Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney

Australia’s “tax gap” – the gap between what is collected and what would be collected if the law was applied properly – amounts to A$33 billion per year according to Tax Office calculations, which is 7% of what should be collected.

Much of it – $12 billion – is due to incorrect filings by small businesses. But one component, worth $1 billion, relates to residential rental property owners. This gap is the gap between what is collected and what should be collected from residential rental property owners. Often they are mums and dads who rent out their second or subsequent properties as landlords.

This gap is the gap between what is collected and what should be collected from residential rental property owners. Often they are mums and dads who rent out their second or subsequent properties as landlords.

90% of landlord tax returns wrong

In a speech late last year, Second Commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn revealed that an extraordinary nine in ten sampled tax returns reporting net rental income required adjustment.

He described this as “startling”.

Separate data from the Tax Office random enquiry program suggest
few of these adjustments are in the taxpayers’ favour.

There are reasons to believe it has been this way for years. Certainly, the Tax Office has targeted rental property owners for audits for many years.

What it has found is either entrenched sloppiness or noncompliance, which would be better described in many circumstances as tax cheating or tax evasion.

The behaviour has included:

• not declaring rental income

• not declaring the capital gain on the sale of the rental property

• claiming the main residence exemption under the capital gains tax for the profit on sale of what is really a rental property

• claiming interest deductions when a property is not truly available for rental, being a holiday home

• wrongly claiming capital expenditure as an immediate deduction

• assigning all rental income deductions to one spouse when the loss-making property is co-owned

• claiming deductions for the full cost of travel to a property when the travel was partly for other purposes such as holidays.

Some of this behaviour got so bad that in 2017 and 2019 the Coalition government effectively “threw its hands in the air” and outlawed entire deductions for certain types of expenses as if to say, “enough is enough”.

Tightened up inspection deductions

The new Section 26-31 of the Income Tax Assessment Act denies deductions for travel to and from a rental property, even if it’s to inspect the property or arrange a repair.

Under the old rule, apportionment was required to determine the correct amount to deduct where travel had two purposes, such as taking a holiday and inspecting the property.

Rather than persisting with the old rule, the government outlawed such deductions altogether, referring to “widespread abuse” and excessive claims.

Tightened up depreciation deductions

The new Section 40-27 denies depreciation deductions to owners who use second-hand assets in their rental properties.

This can happen when owners move assets such as stoves or dishwashers or air conditioners from their own homes to rental properties or buy rental properties with second-hand assets in them and claim well in excess of their actual value, sometimes repeatedly as properties are passed from owner to owner.

Again, rather than clarify the formula, the government outlawed all such claims against rental income for future second-hand assets. Instead, it dealt with them by adjustments to the capital gains tax payable when the property was sold.

Again it referred to “significant abuse” and said the change would improve the integrity of the tax system.

Tightened deductions for vacant land

The new Section 26-102 denies (usually interest) deductions associated with holding vacant land or land on which construction is planned until the dwelling is completed and fit and available for rent.

Before this section, the law generally did allow these deductions provided there was a real commitment to constructing the dwelling and renting it out within a “reasonable” time frame. Some taxpayers were claiming deductions when renting the property out was a distant dream.

It’s not enough

Legislation denying deductions is not unusual, but I cannot recall any other instances of deductions being outlawed solely on the basis that the taxpayers involved were not complying with the law.

Taking away deductions for legitimate income-producing expenses from an entire group because of the non-compliance of a segment of that group is rare. But when a substantial proportion of the group refuses to comply, then there is a case for doing it, even though it is unfair to the small proportion that is complying.

A whole lot of major compliance problems remain, including:

• landlords not declaring rental income

• landlords not declaring capital gains

• landlords claiming interest expenses on holiday homes

• landlords claiming expenses such as renovations as immediate deductions.

Although more reform might be necessary in this sector, a lot of the responsibility for fixing the mess falls on the Tax Office. Arguably, it has not been ineffective in policing landlord claims for a long time and it has had data on this sector going back to 1985 to work with.

Champion tax dodgers?

It is hard to say whether Australia’s landlords are champion tax dodgers. There are other contenders, especially in small businesses. But it is fair to say they are competing hard to be champion tax dodgers, or at least champion sloppy filers.

It would probably help to make the tax treatment of rental property ownership less generous. The interaction of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount may attract landlords who want to minimise tax.

Read more:
Using family trusts to minimise tax is on the nose: so why are policy makers silent?

Regardless of the recent deduction denials, this sector needs much more effective enforcement of the rules that exist. This may mean heavier penalties for those who deliberately and repeatedly cheat or fail to meet their obligations; this includes landlords and their tax agents.

And education would help as well. Some small portion of the nine in ten landlords who fail to prepare proper returns (often advised by tax agents) might not mean to. For these, we could achieve a lot by making it clearer what the law requires them to do.

Dale Boccabella does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. 9 in 10 landlord tax returns are wrong. Does this make landlords champion tax dodgers? – https://theconversation.com/9-in-10-landlord-tax-returns-are-wrong-does-this-make-landlords-champion-tax-dodgers-195914

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney

Where there’s water, you’ll find mosquitoes – including some that transmit viruses that can make us seriously ill.

Authorities have been on alert after an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis last summer which resulted in 45 human cases and seven deaths. Favourable conditions for mosquitoes continued.

Now, we’ve seen the return of another pathogen to southeastern Australia: Murray Valley encephalitis virus. Mosquitoes carrying the virus have been detected in New South Wales and northern Victoria.

While Murray Valley encephalitis is endemic in Northern Australia, meaning it is always present in mosquitoes, it’s not often detected in southeastern Australia. No human cases have yet been reported in the southern states, but past outbreaks after floods show we need to be cautious.

Read more:
How to mozzie-proof your property after a flood and cut your risk of mosquito-borne disease

What is Murray Valley encephalitis virus?

Murray Valley encephalitis virus is a member of the Flavivirus family, which includes Japanese encephalitis, dengue, yellow fever and West Nile viruses.

Murray Valley encephalitis causes similar symptoms to Japanese encephalitis virus. Encephalitis means inflammation, or swelling, of the brain.

Only a small proportion of people infected, perhaps as few as one in 1,000, will develop symptoms. These include fever, headache and vomiting, as well as neurological problems resulting in confusion, dizziness, or loss of consciousness.

The disease, like that caused by Japanese encephalitis virus, is fatal in up to 30% of those who get symptoms.

