Why 'frog' is a four-letter word

Alumni

A group of 20 Friends of the University recently had the chance to get up close and personal with the University's resident frog expert, Professor Mike Tyler.

The event, hosted by the Development and Alumni Office, is one of a series which gives Friends the opportunity to experience the University first-hand.

Held in the Field Geology Room of the Mawson Building, Professor Tyler's talk was entitled "Frog is a Four-Letter Word" and included such information as:

• The discovery of benefits from the skin secretions of the frog;
  
• How he has developed a method for harvesting these secretions without having a detrimental effect on the frog;
  
• The benefits currently being researched and developed from frogs, including mosquito repellent, surgical bio-adhesive, new antibiotics, anti-tumour agents and the potential to combat AIDS;
  
• Answering a series of wide-ranging questions about frogs from people who love frogs almost as much as he does!

The next event planned is a "Behind the Scenes" tour of the iconic Barr Smith Library, scheduled for late August.

The tour will include a visit to the Special Collections area and a demonstration of the new Library Portal system. Invitations will be posted shortly, so if you are interested in being added to the mailing list for the tour, please contact Development and Alumni's Donor Relations Officer, Mr Jon Rossack by phoning (08) 8303 3234.

Other future Development and Alumni events for Friends of the University include visits to Roseworthy, Waite and Thebarton Campuses, and the South Australian Virtual Reality Centre, housed in the University's Santos Petroleum Engineering Building.