What's On at UWA

Multiple environmental changes challenge traditional notions of ecological restoration. One option for the future may be to plant mixtures of native species to achieve desired ecosystem functions such as tightly cycling nutrients, carbon sequestration, resistance against weed invasion and (...)

Science and Faith seem to be arguing a lot lately, so is their long term marriage over? The accusations are not pretty, not even true. Can we afford for them to split? Taking a leaf out of "Life of Brian", this talk will present the key players and principles of faith which pioneered (...)

Crop rotation, where a legume, pasture, fallow or oilseed is grown after a cereal crop to manage soil borne disease and on occasions fix nitrogen, is one of the oldest technologies in agriculture.  However, we are still researching the concept because plant breeding helps some crops resist certain (...)

Scientists have wondered for some time whether plants, like animals, can truly learn from the past and adjust their future behavior appropriately. We adopted the same approach used in studies of animal learning and memory and put the sensitive plant Mimosa to the test.

We found that (...)

The Art of Zhen Shan Ren (Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance) takes viewers through the story of Falun Dafa - from its introduction to the public in 1992, through the beauty and enlightenment of the practice, to the unjust and unrelenting persecution, moving forward through the peaceful (...)

Many animals possess a magnetic sense, which they use as a type of biological GPS to navigate short or long distances. Despite a wealth of behavioural evidence for magnetoreception, the cellular mechanisms that must underlie such a sense await discovery. Dr Jeremy Shaw focuses on the use of cutting- (...)

This book was funded by a University Centenary Grant with detailed vignettes of 71 places named after personalities on the Crawley Campus. An initiative of the UWA Historical Society, it includes a fold-out map showing each location. Join the authors and their many supporters for the launch.

Do you live in fear of needles or blood? If so, read on...

Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia is a fear that is triggered by seeing blood or an injury, or by receiving an injection or other invasive medical procedure. People vary in the way they react to situations involving blood or (...)

Guild Volunteering is launching the first in a series of conversations with UWA Alumni who are leaders in the non-profit and community benefit sector.

Our first guest is Bruce Abbott, Managing Director of Replants.com and CEO of Cultural Corridors. Replants.com is a social enterprise (...)

The UWA Friends of the Grounds will hold their 'Annual Plant Sale’ on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 May from 12-2pm at the Taxonomic Garden - near the Botany glasshouses.

There will be exotic and native plants as well as succulents and herbs for sale.

Sales are cash only and (...)

Climate simulation models suggest that mean temperatures on the Loess Plateau of China will increase by 2.5 to 3.75°C by 2050, while those in the cropping region of south-west Australia will increase by 1.25 to 1.75°C. The rainfall in south-west Australia rainfall is predicted to decrease by 20 to (...)

The Institute of Agriculture's annual Postgraduate Showcase brings together some of UWA’s best PhD students at an advanced stage of their research. This year, nine presentations covering a wide range of disciplines will highlight some of the research and progress underway at UWA in the area of (...)

A few years ago we stumbled upon an interesting peptide biosynthesis in sunflower seeds. A small peptide was buried inside another protein and the peptide emerged from its hiding place by hijacking the protein processing machinery of the 'host' protein. This system has become a lead-in to studying (...)

Viruses are the most abundant biological agents in the global oceans, with numbers typically averaging ten billion per litre. The ability of viruses to infect all organisms indicates they most likely play a central role in marine ecosystems. Corals form an obligate symbiotic relationship with the (...)

Science education has long been the poor second cousin to literacy and numeracy. Australia’s Chief Scientist has recognised the urgent need for improving science education at all levels to make Australia competitive in innovative and economic terms. However, fewer students are studying science at (...)

Realising that (the concept of) life is going through some radical transformations; artists have been experimenting with ways of articulating these shifts. This talk would cover the some of the strategies and projects that artists at SymbioticA have employed to deal with life as both raw material (...)

The course is designed for people with knowledge of basic statistics who want to learn more about regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

This course covers techniques that can be used to analyse data with continuous and categorical variables. The course will begin with simple (...)

Corvids, birds of the crow family, have recently emerged as model organisms in the study of animal cognition. Laboratory studies have revealed striking cognitive feats, pointing to convergent cognitive evolution between corvids and other large-brained groups such as primates. However, the cognitive (...)

New agriculture is believed to play a crucial role in the regional transformation of northern Western Australia. There is significant potential for Asia-focused food production and industry to diversify northern Australia’s economy, trade and sustainable use of natural resources over the long term; (...)

This will be the 9th International Conference on the Applications of Stable Isotope Techniques to Ecological Studies (IsoEcol 9). The conference will be held 3-8 August 2014 at The University Club, on the campus of The University of Western Australia, adjacent to the beautiful Swan River.