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[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 3, No. 1  14 April - 12 May 2008 ]

By David Scott

Engineering students construct their own Formula One-style racing car from scratch. Forestry researchers discover a gene in trees that affects the strength of the timber. Health professionals complete a study into the link between positive allergy tests on toddlers and eczema...

Dozens of stories like these have been covered in the past year by Visions, a bold new video news-magazine produced by the University of Melbourne to profile cutting edge research, high achieving staff and students, and significant events.

Take Easter as an example. A time for family, holidays and, yes, heaps of chocolate. But did you know that chocolate could kill your family pet? According to Emergency care vet Dr Sarah Haldane from the University’s Veterinary Clinic and Hospital, Easter is one of the times dogs and other pets are at risk of chocolate intoxication because of their indiscriminate eating habits.

“Chocolate contains chemicals, such as caffeine and theobromine to which dogs are particularly sensitive. The effects of theobromine and caffeine vary with the size of the dog and the form of chocolate, generally the darker or more bitter the chocolate the more toxic it is.”

Coming up over the next month, Visions will go behind the scenes of the development of the University’s newest research centre for marine and climate education at Point Nepean; travel to the vineyards of northern Victoria to investigate how new research into grape bacteria can help alleviate frost damage; and help debunk the myth that people who wear glasses are ‘geeks’.

To watch all current and previous episodes, log on to visions.unimelb.edu.au