Echidnas' extremely rare reverse path through evolution
The discovery came during analysis of a fossilised bone of an ancient echidna found 30 years ago in Victoria.
When studying the 108-million-year-old upper arm bone, Professor Suzanne Hand noticed it had attributes similar to a semiaquatic mammal.
More than 30 modern mammal species have transitioned from land to water, such as whales, otters and dolphins.
But the professor said it is "extremely rare" to see the opposite occur.
"We've had mammals going from water to land and land to water," Prof Hand told AAP on Wednesday.
"But in terms of modern mammals (those living after the dinosaur age), we've mostly seen mammals go from land to water."
The modern-day prickly creature also has muscles that help it conserve oxygen when burrowing, similar to the tissues platypuses use to dive.
Scientists found similar muscles in the fossil, helping them conclude that echidnas evolved from a water species.
Echidnas and platypuses, both belonging to the family of egg-laying mammals, are considered distant relatives as they have backwards feet and similar beak receptors to detect prey.
"The microstructure of the fossil's humerus (arm bone) is more like the internal bone structure seen in platypuses," Prof Hand said.
"The (muscles) are high in the platypus, but are higher than expected in echidnas, even as burrowers."
But a burning question arises: when did the echidna move to land?
Scientists predict it happened between 23 million and 66 million years ago.
They hope to find fossil proof in northwest NSW that can confirm their suspicions.
"We're increasing our efforts to help investigate the opalised fossils of Lightning Ridge which are about the same age as the Victorian fossil deposits," Prof Archer said.
"We're hoping we'll discover other ancestral monotremes (egg-laying mammals) that will help unravel the early history of this most fascinating group of mammals."
Researchers will also examine the Kryoryctes cadburyi fossilised bone through imaging and scans to understand it better.
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The Advertiser
16 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Desert haven teeming with life a snapshot of the past
Where sapphire sky meets ochre horizon, saltbush grows wild on the undulating dunes. Beneath the blue, yellow and green hues of the scrub and grasses in the South Australian desert, small and usually elusive native mammals dart across the sand at nightfall. The delicate tracks left by native rodents tell a story about their lives - where they've been, what they've been eating and whether they've been chasing each other or fighting. The Arid Recovery conservation zone is a window into the time before European colonisation, when introduced predators like foxes, rabbits, cats and domestic stock did not threaten native creatures. The 12,300 hectare reserve is surrounded by a high wire fence to keep feral animals out, with a curved and floppy top designed to fling pouncing cats to the ground. It is a sanctuary for both the threatened native animals and the people studying them. "It's a really enjoyable experience being surrounded by nature that's not under threat," Arid Recovery's chief scientist Katherine Moseby told AAP. "If I'm outside the reserve, I'm walking around seeing rabbits run past, seeing feral cat tracks on the dune, I'm seeing chewed branches from cattle and sheep. "So to have that snapshot of what things should look like is a real privilege." Inside the reserve, Professor Moseby and hundreds of volunteers have worked for 26 years to meticulously observe what happens to desert mammals when invasive predators are kept at bay. The results, recently published in an international biology journal, have astounded scientists. With thousands of traps set over that time to record data from about 10 species, researchers found population booms were up to 33 times higher after heavy rainfall years inside the reserve compared to outside. "Up until now, we've thought introduced predators have a bit of an impact on native small mammals, maybe two or three times the impact of native predators," said Prof Moseby, who is also a researcher at the University of NSW. "But having 10, 20, 30 times the impact on these small mammals is quite eye-opening." The first species to respond to protection from feral predators was the introduced house mouse, with capture rates increasing from the first year of the study. Hopping mice and plains mice, both native, were not captured until some years after the reserve was established but their numbers increased rapidly and remained high throughout the study. Those species were not previously known within 50km of the site, likely due to their susceptibility to the cat and fox population. A surprising and significant observation of the hopping and plains mice was their movement to new habitats. Usually found living on sand dunes, high numbers of hopping mice were captured in swales - the scrubby depressions between the dunes - years after their population established. Plains mice, known to live on cracking clay swales, were regularly trapped on dunes. "When we're conserving habitat for these threatened species, we tend to look at where they are now and we don't think about the potential they have to expand out if we could just address those threats," Prof Moseby said. "It's got