Published Wednesday, 20 August, 2008 at 02:42 PM
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry
The Honourable Desley Boyle
UQ’s Brain Institute a hive of activity
Scientists at the Queensland Brain Institute are conducting important research on bee brains that could help treat diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and also help in the advancement of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry Minister Desley Boyle today officially opened QBI’s Bee Flight Facility at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus.
Ms Boyle said scientists were primarily researching bees’ vision and navigation skills in a state of the art, purpose-built, environmentally controlled bee house – the first of its kind in Australia.
“Bees are a model species to study because of their amazing capacity to learn and remember things, and for their astute sense of smell and vision,” Ms Boyle said.
“What’s significant about the bee house is that it controls external factors such as temperature and light – which is vital for studying their behaviour patterns.
“This research will look at how bees respond to various stimuli and that will allow our scientists to have a better understanding of their brain functionality to help develop therapies for human brain diseases, and also advance UAV technology.
“And the broader application of this research is in the development of UAVs – scientists will look at biologically how a bee flies so that it can be replicated in a UAV.”
Professor Mandyam Srinivasan, who is leading the Institute’s bee research, said this research was providing invaluable insights into the fundamental principles underlying brain functioning, including how brains learn, memorise, recall and forget.
“Our research will hopefully increase our knowledge of brain functioning, which will in turn lead us to finding new and effective ways to treat brain disorders like Parkinson’s Disease, strokes, Alzheimer’s and depression,” Professor Srinivasan said.
Member for Indooroopilly Ronan Lee said with brain-related disorders accounting for about 45 percent of Australia’s health care, the potential economic, as well as social benefits from this research were enormous.
“The Queensland Government’s Smart Start Strategy 3 is about moving
Professor Srinivasan is also applying his bee brain research to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), generating a lot of interest overseas, particularly from the US military.
Professor Srinivasan was the 2007 recipient of the Smart State Premier’s Fellowship and winner of the Prime Minister’s Science Prize for 2006.
The Queensland Government is a major supporter of the Queensland Brain Institute, having provided over $46 million in funding since its establishment in 2003.
Housing 250 scientists, the Institute is focused on increasing knowledge of the human brain and using this knowledge to develop new therapeutics to treat neurological disorders and improve mental health.
Fast facts:
? 100,000 Australians have Parkinson’s Disease
? Annually, 40,000 Australians have strokes
? Almost 228,000 Australians have dementia – with that number expected to rise over 730,000 by 2050
? Each year about 800,000 Aus adults will experience a depressive illness – one in 4 women and one in six men will suffer depression at some stage in their lives
? Brain-related disorders account for about 45 percent of Australia’s healthcare
? Bees have a brain the size of a sesame seed
? Bees and humans share up to 30 percent of the same genes, including genes involved in brain function
? Bees are disappearing in Nth America. Scientists are not sure why
? Bees are important pollinators in global crop production - a study on the European Bee confirmed that one in three mouthfuls of food comes from insect pollinated crops.
Ends
Media contact: 3224 2007 or 3225 1005
Professor Srinivasan: tel 3346 6322
20 August 2008
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry Minister Desley Boyle today officially opened QBI’s Bee Flight Facility at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus.
Ms Boyle said scientists were primarily researching bees’ vision and navigation skills in a state of the art, purpose-built, environmentally controlled bee house – the first of its kind in Australia.
“Bees are a model species to study because of their amazing capacity to learn and remember things, and for their astute sense of smell and vision,” Ms Boyle said.
“What’s significant about the bee house is that it controls external factors such as temperature and light – which is vital for studying their behaviour patterns.
“This research will look at how bees respond to various stimuli and that will allow our scientists to have a better understanding of their brain functionality to help develop therapies for human brain diseases, and also advance UAV technology.
“And the broader application of this research is in the development of UAVs – scientists will look at biologically how a bee flies so that it can be replicated in a UAV.”
Professor Mandyam Srinivasan, who is leading the Institute’s bee research, said this research was providing invaluable insights into the fundamental principles underlying brain functioning, including how brains learn, memorise, recall and forget.
“Our research will hopefully increase our knowledge of brain functioning, which will in turn lead us to finding new and effective ways to treat brain disorders like Parkinson’s Disease, strokes, Alzheimer’s and depression,” Professor Srinivasan said.
Member for Indooroopilly Ronan Lee said with brain-related disorders accounting for about 45 percent of Australia’s health care, the potential economic, as well as social benefits from this research were enormous.
“The Queensland Government’s Smart Start Strategy 3 is about moving
Professor Srinivasan is also applying his bee brain research to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), generating a lot of interest overseas, particularly from the US military.
Professor Srinivasan was the 2007 recipient of the Smart State Premier’s Fellowship and winner of the Prime Minister’s Science Prize for 2006.
The Queensland Government is a major supporter of the Queensland Brain Institute, having provided over $46 million in funding since its establishment in 2003.
Housing 250 scientists, the Institute is focused on increasing knowledge of the human brain and using this knowledge to develop new therapeutics to treat neurological disorders and improve mental health.
Fast facts:
? 100,000 Australians have Parkinson’s Disease
? Annually, 40,000 Australians have strokes
? Almost 228,000 Australians have dementia – with that number expected to rise over 730,000 by 2050
? Each year about 800,000 Aus adults will experience a depressive illness – one in 4 women and one in six men will suffer depression at some stage in their lives
? Brain-related disorders account for about 45 percent of Australia’s healthcare
? Bees have a brain the size of a sesame seed
? Bees and humans share up to 30 percent of the same genes, including genes involved in brain function
? Bees are disappearing in Nth America. Scientists are not sure why
? Bees are important pollinators in global crop production - a study on the European Bee confirmed that one in three mouthfuls of food comes from insect pollinated crops.
Ends
Media contact: 3224 2007 or 3225 1005
Professor Srinivasan: tel 3346 6322
20 August 2008