Take a breath—now exhale.
To most of us this is simply respiration, the taking in of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide, and we don't actually think much about it, why it happens and what it actually does.
But this process happens in every cell of our bodies and through it vital energy is produced. Winthrop Professor Harvey Millar's work is directly concerned with breathing, in particular the chemical process of respiration within plants.
The Winthrop Professor, who just recently received the award for Life Scientist of the Year, one of the Prime Minister's 2005 Prizes for Science, focuses specifically on the mitochondria within cells, the tiny structures that are actually 'doing' the respiration. While small they hold great importance; not only are they mainly responsible for producing energy through 'breathing', but they also make decisions about life and death on a cellular scale.
As Millar notes: "Often a cell makes a strategic decision to die for the good of the whole organism. Mitochondria have been called 'the breath of life and the kiss of death.'" The practical application of the Professor's and his colleagues' work in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology are many and greatly important to our own survival. Through Millar's pioneering use of proteomics to gain an understanding of mitochondria we will eventually be able to breed plants that can survive the harsh rigours of our climate resulting in better quality products and produce.
