Volume 6 Number 1 - Adm.monash.edu.au - Monash University

MONASH UNIVERSITY GAZETTEthat it can be studied in its functioning state.(iii) The Epidermis and Cuticle: The aerial parts ofvascular plants are covered by a continuous layer ofcells, the epidermis, whose outer walls are thick andcovered with a cuticle (see Fig. 3). The cuticle is similarin properties to a coat of paint, covering the epidermalcells with a thin waterproof skin that acts as abarrier to water loss or entry. The same layer alsohelps to protect the photosynthetic cells, that lie beneathit, from attack by pathogens. The continuity of theepidermis is interrupted by stomata, pores whose apertureis controlled by the special guard cells that surroundthem (Fig. 4). When the pores are open, carbondioxide and oxygen can exchange from the atmospherewith the gas lining the photosynthetic cells, permittingphotosynthesis. These same pores allow loss of watervapour when they are open, a loss made good by thetranspiration stream. In many plants the cuticle isimpregnated with wax which makes it even more waterproof.You will have noticed this waxy deposit on theleaves of young blue gums or cabbages. It is alsoently unrelated problems. The truth of the matter is thatthe techniques and approaches found useful in one projectwill assist the rate of progress upon the otherprojects, for so many of the technical problems to beovercome in this research programme are common toall cell biology. It is my hope that this approachwill rapidly advance our understanding of man's mostimportant group of crop plants.SPORTS CENTRE PUBLISHESBOOKLETA booklet on the emergency treatment of sportsinjuries has been produced by the committee of theMonash Sports Medicine Centre. It illustrates the valueof the inter-disciplinary approach to sports medicine.The booklet was produced for the Sports Associationby the members of the Sports Medicine Centre in orderto meet a community need.With the aid of a grant of $1,500 from the RothmansNational Sport Foundation to cover the cost of publicationabout 20,000 copies have been printed. These arebeing distributed free throughout the Commonwealth.It is hoped that the booklet will provide simplepractical information for anyone who may be askedto give first aid for sporting injuries, when trainedmedical or first aid people are not present.Mr A. H. Toyne, the secretary of the AustralianSports Medicine Association, said: 'The booklet's mainvalue is that it shows untrained people how to giveexpert first aid.'Fig. 4. Surface view of epidermis of a pea leaf, showingthe wavy outline of the epidermal cells and the pairs ofguard cells (arrow) that line the stomata, the poresthrough which gas exchange takes placepresent as an invisible layer in many unsuspected places.When you polish an apple, it is the wax layer on theapple surface that is responsible for the sheen.The epidermis and cuticle have been very difficult tostudy by electron microscopy because the same propertiesthat make them ideal protective layers render themdifficult to infiltrate with Araldite, or to cut into thinsections. New techniques, introduced in 1967, seem tohave solved these problems and we are now engagedin an intensive study of the epidermis and cuticle duringgrowth and development of grass leaves. Since thislayer is ultimately responsible for minimizing water lossfrom aerial plant parts, it is essential to understand itsstructure and composition and the way it is formed.I believe that the power of the cell biological approachis demonstrated by the fact that one small group ofworkers can hope to contribute usefully to these appar­BAKER INSTITUTE-Continuedsystem work. Others, however, are more closely directedtowards the solution of practical problems; for example,a study of the changes in cardiac muscle when it isdeprived of its blood supply and the time scale of thesechanges. This has direct application both to the techniqueof heart transplantation and to coronary arteryobstruction, for both conditions involve the deprivationof cardiac muscle, in whole or in part, of blood supply.Still other cardiovascular projects, such as the longtermstudy of the appropriate methods of use of variousdrugs which control high blood pressure, have an immediatevalue to patients.The high international reputation gained by theInstitute pays tribute to the contributions of manyworkers, especially to the work of Dr Paul Fantl inconnection with the clotting of blood, and the resultantimprovement in the treatment of haemophilia and excessiveclotting; to the work of Dr Winifred Nayler forher studies in the behaviour of cardiac muscle cells andthe role of calcium and of drugs which react with it,which has established a basis from which workers inother countries have set out, and to the work of thepresent director, Dr Thomas Lowe, on the control ofbody fluids in relation to heart failure, and on the identificationand study of kinekard.30