Welcome to the 41st issue of the Plant Success newsletter! We’re conducting a short anonymous survey to gather feedback – whether you read every issue or just occasionally, we’d love to hear from you. This is your chance to tell us what you enjoy, what you’d like to see more of, and how we can make the newsletter even better
Author: Professor Tim Brodribb, the University of Tasmania. Plant behaviour may seem rather boring compared with the frenetic excesses of animals. Yet the lives of our vegetable friends, who tirelessly feed the entire biosphere (including us), are full of exciting action. It just requires a little more effort to appreciate. One such behaviour is the dynamic opening and closing of
PhD Students Caitlin Dudley, Kritika Sharma, Abhishek Soni and Chamilka Ratnayake ran an exhibit called Plant Detectives at the World Science Festival Brisbane on 22 and 23 March, 2025. Approximately 1,900 people visited the Queensland Museum Dinosaur Garden where the Plant Success display was. The exhibit gave attendees the opportunity to discover how plants have evolved with unique adaptions and
I think it is fair to say that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer the next big thing – rather it is the current big thing. Keeping tabs on ever-improving large language models (LLMs), protein structure prediction, foundational models for data analysis, graph neural networks and everything in between is overwhelming. I have an uneasy, yet strangely exhilarating feeling that
It is already the last Newsletter of the year! Well done to our vibrant Newsletter aficionado Phoebe Baldwin. Following our successful mid-term review, we completed the year with a review of past, current, and future directions. Chief Investigators were joined in Melbourne this week by several Associate Investigators who are bringing new opportunities and collaborations to the Centre. Discussions focussed on
This Centre’s loftiest goals transcend any particular trait, technique or species group. From the outset we have been aiming to develop general approaches and discover general principles in analysis, inference and prediction. But at the same time our collective feet are grounded in an eclectic mix of specific study systems, analytical approaches and practical challenges. This “creative tension” is also
In 2024 the Centre partnered with Wageningen University and Research to deliver the third GxExM Symposium on 30 and 31 October. 159 people attended in the Netherlands and 511 people registered to attend online. Associate Investigator Fred van Eeuwijk led the organisation of the conference this year and Centre Members Christine Beveridge, Mark Cooper, Nicole Fortuna, Owen Powell, Melanie Wilkinson, Burhan Ud Din Abbasi, Christos Mitsanis, Shunichiro Tomura, Jason Brider, Greg
I am excited to share with you the Best Practice Guidelines for the Collection and Transfer of Genetic Resources, a comprehensive framework designed to guide ethical and scientifically sound practices in the management of genetic resources. The guidelines aim to address legal complexities by providing recommendations for researchers and access providers involved in the collection, transfer, and use of genetic materials
A high-tech building with rooms to mimic environments from rainforests to deserts will help Australian plant scientists and industry improve crop productivity and secure future food supplies. The University of Queensland’s $65 million Plant Futures Facility is fitted out with technology to finely control temperature, light intensity, light quality, humidity and CO2 concentration, allowing researchers to better predict plant responses to
The Researcher Development Group (RDG) continues to provide a variety of excellent activities for the Centre! The RDG collaborates across the Centre’s Nodes to identify and develop learning programs that improve research culture and practice. This year, several new members have joined the working group which has helped to bring fresh ideas and initiatives that are empowering Plant Success Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Below, leaders of