People who survive may have permanent neurological complications that require life-long medical care. Only around 40% of those experiencing severe symptoms recover completely.

Read more:
A wet spring and summer means more mosquitoes but now we’ve got Japanese encephalitis virus to worry about too

How does it spread?

Waterbirds such as herons and egrets are the natural hosts of the virus. Mosquitoes pick up the virus as they feed on the blood of birds, and then pass it on to people when the mosquitoes bite again.

The key mosquito driving spread of the virus is Culex annulirostris. It thrives in freshwater habitats and travels many kilometres from local wetlands.

The virus circulates between mosquitoes and waterbirds during the wet season in northern Australia, particularly in the Kimberley region.

After flooding, the virus makes its way into southeastern Australia from northern regions of the country. Waterbirds travel to newly flooded areas for favourable feeding and breeding conditions.

With flooding continuing in southeastern Australia, as well as Queensland and Western Australia, mosquito numbers are expected to remain high in many regions of Australia for months ahead. More mosquitoes and more waterbirds increase the likelihood of infection in people.

What happened in past outbreaks?

The virus was first isolated in 1951 from patients who died from encephalitis in the Murray Valley. The outbreak included 45 reported cases, including 19 deaths.

But that wasn’t the first or last outbreak. There is evidence the virus was causing human disease in the early 1900s and at the time was known as “Australian X disease”.

The most significant outbreak occurred in 1974 with 58 cases reported including 13 fatalities. Seasonal agricultural workers became reluctant to travel to the regions impacted by the virus.

The virus didn’t disappear after 1974. It has been sporadically detected in humans, mosquitoes, or other animals, most commonly in northern and central Australia.

The largest outbreak since 1974 in southeastern Australia was in 2011, with a total of 17 cases reported including three deaths.

The major trigger for previous outbreaks has always been above average rainfall.

What can we do about it?

Unlike Japanese encephalitis, there is no vaccine for Murray Valley encephalitis.

Preventing mosquito bites is critical to stop infection. The steps you take to stop mosquito bites every other summer will reduce the spread of Murray Valley encephalitis virus too.

Read more:
Mozzies biting? Here’s how to choose a repellent (and how to use it for the best protection)

Those spending lots of time outdoors face the greatest risk. To reduce mosquito bites:

• avoid outdoor activity at dusk and during evening near wetlands or bushland areas where mosquitoes are active

• cover up with light coloured, loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts with long pants and covered shoes

• use topical insect repellents containing diethytoluamide, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. These formulations will provide the longest-lasting protection against mosquito bites if applied to all exposed areas of skin

• use insect screens and nets around the home on windows and doors, and while camping

• use “knockdown” insect sprays and plug-in repellent devices indoors or in sheltered outdoor areas.

The risk of Murray Valley encephalitis virus will remain for months ahead. It’s not until the colder weather of autumn arrives that mosquito populations will decline and with them the risks of disease.

Perhaps the return of El Niño dominated weather patterns in coming years, with less rainfall and fewer favourable breeding spots for mosquitoes and waterbirds, the virus will disappear from southeastern Australia. But for how long?

Read more:
Feel like you’re a mozzie magnet? It’s true – mosquitoes prefer to bite some people over others

Cameron Webb and the Department of Medical Entomology, NSW Health Pathology, have been engaged by a wide range of insect repellent and insecticide manufacturers to provide testing of products and provide expert advice on mosquito biology. Cameron has also received funding from local, state and federal agencies to undertake research into mosquito-borne disease surveillance and management.

– ref. Murray Valley encephalitis has been detected in mozzies in NSW and Victoria. Here’s what you need to know – https://theconversation.com/murray-valley-encephalitis-has-been-detected-in-mozzies-in-nsw-and-victoria-heres-what-you-need-to-know-197894

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thami Croeser, Research Officer, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University

Climate change is going just as badly for cities as we have been warned it would. Extreme weather is increasingly common and severe globally. Australian cities have endured a number of recent disastrous events.

It’ll get worse, too. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) factsheet outlining impacts on human settlements is a very sobering read. It also pithily sums up the situation cities face:

Concentrated risk and concentrated opportunity for action.

Implicit in this wording is a hopeful truth: adapting to climate change is a daunting task, but the “how” is not a mystery. The opportunity is right in front of us, in our streets, buildings and parklands. Around the world we are seeing effective retrofitting of cities to adapt to more extreme weather.

Here are a few inspiring exemplars.

Read more:
A climate scientist on the planet’s simultaneous disasters, from Pakistan’s horror floods to Europe’s record drought

Keeping the city cool

Planting trees to create shade is an obvious response to hot weather. However, in many cities it’s still a struggle just to stop the losses of trees. Future hot, dry climates will add to the challenge of urban greening.

Medellin in Colombia is one city making inspiring progress on this front. With an urban greening budget of US$16.3 million, it has created a network of 30 “green corridors” through the city. These have reduced urban heat island effects by 2℃ three years into the program. As these densely vegetated corridors mature, they are expected to eventually deliver 4-5℃ of cooling.

Read more:
Climate change threatens up to 100% of trees in Australian cities, and most urban species worldwide

Vienna, Austria, has had an urban heat island strategy in place since 2018. It includes planting 4,500 trees each year and subsidies for street-facing green walls.

The city has developed a series of “cool streets” – traffic-calmed spaces with light-coloured road surfaces, “fog showers” that activate on hot days, water features, shade trees and drinking fountains. Eighteen cool streets were delivered as pop-ups, with another four in place permanently to provide refuges on hot days. Vienna also has an extensive network of public swimming pools where residents can cool off.

Limiting flood damage

Urban green space can also be valuable for intercepting and absorbing stormwater to prevent flooding.

A spectacular example is Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park in Singapore. It was the site of a concrete drainage canal that was transformed into a 3.2km winding stream in 2012.

The 62-hectare park along the gently sloping banks of the stream serves a densely developed residential area. In wet conditions, the stream swells up to 100 metres wide. As stormwater gently flows downstream, it drains away into the landscape.

Since the park was created, visitor numbers have doubled to 6 million a year. Biodiversity has increased 30%.

A very urban version of this approach is the “floodable square”. A good example is Rotterdam’s Watersquare Benthemplein, a sunken public plaza and basketball court that becomes a major stormwater basin when it rains.

While this approach is a win-win on large development sites, it can be tricky to retrofit built-up areas. Fortunately, there are many more compact approaches that can deliver large benefits when delivered at scale.