implications for conservation planning and thinking more broadly about the habitats we can serve to to protect these threatened species." Prof Moseby hopes the findings highlight just how much of Australia's fauna has been lost since colonisation. "A lot of arid zone areas, people don't visit, or ... they just drive through and don't really understand or get to immerse themselves in that environment," she said. "If you don't understand something, you're not going to care about it or want to protect it. "Being able to expose so many different people to that environment and show people what it used to be like, it opens people's eyes and they realise just how much things have changed." Where sapphire sky meets ochre horizon, saltbush grows wild on the undulating dunes. Beneath the blue, yellow and green hues of the scrub and grasses in the South Australian desert, small and usually elusive native mammals dart across the sand at nightfall. The delicate tracks left by native rodents tell a story about their lives - where they've been, what they've been eating and whether they've been chasing each other or fighting. The Arid Recovery conservation zone is a window into the time before European colonisation, when introduced predators like foxes, rabbits, cats and domestic stock did not threaten native creatures. The 12,300 hectare reserve is surrounded by a high wire fence to keep feral animals out, with a curved and floppy top designed to fling pouncing cats to the ground. It is a sanctuary for both the threatened native animals and the people studying them. "It's a really enjoyable experience being surrounded by nature that's not under threat," Arid Recovery's chief scientist Katherine Moseby told AAP. "If I'm outside the reserve, I'm walking around seeing rabbits run past, seeing feral cat tracks on the dune, I'm seeing chewed branches from cattle and sheep. "So to have that snapshot of what things should look like is a real privilege." Inside the reserve, Professor Moseby and hundreds of volunteers have worked for 26 years to meticulously observe what happens to desert mammals when invasive predators are kept at bay. The results, recently published in an international biology journal, have astounded scientists. With thousands of traps set over that time to record data from about 10 species, researchers found population booms were up to 33 times higher after heavy rainfall years inside the reserve compared to outside. "Up until now, we've thought introduced predators have a bit of an impact on native small mammals, maybe two or three times the impact of native predators," said Prof Moseby, who is also a researcher at the University of NSW. "But having 10, 20, 30 times the impact on these small mammals is quite eye-opening." The first species to respond to protection from feral predators was the introduced house mouse, with capture rates increasing from the first year of the study. Hopping mice and plains mice, both native, were not captured until some years after the reserve was established but their numbers increased rapidly and remained high throughout the study. Those species were not previously known within 50km of the site, likely due to their susceptibility to the cat and fox population. A surprising and significant observation of the hopping and plains mice was their movement to new habitats. Usually found living on sand dunes, high numbers of hopping mice were captured in swales - the scrubby depressions between the dunes - years after their population established. Plains mice, known to live on cracking clay swales, were regularly trapped on dunes. "When we're conserving habitat for these threatened species, we tend to look at where they are now and we don't think about the potential they have to expand out if we could just address those threats," Prof Moseby said. "It's got implications for conservation planning and thinking more broadly about the habitats we can serve to to protect these threatened species." Prof Moseby hopes the findings highlight just how much of Australia's fauna has been lost since colonisation. "A lot of arid zone areas, people don't visit, or ... they just drive through and don't really understand or get to immerse themselves in that environment," she said. "If you don't understand something, you're not going to care about it or want to protect it. "Being able to expose so many different people to that environment and show people what it used to be like, it opens people's eyes and they realise just how much things have changed." Where sapphire sky meets ochre horizon, saltbush grows wild on the undulating dunes. Beneath the blue, yellow and green hues of the scrub and grasses in the South Australian desert, small and usually elusive native mammals dart across the sand at nightfall. The delicate tracks left by native rodents tell a story about their lives - where they've been, what they've been eating and whether they've been chasing each other or fighting. The Arid Recovery conservation zone is a window into the time before European colonisation, when introduced predators like foxes, rabbits, cats and domestic stock did not threaten native creatures. The 12,300 hectare reserve is surrounded by a high wire fence to keep feral animals out, with a curved and floppy top designed to fling pouncing cats to the ground. It is a sanctuary for both the threatened native