Latest news with #LaTrobeUniversity
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia unleashes twin AI supercomputers in push to lead medical, climate research
Australia's AI supercomputing ambitions are hitting top gear, with two major launches unveiled this week that aim to supercharge research in medicine, climate science, and Melbourne, La Trobe University has switched on the country's first AI supercomputer of its kind—a NVIDIA DGX H200 system—dedicated to transforming medical at NEXTDC's data centre in Tullamarine, the supercomputer is backed by $10 million from the Allan Labor for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson, who visited the site, said: 'Victoria is proud to be home to this supercomputer that will deliver more medical breakthroughs and improve healthcare for Victorians and people around the world.' The system will enable the Australian Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Medical Innovation (ACAMI) to analyse large volumes of health data and complex 3D imaging in hours, drastically reducing research time for projects such as clinical trials, precision oncology, immunotherapy, and cardiovascular risk prediction.'The potential of AI in medical and biotech research is huge,' said La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor Theo Farrell.'The DGX H200 enables faster translation of research into clinical trials and personalised therapies.'The supercomputer will also support innovations in digital pathology and cancer relapse-risk prediction, with early projects including a partnership with The Florey Institute on rare neurological diseases such as Niemann-Pick type C.'The super processing performance of NVIDIA DGX H200 systems will help us explore more options and get results faster,' said Dr Ya Hui Hung from The Monash University has announced its own major push into AI computing with MAVERIC—short for Monash AdVanced Environment for Research and Intelligent by a AU$60 million (US$39 million) investment, the system will be built over the next two years, with activation expected in 2026. According to the university, MAVERIC will 'fill a critical gap in Australia's high-performance computing infrastructure,' and position the institution as a 'leader in AI-driven research within the international higher education and research sector.'The platform will initially be used for early cancer detection, managing chronic diseases, empowering clinical trials, and accelerating drug discovery. It will also power climate change and planetary health research, analysing complex datasets related to air quality, Antarctic ecosystems, and the effects of heat on populations.'Investment in world-leading AI is a crucial step in supercharging our sovereign research capabilities,' said Monash Vice-Chancellor Sharon Pickering.'Monash is a well-established ecosystem of world-class researchers, health networks and partners with large-scale data and pre-identified massive research questions ready to be solved… Until now, the missing link has been the necessary compute infrastructure to fully maximise this opportunity,' she university said MAVERIC will be powered entirely by renewable energy, aligning with its net-zero targets. It also plans to use the platform for training students in ethical, human-centred AI development across undergraduate and postgraduate already operates high-performance systems like M3 and MonARCH, comprising thousands of CPU cores and multiple GPU nodes.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Imported flower posing $5 billion threat to Australia: 'Massive problems'
Invasive species experts are sounding the alarm over a nasty weed continuing to sting the Australian economy, that outcompetes native vegetation, is extremely difficult to remove and is even still being sold at nurseries. The South African native flower gazania has proven far more adaptable than once believed, emerging as a serious invasive threat to Australia's native grasslands and grain-growing regions, a recent La Trobe University study has found. Dr Ali Bajwa's Weed Science group at La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF) collected thousands of seeds from environments across the country and studied how they grew under various conditions. He spoke to Yahoo News and said that what makes the gazania problem particularly urgent is the fact it has very few weaknesses. Invasive plants like gazania are already a major burden on Australian agriculture, contributing to over $5 billion in losses each year. Although popular as a drought-tolerant ornamental plant, gazania is highly invasive and thrives in disturbed soils and coastal habitats, where it spreads quickly by seeds. This aggressive growth allows it to outcompete native groundcovers and wildflowers, leading to a loss of native plant diversity. The dense mats it forms also alter soil composition and prevent the regeneration of indigenous species. Additionally, it provides limited habitat or food value for native insects and animals, further disrupting local ecosystems. Gazania, also known as treasure flowers, has now spread extensively across South Australia and parts of Western Australia, and it can be found colonising everything from coastal dunes and creek banks to wastelands, open grasslands, roadsides, and even cultivated and irrigated farmland. "We