New York City, for example, has spent over US$1 billion on smaller, distributed solutions in flood-prone streets. These measures include “raingardens” that drain water from streets, and infiltration basins that divert and store stormwater.

Read more:
Not ‘if’, but ‘when’: city planners need to design for flooding. These examples show the way

Green roofs that capture rainwater also help reduce flood risk in built-up areas. Again, Rotterdam’s approach is interesting; while reducing stormwater flows is a focus, the city’s rooftop greening program focuses on multifunctionality by integrating solar panels, social spaces and rooftop farming. The retrofitted “Dakakker” (rooftop farm) has advanced stormwater storage, vegetable beds, beehives, a few chickens and a popular café.

Of course, a green roof program usually requires private building owners to get on board. Rotterdam subsidises owners who deliver rooftop greening that intercepts significant amounts of stormwater. In 2021, Rotterdam had 46 hectares of green roofs, equating to around 0.5 square metres per resident.

The Swiss city of Basel leads the world with 5.7m² of green roofs per person (as of 2019). Basel has had incentives as well as laws requiring green roofs since the late 1990s; this highlights the value of putting regulations in place early.

The principle seems to work for bigger cities too: Tokyo has mandated green roofs since 2000, and has around 250ha of them.

Read more:
Greening our grey cities: here’s how green roofs and walls can flourish in Australia

What does this mean for Australia?

Our cities remain woefully unprepared for extreme weather. But many of the above approaches are starting to crop up in Australia. The challenge is to move from a handful of trials to a large-scale, systematic roll out of infrastructure to adapt our cities to climate change.

The experience of the cities profiled above points to a few crucial ingredients.

First, cities must be willing to invest heavily, both in new green spaces and in subsidies to encourage greening by private property owners.

Second, reallocation of existing grey space, like roads and canals, must be pursued fearlessly and systematically. Paris’s elected mayor since 2014, Anne Hidalgo, is a spectacular example of the political courage required for large-scale greening.

Third, the law can play a real role in guiding development, through measures such as mandating greening on buildings. This can be achieved through fairly simple tools like Toyko’s green roof requirement, or more sophisticated area-based instruments that require a portion of a development to have green walls and/or roofs. Cities like Seattle and Brisbane are using these tools, which are also being mooted in Melbourne.

Read more:
Melbourne now has chief heat officers. Here’s why we need them and what they can do

Recent disasters have made clear the urgent need to step up urban climate adaptation. The costs of not acting decisively to protect ourselves and our cities will be considerable, but the playbook is ready for us.

Thami Croeser receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the European Comission.

– ref. As heatwaves and floods hit cities worldwide, these places are pioneering solutions – https://theconversation.com/as-heatwaves-and-floods-hit-cities-worldwide-these-places-are-pioneering-solutions-196389

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Burgess, Associate Lecturer in International Business, University of the Sunshine Coast

Even if you’re not a video game player, you might have heard about the just released and highly anticipated television series based on beloved and acclaimed video game The Last of Us.

However, to say video game adaptations are often awful is an understatement. It’s a long running joke just how terrible film and television series based on video games inevitably are. And yet, more adaptations of video games keep being churned out by studios.

From 1993’s Super Mario Bros film which regularly features on lists of the worst films of all time, to the three Lara Croft Tomb Raider films released from 2001 to 2018 – the first of which was given the lowest score possible (“Disaster”) by video game review site? IGN – the list goes on.

More recently, 2022’s Halo and Uncharted television and film adaptations have received mixed receptions and criticism for deviating from their video game sources.

Frustratingly, there is no reason for this terrible track record. Video games have long been able to tell exciting, emotional stories with rich worlds and beloved characters. All the ingredients, you would think, needed for a television or film hit.

But the litany of terrible adaptations demonstrate these ingredients have never been properly used.

The Last of Us video game

The Last of Us might be able to break the last three decades’ track record of disastrous adaptations. When the game was released in 2013 for the PlayStation 3, it received unanimous critical and popular acclaim and is considered one of the greatest video games of all time.

The Last of Us is set in a post-apocalyptic United States of America. Human civilisation has collapsed and is contained in quarantined zones after the spread of a highly contagious fungal infection that transforms victims into mindless and aggressive monsters.

Players control Joel, a smuggler who lost his only child during the early stages of the outbreak and is escorting teenager Ellie across the country.

The game’s characters were played by talented voice actors and motion caption technology was used to ensure the characters were believable and well developed.

The emotionally gripping and compelling story and characters won the hearts of video game players, and helped prove video games could tell deep, emotional stories with complex characters.

In a 2013 review, IGN called the game a “masterpiece” with a stellar narrative that never slows down or disappoints, and compared it with Cormac McCarthy’s literary work The Road.

Adaptations and HBO

The success of The Last of Us led to a comic book series, a live reading of parts of the script, downloadable content, a sequel and a remaster and remake of the first game. A film was announced in 2014 before falling through.

When HBO announced in 2020 a television series was in the planning stages, this was met with some scepticism. However, HBO did a lot of things right. One of the original creators of the game, Neil Druckmann, was involved and HBO itself, a network known for premium and compelling content, had the right reputation and values.

The show also cast some highly talented actors in Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie.

Of course, talented actors don’t guarantee a fantastic video game adaption, as the casting of Michael Fassbender, Pablo Schreiber and Tom Holland in Assassin’s Creed, Halo and Uncharted illustrate.

Respecting the source material

But what might ensure a successful and well-made video game adaption is just what The Last of Us seems to be using: respect for its video game source material.

The Halo and Uncharted adaptions met with a mixed reception partly due to the changes to their source material. The characters and overall narrative were deemed too dissimilar to their original video game sources, leaving viewers frustrated.

When a video game adaption is trading on the brand and reputation of its source material, not winning over the original fans and players can leave them with few other audiences. And not ensuring the adaptation is respectful and authentic to the source is the fastest way to lose the original fans.

For example, the Halo television series did not cast the original and beloved voice actress from the games for the role of Cortana, a CGI character, on the show before eventually reversing that decision after fan outrage.

Read more:
Even in the colourful world of video games, most players demand historical accuracy

The Uncharted and The Last of Us video games were developed by the same studio so they might also have learnt from the first adaptation of their games.

Dialogue from the video games was used in the scripts, and videos on social media have highlighted how similar clips from the show are to scenes in the video games.

Keeping the “soul” of the video games while employing the changes needed to take the story to a different medium was a key aspect of production for Neil Druckmann.

And the early rave reviews for The Last of Us praising everything from the writing to the acting suggest that the curse of horrible video game adaptions might have been not just broken but obliterated.

