The idea of an artificial womb – a place where a prematurely born baby could continue to safely gestate closer to full term, is one scientists have worked on intermittently since the late 1950’s. Until recently it’s been considered a wild card, a fairly unorthodox angle on dealing with pre-term birth. In this conversation, Women and Infants Research Foundation ( WIRF) researcher Assoc Professor Matthew Kemp discusses the determination, dedication and serendipity that has gained the artificial womb project significant recognition.
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Professor Nadia Rosenthal has devoted her distinguished career to the understanding of how humans might harness the regenerative powers of some animals, to combat the vagaries of injury and age.
Professor Rosenthal's research focuses on the role of growth factors, stem cells and the immune system in repairing injury and her primary focus is on heart muscle. Her book, Heart Development and Regeneration, is upheld as a definitive document in this field.
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I met Jane Caro at the 2019 Perth Writers Festival just after the publication of “Accidental Feminists” her exploration of the fortunes of a generation of women swept up in the social changes brought about by second wave feminism.
For our conversation that day, the room was full to the brim of avidly connected people, mostly women, there to be in the presence of someone whose courage to speak up publicly has given THEM a voice. They were there for the ideas, but moreso for Jane Caro herself.
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Composer Cat Hope has been described as “a superstar of Australian new music” best known for her graphic scores and new score-reading technologies.
It’s fascinating to wonder how the daughter of a military family with no especial leaning towards the arts has ended up being an internationally recognised authority on experimental music.
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Members of the Sikh religion began coming to Australia from the earliest days of foreign arrivals, though due to persecution in India, the population has expanded quite rapidly in the last decade.
With its most visible article of faith, the turban, inviting prejudicial behaviour from the community, we asked Australian Sikh Harjit Singh to tell us a few things about what Sikhs believe. Struggling with identity over the years, Harjit set up Turbans and Trust with some mates, a simple idea making a big difference.
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