University of Wollongong

Australia could soon see megadroughts that last for more than 20 years, according to new modelling. The researchers' bleak findings are before factoring in human impact on the climate since the Industrial Revolution. According to the scientists, the findings paint a worrying picture of future droughts in Australia that are far worse than anything in recent experience. Australia could soon see megadroughts that last for more than 20 years, according to new modelling from The Australian National University (ANU) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes. The researchers' bleak findings are before factoring in human impact on the climate since the Industrial Revolution. The ANU-led team also found that 20th century droughts in southwestern and eastern Australia, including the Murray-Darling Basin, were longer on average compared to pre-industrial times. According to the scientists, the findings paint a worrying picture of future droughts in Australia that are far worse than anything in recent experience. Megadroughts are exceptionally severe, long-lasting and widespread. They can last multiple decades or even centuries. An example of this is the megadrought in the United States' southwestern region that started in the year 2000 and has continued for more than two decades. Co-lead author Dr Georgy Falster, from the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences, said that if a megadrought occurred in Australia today, the consequences would be made even worse because of climate change, as any drought would occur against a backdrop of hotter weather. "The combination of climate change on top of naturally occurring megadroughts that could last for 20 years means that in the future Australia could see droughts that are worse than anything in recent historical experience," Dr Falster said. "We must consider, and prepare for, the possibility that one of these multi-decade megadroughts could occur in the near future. "One of the problems with understanding protracted droughts in Australia is that our climate observations since the 1900s give us only a handful of examples to work with. This isn't representative of the worst-case scenarios that are possible just through natural climate variations. "Thinking about when we might expect to see a 20-year-long drought in the Murray-Darling Basin in southeastern Australia, this varies a lot. We could see a megadrought occur every 150 years or 1,000 years. "In this study, we paid particular attention to the Murray-Darling Basin. As the largest agricultural region of Australia, it's important to know how bad droughts in this region could be." The ANU-led team looked at the full spectrum of droughts Australia could experience, including length and intensity, even without the effects of climate change. They also wanted to find out how human-caused climate change is now altering the characteristics of Australian droughts. The researchers used multiple climate models to simulate droughts that occurred during the past millennium -- from the year 850 to 2000 -- to determine how they might change in the future. This includes predicting how long Australian droughts could last for, and how dry they could be. "One of the confronting findings of our work is that it is possible for droughts in Australia to be much longer than any of the droughts that we've experienced in recent times. Droughts that continue for 20 years or more are something that we should expect to happen," Dr Falster said. "Megadroughts are part of the natural variations in Australia's climate. But worryingly we are now also adding human-caused climate change into the mix, and that is probably increasing the chances of the next megadrought here. "We compared simulated droughts in the 20th century, from the year 1900 to 2000, with those from the pre-industrial period, before the year 1850, to see if human-caused climate change has impacted how Australians experience droughts today." Co-author Professor Nerilie Abram, also from ANU, said human-caused climate change is contributing to longer droughts in southwestern and eastern Australia, including the Murray-Darling Basin. She said these are also the regions where we can expect future rainfall declines due to climate change, thereby increasing the risk of droughts. "It is likely that changes to drought intensity could still arise as climate change continues to worsen," Professor Abram said. "One example of this is the 21st century 'Tinderbox Drought', which was only three years long but was exceptionally intense and set the conditions for the Black Summer bushfires. The Tinderbox Drought was likely made more severe by climate change. "The only thing we can do to lessen the potential severity and length of future droughts is to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example, by rapidly transitioning to renewable energy sources. "We can also reduce the impacts of future droughts by being prepared with water storage and management plans, and community support networks." The research is published in a special edition of the journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. This work was co-led by ANU and The University of Sydney in collaboration with the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the University of Wollongong and the University of Monash.