It makes sense that The Last of Us with its compelling characters and story is just as groundbreaking and acclaimed in another medium.

But decades of terrible video game adaptations highlight how monumental that achievement will be.

Jacqueline Burgess receives funding from the Commonwealth of Australia

– ref. Can The Last of Us TV series finally break the bad video game adaptation curse? – https://theconversation.com/can-the-last-of-us-tv-series-finally-break-the-bad-video-game-adaptation-curse-197898

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lorcan Conlon, PhD student, Quantum Science & Technology, Australian National University

Almost a century ago, German physicist Werner Heisenberg realised the laws of quantum mechanics placed some fundamental limits on how accurately we can measure certain properties of microscopic objects.

However, the laws of quantum mechanics can also offer ways to make measurements more accurate than would otherwise be possible.

In new research published in Nature Physics, we have outlined a way to achieve more accurate measurements of microscopic objects using quantum computers. This could prove useful in a huge range of next-generation technologies, including biomedical sensing, laser ranging and quantum communications.

We were also able to push beyond the limits of a variation of Heisenberg’s “uncertainty principle” in certain circumstances, suggesting different uncertainty principles may be necessary in different scenarios.

Quantum uncertainties

If you want to examine the properties of a large everyday object like a car, it’s a simple process.

For example, a car has a well-defined position, colour and speed. You can measure them one after another or all at once with no issues. Measuring the position of your car will not change its colour or speed.

However, this becomes much trickier if you’re trying to examine microscopic quantum objects like electrons or photons (which are tiny little particles of light).

Certain properties of quantum objects are connected to each other. Measuring one property can influence another property.

Read more:
Explainer: Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle

For example, measuring the position of an electron will affect its speed and vice versa.

These properties are called “conjugate” properties.

The link between these properties is a direct manifestation of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. It is not possible to simultaneously measure two conjugate properties of a quantum object to whatever degree of accuracy you like: the more you know about one, the less you know about the other.

While the uncertainty principle imposes a limit on how accurate some measurements can be, reaching that limit in practice can be very challenging. However, measuring quantum objects in the greatest amount of detail possible is important for advancing fundamental science as well as developing new technologies.

Entangled objects

In our new research, we designed a way to determine conjugate properties of quantum objects more accurately. Our collaborators were then able to carry out this measurement in various labs around the world.

The new technique revolves around a strange quirk of quantum systems, known as entanglement. When two objects are entangled, we can measure them more accurately than if they weren’t entangled.

Read more:
What is quantum entanglement? A physicist explains the science of Einstein’s ‘spooky action at a distance’

We realised we could use quantum computers, which can precisely control the state of quantum objects, to create two identical quantum objects and entangle them. By measuring the entangled objects together, we could determine their properties more precisely than if they were measured individually.

Measuring the two entangled identical quantum objects reduces the noise in the measurement, making it more accurate.

A less noisy future

In theory, it is also possible to entangle and measure three or more quantum systems to achieve even better precision. However, we haven’t been able to make this work experimentally as yet.

The results of measuring three identical entangled objects together were very noisy. However, as quantum computers improve and become more accurate, it may be possible to faithfully measure three copies of a quantum system simultaneously in the future.

One of the key strengths of this work is that a quantum enhancement can still be observed in very noisy scenarios. This bodes well for future practical applications, such as in biomedical measurements, which will inevitably occur in noisy real-world environments.

What about the uncertainty principle?

This research also has implications for the aforementioned uncertainty principle.

One interpretation of the uncertainty principle is that it is impossible to measure conjugate properties of quantum objects with unlimited accuracy. But another interpretation is that measuring one conjugate property of a quantum object must necessarily disturb the second conjugate property by some minimum amount.

In this research, we were able to violate an uncertainty principle based on the second interpretation. This suggests that, depending on what physical setting is considered, different uncertainty principles may be necessary for different scenarios.

A global collaboration

We tested our theory on a total of 19 different quantum computers, which used three different quantum computing technologies: superconductors, trapped ions and photonics. These devices are located across Europe and America and can be accessed via the internet, allowing researchers from across the globe to connect and carry out important research.

We carried out the study with colleagues at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQC2T), in collaboration with researchers from the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering at A*STAR in Singapore, the University of Jena, the University of Innsbruck, Macquarie University and Amazon Web Services.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Physicists have used entanglement to ‘stretch’ the uncertainty principle, improving quantum measurements – https://theconversation.com/physicists-have-used-entanglement-to-stretch-the-uncertainty-principle-improving-quantum-measurements-197712

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Good, Professor and NHMRC Investigator Fellow, Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University

Group A streptococci, also known as “strep A”, were the first organisms ever identified to be the cause of a disease.

In the mid-1800s, Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis first noted the link between a lack of hygienic practices – such as handwashing – among medical staff and puerperal (or childbirth) fever. Louis Pasteur subsequently demonstrated that it was caused by the microbe we now refer to as strep A.

Puerperal fever, a life-threatening condition, is much less common now, but strep A has not gone away. In fact, it is known to cause more types of disease than any other single micro-organism.

And infections appear to be on the rise.

A common organism that can cause everyday and rare illnesses

Strep A organisms commonly live on people and, while they don’t usually cause disease, they can become virulent. Their propensity to cause illness depends on the strain of the organism, the simultaneous presence of other microbes (often viruses), and the level of immunity the person may already have.

The most common diseases caused by strep A are tonsillitis (also called “strep throat”) and impetigo (also known as “school sores”).

These conditions are relatively benign, but if untreated can give rise in some individuals to deadly complications, including “invasive” strep A disease and rheumatic heart disease, which is the most commonly acquired heart disease in people younger than 25.

Other conditions caused by strep A include erysipelas and cellulitis (infections of the skin), glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys), scarlet fever (named for the red rash it causes) and toxic shock syndrome (which can cause organ failure and death).

Read more:
Strep A: three doctors explain what you need to look out for

Rising cases in children

Recently, there is concern because case numbers of invasive streptococcal disease (now a notifiable disease in Australia) are rising, particularly among children.

Invasive disease occurs when an otherwise simple infection of the tonsils or skin spreads beyond the local tissue and invades deep tissue. From there it can spread to distant sites in the body, leading to shock, potential loss of limbs, and death.

Although cases are on the rise in multiple countries, the chances of an individual case of strep throat progressing to invasive disease are low. Worldwide there is an estimated incidence of around 700 million cases of tonsillitis or school sores every year, of which about 1 in 1,000 lead to invasive disease.

