Media Alert for Monday 26 September 2005
ComBio 2005 - Adelaide Convention Centre September 26-29
World leaders in biological science here to report on advances in human and plant disease research
World leaders in biological science are in Adelaide to report on studies that may lead to new discoveries about diseases that affect millions of people around the world and crops that sustain vast populations.
About 900 delegates will attend the ComBio 2005 conference starting at the Adelaide Convention Centre today (Monday) and running until Thursday.
ComBio 2005 Chairman, Professor John Wallace, said the conference was Australasia’s premier broad-based biological sciences meeting looking at a diverse range of research topics covering living organisms from bacteria to plants, animals and humans.
Prof. Wallace, who is Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Adelaide, said the conference had attracted international speakers of the highest calibre to address the “wonderful mechanisms and mysterious complexities of life.”
He said there would be a particular focus on latest research on the structure of proteins involved in health and disease, and how human genes and bacteria are regulated.
The conference will address latest research on the causes and possible treatment of heart and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, diabetes, asthma and central nervous system disorders. It will also report on new studies in wound healing, fertility control and reproduction.
ComBio 2005 is a joint meeting of the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology and the Australian Society of Plant Scientists.
ComBio will also reflect the booming field of plant science.
Prof. Steve Tyerman, Professor of Viticulture at the University of Adelaide, said the importance of healthy plant life could not be overstated.
“Plants process 50 per cent of all water that falls on earth, they provide the oxygen we breath and the food we eat,” he said.
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“Plant science has entered an exciting new research phase with the advent of whole systems approaches where analysis of whole plant function can be linked to gene expression and protein actions.
“Nutrition, drought tolerance, salinity tolerance and growth regulation are just some of the areas being addressed with this approach.
“How plants function in their natural environments provides much-needed information on how they interact with other organisms and the limits of what could be achieved for agricultural plants.”
Prof. Tyerman said gaining a greater understanding of the physiology of native plants would help scientists understand native sustainable ecosystems.
“This then helps us develop agricultural plants with improved salt, drought and disease resistance, while enhancing nutritional value of particular plant species in a sustainable way,” he added.
Key streams of the ComBio symposia program are as follows:
- Protein structure and function;
- Cellular architecture and biology;
- Gene expression and regulation;
- Signal transduction;
- Developmental biology; and
- Plant biology.
The conference will run at the Adelaide Convention Centre from Monday to Thursday. It will also honor the 50th anniversary of the Australian Biochemical Society and the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
For interview:
Professor John Wallace is available on 0439 035 218 to talk about biomedical aspects of ComBio 2005
Professor Steve Tyerman is available on 0411 776 050 to talk about plant science aspects of ComBio 2005.
Trevor Gill, Conference Media Relations, will distribute media releases and briefing notes on speakers and their subjects. He can be contacted on
0418 821948