Scientists in the news this week: May 29, 2020

Agriculture, food and wine

Seedquest and Flurosat featured the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine’s use of FluroSense to educate students and connect them to industry.

Associate Professor Glenn McDonald (pictured) is quoted throughout the article discussing the use of FluroSense and its applications for a new generation of agronomists.

Professor Matt Gilliham, Director of the Waite Research Institute interviewed with ABC Eyre Peninsula and West Coast about the new $7 million South Australia Genomic Centre. Professor Gilliham said the centre will turn the city into a national hub for studying genes in the environment and agriculture sectors and will accelerate advancements.

An international team of scientists, including Dr Stefanie Wege from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, have identified a gene variation that influences sodium content in barley crops. This could aid in the advancement of the development of barley varieties with greater yield and better resilience to varying salt conditions. These findings were published on phys.org.

Stock & Land shared that Associate Professor Gurjeet Gill will present at the BCG free annual crop walk on the trial focused on the integrated weed management practices for brome grass management in canola.

Ongoing coverage in Stock Journal, The Land, and Australian Cotton and Grains Outlook of the findings of Chris Penfold and Jake Howie’s three-year trial on pig waste. Their research found that incorporating pig waste prior to seeding had no additional benefits over leaving it on top of the soil.

Continuing coverage of Dr Maarten Ryder’s advice about inoculating legumes in Australian Cotton and Grains Outlook.

Continuing coverage in New Scientist of Head of School Professor Martin Cole addressing the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on food affordability and access for millions of people globally. Professor Martin Cole will discuss this further at a webinar hosted by the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST) on June 2.

Biological sciences

The Adelaide Advertiser published a call for locals on Kangaroo Island to report sightings of echidnas and collect their scats.

PhD candidate Tahlia Perry discusses the difficulty of observing these animals and the need for locals help in the Echidna CSI’s (Conservation Science Initiative) new project which aims to gather important information on how last summer’s bushfires affected these echidnas.

Earth news, Phys.org and Australia’s Science Channel covered the research of experts who have mapped the global genetic diversity of mammals. Associate Professor Damien Fordham and Dr Stuart Brown from the Environment Institute are co-authors of this study.

Research by PhD candidates Jacob Mills and Caitlin Selway with Dr Nicholas Gellie, Professors Andrew Lowe and Philip Weinstein and Associate Professor Laura Weyrich featured heavily in the news this week.

The study which found that planting trees and gardening has the ability to restore the natural diversity of soil microbes, which has potential human health benefits, was covered by the Adelaide Advertiser, The Sydney Morning Herald, Newswise, lifeboat and Knowridge.

A trial of the Felixer, an autonomous device that can distinguish non-target animals and identify and eliminate feral cats, has been found to be a promising new method to control and reduce the negative impact that feral cats have had on native species. Dr John Read was the inventor of the Felixer and a co-author on a new paper discussed on Phys.org.

Dr Bruno Simões and Associate Professor Kate Sanders were involved in a collaborative study which discovered that since sea snakes first entered the marine environment 15 millions years ago, they have been evolving over generations to be able to see underwater and survive in constantly changing environments. These findings have been published across multiple channels since being released today.