know they are quite widespread, but what we wanted to understand was if there are certain climatic conditions or soil types that are more favourable to gazanias compared to others," Bajwa said. Bunnings under fire for selling $5.50 item considered 'massive problem' Alarm sounded over toxic plant assisting in $4.3 billion issue Aussies told to hunt for invasive threat 'lurking' in gardens "And what we found is it has quite flexible germination potential across different temperatures, soil types, moisture gradients, and there aren't many limiting factors, unfortunately, in terms of its early establishment and germination. "One of the things we noticed was that if you bury them beyond a certain depth, they can't emerge from those deeper soil layers. Other than that, unfortunately, there aren't many weaknesses to exploit." Although gazania has long been recognised as an environmental weed, it has recently begun to invade grain cropping zones in South Australia's lower rainfall areas. Farmers are now struggling to manage its spread, as standard herbicides are proving largely ineffective. Initially introduced to Australia in the 1950s and '70s as a decorative garden plant, two varieties of gazania made their way here through discarded garden waste, including lawn clippings, seeds, and other plant material, enabling them to establish along roadsides and to take over native ecosystems. In regions with sandy, marginal soils, gazania infestations are rendering the land unproductive. Its hardy, drought-tolerant nature allows it to outcompete young crops, leading to widespread agricultural losses. "They've now started jumping the fence and getting into those really high-value conservation areas, but also into grain production systems, where they're causing massive problems and yield losses — and revenue losses in terms of the money spent to manage them," Bajwa said. "Restricting the sale and also declaring them a weed of some importance would go a long way — because then it all of a sudden raises more awareness among the public, and also gives weed management authorities a bit more focus to manage this. "We have a lot of other invasive species, and resources are quite limited, so further legislation on restricting their sale, propagation and planting would help. But we also need funding to do some of the research — the sort of work we're doing — to actually get ahead of the invasion curve and try to figure out what the potential management strategies could be. Bajwa encouraged the public to be aware of its dangers and the negative impacts the species can have. "Further planting, propagation and dispersal should also be discouraged," he said. The study, led by PhD student Muhammad Adnan from Dr Bajwa's Weed Science group at the La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF) and the Department of Ecological, Plant and Animal Sciences, was published in Frontiers in Agronomy. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Imported flower posing $5 billion problem in Australia: 'Massive problems'
Invasive species experts are sounding the alarm over a nasty weed continuing to sting the Australian economy, that outcompetes native vegetation, is extremely difficult to remove and is even still being sold at nurseries. The South African native flower gazania has proven far more adaptable than once believed, emerging as a serious invasive threat to Australia's native grasslands and grain-growing regions, a recent La Trobe University study has found. Dr Ali Bajwa's Weed Science group at La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF) collected thousands of seeds from environments across the country and studied how they grew under various conditions. He spoke to Yahoo News and said that what makes the gazania problem particularly urgent is the fact it has very few weaknesses. Invasive plants like gazania are already a major burden on Australian agriculture, contributing to over $5 billion in losses each year. Although popular as a drought-tolerant ornamental plant, gazania is highly invasive and thrives in disturbed soils and coastal habitats, where it spreads quickly by seeds. This aggressive growth allows it to outcompete native groundcovers and wildflowers, leading to a loss of native plant diversity. The dense mats it forms also alter soil composition and prevent the regeneration of indigenous species. Additionally, it provides limited habitat or food value for native insects and animals, further disrupting local ecosystems. Gazania, also known as treasure flowers, has now spread extensively across South Australia and parts of Western Australia, and it can be found colonising everything from coastal dunes and creek banks to wastelands, open grasslands, roadsides, and even cultivated and irrigated farmland. "We know they are quite widespread, but what we wanted to understand was if there are certain climatic conditions or soil types that are more favourable to gazanias compared to others," Bajwa said. Bunnings under fire for selling $5.50 item considered 'massive problem' Alarm sounded over toxic plant assisting in $4.3 billion issue Aussies told to hunt for invasive threat 'lurking' in gardens "And what we found is it has quite flexible germination potential across different temperatures, soil types, moisture gradients, and there aren't many limiting