Plants that extract gold from soil … chips that accelerate the Internet by 1,000 times … a malaria vaccine targeting pregnant women … nano-materials that remove pollutants from the environment … super-drugs that treat cancer and eliminate side-effects.

These are just some of the stunning innovations by this year's Cosmos Bright Sparks, the country's top 10 scientists under 40 as selected by COSMOS magazine.

Each of the 10 winners – selected by the editors and the magazine's stellar Editorial Advisory Board (which includes Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin) – are profiled in the Oct/Nov 2007 issue of COSMOS, on sale nationally on Wednesday 26 September 2007.

"Australia produces some of the finest scientists in the world, and many of them show exceptional talent early in their careers. The Bright Sparks Awards is our way of giving this excellence the recognition it deserves," said Wilson da Silva, Editor-in-Chief of COSMOS. "These young men and women will have a resounding impact on society for generations to come."

The 2007 Cosmos Bright Sparks Award winners are:

- Christopher Barner-Kowollik: Polymer chemistry, University of New South Wales, Sydney.
- Stuart Batten: chemistry & crystals, Monash University, Melbourne.
- James Beeson: prevention & control of disease, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne.
- Barry Brook: ecology & climate change, University of Adelaide.
- Rachel Caruso: chemistry & solar energy , University of Melbourne.
- Arthur Christopoulos: pharmacology, Monash University, Melbourne.
- Ben Eggleton: photonics and optical communications, University of Sydney.
- Alex Hamilton: semiconductor nanoelectronics, University of New South Wales, Sydney.
- Andrew Harris: sustainable technoloies, University of Sydney.
- Geoff Isbister: pharmacology, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin

Congratulations to this year's winners!