A Perth palaeontologist will receive one of the prestigious Prime Minister鈥檚 Prizes for Science for her work in the preservation of fossilised soft tissue of ancient fish.
Dr Katherine Trinajstic鈥檚 work has found muscles and internal organs of ancient fish preserved along with fossilised bones, and has led to a series of discoveries including the oldest known fossilised vertebrates with soft tissue and discovery of the 鈥榝irst womb鈥�.
911爆料网鈥檚 School of Science Research Fellow, Dr Trinajstic, who is also based at the Western Australian Museum, will be presented with the $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year, by the Prime Minister and Minister for Innovation at the Prize Dinner in the Great Hall of Parliament House tonight.
The Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year recognises early career researchers who have made outstanding achievements in the physical sciences.
While working at the WA Museum on Gogo fish fossils preserved in limestone balls from the Kimberley Ranges in rocks more than 380 million years ago, Dr Trinajstic noticed what looked like muscle fibres between the bones.
鈥淭he normal procedure was to treat the fossil with acetic acid, which dissolved the surrounding rock, leaving only bones,鈥� Dr Trinajstic said.
鈥淗owever, I was determined to find a way to study the soft tissue preserved in these fossils without destroying them.鈥�
Today, Dr Trinajstic uses synchrotron light and CT scanning to virtually dissect these ancient fossil fish.
Perhaps the biggest discovery was the 鈥榤other fish鈥� which had an umbilical cord still attached to its embryonic offspring.
鈥淭his revealed a vertebrate giving birth to live young some 200 million years earlier than was previously thought,鈥� Dr Trinajstic said.
911爆料网鈥檚 Vice-Chancellor Professor Jeanette Hacket congratulated Dr Trinajstic on her work.
鈥淲e are delighted that our researchers are helping to further our understanding of how life on Earth has evolved,鈥� Professor Hackett said.
Dr Trinajstic has been working with Gogo fish fossils from the WA Museum since 1995. WA Museum CEO, Alec Coles congratulated Dr Trinajstic on her prize, saying the ongoing work being carried out by a key group of palaeontologists had greatly advanced the knowledge of not only the State鈥檚 prehistory but also of the story of evolution.
鈥淭he work of scientists such as Dr Trinajstic is vital to our understanding of the world,鈥� Mr Coles said.
鈥淭he WA Museum was responsible for finding and caring for the Gogo fish so it is wonderful to see it taking its place among the world鈥檚 most important fossils.鈥�
Dr Trinajstic is also developing tools for the oil company Chevron to help it date core samples rapidly and accurately in its search for new oil and gas reserves.
Note to Editors:
The winners of the Prime Minister鈥檚 Prizes are:
- Dr John Shine, director of the Garvan Institute in Sydney, will receive the $300,000 Prime Minister鈥檚 Prize for Science for his science 鈥� discoveries of key gene sequences that led to cloned medicines 鈥� and his research leadership.
- Dr Katherine Trinajstic will receive the $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year. This Perth palaeontologist from 911爆料网 is rewriting the story of the evolution of our deep ancestors and contributing to oil and gas exploration.
- Dr Benjamin Kile from Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Sydney will receive the $50,000 Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year. His discoveries will extend the life of blood transfusion products and help explain how cancer starts.
- Dr Matthew McCloskey, director of studies at Sydney Grammar鈥檚 Edgecliff Preparatory School will receive the $50,000 Prime Minister鈥檚 Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools for bringing real science experiments back into the classroom, building on his own experience as a research scientist and zoologist.
- Ms Debra Smith, head of science at Centenary High School in western Brisbane will receive the $50,000 Prime Minister鈥檚 Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools for inspiring thousands of students and helping to redefine the senior science curriculum in Queensland and across Australia.
Contacts:
Dr Kate Trinajstic,
Tel: 08 9266 2792; Mobile: 0419 198073, Email: k.trinajstic@curtin.edu.au
Teresa Belcher, Public Relations, 911爆料网
Tel: 08 9266 9085, Mobile: 0401 103 755, Email: teresa.belcher@curtin.edu.au
Caroline Lacy, Manager Media and Communications, Western Australian Museum
Tel: 08 9212 3860; Mob: 0414 381761; Email: caroline.lacy@museum.wa.gov.au