factors, unfortunately, in terms of its early establishment and germination. "One of the things we noticed was that if you bury them beyond a certain depth, they can't emerge from those deeper soil layers. Other than that, unfortunately, there aren't many weaknesses to exploit." Although gazania has long been recognised as an environmental weed, it has recently begun to invade grain cropping zones in South Australia's lower rainfall areas. Farmers are now struggling to manage its spread, as standard herbicides are proving largely ineffective. Initially introduced to Australia in the 1950s and '70s as a decorative garden plant, two varieties of gazania made their way here through discarded garden waste, including lawn clippings, seeds, and other plant material, enabling them to establish along roadsides and to take over native ecosystems. In regions with sandy, marginal soils, gazania infestations are rendering the land unproductive. Its hardy, drought-tolerant nature allows it to outcompete young crops, leading to widespread agricultural losses. "They've now started jumping the fence and getting into those really high-value conservation areas, but also into grain production systems, where they're causing massive problems and yield losses — and revenue losses in terms of the money spent to manage them," Bajwa said. "Restricting the sale and also declaring them a weed of some importance would go a long way — because then it all of a sudden raises more awareness among the public, and also gives weed management authorities a bit more focus to manage this. "We have a lot of other invasive species, and resources are quite limited, so further legislation on restricting their sale, propagation and planting would help. But we also need funding to do some of the research — the sort of work we're doing — to actually get ahead of the invasion curve and try to figure out what the potential management strategies could be. Bajwa encouraged the public to be aware of its dangers and the negative impacts the species can have. "Further planting, propagation and dispersal should also be discouraged," he said. The study, led by PhD student Muhammad Adnan from Dr Bajwa's Weed Science group at the La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF) and the Department of Ecological, Plant and Animal Sciences, was published in Frontiers in Agronomy. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
The Advertiser
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Industry must step up to fund research: Shorten
Industry needs to "lift its game" in Australia and spend money on research and development, Bill Shorten says, while calling on universities to make their case to the public. Speaking at an online event hosted by La Trobe University on Tuesday evening, the former federal Labor leader said in a world with competing priorities for resources, higher education had to explain the benefits of the sector. "The world doesn't owe us at universities a living, we have to make the case," he said. "When universities go to governments, they say, 'We're very good people, fund us'. "That doesn't work any more. "A lot of Australians don't know what universities do." Mr Shorten, now the vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra, said a discussion with industry was needed about them paying for more of higher education. "Industry needs to lift its game in this country. If you want an R&D (research and development) budget, how about you spend some money?" he said. Mr Shorten said universities had to go beyond marketing themselves and ensure they prevented wage theft, in addition to giving domestic and international students a quality experience. "If you want to convince politicians, perhaps you need to convince the people," he said. The former cabinet minister quit politics after a 17-year career in federal parliament, deciding not to contest the May 3 federal election. Mr Shorten held the inner-Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong since 2007, and stepped aside as Labor Party leader in 2019 after he lost the election to the coalition under the leadership of Scott Morrison. Industry needs to "lift its game" in Australia and spend money on research and development, Bill Shorten says, while calling on universities to make their case to the public. Speaking at an online event hosted by La Trobe University on Tuesday evening, the former federal Labor leader said in a world with competing priorities for resources, higher education had to explain the benefits of the sector. "The world doesn't owe us at universities a living, we have to make the case," he said. "When universities go to governments, they say, 'We're very good people, fund us'. "That doesn't work any more. "A lot of Australians don't know what universities do." Mr Shorten, now the vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra, said a discussion with industry was needed about them paying for more of higher education. "Industry needs to lift its game in this country. If you want an R&D (research and development) budget, how about you spend some money?" he said. Mr Shorten said universities had to go beyond marketing themselves and ensure they prevented wage theft, in addition to giving domestic and international students a quality experience. "If you want to convince politicians, perhaps you