News

Evolution may be responsible for a range of complex traits, including height and waist-to-hip ratio, and diseases such as schizophrenia, research from The University of Queensland shows. The findings improve understanding of how natural selection shapes human populations, and could lead to better prevention, diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases.

Genetic research aimed at improving healthcare will be the focus of the University of Queensland’s new Genome Innovation Hub.

A University of Queensland researcher will join the ranks of eminent scientists from around the world following his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London.

The biggest study of its kind has allowed researchers to identify genetic risk factors associated with major depression, providing new insights for prevention and treatment. Australian researchers, including Professor Naomi Wray from The University of Queensland, are now seeking volunteers who have been diagnosed with clinical depression to help build on this study to make further advances into the genetics behind the common disorder.

Researchers will soon understand how to better target cancer treatments with the opening of a new Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) facility at The University of Queensland (UQ).

Evolution has shaped the human race, with University of Queensland researchers finding signatures of natural selection in the genome that influence traits associated with fertility and heart function.

Brisbane peptide research will be promoted internationally thanks to UQ researchers receiving an inaugural grant from the Lord Mayor.

In an age of growing antibiotic resistance, there is an urgent need to uncover new strategies to treat infectious disease. An emerging area of research (immunotherapy) aims to enhance the bodies’ own immune system to reduce reliance on traditional therapies. My research examines cells of the innate immune system (macrophages) and their interaction with bacteria (such as E. coli).

Bacteria are an important part of our microflora, but they can also cause disease. I study the molecular machines that are responsible for the correct formation of bacterial weapons.

Sepsis occurs when the body’s immune response to infection damages its own tissues. In severe cases, multiple organ failure can occur. If not treated promptly, the patient will die. Yet, we currently don't have reliable treatments for it. Our solution is to target the immune system itself. My PhD focuses on a machine in our cells that is important for recognising bacterial infection and recruiting immune responders. My goal is to discover how we can switch this machine on and off.

Research into sepsis, a devastating disease that is particularly dangerous for children and the elderly, has caught the imagination of Queenslanders, with a PhD student from The University of Queensland winning the 2018 Women in STEM Prize People’s Choice Award.

Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder in children and it takes the form of recurring seizures. But epilepsy is not a single disease; rather, it is a diverse spectrum of disorders that comprise many types of seizures.

Reaching reproductive age is an important milestone, and for women this is usually marked by their first period. But for some young women, it never comes. In medical terms this is called primary amenorrhea, and one of the major causes is a congenital condition called Mayer–Rokitansky–Küster–Hauser (MRKH) syndrome.

The potential to produce cheaper medicines on a large scale within edible plants including lettuce and canola has taken a significant step forward with new findings led by researchers from La Trobe University with collaborators at The University of Queensland. 

Researchers have shown why a fragment of a protein from the venom gland of rattlesnakes could be the basis for an alternative to conventional antibiotics.

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.