animals and the people studying them. "It's a really enjoyable experience being surrounded by nature that's not under threat," Arid Recovery's chief scientist Katherine Moseby told AAP. "If I'm outside the reserve, I'm walking around seeing rabbits run past, seeing feral cat tracks on the dune, I'm seeing chewed branches from cattle and sheep. "So to have that snapshot of what things should look like is a real privilege." Inside the reserve, Professor Moseby and hundreds of volunteers have worked for 26 years to meticulously observe what happens to desert mammals when invasive predators are kept at bay. The results, recently published in an international biology journal, have astounded scientists. With thousands of traps set over that time to record data from about 10 species, researchers found population booms were up to 33 times higher after heavy rainfall years inside the reserve compared to outside. "Up until now, we've thought introduced predators have a bit of an impact on native small mammals, maybe two or three times the impact of native predators," said Prof Moseby, who is also a researcher at the University of NSW. "But having 10, 20, 30 times the impact on these small mammals is quite eye-opening." The first species to respond to protection from feral predators was the introduced house mouse, with capture rates increasing from the first year of the study. Hopping mice and plains mice, both native, were not captured until some years after the reserve was established but their numbers increased rapidly and remained high throughout the study. Those species were not previously known within 50km of the site, likely due to their susceptibility to the cat and fox population. A surprising and significant observation of the hopping and plains mice was their movement to new habitats. Usually found living on sand dunes, high numbers of hopping mice were captured in swales - the scrubby depressions between the dunes - years after their population established. Plains mice, known to live on cracking clay swales, were regularly trapped on dunes. "When we're conserving habitat for these threatened species, we tend to look at where they are now and we don't think about the potential they have to expand out if we could just address those threats," Prof Moseby said. "It's got implications for conservation planning and thinking more broadly about the habitats we can serve to to protect these threatened species." Prof Moseby hopes the findings highlight just how much of Australia's fauna has been lost since colonisation. "A lot of arid zone areas, people don't visit, or ... they just drive through and don't really understand or get to immerse themselves in that environment," she said. "If you don't understand something, you're not going to care about it or want to protect it. "Being able to expose so many different people to that environment and show people what it used to be like, it opens people's eyes and they realise just how much things have changed." Where sapphire sky meets ochre horizon, saltbush grows wild on the undulating dunes. Beneath the blue, yellow and green hues of the scrub and grasses in the South Australian desert, small and usually elusive native mammals dart across the sand at nightfall. The delicate tracks left by native rodents tell a story about their lives - where they've been, what they've been eating and whether they've been chasing each other or fighting. The Arid Recovery conservation zone is a window into the time before European colonisation, when introduced predators like foxes, rabbits, cats and domestic stock did not threaten native creatures. The 12,300 hectare reserve is surrounded by a high wire fence to keep feral animals out, with a curved and floppy top designed to fling pouncing cats to the ground. It is a sanctuary for both the threatened native animals and the people studying them. "It's a really enjoyable experience being surrounded by nature that's not under threat," Arid Recovery's chief scientist Katherine Moseby told AAP. "If I'm outside the reserve, I'm walking around seeing rabbits run past, seeing feral cat tracks on the dune, I'm seeing chewed branches from cattle and sheep. "So to have that snapshot of what things should look like is a real privilege." Inside the reserve, Professor Moseby and hundreds of volunteers have worked for 26 years to meticulously observe what happens to desert mammals when invasive predators are kept at bay. The results, recently published in an international biology journal, have astounded scientists. With thousands of traps set over that time to record data from about 10 species, researchers found population booms were up to 33 times higher after heavy rainfall years inside the reserve compared to outside. "Up until now, we've thought introduced predators have a bit of an impact on native small mammals, maybe two or three times the impact of native predators," said Prof Moseby, who is also a researcher at the University of NSW. "But having 10, 20, 30 times the impact on these small mammals is quite eye-opening." The first species to respond to protection from feral predators was the introduced house mouse, with capture rates increasing from the first year of the study. Hopping mice and plains mice, both native, were not captured until some years after the reserve was established but their numbers increased rapidly and remained