The Royal Society of Victoria occupies a triangular site granted in perpetuity to the land’s Trustees for the purpose of supporting the activities of the Society. Since 1907, the ‘tip’ of the triangle bounded by La Trobe Street, Victoria Street and the Caretaker’s Cottage has been occupied by one of the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather stations, which offered […]
The Royal Society of Victoria invites applications for the Young Scientist Research Prizes, open for submission between 1 June and close of business on 31 July 2015. The Prizes are funded from the Society’s Science Foundation, with the Biological and Earth Sciences prizes specifically supported by the families of Edmund D Gill and Neil W Archbold, both […]
The Royal Society of Victoria is an independent, apolitical body which has been promoting science and science education since 1854. Its members have made significant contributions to our knowledge of Victoria’s natural environment, particularly in palaeontology, reflecting the abundance of fossil sites in the State. Unique amongst these sites is a short stretch of the […]
A breakthrough in disease prediction saved canola farmers on Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, at least $18 million in 2012. The major threat to canola, Australia’s third most valuable grain crop, is a fungal disease named blackleg, which causes cankers at the base of the canola stem. Over the last decade, a team led by Professor Barbara Howlett, School of Botany, the University of Melbourne, and funded by Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), has used traditional and molecular genetic techniques to monitor blackleg resistance of canola varieties sown across Australia. Professor Howlett’s scientific research underpins advice to farmers on best management practices to minimise losses in crop yield due to blackleg infections.