Scientists have reviewed the superconducting diode effect, a quantum effect enabling dissipationless supercurrent to flow in only one direction. The SDE provides new functionalities for superconducting circuits and future ultra-low energy superconducting/hybrid devices, with potential for quantum technologies in both classical and quantum computing. A collaboration of FLEET researchers from the University of Wollongong and Monash University have reviewed the superconducting diode effect, one of the most fascinating phenomena recently discovered in quantum condensed-matter physics. A superconducting diode enables dissipationless supercurrent to flow in only one direction, and provides new functionalities for superconducting circuits. This non-dissipative circuit element is key to future ultra-low energy superconducting and semiconducting-superconducting hybrid quantum devices, with potential for quantum technologies in both classical and quantum computing. SUPERCONDUCTORS AND DIODE EFFECTS A superconductor is characterized by zero resistivity and perfect diamagnetic behavior, which leads to dissipationless transport and magnetic levitation. 'Conventional' superconductors and the underlying phenomenon of low-temperature superconductivity are explained well by microscopic Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory proposed in 1957. The prediction of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov ferromagnetic superconducting phase in 1964-65 and the discovery of 'high-temperature' superconductivity in antiferromagnetic structures in 1986-87, has set the stage for the field of unconventional superconductivity wherein superconducting order can be stabilized in functional materials such as magnetic superconductors, ferroelectric superconductors, and helical or chiral topological superconductors. Unlike conventional semiconductors and normal conductors, electrons in superconductors constitute pairs, known as Cooper pairs, and the flow of Cooper pairs is called a supercurrent. Recently, researchers have observed nonreciprocal supercurrent transport leading to diode effects in various superconducting materials with different geometric structures and designs, including single crystals, thin films, heterostructures, nanowires, and Josephson junctions. THE STUDY The FLEET research team reviewed theoretical and experimental progress in the superconducting diode effect (SDE) and provided a prospective analysis of future aspects. This study sheds light on various materials hosting SDE, device structures, theoretical models, and symmetry requirements for different physical mechanisms leading to SDE. "Unlike the conventional semiconducting diode, the efficiency of SDE is widely tunable via extrinsic stimuli such as temperature, magnetic field, gating, device design and intrinsic quantum mechanical functionalities such as Berry phase, band topology and spin-orbit interaction," explains Dr. Muhammad Nadeem (University of Wollongong), who is a Research Fellow at FLEET. The direction of supercurrent can be controlled either with a magnetic field or a gate electric field. "The gate-tunable diode functionalities in the field-effect superconducting structures could allow novel device applications for superconducting and semiconducting-superconducting hybrid technologies," says co-author Prof Michael Fuhrer (Monash University), who is Director of FLEET. SDE has been observed in a wide range of superconducting structures, made from conventional superconductors, ferroelectric superconductors, twisted few-layer graphene, van der Waals heterostructures, and helical or chiral topological superconductors. It reflects the enormous potential and wide usability of superconducting diodes, which markedly diversifies the landscape of quantum technologies, says Prof Xiaolin Wang (University of Wollongong), who is a Chief Investigator of FLEET.