high throughout the study. Those species were not previously known within 50km of the site, likely due to their susceptibility to the cat and fox population. A surprising and significant observation of the hopping and plains mice was their movement to new habitats. Usually found living on sand dunes, high numbers of hopping mice were captured in swales - the scrubby depressions between the dunes - years after their population established. Plains mice, known to live on cracking clay swales, were regularly trapped on dunes. "When we're conserving habitat for these threatened species, we tend to look at where they are now and we don't think about the potential they have to expand out if we could just address those threats," Prof Moseby said. "It's got implications for conservation planning and thinking more broadly about the habitats we can serve to to protect these threatened species." Prof Moseby hopes the findings highlight just how much of Australia's fauna has been lost since colonisation. "A lot of arid zone areas, people don't visit, or ... they just drive through and don't really understand or get to immerse themselves in that environment," she said. "If you don't understand something, you're not going to care about it or want to protect it. "Being able to expose so many different people to that environment and show people what it used to be like, it opens people's eyes and they realise just how much things have changed."
Perth Now
18 hours ago
- Perth Now
Desert haven teeming with life a snapshot of the past
Where sapphire sky meets ochre horizon, saltbush grows wild on the undulating dunes. Beneath the blue, yellow and green hues of the scrub and grasses in the South Australian desert, small and usually elusive native mammals dart across the sand at nightfall. The delicate tracks left by native rodents tell a story about their lives - where they've been, what they've been eating and whether they've been chasing each other or fighting. The Arid Recovery conservation zone is a window into the time before European colonisation, when introduced predators like foxes, rabbits, cats and domestic stock did not threaten native creatures. The 12,300 hectare reserve is surrounded by a high wire fence to keep feral animals out, with a curved and floppy top designed to fling pouncing cats to the ground. It is a sanctuary for both the threatened native animals and the people studying them. "It's a really enjoyable experience being surrounded by nature that's not under threat," Arid Recovery's chief scientist Katherine Moseby told AAP. "If I'm outside the reserve, I'm walking around seeing rabbits run past, seeing feral cat tracks on the dune, I'm seeing chewed branches from cattle and sheep. "So to have that snapshot of what things should look like is a real privilege." Inside the reserve, Professor Moseby and hundreds of volunteers have worked for 26 years to meticulously observe what happens to desert mammals when invasive predators are kept at bay. The results, recently published in an international biology journal, have astounded scientists. With thousands of traps set over that time to record data from about 10 species, researchers found population booms were up to 33 times higher after heavy rainfall years inside the reserve compared to outside. "Up until now, we've thought introduced predators have a bit of an impact on native small mammals, maybe two or three times the impact of native predators," said Prof Moseby, who is also a researcher at the University of NSW. "But having 10, 20, 30 times the impact on these small mammals is quite eye-opening." The first species to respond to protection from feral predators was the introduced house mouse, with capture rates increasing from the first year of the study. Hopping mice and plains mice, both native, were not captured until some years after the reserve was established but their numbers increased rapidly and remained high throughout the study. Those species were not previously known within 50km of the site, likely due to their susceptibility to the cat and fox population. A surprising and significant observation of the hopping and plains mice was their movement to new habitats. Usually found living on sand dunes, high numbers of hopping mice were captured in swales - the scrubby depressions between the dunes - years after their population established. Plains mice, known to live on cracking clay swales, were regularly trapped on dunes. "When we're conserving habitat for these threatened species, we tend to look at where they are now and we don't think about the potential they have to expand out if we could just address those threats," Prof Moseby said. "It's got implications for conservation planning and thinking more broadly about the habitats we can serve to to protect these threatened species." Prof Moseby hopes the findings highlight just how much of Australia's fauna has been lost since colonisation. "A lot of arid zone areas, people don't visit, or ... they just drive through and don't really understand or get to immerse themselves in that environment," she said. "If you don't understand something, you're not going to care about it or want to protect it. "Being able to expose so many different people to that environment and show people what it used to be like, it opens people's eyes and they realise just how much things have changed."
