7LA HOFM ABC Northern Tasmania • Culprit found for Tasmanian devil transmissible cancer Cells that protect nerves are the likely origin of the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) that has been devastating Australia’s Tasmanian devil population, an international team of scientists has discovered. DFTD is a transmissible cancer that effects only Tasmanian devils and was first reported in 1996. It is spread by biting and quickly kills the animals. The disease is characterised by large tumours, mostly on the face and mouth, which often spread to internal organs. The research collaboration, led by Australian scientists, has found that DFTD originates from cells called Schwann cells, which protect peripheral nerve fibres. Associate Professor Greg Woods from the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Research Institute said the Schwann cell find was an important step in the process to further understand the disease. The results have been published in the international journal, Science. Coverage: ABC 936 Hobart The Australian Hobart Mercury Launceston Examiner Radio National Canberra Channel 10 4BC Brisbane Win Hobart Southern Cross News ABC1 Adelaide ABC1 Melbourne ABC1 Sydney 6PR Perth San Gabriel Valley Tribune Physorg.com CBS News 3 Science News Eurek Alert Yahoo Science News Daily News and Analysis Earthtimes EMaxHealth Mother Nature Network China Post Monterey County Herald Memphis Commercial Appeal Taiwan News • A simple CrossMove may help build kids’ brains A University of Tasmania researcher is looking at using modern gaming technology to investigate ways of improving motor skills which could lead to more rewarding participation in sport for some children. The simple act of reaching your right hand across your body to pick up an object on your left side seems like second nature to most, but this movement can be difficult for some children. Dr Scott Pedersen, from the UTAS Faculty of Education, is an adapted physical educator who has significant experience teaching physical activity to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other developmental disabilities. Coverage: ScienceAlert.com Launceston Examiner Hobart Mercury ABC 936 Hobart • Galapagos marine species threatened by El Niño, overfishing and climate change Ocean warming and over-fishing are threatening the coastal wildlife of the Galapagos Islands, a new report by a team of international scientists led by Associate Professor Graham Edgar of the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (TAFI) at the University of Tasmania has revealed. The report shows that the Galapagos Islands – arguably the world’s most celebrated environmental treasure – has suffered major biodiversity losses due to a combination of severe oceanographic heating events and over fishing, with several species of marine plants and animals believed to have become extinct and many others seriously threatened. Coverage: Sydney Morning Herald Hobart Mercury Current.com Science Alert.com PeopleandPlanet.net 4 • Lack of large lobsters lets urchins run wild A new research paper shows that the removal of large lobsters from the environment has reduced the ability of kelp beds to respond to the onslaught of the spiny sea urchin in Tasmanian waters. The paper, titled Overfishing reduces resilience of kelp beds to climate-driven catastrophic phase shift was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The authors of the paper are Dr Scott Ling, Professor Craig Johnson and Associate Professor Stewart Frusher of the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (TAFI), and Ken Ridgway, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Science. Coverage: ABC Northern Tasmania ABC 936 Hobart Science Alert.com • New Menzies study A new study has shown how people behave in their 20s and 30s has a serious impact on whether they suffer heart disease later in life. The Menzies Research Institute surveyed 2,500 Aust over their habits. Prof Mark Nelson, The Menzies Research Institute, says people in their 20s and 30s still have time to make changes. Coverage: Hobart Mercury ABC 720 Perth ABC2 Sydney Southern Cross News Hobart ABC NSW ABC 774 Melbourne • New research project aims to uncover eucalypt secrets Professor Jim Reid and a team of scientists are hoping new DNA information about the eucalyptus will give information on the trees’ adaption to a changing climate. Southern Cross University has teamed up with the UTAS and the Australian National University to develop a Eucalyptus Centre of Excellence. The universities applied for $25 million through the Australian Research Council for the project, to study the DNA of the eucalypt. Coverage: ABC 702 Sydney ABC 66 Canberra AB 936 Hobart ABC 612 Brisbane ABC Wide Bay ABC1 Hobart 5