The reason for the recent jump in case numbers of invasive disease is unclear.

A new strain may be responsible but this needs more investigation. We know there are hundreds of strains of strep A.

In the United Kingdom, which has also seen a significant rise in cases, a few strains seem to dominate. But these same strains have been circulating in the community for several years.

Read more:
What are school sores and how do you get rid of them?

Is it because of lockdowns?

It seems likely, both in the UK and here, that the main reason we are seeing more cases now is because we are experiencing more respiratory infections across the board as we come out of COVID-imposed isolation, especially from influenza.

Co-infection with influenza and strep A can render both infections significantly more dangerous and difficult to control.

I am not aware of data showing invasive strep A cases are occurring more in people also infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID), but this requires investigation also.

Should we be alarmed? We are rightly nervous when we see a sudden jump in any serious infectious disease, but early indications are that the rates of invasive disease are similar to pre-pandemic rates.

Old lessons and future protections

The population groups most at risk are those under ten years or over 65 years of age. People with chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer or who are immunosuppressed are also less able to fight off infection. These groups and those who care for them need to be more vigilant.

Warning signs are a sore throat and high fever, especially if combined with a skin rash (scarlet fever), severe pain from an infected skin sore, and any difficulties with breathing. Prompt medical attention is required for any of these symptoms.

Hygiene practices are also important for prevention. Strep A is highly contagious and as such we should adhere to the habits we all learnt during the pandemic – washing hands frequently, coughing or sneezing into a tissue and staying home if symptomatic. These measures will limit spread and are no less important now than they were when Semmelweis first proposed them in 1847.

In the long term, a vaccine to prevent strep A infection would completely prevent invasive strep A disease and rheumatic heart disease.

A few groups worldwide are developing strep A vaccines. Our group has one that is undergoing a clinical trial in Alberta, Canada. The vaccine was developed at Griffith University and is aimed at preventing infection of the throat or skin from all strains of strep A.

If it does this, it will also prevent invasive strep A disease and rheumatic heart disease. Globally, that could save as many as 500,000 lives each year.

Read more:
Vaccine for strep throat and rheumatic fever to be trialled in humans

Michael Good works for Griffith University He receives grant funding from NHMRC, the Snow Foundation, the Li Ka Shing Institute (University of Alberta), the Lowitja Institute and the Heart Foundation.

– ref. Strep A cases are rising. We must remember our earliest hygiene lessons as vaccine trials continue – https://theconversation.com/strep-a-cases-are-rising-we-must-remember-our-earliest-hygiene-lessons-as-vaccine-trials-continue-197617

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hopkins, Professor of Astronomy, Macquarie University

Two major astronomy research programs, called EMU and PEGASUS, have joined forces to resolve one of the mysteries of our Milky Way: where are all the supernova remnants?

A supernova remnant is an expanding cloud of gas and dust marking the last phase in the life of a star, after it has exploded as a supernova. But the number of supernova remnants we have detected so far with radio telescopes is too low. Models predict five times as many, so where are the missing ones?

We have combined observations from two of Australia’s world-leading radio telescopes, the ASKAP radio telescope and the Parkes radio telescope, Murriyang, to answer this question.

The gas between the stars

The new image reveals thin tendrils and clumpy clouds associated with hydrogen gas filling the space between the stars. We can see sites where new stars are forming, as well as supernova remnants.

In just this small patch, only about 1% of the whole Milky Way, we have discovered more than 20 new possible supernova remnants where only seven were previously known.

These discoveries were led by PhD student Brianna Ball from Canada’s University of Alberta, working with her supervisor, Roland Kothes of the National Research Council of Canada, who prepared the image. These new discoveries suggest we are close to accounting for the missing remnants.

So why can we see them now when we couldn’t before?

The power of joining forces

I lead the Evolutionary Map of the Universe or EMU program, an ambitious project with ASKAP to make the best radio atlas of the Southern Hemisphere.

EMU will measure about 40 million new distant galaxies and supermassive black holes, to help us understand how galaxies have changed over the history of the universe.

Early EMU data have already led to the discovery of odd radio circles (or “ORCs”), and revealed rare oddities like the “Dancing Ghosts”.

For any telescope, the resolution of its images depends on the size of its aperture. Interferometers like ASKAP simulate the aperture of a much larger telescope. With 36 relatively small dishes (each 12m in diameter) but a 6km distance connecting the farthest of these, ASKAP mimics a single telescope with a 6km wide dish.

That gives ASKAP a good resolution, but comes at the expense of missing radio emission on the largest scales. In the comparison above, the ASKAP image alone appears too skeletal.

To recover that missing information, we turned to a companion project called PEGASUS, led by Ettore Caretti of Italy’s National Institute of Astrophysics.

PEGASUS uses the 64m diameter Parkes/Murriyang telescope – one of the largest single-dish radio telescopes in the world – to map the sky.

Even with such a large dish, Parkes has rather limited resolution. By combining the information from both Parkes and ASKAP, each fills in the gaps of the other to give us the best fidelity image of this region of our Milky Way galaxy. This combination reveals the radio emission on all scales to help uncover the missing supernova remnants.

Linking the datasets from EMU and PEGASUS will allow us to reveal more hidden gems. In the next few years we will have an unprecedented view of almost the entire Milky Way, about a hundred times larger than this initial image, but with the same level of detail and sensitivity.

We estimate there may be up to 1,500 or more new supernova remnants yet to discover. Solving the puzzle of these missing remnants will open new windows into the history of our Milky Way.

ASKAP and Parkes are owned and operated by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, as part of the Australia Telescope National Facility. CSIRO acknowledge the Wajarri Yamatji people as the Traditional Owners and native title holders of Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, where ASKAP is located, and the Wiradjuri people as the traditional owners of the Parkes Observatory.

Andrew Hopkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Astronomers reveal the most detailed radio image yet of the Milky Way’s galactic plane – https://theconversation.com/astronomers-reveal-the-most-detailed-radio-image-yet-of-the-milky-ways-galactic-plane-197905

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Papua New Guinea last week put the media spotlight on one of Australia’s most important international relationships.

Much of the coverage focused on the plans, confirmed by Albanese and his PNG counterpart, James Marape, for a defence treaty between the two countries – and the role this might play in warding off China’s growing engagement in the region.

But PNG should not just be seen as important because of China, or the prospect that Australia’s position may be subject to challenge. The relationship deserves focus because of its own intrinsic challenges and opportunities.