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Research is one of our most precious national assets. It's time we take advantage
I've spent my career as a clinician and cancer researcher, witnessing how Australian ingenuity delivers world-leading outcomes. It's extraordinary to think that in just the span of my career the chance of surviving some childhood cancers has risen from just over 50 per cent to now over 90 per cent. In the last decade, survival from advanced melanoma in adults increased from less than 10 per cent to over 50 per cent. That is thanks to global research, including about incredible capability embedded in Australia's research sector. As the "lucky country", Australia has enjoyed some amazing stretches of uninterrupted prosperity. But as we face local and global upheavals - increasing climate disasters, pandemics and fractured geopolitics - we are on the brink of walking past our greatest opportunity. Our national prosperity cannot continue to rely on mining, agriculture and real estate. What if we recognised that ideas and innovation - housed in our universities, research institutes, health organisations, industry and start-ups - are the strategic infrastructure our nation demands? The Australian government is currently asking what the future of our national research systems could look like through its strategic examination of R&D. Universities are often accused of lagging industry or being slow to innovate. But the reality is university research is largely responsible for the majority of Australian innovation - it's given the world cervical cancer vaccine, solar panel cells, the cochlear implant among many other discoveries that have helped millions of people around the world. Our universities are now at the vanguard of innovation, and they need an R&D framework that will enable and empower government and industry to keep pace. Successful innovations often come from serendipitous discoveries which have been tested, re-tested and refined over long time periods - even decades - timelines that do not make sense for business, but do for universities. Australia has the credibility, capability and culture to become a global solutions hub. We already boast strong regulatory frameworks, solid patent laws, tax incentives, an extraordinary clinical trials capacity and a trusted healthcare-research nexus. We have public trust in science and a collaborative culture. Those are rare commodities in a world awash with uncertainty. If the US or Europe falter under rising costs, regulatory or geopolitical uncertainty, Australia can fill that gap - fast and reliably. In 2022 alone, clinical trials employed 7700 Australians and drove $1.6 billion into our economy. Globally, clinical trials are getting more complex, more expensive, and more dependent on diverse patient cohorts. The worldwide market is projected to hit USD $123 billion by 2030. As pharmaceutical companies rethink where they base their 10-year development pipelines, Australia can and should be their top choice. Universities are a key part of this capability. We need to maintain our public investment in what we call fundamental research - the curious pursuit of knowledge that may not have immediately obvious applications, but is the bedrock of almost every major innovation. This was how the world got the mRNA COVID vaccine in record time in 2020: it was delivered on the back of 30-plus years of hard work by thousands of scientists worldwide. We also need a firmly established partnership model: better incentives for academia and business to work together to get the best of both worlds. READ MORE: This isn't just a view held by universities - the Business Council of Australia and industry leaders have consistently called for stronger R&D investment to support national productivity, international competitiveness and long-term economic resilience. A well-resourced research ecosystem is not a luxury, but a prerequisite for future growth. One of the ways to do this is to invest in knowledge precincts. For example, one of the southern hemisphere's most impressive innovation corridors sits along an unassuming stretch of Blackburn Road in Clayton in Melbourne's south-east. The Monash Technology Innovation Precinct is home to the Australian Synchrotron, the Victorian Heart Hospital, the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, and Moderna's first integrated mRNA production facility in the southern hemisphere. It's also home to a new $60 million advanced AI supercomputer at Monash University, which will enable researchers to perform unprecedented computational projects. Breakthroughs happen when you build the right ecosystem, and technology precincts can provide high-value employment clusters in the sprawling outer suburbs. Let's recognise that research is one of our most precious national assets - even more so in these times of massive transformation and technological change. Innovation is a self-perpetuating cycle - Australia must ensure it is in a position to