由长三角国家技术创新中心和苏州工业园区生物产业发展有限公司（BioBAY）主办、中澳生物医药创新中心和英国全球技术创新联盟承办的“海外生命健康产业项目路演”将于2023年9月13日在苏州工业园区召开。多家生命健康领域的海外企业和项目团队将分享技术方向和科技成果，并发布合作需求。欢迎生命健康领域专家、学者、投资人、医院、企业代表等参与！时间：2023年9月13日（星期三）14:30地点：苏州工业园区星湖街218号A1楼北座1楼 金鸡湖路演中心主办单位：长三角国家技术创新中心，苏州独墅湖科教创新区管委会，苏州工业园区生物产业发展有限公司承办单位：中澳生物医药创新中心，英国全球技术创新联盟活动报名请扫描二维码报名参会活动议程14:00 - 14:30参观展厅主旨演讲14：30-.14：35海外生命健康产业项目路演开幕致辞14：35-.14：50长三角国家技术创新中心海外合作介绍 主旨演讲项目路演14：35-.15：05项目：下一代肿瘤治疗辐射剂量监测嘉宾：澳大利亚MoSikn公司董事 Leslee Liu15：05-.15：20项目：手持超高精准新阻抗谱法超声仪嘉宾：EveryBaby公司联合创始人Dabriel Choi15：20-.15：35项目：癌症个性化诊断及治疗决策辅助系统嘉宾：Vivan Therapeutics公司创始人兼 CEO Laura Towart15：35-.15：50项目：治疗药物监测及精准药物剂量临床给送系统嘉宾： ZiO Health公司联合创始人Shaolin Liang15：50-.16：15英国 P4 精准医疗加速器项目介绍项目1快速精准药物筛选、个性化药物测试用肿瘤打印平台（Carcinotech）项目2女性健康可穿戴智能设备（Ru Medical）项目3 非侵入式检查Eolas测试（P4 Medical Laboratory ）嘉宾： P4加速器联合创始人Nathan McNally16：15-.16：35演讲标题：Go China/ Go UK“走进中国”/“走进英国”项目软着陆计划推介嘉宾：英国全球技术创新伙伴联盟CEO, Peter Tensen自由交流16：35-.17：20Q&A联系人：杭老师，hangyc@nice.org.cn倪老师，nijuner@qq.com项目简介：下一代肿瘤治疗辐射剂量监测本项目由国际固体剂量学组织(ISSDO)主席、卧龙岗大学Anatoly教授和悉尼威尔士亲王医院放射肿瘤科主任Michael教授联合研发，并授权Electrogenics Laboratories公司。公司拥有一种先进的、用于测量辐射皮肤的剂量的MOSFET探测器和封装技术，可以满足放射治疗和放射学市场的需求。可以满足放射治疗/放射学市场的需求。该项目已在全球包括美国麻省总医院、中山大学肿瘤中心等20多家医院、2000多名患者进行了临床实验。公司的目标是将这一独特技术全球商业化，并成为体内辐射皮肤剂量测定领域的市场领导者。合作需求：项目寻求新一轮融资，并寻找战略合作伙伴在中国开展临床工作、开拓中国市场。手持超高精准新阻抗谱法超声仪SME公司开发的EveryBaby是一个手持和移动医疗器械，它提供了一种比经阴道超声更准确、 更容易使用、更经济的替代方法。该技术来源于英国谢菲尔德大学，产品采用了开创性专利技术，涉及一种新的阻抗谱方法，可在母亲即将生产时检测宫颈组织成分和结构的变化。公司与以色列最大的健康维护组织(HMO)和迪拜卫生局达成合作，并在以色列、迪拜和韩国进行临床试验，实现初步销售，已获得160万美元资助及融资。合作需求：融资及医院合作癌症个性化诊断及治疗决策辅助系统Vivan Therapeutics公司定义了一种新的诊断和决策支持类别，为癌症患者提供更有效的治疗选择，并有可能彻底改变癌症治疗和药物开发过程。Vivan通过与纽约西奈山医学中心合作，开发全面的、基于基因组学的药物筛选技术及个体化诊疗过程（Personal Discovery Process，PDP），即根据患者的肿瘤遗传学特点确定个性化癌症治疗方法。利用其专有的药物筛选数据，Vivan建立了一个强大的数字健康工具TuMatch™。它使用人工智能/机器学习将癌症患者的DNA与之前的患者和其他数据集进行匹配，在短时间内提供治疗建议，使其具有高度可扩展性，对医疗保健提供商、制药公司和保险公司具有吸引力。合作需求：需开拓中国市场，与医院、实验室和癌症中心合作，并进一步融资，为癌症治疗决策和药物发现提供更个性化的方法。治疗药物监测及精准药物剂量临床给送系统ZiO Health开发的药物监测设备可提供血液药物浓度的即时数据，推动了一种积极的药品提供方法，并显著改善治疗效果。基于英国的帝国理工大学的技术，ZiO Health所监测的药物包括化疗药物、易过量的药物（即阿片类药物和苯并类药物）和依从性药物等。根据前期数据，该设备已累计为26万名英国患者，每位节约3000英镑费用。合作需求：融资及医院合作，技术及商务合作快速精准药物筛选、个性化药物测试用肿瘤打印平台CarcinotechCarcinotech是一家医疗技术公司，通过使用患者的活组织切片、原代细胞、免疫细胞和癌症干细胞，制造3d打印的活体肿瘤，重塑癌症研究。公司具有高通量打印肿瘤能力，使用Carcinotech机器人和自动化制造加速生产流程。先进的肿瘤打印技术将为快速、合乎伦理和准确的药物筛选、临床前和个性化药物测试提供了平台。Carcinotech创始人Ishani Malhotra毕业于苏格兰爱丁堡大学，是一位屡获殊荣的干细胞研究专家。合作需求：与领先的制药公司、外科医生、病理学家、临床医生和行业领导者合作，加快药物筛选，将更有效的癌症治疗推向市场。女性健康可穿戴智能设备（Ru Medical）Ru Medical关注女性健康领域，为患有潮热的更年期女性打造一款智能可穿戴设备，同时为更年期女性打造一个全面的智能数字平台，提供个性化的缓解和治疗。Ru Medical是2021伦敦科技周（London Tech Week 2021）、2021创意工厂（Idea Factory 2021）、2022大卫·沃尔什奖（David Walsh Award 2022）获奖项目，其多位联合创始人均毕业于伦敦大学国王学院，在医疗健康创新领域深耕多年并有多篇重量级学术论文发表。非侵入性检查Eolas测试（P4 Medical Laboratory )P4医学实验室是爱尔兰第一家精准医疗公司。P4ML利用多种“组学”技术，全面评估多种生物分子，并结合大型数据集，将复杂的输出转化为可操作的信息。P4ML的代表性产品包括Eolas测试，是爱尔兰第一个非侵入式产前检查，这是一种简单的血液测试，已获得CE许可，在欧盟所有同类测试中，测试失败率和假阳性率最低。责编：何文正审核：任旭推荐阅读会议活动丨“职选园区”秋招说明会首站来袭！会议活动丨挤掉泡沫更强劲！生物药国际产业化发展研讨会，9月20日见~会议活动丨周五见！“十四五”期间进口减免税政策宣贯会即将开始