A land of opportunity

PNG is not just Australia’s nearest neighbour – its coastline is a scant four kilometres from the nearest Queensland island. It’s also the largest Pacific country by far. The official census figure of more than nine million is almost double the size of New Zealand, and if the true figure is closer to 17 million as the UN has recently estimated, PNG’s population appears set to outgrow Australia within the next decade or so.

PNG is already an influential partner for Australia when it comes to Pacific affairs, and its size and growing confidence will see it exert a stronger regional leadership role in the future.

PNG is also a land of considerable economic opportunity. While foreign investment flows are still directed mainly to petroleum, gold and copper, the country may also be an important source of iron, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements required to drive the post-carbon global economy.

It is also attracting strong interest as a potential source of renewable energy for both domestic and export purposes. PNG’s fisheries wealth is extraordinary, as is its agricultural potential.

In addition, Papua New Guineans are keen to provide their services to help address gaps in our labour force, so Australia’s undertaking to improve the accessibility of visa services is important to both sides.

Given all this, the focus should very much be on opportunity as we look to the next phase in the Australia-PNG relationship. It’s certainly high time we moved on from the dominant narrative about PNG as a needy recipient of Australian aid – and little else.

Yes, Australia’s aid dollars remain important as PNG struggles with major development challenges across health, education, governance and law and order. But Canberra’s assistance program is not really that large relative to the size of PNG’s own national budget. And there is little precedent for foreign aid alone in bringing about economic transformation for a sovereign, developing country.

As a former Australian high commissioner to PNG, I know from experience that PNG’s leaders are often left feeling mystified and somewhat offended when Australian visitors speak about feeling “responsible” for the state of things in their country.

How security ties will change moving forward

A comprehensive defence treaty is the logical next step in the evolution of the links between the two nations. It reflects the commitment of the two leaders to project the relationship as one of “equals”. It also supports the growing sense PNG is a vital strategic partner to Australia in the Pacific. After all, PNG has already joined stabilisation missions in the Solomon Islands and responded to natural disasters in the region.

The two countries have had a very substantial defence cooperation program for decades, covering combined military exercises, training, infrastructure projects and advisory support. A formal treaty would now elevate these links, with formal ratification from both parliaments and serious legal commitments on both sides.

Read more:
Penny Wong’s diplomacy efforts in the Pacific begin to bear fruit with PNG security pact

It would also, of course, signal that Australia, not China, is PNG’s partner of choice.

The content of the treaty is yet to be negotiated, but we can expect the military-to-military relationship to be taken to a new level, encompassing more intensive joint training and operations.

It is unclear whether this will include an agreement to base troops on each other’s soil, on a rotational or some other basis. But it is clear from Albanese’s comments in Port Moresby the enhanced security ties will focus on new threats, including cyber-security and climate change.

The Pacific is experiencing the same cyber-security disruptions Australia has recently. These countries have weaker defence systems than Australia’s. Vanuatu, for example, fell victim to a major ransomware attack last year.

The Australian government and defence force should play an important role in helping countries like PNG strengthen their capacities to protect vital strategic and other information from these types of attacks, especially given the
increasingly competitive geo-strategic conditions across the region.

China looms large as a concern here, and if Australia’s regional partners are vulnerable in this sense, then Australia is, too.

The threats posed by climate change

Pacific Island leaders have made it very clear, however, they see climate change as the overriding threat to their security.

For them, the enemy is increasingly frequent and harsh droughts and storms and the loss of arable land, which in turn threaten food security. International strategists depict these risks as a threat multiplier, disrupting food and water security, intensifying social fragility and straining weak institutions.

There is already concern that responding to natural disasters in the Pacific and at home could challenge the Australian Defence Force capacities over time.

Read more:
Climate change poses a ‘direct threat’ to Australia’s national security. It must be a political priority

The security implications of climate change are actually most stark in everyday life in PNG. Tensions within family groups and communities in informal urban settlements, or between neighbouring tribal groups in more remote regions, can explode in ways that may not gain the attention of the international strategic community, but which nonetheless cause great social damage.

These tensions can lead to family and gender-based violence or tribal fighting over scarce resources. Lasting solutions to these issues cannot depend on foreign assistance alone; they will require PNG and its leadership to step more into the driving seat and take responsibility.

The same can be said of the overarching bilateral relationship between Australia and PNG. A partnership of equals will require PNG to work harder to set the direction of the relationship. The PNG government also needs to demonstrate it’s using its own funds well to address the development challenges our aid program is seeking to mitigate.

At the Australian end, the relationship needs to be better understood publicly
as important in its own right – not just because of China.

Ian Kemish is a former senior Australian diplomat who served, among other roles, as High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea. He is the voluntary chair of the Kokoda Track Foundation and provides consultancy support to the Global Partnership for Education in the Pacific. Both of these organisations receive some funding from the Australian Government.

– ref. Where does Australia’s relationship with PNG go next? Less talk about China, more about our neighbour’s own merits – https://theconversation.com/where-does-australias-relationship-with-png-go-next-less-talk-about-china-more-about-our-neighbours-own-merits-197891

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Fuller, Charles Perkins Centre Research Program Leader, University of Sydney

Anyone who has tried to lose weight will be familiar with these nine frustrating words: the last five kilos are the hardest to lose.

You’re just about to hit your target weight, but suddenly the scales won’t budge – even though you’re still following the same healthy diet, lifestyle habits and exercise plan.

There’s a scientific basis for why losing the last few kilos is hard, called the weight-loss plateau. But before you hit Google for one of those programs promising to help you lose the last five kilos, here’s some important information about why it occurs, and five simple things you can do to break through it.

Read more:
These 4 diets are trending. We looked at the science (or lack of it) behind each one

Understanding the weight-loss plateau

The weight-loss plateau is basic biology.

When your body registers something threatening its survival, it automatically triggers a series of physiological responses to protect against the threat.

So when we adjust our diet and reduce our calorie intake, our body registers we’re losing weight and believes it’s under threat. It makes adjustments for protection, reducing our metabolic rate and burning less energy, slowing the rate at which we lose weight.

It also secretes higher levels of an appetite hormone called ghrelin, which is known to increase hunger and promote the conservation of fat stores.

Research has shown this plateau starts to creep in anywhere between three and six months of weight loss, and then typically weight regain occurs. So for those needing to lose a large amount of weight, the plateau will be evident well before the last five kilos.

A weight-loss plateau can be hard to break. Whatever the time frame, it’s a sign your previously successful approach to losing weight needs modification.