mobilise it for good and for our national prosperity. One thing is clear: we cannot afford to sit still. I've spent my career as a clinician and cancer researcher, witnessing how Australian ingenuity delivers world-leading outcomes. It's extraordinary to think that in just the span of my career the chance of surviving some childhood cancers has risen from just over 50 per cent to now over 90 per cent. In the last decade, survival from advanced melanoma in adults increased from less than 10 per cent to over 50 per cent. That is thanks to global research, including about incredible capability embedded in Australia's research sector. As the "lucky country", Australia has enjoyed some amazing stretches of uninterrupted prosperity. But as we face local and global upheavals - increasing climate disasters, pandemics and fractured geopolitics - we are on the brink of walking past our greatest opportunity. Our national prosperity cannot continue to rely on mining, agriculture and real estate. What if we recognised that ideas and innovation - housed in our universities, research institutes, health organisations, industry and start-ups - are the strategic infrastructure our nation demands? The Australian government is currently asking what the future of our national research systems could look like through its strategic examination of R&D. Universities are often accused of lagging industry or being slow to innovate. But the reality is university research is largely responsible for the majority of Australian innovation - it's given the world cervical cancer vaccine, solar panel cells, the cochlear implant among many other discoveries that have helped millions of people around the world. Our universities are now at the vanguard of innovation, and they need an R&D framework that will enable and empower government and industry to keep pace. Successful innovations often come from serendipitous discoveries which have been tested, re-tested and refined over long time periods - even decades - timelines that do not make sense for business, but do for universities. Australia has the credibility, capability and culture to become a global solutions hub. We already boast strong regulatory frameworks, solid patent laws, tax incentives, an extraordinary clinical trials capacity and a trusted healthcare-research nexus. We have public trust in science and a collaborative culture. Those are rare commodities in a world awash with uncertainty. If the US or Europe falter under rising costs, regulatory or geopolitical uncertainty, Australia can fill that gap - fast and reliably. In 2022 alone, clinical trials employed 7700 Australians and drove $1.6 billion into our economy. Globally, clinical trials are getting more complex, more expensive, and more dependent on diverse patient cohorts. The worldwide market is projected to hit USD $123 billion by 2030. As pharmaceutical companies rethink where they base their 10-year development pipelines, Australia can and should be their top choice. Universities are a key part of this capability. We need to maintain our public investment in what we call fundamental research - the curious pursuit of knowledge that may not have immediately obvious applications, but is the bedrock of almost every major innovation. This was how the world got the mRNA COVID vaccine in record time in 2020: it was delivered on the back of 30-plus years of hard work by thousands of scientists worldwide. We also need a firmly established partnership model: better incentives for academia and business to work together to get the best of both worlds. READ MORE: This isn't just a view held by universities - the Business Council of Australia and industry leaders have consistently called for stronger R&D investment to support national productivity, international competitiveness and long-term economic resilience. A well-resourced research ecosystem is not a luxury, but a prerequisite for future growth. One of the ways to do this is to invest in knowledge precincts. For example, one of the southern hemisphere's most impressive innovation corridors sits along an unassuming stretch of Blackburn Road in Clayton in Melbourne's south-east. The Monash Technology Innovation Precinct is home to the Australian Synchrotron, the Victorian Heart Hospital, the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, and Moderna's first integrated mRNA production facility in the southern hemisphere. It's also home to a new $60 million advanced AI supercomputer at Monash University, which will enable researchers to perform unprecedented computational projects. Breakthroughs happen when you build the right ecosystem, and technology precincts can provide high-value employment clusters in the sprawling outer suburbs. Let's recognise that research is one of our most precious national assets - even more so in these times of massive transformation and technological change. Innovation is a self-perpetuating cycle - Australia must ensure it is in a position to mobilise it for good and for our