The Melbourne Newsroom

Melting sea ice has been shown to be a major cause of warming in the Arctic according to a University of Melbourne study. 

Findings published in Nature today reveal the rapid melting of sea ice has dramatically increased the levels of warming in the region in the last two decades.

Lead author Dr James Screen of the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne says the increased Arctic warming was due to a positive feedback between sea ice melting and atmospheric warming.

A University of Melbourne study has revealed that certain breast cancer genetic variants increase mammographic density, confirming the link between mammographic breast density and breast cancer.

Professor John Hopper of the University’s School of Population Health says women vary greatly in their underlying risk of breast cancer. “These findings provide an insight into possible new pathways into the development of breast cancer.”

The University of Melbourne congratulates Professor Pat McGorry as the 2010 Australian of the Year.

Professor McGorry is Professor of Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, Executive Director of Orygen Youth Health (OYH), a world-renowned youth mental health organisation and Director of the National Youth Mental Health Foundation (headspace).

Scientists at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and the University of Melbourne have discovered the cells that cause a common type of childhood leukaemia – T cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (T-ALL). Targeting of these cells may lead to improved treatments for this disease and help prevent relapse.

The team, led by Dr Matthew McCormack and Dr David Curtis of the Rotary Bone Marrow Research Laboratories and the University’s Department of Medicine at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, made the discovery whilst studying mice prone to developing this leukaemia.

The University of Melbourne's strong number of offers are evidence of an increased demand for the University's new generation degrees, says Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor John Dewar.

"This represents a resounding endorsement of the new-gen degrees, and the Melbourne Model of which they form a part.  Students clearly welcome the focus the new degrees place on disciplinary depth and intellectual breadth, as well the outstanding pathways to professional graduate study, research training opportunities, or employment."

The University of Melbourne’s Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society (IBES) today announced its membership in a new research consortium - the Green Touch™ Initiative - which brings together leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry players and researchers to fundamentally re-invent the network and reduce ICT energy consumption up to a factor of 1000.

An Australian study into the effectiveness of a H1N1 swine flu vaccine has revealed a single dose produces an excellent response against the virus in most children.

The study, led by Professor Terry Nolan, Head of the Vaccine and Immunisation Research Program at the University of Melbourne and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, and colleagues in major children’s hospitals around Australia has been published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Indigenous mothers removed from their natural families during childhood are significantly more likely than other Indigenous mothers to be victims of violence according to a new report led by Dr Kyllie Cripps from the University of Melbourne’s School of Population Health.

Dr Cripps analysis of data from the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Social Survey found mothers of the Stolen Generation living in remote areas were three times as likely to experience violence as other Indigenous mothers.

Mergers, management changes and unfriendly work-family practices were the main reasons behind women leaving the workforce today a new survey has found.

The survey of 44 bank workers in Australia found that despite the popular assumption that professional women ‘opt out’ of the workforce to focus on family – “choosing to forgo top management aspirations to fulfill the traditional role of homemaker” - it was unlikely to be the main reason for their departure.