Here’s what you can do.

1. Revisit your weight-loss goal

The first and most important thing you may need to modify when you hit a weight-loss plateau is your definition of healthy body weight.

Ask yourself: what’s so special about the weight I’m trying to achieve?

Many people use the body mass index (BMI) to set their weight-loss goal but the number on the scales – and the score generated when you enter your weight and height into the BMI calculator – is nonsense. It doesn’t tell the whole story of what it means to be a healthy weight.

Read more:
Using BMI to measure your health is nonsense. Here’s why

This is because the BMI calculator misses two more meaningful measures: body fat percentage and body fat distribution.

If you’ve been exercising regularly as part of your weight-loss plan, you’ll have gained muscle, or improved your muscle-to-fat ratio, and muscle is heavier than body fat, impacting the number on the scales.

You’re also likely to have changed where fat is distributed in your body, reducing the amount of unhealthy fat stored around the stomach, close to the organs, thus reducing your risk of disease.

So grab the tape measure, check how your clothes fit, and think about how you feel to confirm whether you really need to lose those final few kilos. Work towards a waist circumference of about 80cm for women and about 90-94cm for men.

2. Focus on meal size throughout the day

The current fad is intermittent fasting. This often means breakfast is the first to be scrapped from the menu in an attempt to cut calories from the diet and shorten the time you’re allowed to eat throughout the day. But when you eat and how much you eat at each meal does matter, and it’s breakfast that’s the most important.

Controlled research studies have shown this is the time when your body best uses the calories you put in – in fact, it burns the calories from a meal two-and-a-half times more efficiently in the morning compared with the evening. Instead of reducing your eating window, load up your breakfast and reduce the size of your evening meal.

Read more:
What are ‘fasting’ diets and do they help you lose weight?

3. Consider more strength-building exercises

Relying on diet alone to lose weight can reduce muscle along with body fat. This slows your metabolism, and makes it harder to keep the weight off in the long term.

Any physical activity will go a long way to preserving your muscle mass, but it’s important to incorporate a couple of days of strength-building exercises in your weekly exercise routine. Exercises using body weight – like push-ups, pull-ups, planks and air squats – are just as effective as lifting weights in the gym.

4. Review your food intake

As you lose weight, your body requires less fuel, so reviewing and adjusting your calorie intake is essential when you hit a weight-loss plateau.

Generally speaking, you need to consume 10% fewer calories when you reduce your weight by 10%, just to maintain the new weight. But this shouldn’t mean deprivation or starvation. Instead, you should be focusing on an abundance of nutrient-dense foods and keeping the treats and takeaway to just once per week.

Read more:
What’s this ‘longevity’ diet, and will it really make you live longer?

5. Check your stress

Stress will derail your weight-loss success. Stress increases your body’s production of cortisol, promoting fat storage and triggering unhealthy food cravings.

The best type of stress management is exercise. To encourage more exercise, take up something you enjoy, no matter what it is. But make sure to include variety, as doing the same routine every day is a sure-fire way to get bored and avoid activity, and can also make it hard to hit your goals.

The bottom line

A weight-loss plateau is frustrating and can derail your diet attempt.

Understanding why the weight-loss plateau occurs, making sure the weight-loss target you’ve set is realistic, and following the steps above will get you back on track.

Read more:
Hoping to get in shape for summer? Ditch the fads in favour of a diet more likely to stick

Dr Nick Fuller works for the University of Sydney and has received external funding for projects relating to the treatment of overweight and obesity. He is the author and founder of the Interval Weight Loss program.

– ref. The last 5 kilos really are the hardest to lose. Here’s why, and what you can do about it – https://theconversation.com/the-last-5-kilos-really-are-the-hardest-to-lose-heres-why-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-195725

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bridget Backhaus, Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Media Studies, Griffith University

As rain poured down and rivers rose, the radio buzzed with static where you’d usually find Fitzroy Crossing’s community radio station, Wangki Yupurnanupurru Radio. The station was off air, but not offline. When they couldn’t broadcast, the Wangki team turned to Facebook to share emergency information.

They even put together audio updates in Kriol and other local languages. This was a community radio station making sure everyone in their community had access to information they needed. The broadcaster’s efforts are remarkable, but not unusual in Australia’s community radio sector.

In Mallacoota, Victoria, 3MGB broadcast life-saving information while the streets around them burned in the Black Summer fires. The Bay FM newsroom in Byron Bay provided constant updates during the Northern Rivers floods. As cyclone season bears down, Townsville’s Triple T FM is broadcasting disaster preparation messages.

These are just a few stories of how community radio stations support their communities through the most extreme impacts of climate change.

Complex, diverse and more popular than you might think

Australia is home to a vibrant and well-established community radio sector. An estimated one in five Australians tune in to more than 450 community radio services each week. There are stations focused on their local area, stations serving communities of different lived experiences and interests, and stations catering to particular cultural and linguistic communities.

Unsurprisingly, then, programming is diverse. There are shows about the experience of prison, about being “out” in the Outback, about gardening, politics, books, bicycles, unions – just about anything you can think of.

No two communities are alike, neither are their community radio stations. Therein lies the promise of community radio for climate change communication.

Read more:
Getting ready for climate change is about people, not spreadsheets. Let’s use our imaginations

But why talk about climate change on community radio?

Our research project, Warming Up, is exploring the role of community radio in supporting community resilience to climate change. We interviewed station managers and presenters at 12 stations across New South Wales and Victoria.

What we found has been impressive. Running on the smell of an oily rag, or as one interviewee put it, “lots and lots of gaffer tape”, community radio stations are playing a huge role in preparing communities for a climate-altered world.

But why is community radio such a valuable tool? We identified the following reasons.

Climate change is local and community radio knows local

Climate change is often talked about as a global issue – ocean temperatures, melting glaciers, world leaders negotiating or appearing to. While that’s true, the impacts will be felt most acutely in our own backyards. When a new type of pest infests our veggie garden. When our walk on the beach involves navigating eroded sand cliffs and exposed rock walls. When the rain gets heavier, for longer, and mould blooms in corners and cupboards.

While times of disaster are what immediately come to mind, the everyday impacts are also the reality of a climate-altered world. It takes local experiences and responses to find local ways of adapting to and mitigating these impacts.

Read more:
Even if we halt global warming, local climates will change – and we need new experiments to understand how

Diverse communities have diverse experiences

Climate change is not experienced evenly. Those least responsible bear the brunt of impacts; that’s part of the slow violence of climate change.