need to convince the people," he said. The former cabinet minister quit politics after a 17-year career in federal parliament, deciding not to contest the May 3 federal election. Mr Shorten held the inner-Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong since 2007, and stepped aside as Labor Party leader in 2019 after he lost the election to the coalition under the leadership of Scott Morrison. Industry needs to "lift its game" in Australia and spend money on research and development, Bill Shorten says, while calling on universities to make their case to the public. Speaking at an online event hosted by La Trobe University on Tuesday evening, the former federal Labor leader said in a world with competing priorities for resources, higher education had to explain the benefits of the sector. "The world doesn't owe us at universities a living, we have to make the case," he said. "When universities go to governments, they say, 'We're very good people, fund us'. "That doesn't work any more. "A lot of Australians don't know what universities do." Mr Shorten, now the vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra, said a discussion with industry was needed about them paying for more of higher education. "Industry needs to lift its game in this country. If you want an R&D (research and development) budget, how about you spend some money?" he said. Mr Shorten said universities had to go beyond marketing themselves and ensure they prevented wage theft, in addition to giving domestic and international students a quality experience. "If you want to convince politicians, perhaps you need to convince the people," he said. The former cabinet minister quit politics after a 17-year career in federal parliament, deciding not to contest the May 3 federal election. Mr Shorten held the inner-Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong since 2007, and stepped aside as Labor Party leader in 2019 after he lost the election to the coalition under the leadership of Scott Morrison. Industry needs to "lift its game" in Australia and spend money on research and development, Bill Shorten says, while calling on universities to make their case to the public. Speaking at an online event hosted by La Trobe University on Tuesday evening, the former federal Labor leader said in a world with competing priorities for resources, higher education had to explain the benefits of the sector. "The world doesn't owe us at universities a living, we have to make the case," he said. "When universities go to governments, they say, 'We're very good people, fund us'. "That doesn't work any more. "A lot of Australians don't know what universities do." Mr Shorten, now the vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra, said a discussion with industry was needed about them paying for more of higher education. "Industry needs to lift its game in this country. If you want an R&D (research and development) budget, how about you spend some money?" he said. Mr Shorten said universities had to go beyond marketing themselves and ensure they prevented wage theft, in addition to giving domestic and international students a quality experience. "If you want to convince politicians, perhaps you need to convince the people," he said. The former cabinet minister quit politics after a 17-year career in federal parliament, deciding not to contest the May 3 federal election. Mr Shorten held the inner-Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong since 2007, and stepped aside as Labor Party leader in 2019 after he lost the election to the coalition under the leadership of Scott Morrison.
Perth Now
13-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Industry must step up to fund research: Shorten
Industry needs to "lift its game" in Australia and spend money on research and development, Bill Shorten says, while calling on universities to make their case to the public. Speaking at an online event hosted by La Trobe University on Tuesday evening, the former federal Labor leader said in a world with competing priorities for resources, higher education had to explain the benefits of the sector. "The world doesn't owe us at universities a living, we have to make the case," he said. "When universities go to governments, they say, 'We're very good people, fund us'. "That doesn't work any more. "A lot of Australians don't know what universities do." Mr Shorten, now the vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra, said a discussion with industry was needed about them paying for more of higher education. "Industry needs to lift its game in this country. If you want an R&D (research and development) budget, how about you spend some money?" he said. Mr Shorten said universities had to go beyond marketing themselves and ensure they prevented wage theft, in addition to giving domestic and international students a quality experience. "If you want to convince politicians, perhaps you need to convince the people," he said. The former cabinet minister quit politics after a 17-year career in federal parliament, deciding not to contest the May 3 federal election. Mr Shorten held the inner-Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong since 2007, and stepped aside as Labor Party leader in 2019 after he lost the election to the coalition under the leadership of Scott Morrison.
