Scientists from ANU are drawing inspiration from plants to develop new techniques to separate and extract valuable minerals, metals and nutrients from resource-rich wastewater.
Not content with the challenging conditions for crop production here on Earth, Associate Professor Caitlin Byrt is lending her expertise to an ambitious space mission to grow plants on the moon.
ANU will lend its unique expertise in plant biology to an ambitious mission led by Australian space start-up Lunaria One that aims to grow plants on the moon by as early as 2025.
A team of researchers from the ANU Research School of Biology and CSIRO has been awarded more than $1 million to develop technology that harvests valuable resources from our wastewater.
Using cutting-edge technology, biologist Dr Benjamin Schwessinger from The Australian National University (ANU) is helping to protect the biosecurity of Australia's unique flora and agricultural industry.
Scientists from ANU and James Cook University have identified an "exquisite" natural mechanism that helps plants limit their water loss with little effect on carbon dioxide intake - an essential process for photosynthesis, plant growth and crop yield.
Plant carbon fixation, a vital process for capturing energy, profoundly influences various aspects of our lives, including food, clothing fibers, medicines, building materials, and even the production of human therapeutics.
The Australian Plant Phenomics Network (APPN, formerly known as APPF) is comprised of nine institutions offering controlled-environment phenotyping facilities, mobile phenotyping units, and field sites strategically spread across Australia’s diverse climate zones.
Results show that the processing of a specific module of Photosystem-associated proteins and concomitantly progression of chloroplast biogenesis depend on active photosynthesis early in plant development.