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Researchers from The Australian National University have discovered a new type of cell which boosts the human body's ability to fight off infections and life-threatening diseases. Professor Carola Vinuesa from The John Curtin School of Medical Research has found a type of cell which recognises lipid antigens, or foreign molecules, which sit on infectious bacteria which invade the body.

An archaeologist from The Australian National University has uncovered the world's oldest evidence of deep sea fishing for big fish, showing that 42,000 years ago our regional ancestors had mastered one of our nation's favourite pastimes. Professor Sue O'Connor of the College of Asia and the Pacific at ANU, also found the world's earliest recorded fish hook in her excavations at a site in East Timor.

New research from The Australian National University has shown how genetic variation persists through generations, rather than being bred out in an evolution towards a 'perfect type'. In an international collaboration, researchers from the Research School of Biology at ANU and colleagues from Finland and France carried out a combined field and theoretical study on the breeding behaviour of European bank voles - a small mouse-sized rodent common in Europe and Great Britain.

New research from The Australian National University is providing strong support for individualised assessment and treatment for children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A study conducted by postgraduate researcher Lisa Gomes looked at the nature of and differences in attention and memory between boys with the two most common subtypes of ADHD and a control group.

Researchers from The Australian National University have confirmed that children's psychological wellbeing is linked to cardio-respiratory fitness and physical activity. ANU researcher Lisa Olive said that although these relationships seemed obvious, there was limited research using reliable methods to examine these relationships in children.

New research has identified that employees feel more supported and in control at work the more they identify with their workgroup and their supervisor. The research is being conducted by Suzi Keser from the Department of Psychology. The results were based on survey responses from over 600 employees, including managers, professionals, and administrative clerks, from a large workplace based in the ACT.

A new study from The Australian National University has brought scientists a step closer to finding out how earthquakes happen. Giampiero Iaffaldano from the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences and colleagues in Italy and Germany used simple but innovative laboratory models to examine the forces behind the movement of plates in the Earth's thick outer shell.

New research from The Australian National University, the University of Kashmir and the University of Delhi has provided evidence that disputes the widely accepted theory of how India and Eurasia came together. Lloyd White from the Research School of Earth Sciences said the team used the ANU-designed Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) to date zircon crystals from north of the ancient plate boundary between India and Eurasia, and found they were the same age as those from the south.

A new report by researchers at The Australian National University has revealed that non-government organisations (NGOs) are being hampered in their efforts to close the gender gap in the countries in which they are working. Launched today in Canberra, Closing the Gender Gap: Gender and Australian NGOs found that pressures from partner organisations in developing countries, what NGOs saw as competing policy issues set by donors, and internal capacity issues meant gender integration was generally weak.

New research by scientists at The Australian National University will see wasps being tracked in the same way as stolen cars - using specialist microdot technology. The Research School of Biology researchers published a paper in the latest edition of Agricultural and Forest Entomology outlining a successful new tracking technique, which allows them to study insects that were previously too small to track individually.

Scientists have discovered two new species of boulder-dwelling frogs, hidden in remote areas of rainforest in north-east Queensland. Conrad Hoskin, who did most of his research at The Australian National University, and Kieran Aland from the Queensland Museum, described the Kutini Boulder-frog (Cophixalus kulakula) and the Golden-capped Boulder-frog (Cophixalus pakayakulangun) in a recently published paper.

Astronomers at The Australian National University have found evidence for the textile that forms the fabric of the Universe. In findings published in the October Astrophysical Journal, the researchers discovered proof of a vast filament of material that connects our Milky Way galaxy to nearby clusters of galaxies, which are similarly interconnected to the rest of the Universe.

Early results from analysis of dust on the Hayabusa space capsule, which landed in South Australia last year, have revealed an indisputable link between the asteroids we see in space and meteorites that we collect on land. Published recently in Science, six papers on the findings of the Hayabusa mission provided samples of a pristine asteroid, known as Itokawa.

In an Australian first, scientists have uncovered a new way of identifying 300 years of climatic changes in the Australian Alps by looking at the growth rings of a sturdy, long-lived alpine shrub. Mountain plum pine is found in the incredibly harsh and constantly cool Australian Alps where annual growth is very slow at less than 1 millimetre in diameter.

Regulations that control chemicals used to make the drug 'ice' work, but they come at a cost, according to new research published today in the journal Addiction. Lead author Rebecca McKetin from the Centre for Mental Health Research at The Australian National University said the paper reviewed the results of credible studies on the impacts of what are known as 'precursor regulations'.

Researchers have uncovered a new stellar neighbour with the discovery of the closest young star to Earth. The international team, including Simon Murphy, from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, have shown that the star, named AP Columbae, is the closest so-called 'pre main-sequence? star.

An international team of researchers including scientists from The Australian National University have created a new, super-dense version of aluminium that could lead to efficient production of new super-hard nanomaterials at a relatively low cost.In a paper published today in Nature , the group has described how they discovered a way to produce body-centred-cubic aluminium, which is 40 per cent more dense.

Physical activity and being a volunteer assist mental wellbeing, a new ACT research report has found. Prepared by the Centre for Mental Health Research at ANU and the ACT Government Health Directorate, Mental Health and Wellbeing in the ACT showcases results from the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Project.

A new miniature frog species or 'toadlet' has been discovered in the resource-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia, an area previously thought to support very few of the amphibians. Researchers from the Australian National University, the Western Australian Museum, and the University of Western Australia have used genetic techniques to show more species of frog are present in the Pilbara than previously thought.

Scientists working on the Australian-based Ausimmune Study have discovered that a past infection with glandular fever, also known as the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), combined with genetic variations in the immune system can greatly increase a person's risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Associate Professor Robyn Lucas from the College of Medicine, Biology and Environment at the Australian National University said the research could lead to new therapeutic and preventative strategies for MS directed at relevant components of the immune system.