Aussie blue whales on ABC Radio

My sister and colleague, Catherine Attard gave a wonderful interview about Blue Whale samples she has obtained from live animals. The samples will be used to see where the blue whales are migrating and who they are breeding with using genetics.

Click on this link to hear the interview

 

Biomechanics Workshop

The Computational Biomechanics Research Group is running a workshop in the application of Finite Element Analysis, Shape Analysis and Virtual Reconstruction from 3rd to 7th September at the University of New South Wales.

Participants will learn how to create their own 3D computer models using CT data of skulls and other biological structures. Models can be used to help determine why species have evolved particular morphological characteristics.

Three Minute Thesis Competition

The 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) is an academic competition developed by the University of Queensland for PhD and Research Masters candidates. With just three minutes to give a compelling presentation on their thesis topic and its significance, the 3MT competition forces research candidates to consolidate their ideas and crystallise their research discoveries.

I made it through to the semi finals. The next round will be held at the University of New South Wales on 25th September 2012.

Whale carcass

A humpback calf carcass was found on the north shores of NSW in August 2012. Several marine mammal students in my research group and I decided to take a break from lab work and go on a road trip to see it before it was buried. Unfortunately when we got there, the animal had already been dissected into large pieces, and carried a foul smell.

The animal’s layer of blubber didn’t look as thick as it should have, and we suspect that the animal may have been starving.