QUT Links magazine Autumn 2013

18 QUTLINKS AUTUMN ’13updateResearchEating for twoTwo-thirds of Australian mums-to-be are in the darkabout weight gain during pregnancy. Susie de Jersey’s PhDstudy at QUT found a third of women surveyed gained toomuch weight during pregnancy, while another third struggledto gain enough weight. She said giving intensive supportto women during this time could help instil healthy habitsfor life, and help lower child obesity rates. The study waspublished in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetricsand Gynecology.Pumice rafting brings newlife to reefTiny marine plants and animals have been hitching rideson floating pumice stones from Tonga to the Great BarrierReef, a QUT scientist has found. Dr Scott Bryan’s researchhas proven for the first time that “pumice rafting” can dispersemarine life (coral, algae, crabs, anemones, etc) thousands ofkilometres after volcanic eruptions. Pumice forms whenfrothy molten rock cools rapidly and forms bubble-rich rockthat can float in water.Looking for cluesSophisticated eye-tracking glasses are helping a QUTindustrial designer study how people use their intuition tonavigate their way around airports. PhD researcher AndrewCave (pictured above) is using the technology at airportsincluding Brisbane International Airport, where communityvolunteers don the Tobii device for a mock travel scenario. Theresearch is part of the QUT Airports of the Future project.Boeing tech expert onboardA BOEING technical expert has been seconded to QUTto help in the quest to safely fly unmanned aircraft (UA)during bushfires, floods and search-and-rescue missions.Adjunct Associate Professor Brendan Williams hasjoined the Australian Research Centre for AerospaceAutomation (ARCAA), where he will work with theQUT-led Project ResQu.He will help address two of the biggest technical hurdles toUA flying in civilian air space – detecting and avoiding otherplanes and landing safely in an emergency.Binge drinkingbad for brainQUT research shows teenagerswho binge drink risk inhibitingpart of their brain’s developmentand may be laying the groundworkfor alcoholism in later life. ProfessorSelena Bartlett, from QUT’sInstitute of Health and BiomedicalInnovation (IHBI), studied theeffect of excessive binge drinkingduring adolescence on a particularreceptor in the brain. She discoveredteen bingeing altered it irreversibly,keeping the brain in an adolescentstate.