Seaweed Deception leads researcher to world innovation prize

A UNSW researcher has won an international prize for innovation for her studies on the false biological signals sent out by a seaweed that grows along Australia's south-eastern coast. Dr Diane McDougald, a researcher in UNSW's Centre for Marine Biofouling and Bio-Innovation, has found that the seaweed uses a previously unknown technique that could possibly be adapted to prevent bacterial infection in humans.
"Our centre has discovered this type of chemical signalling between different marine species and we are confident some of these tricks could be used to combat bacterial infections in people," Dr McDougald said. "Many species of bacteria that cause human infections use the same type of communications system that the seaweed-produced chemical can interrupt.

"To most people, the scenery under the sea appears serene and peaceful, but we're learning that it's all-out chemical warfare down there. These bacteria send signals to each other and they act as an organised population with a common purpose," she said.

Dr McDougald's work has won her second prize in the 2000 Merrill Lynch Innovation Grants Competition. She recently visited New York to receive her prize of US$20,000 and to meet leading venture capitalists interested in exploring ways of commercialising her innovative research.