national prosperity. One thing is clear: we cannot afford to sit still. I've spent my career as a clinician and cancer researcher, witnessing how Australian ingenuity delivers world-leading outcomes. It's extraordinary to think that in just the span of my career the chance of surviving some childhood cancers has risen from just over 50 per cent to now over 90 per cent. In the last decade, survival from advanced melanoma in adults increased from less than 10 per cent to over 50 per cent. That is thanks to global research, including about incredible capability embedded in Australia's research sector. As the "lucky country", Australia has enjoyed some amazing stretches of uninterrupted prosperity. But as we face local and global upheavals - increasing climate disasters, pandemics and fractured geopolitics - we are on the brink of walking past our greatest opportunity. Our national prosperity cannot continue to rely on mining, agriculture and real estate. What if we recognised that ideas and innovation - housed in our universities, research institutes, health organisations, industry and start-ups - are the strategic infrastructure our nation demands? The Australian government is currently asking what the future of our national research systems could look like through its strategic examination of R&D. Universities are often accused of lagging industry or being slow to innovate. But the reality is university research is largely responsible for the majority of Australian innovation - it's given the world cervical cancer vaccine, solar panel cells, the cochlear implant among many other discoveries that have helped millions of people around the world. Our universities are now at the vanguard of innovation, and they need an R&D framework that will enable and empower government and industry to keep pace. Successful innovations often come from serendipitous discoveries which have been tested, re-tested and refined over long time periods - even decades - timelines that do not make sense for business, but do for universities. Australia has the credibility, capability and culture to become a global solutions hub. We already boast strong regulatory frameworks, solid patent laws, tax incentives, an extraordinary clinical trials capacity and a trusted healthcare-research nexus. We have public trust in science and a collaborative culture. Those are rare commodities in a world awash with uncertainty. If the US or Europe falter under rising costs, regulatory or geopolitical uncertainty, Australia can fill that gap - fast and reliably. In 2022 alone, clinical trials employed 7700 Australians and drove $1.6 billion into our economy. Globally, clinical trials are getting more complex, more expensive, and more dependent on diverse patient cohorts. The worldwide market is projected to hit USD $123 billion by 2030. As pharmaceutical companies rethink where they base their 10-year development pipelines, Australia can and should be their top choice. Universities are a key part of this capability. We need to maintain our public investment in what we call fundamental research - the curious pursuit of knowledge that may not have immediately obvious applications, but is the bedrock of almost every major innovation. This was how the world got the mRNA COVID vaccine in record time in 2020: it was delivered on the back of 30-plus years of hard work by thousands of scientists worldwide. We also need a firmly established partnership model: better incentives for academia and business to work together to get the best of both worlds. READ MORE: This isn't just a view held by universities - the Business Council of Australia and industry leaders have consistently called for stronger R&D investment to support national productivity, international competitiveness and long-term economic resilience. A well-resourced research ecosystem is not a luxury, but a prerequisite for future growth. One of the ways to do this is to invest in knowledge precincts. For example, one of the southern hemisphere's most impressive innovation corridors sits along an unassuming stretch of Blackburn Road in Clayton in Melbourne's south-east. The Monash Technology Innovation Precinct is home to the Australian Synchrotron, the Victorian Heart Hospital, the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, and Moderna's first integrated mRNA production facility in the southern hemisphere. It's also home to a new $60 million advanced AI supercomputer at Monash University, which will enable researchers to perform unprecedented computational projects. Breakthroughs happen when you build the right ecosystem, and technology precincts can provide high-value employment clusters in the sprawling outer suburbs. Let's recognise that research is one of our most precious national assets - even more so in these times of massive transformation and technological change. Innovation is a self-perpetuating cycle - Australia must ensure it is in a position to mobilise it for good and for our national prosperity. One thing is clear: