raits, broadly speaking, are measurable attributes or characteristics of organisms. Traits related to function (for example, leaf size, body mass, tooth size or growth form) are often used to understand how organisms interact with their environment and other species via key vital rates such as survival, development and reproduction 1-5. Trait-based approaches have long been used in systematics and macroevolution to delineate taxa and reconstruct ancestral morphology and function 6-8 and to link candidate genes to phentoypes 9-11. The broad appeal of the trait concept is its ability to facilitate quantitative comparisons of biological form and function. Traits also allow us to mechanistically link organismal responses to abiotic and biotic factors with measurements that are, in principle, relatively easy to capture across large numbers of individuals. For example, appropriately chosen and defined traits can help identify lineages that share similar life-history strategies for a given environmental regime 12,13. Documenting and understanding the diversity and composition of traits in ecosystems directly contributes to our understanding of organismal and ecosystem processes, functionality, productivity and resilience in the face of environmental change 14-19. In light of the multiple applications of trait data to address challenges of global significance (Box 1), a central question remains: How can we most effectively advance the synthesis of trait data within and across disciplines? In recent decades, the collection, compilation and availability of trait data for a variety of organisms has accelerated rapidly. Substantial trait databases now exist for plants 20-23 , reptiles 24,25 , invertebrates 23,26-29 , fish 30,31 , corals 32 , birds 23,33,34 , amphibians 35 , mammals 23,36-38 and fungi 23,39 , and parallel efforts are no doubt underway for other taxa. Though considerable effort has been made to quantify traits for some groups (for example, Fig. 1), substantial work remains. To develop and test theory in biodiversity science, much greater effort is needed to fill in trait data across the Tree of Life by combining and integrating data and trait collection efforts.

Although the incidence of cancer in Indigenous peoples is similar to its incidence in the overall Australian population, Indigenous peoples are less likely to access early detection and medical interventions resulting in higher mortality and morbidity rates. To explore and address this discrepancy, the National Health and Medical Research Council funded a research study to examine Indigenous peoples' views of cancer and cancer treatments with an end goal of developing an innovative model of Indigenous Palliative Care. Seventy-two participants were interviewed from four geographical areas within the Northern Territory (Australia) including patients, caregivers, Indigenous and non-Indigenous health care workers, and interpreters. Indigenous peoples' views of cancer have to be examined within a historical, socio-political, and cultural context. There is no Indigenous word for cancer and the Western biomedical language that semantically constructs the notion of cancer is not widely understood. Additionally, for many Indigenous people, the aetiology of cancer is embedded in beliefs about the spiritual world of curses and payback from perceived misdeeds. The paper advocates for cross-cultural education initiatives, stressing the importance of a two way education strategy incorporating a process whereby medical and nursing personnel would improve their understanding of Indigenous peoples' view of cancer and Indigenous peoples would learn more about prevention and treatment of cancer from a biomedical perspective.

Advances in computing power and infrastructure, increases in the number and size of ecological and environmental datasets, and the number and type of data collection methods, are revolutionizing the field of Ecology. To integrate these advances, virtual laboratories offer a unique tool to facilitate, expedite, and accelerate research into the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. We introduce the uniquely cloud-based Biodiversity and Climate Change Virtual Laboratory (BCCVL), which provides access to numerous species distribution modelling tools; a large and growing collection of biological, climate, and other environmental datasets; and a variety of experiment types to conduct research into the impact of climate change on biodiversity. Users can upload and share datasets, potentially increasing collaboration, cross-fertilisation of ideas, and innovation among the user community. Feedback confirms that the BCCVL's goals of lowering the technical requirements for species distribution modelling, and reducing time spent on such research, are being met

The clear indications are that group 3 requires assistance with return-to-work and were vulnerable to a range of psychosocial distress caused by inability to return to employment. Supportive care strategies to assist return to employment are provided. Relevance of manuscript to inform research, policies and/or programs Current improvements in cancer treatments have not only increased the number of cancer survivors but also peoples' ability to work during and following treatment. Maximising opportunities for cancer patients to return to work is a significant concern not only for individuals and employers but also economically for society. The findings reported in this article explored the individual story of a range of individuals with haematological malignancies in relation to their desire and efforts to return to work. Importantly, the findings not only provide insights on the work re-entry challenges faced by such individuals but also posit supportive care service delivery solutions to assist those who are vulnerable and frustrated in their efforts to find employment.

Recent hematology clinical guidelines recommend that palliative care specialists should have central roles in hemato-oncology teams. However, the available research evidence indicates there are presently significant obstacles to the integration of palliative care in hematology. The following discussion presents findings from an Australian study designed to address the problems associated with lack of referral of hematology patients to the palliative system through the development of a best-practice model for end-of-life care for these diagnostic groups. The preliminary step in the development of such a model is to document the factors that denote the special characteristics of the end-of-life stage of hematological conditions and their treatments. This article presents the list of special considerations from a nursing perspective, including issues associated with the high-tech nature of treatments, the speed of change to a terminal event, the need for blood products and possibility of catastrophic bleeds, the therapeutic optimism based on a myriad of treatment options and the clinical indices of the terminal trajectory. The nursing insights provide an important foundation for building a practical, patient-centred model for terminal care in hematology.