A NEW, Stable Isotope Facility Laboratory at The University of Western Australia is opening doors for exciting research initiatives ranging from improved water management and the formation of gold deposits to identification of illegal ivory and corals.

PERTH researchers are working to mimic the way salts and fluids pass through the cells of the human body in order to develop better and cheaper ways of making drinking water through desalination.

OLIVER Tester might only be 16, but already he’s been involved in experiments involving sheep genetics and the DNA of whales – and now he’s devised an innovative test to help farmers identify clover feed causing problems for their sheep.

The NANO-MNRF is the peak Australian facility for nanometric analysis of the structure and chemistry of materials in both physical and biological systems. NANO operates and maintains state-of-the-art facilities for the characterisation and manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular scale. With a primary focus on microscopy and microanalysis, this network organisation will create collaborations to explore and define the structure-function relationships which enable innovation in nanotechnology and biotechnology.