we cannot afford to sit still. I've spent my career as a clinician and cancer researcher, witnessing how Australian ingenuity delivers world-leading outcomes. It's extraordinary to think that in just the span of my career the chance of surviving some childhood cancers has risen from just over 50 per cent to now over 90 per cent. In the last decade, survival from advanced melanoma in adults increased from less than 10 per cent to over 50 per cent. That is thanks to global research, including about incredible capability embedded in Australia's research sector. As the "lucky country", Australia has enjoyed some amazing stretches of uninterrupted prosperity. But as we face local and global upheavals - increasing climate disasters, pandemics and fractured geopolitics - we are on the brink of walking past our greatest opportunity. Our national prosperity cannot continue to rely on mining, agriculture and real estate. What if we recognised that ideas and innovation - housed in our universities, research institutes, health organisations, industry and start-ups - are the strategic infrastructure our nation demands? The Australian government is currently asking what the future of our national research systems could look like through its strategic examination of R&D. Universities are often accused of lagging industry or being slow to innovate. But the reality is university research is largely responsible for the majority of Australian innovation - it's given the world cervical cancer vaccine, solar panel cells, the cochlear implant among many other discoveries that have helped millions of people around the world. Our universities are now at the vanguard of innovation, and they need an R&D framework that will enable and empower government and industry to keep pace. Successful innovations often come from serendipitous discoveries which have been tested, re-tested and refined over long time periods - even decades - timelines that do not make sense for business, but do for universities. Australia has the credibility, capability and culture to become a global solutions hub. We already boast strong regulatory frameworks, solid patent laws, tax incentives, an extraordinary clinical trials capacity and a trusted healthcare-research nexus. We have public trust in science and a collaborative culture. Those are rare commodities in a world awash with uncertainty. If the US or Europe falter under rising costs, regulatory or geopolitical uncertainty, Australia can fill that gap - fast and reliably. In 2022 alone, clinical trials employed 7700 Australians and drove $1.6 billion into our economy. Globally, clinical trials are getting more complex, more expensive, and more dependent on diverse patient cohorts. The worldwide market is projected to hit USD $123 billion by 2030. As pharmaceutical companies rethink where they base their 10-year development pipelines, Australia can and should be their top choice. Universities are a key part of this capability. We need to maintain our public investment in what we call fundamental research - the curious pursuit of knowledge that may not have immediately obvious applications, but is the bedrock of almost every major innovation. This was how the world got the mRNA COVID vaccine in record time in 2020: it was delivered on the back of 30-plus years of hard work by thousands of scientists worldwide. We also need a firmly established partnership model: better incentives for academia and business to work together to get the best of both worlds. READ MORE: This isn't just a view held by universities - the Business Council of Australia and industry leaders have consistently called for stronger R&D investment to support national productivity, international competitiveness and long-term economic resilience. A well-resourced research ecosystem is not a luxury, but a prerequisite for future growth. One of the ways to do this is to invest in knowledge precincts. For example, one of the southern hemisphere's most impressive innovation corridors sits along an unassuming stretch of Blackburn Road in Clayton in Melbourne's south-east. The Monash Technology Innovation Precinct is home to the Australian Synchrotron, the Victorian Heart Hospital, the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, and Moderna's first integrated mRNA production facility in the southern hemisphere. It's also home to a new $60 million advanced AI supercomputer at Monash University, which will enable researchers to perform unprecedented computational projects. Breakthroughs happen when you build the right ecosystem, and technology precincts can provide high-value employment clusters in the sprawling outer suburbs. Let's recognise that research is one of our most precious national assets - even more so in these times of massive transformation and technological change. Innovation is a self-perpetuating cycle - Australia must ensure it is in a position to mobilise it for good and for our national prosperity. One thing is clear: we cannot afford to sit still.
