Research In Outer Space
A mission to search for the origin-of-life on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, will be aided by University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka researchers, and provide insight into climate change on Earth.
Dr Courtney Ennis
Dr Courtney Ennis, of the Department of Chemistry, is "ecstatic" to receive a $941,000 Marsden Grant from Te Aparangi Royal Society for the work.
The grant is one of 20 awarded to Otago researchers, worth more than $14.4 million.
Dr Ennis and his team will investigate clathrates, icy minerals that incorporate significant quantities of methane in deep sea deposits.
"The exposure to warming ocean conditions and seismic activity could threaten to destabilise and release this potent greenhouse gas, so it is important for us to map its ice structure under variable conditions," he says.
The research will assist NASA's 2028 mission to Titan, Dragonfly, which is aiming to locate chemical species central to astrobiology and the source of life using a self-flying rotorcraft equipped with a range of advanced instruments.
"The chemical structure of clathrates not only could impact the methane budget of Earth's atmosphere but may provide insight to the origin-of-life, as these same materials have been identified on icy planetary surfaces such as Titan," he explains.
For the project, Dr Ennis will produce methane clathrate hydrate under variable pressure (from the very high to the very low) to determine changes in its crystal structure.
Once the nature of the clathrates is mapped, specialised setups at Otago's Ennis Laboratory and at NASA, will identify the strength of binding between methane and its clathrate host, determining under what conditions the methane is released.
"Upon exposure to space radiation, we believe amino acids could be formed, which are biopolymer building blocks essential for life. Our studies will include an investigation if clathrates have played a role in the chemical evolution of our Solar System," he says.
He says the funding not only enables the continuation of an exciting research programme into planetary ice chemistry but will also allow postgraduate and early-career researchers to train on advanced facilities both at Otago and overseas, including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Otago's Director Research and Enterprise Dr Martin Gagnon is thrilled so many cutting-edge projects received grants.
"From microscopic pathogens and mitochondria to climate change and how best to learn CPR – this funding is testament to the excellent, and hugely varied work being done at the University every day. I look forward to following these projects with interest," he says.
Standard Grants
Professor Peter Fineran, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Bacterial defences that block jumbo phages
$941,000
Professor Peter Fineran says:
"Phages are viruses that infect bacteria, are the most abundant biological entities on Earth and affect bacterial evolution and ecosystems.
We have discovered that some phages, called jumbo phages, have a unique way of protecting themselves from bacterial defences by forming a protein-based nucleus that shields their DNA. This allows them to avoid common bacterial defence systems, like CRISPR-Cas. Since there is a diversity and abundance of jumbo phages, there must be many defence systems that protect bacteria against these phages. However, almost nothing is known about how bacteria defend themselves against jumbo phages, and defences with novel mechanisms await discovery.
To understand how bacteria are protected from jumbo phages we will take a novel approach by exploring natural bacterial plasmids, which are enriched for defence systems. By using powerful screening strategies we have established, we will identify new bacterial defence mechanisms that inhibit jumbo phages. Next, we will investigate how these defence systems work at the molecular level using genetics, imaging, biochemistry and structural biology.
This research will uncover the mechanisms by which bacteria can resist jumbo phages, which will help inform improved future therapeutic use of phages in medicine, agriculture and aquaculture, and may yield new biotechnological tools."
Dr Fabien Montiel, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
The proof is in the pancake: connecting fundamental physics to data-driven detection of the emergent state of sea ice in the changing polar oceans
$944,000
Dr Fabien Montiel says:
"Sea ice has experienced dramatic changes in the polar oceans over the last four decades. While satellites can track overall extent, they cannot distinguish between ice types (consolidated sheets vs loose floes) - a critical limitation for understanding ocean-ice-atmosphere interactions and associated climate feedbacks. Pancake ice, characterised by small round floes formed in wavy waters, is emerging as the dominant ice type due to intensifying ocean waves."
... (rest of the content remains the same)
