More targeted and effective treatments for some of the world’s most complex diseases in humans may be a step closer, thanks to research that better maps disease susceptibility to genes and DNA.

Spider webs are made from silk. And silk is made from something scientists call “proteins”. Proteins are special chemicals made by a living thing - like an animal or a plant. You have lots of them in your body. Proteins usually have a certain job to do.

Respiratory infection is the sixth-leading cause of death in Australia, and bacteria are becoming resistant to the antibiotics used to treat these diseases.

90 seconds with PhD student Amy Chan

The Queensland Women in STEM Prize showcases inspiring early- to mid-career females working in STEM fields whose practice has the potential to benefit Queensland and who engage and communicate with the broader community. To vote for an IMB researcher for the People's Choice Award, and to check out how these young scientists are using life itself to change the world, please click on the images below to vote.

Venom researchers from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) have discovered the venom of the assassin bug is like no other venomous animal previously studied.

Therapeutics inspired by venoms could provide the key to treatment for a common gastrointestinal disease if a collaboration between researchers from Institute for Molecular Bioscience and Danish biotech company Zealand Pharma A/S is successful.

A joint University of Queensland and Queensland Health-led team has completed the first genetic analysis of TB strains circulating on PNG’s Daru Island, a major hotspot for TB outbreaks on Australia’s doorstep.