Community radio is needed to serve communities under-represented in the mainstream media. They include First Nations people, the LGBTIQ+ community, older people, young people, people affected by disability, and multicultural and multilingual groups.

These groups have unique communication needs and vulnerabilities when it comes to climate change. For example, one of our interviewees talked about the importance of community members sharing information – for this particular multicultural group, a trusted, familiar voice carried more weight than an unknown official.

Read more:
Ethnic media are essential for new migrants and should be better funded

For other groups, language was important. One of the Aboriginal broadcasters we spoke to told us that while climate change was not specifically discussed, there were constant discussions about how to best care for Country.

Subtleties like these make all the difference when it comes to meaningful discussions about climate change.

It’s a way to empower everyday people

Climate change is a source of concern and anxiety for many Australians. While many community radio stations are stuck in a deficit approach – concerned they don’t know enough or can’t do enough – others take a more empowering approach.

Many stations do this by leading by example: moving to solar power, composting in the station kitchen, and even making their own sanitising wipes. Another station had a project highlighting the efforts of everyday people in their community to adapt to and mitigate climate change impacts.

Read more:
New tools help communities measure and reduce their emissions locally

It doesn’t necessarily take a panel of scientists (or academics!) to enable these actions. Instead, reframing who is an “expert” can be a valuable and empowering approach when talking about local climate change impacts.

Community radio has a lot of potential to play a lead role in supporting community resilience to climate change. While great work is already being done at stations across the country, many stations lack the confidence and resources to do more. Further work and investment in this area will create a wealth of opportunities for local communities to voice their own stories of climate action that point to hope, empowerment and possibility.

Bridget Backhaus received funding for part of this research from the Melbourne Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund alongside the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.

Kerrie Foxwell-Norton received funding for part of this research from the Melbourne Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund alongside the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia. She has received funding from the Australian Research Council on projects relating to community media.

– ref. At Fitzroy Crossing and around Australia, community radio empowers local responses to climate impacts – https://theconversation.com/at-fitzroy-crossing-and-around-australia-community-radio-empowers-local-responses-to-climate-impacts-197679

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luzita Fereday, Lecturer in Voice at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts., Edith Cowan University

If you’ve seen any of the videos or interviews with Austin Butler at the recent Golden Globes you may have noticed he still sounds a bit like Elvis. In fact, many people have noted that despite being from California, he still sounds like he’s from the Deep South.

For actors, learning a new accent is incredibly demanding. Accent assimilation is a rigorous process that often requires listening deeply to archive material, documentaries, movies and interviews and observing linguistic details.

Austin Butler in his role as Elvis shows how an actor must be acutely responsive to the specifics of an accent, role, script style and demands of the film.

The actor works with a dialect coach, starting months or years before filming. The coach provides source recordings (a real person, for example, Elvis) and an accent breakdown. The actor will listen to the sound samples at every opportunity for total immersion.

Significant practice and repetition are needed to integrate a new accent. Coaching includes layering all the elements to give an accent a solid foundation, slowly building from words to sentences, with the dialect coach providing continuous feedback until the actor is speaking in accent easily and consistently.

A little less conversation a little more action

In cases where an actor is portraying an iconic figure, such as Elvis, there is huge responsibility to be convincing in the role. This can lead to actors staying in-accent for many months or years.

Examples of performers in this situation include Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles, Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy, Meryl Streep as Julia Child, and Ben Kingsley as Gandhi.

British actor Idris Elba told the Guardian it took moving to New York and three years of practising to get his American accent believable for his role in The Wire.

Australian actor Nicole Kidman when rehearsing for Nine Perfect Strangers would stay in accent all day, including at home with her family. Over five months the actors she was working with did not hear her Australian accent until the day filming ended.

US actor Forest Whitaker, when faced with the challenge of Idi Amin’s accent in The Last King of Scotland, admitted he practised even when he wasn’t on set in an effort to stay immersed in the character.

There was one time into rehearsals that I dropped it because I had to go down and meet all the dignitaries, and it took me days to get it back. I was so frightened because I was there a month before and I was like, ‘this is not going to happen again, I am not going to lose this character’.

What is role spill?

Actors who live the part of a role, integrating accent, body, imagination and feelings may, post production, experience role spill. This is known in the acting community as boundary blurring: when the actor is finding it difficult to separate themselves from the character they’re playing and blurring the lines between professional and private roles.

Your voice is a direct expression of who you are and your experiences. The fusing of personal identity with characters is crucial to the craft of an actor. However, some actors can lose their “idiolect” (their individual way of speaking) and can retain features of accents they may have used for their character.

An actor that completely loses himself in a role is Gary Oldman. Originally from South London, but having spent many years living in America, he has had to relearn his English accent for a film character in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Margot Robbie told Grazia magazine that during filming I, Tonya, she “genuinely thought” a conversation she was having with fellow actor Sebastian Stan who played Tonya’s abusive husband, was real. The feelings and emotions can become so intensive they felt like the actor’s own.

De-roling

The term de-roling refers to a technique which is thought to have originated within dramatherapy and psychodrama to assist the actor in “disrobing” or letting go of certain physical character traits that are not their own once they finish performing.

It’s a process that can help actors shed intense emotions or characters, and it’s crucial to the health of an artist. This can be done by shaking out the body and doing physical activities such as jumping and running on the spot to shake off the character. In addition to this, it can include taking deep breaths and vocal exercises including humming to release vocal fold tension and let go of negative emotions. In theatre, the ensemble or cast can agree to de-role together before leaving the theatre.

It can be difficult to de-role for an actor who has invested significant commitment to a successful transformation of accent, body and character. It can take months for an actor to feel they have let the character go, especially if they felt a strong synergy and connection with the character.

Speaking about her role as Mare Sheehan in the crime series Mare of Easttown, Kate Winslet explained “it was the hardest thing to let go of” and “she got under my skin…”

Once an actor moves on to a new project or spends time with close friends and family they may revert back to how they sounded before – or maybe not. Varying your speech sounds is not likely to affect an actor’s work opportunities in the future – arguably the more fluid you sound the better.

Luzita Fereday does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Why is Austin Butler still speaking in his Elvis voice? It could be a case of ‘role spill’ – https://theconversation.com/why-is-austin-butler-still-speaking-in-his-elvis-voice-it-could-be-a-case-of-role-spill-197704

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chrystal Zhang, Associate professor, RMIT University

A Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 aircraft crashed in Pokhara in central Nepal on January 15 2023, killing at least 68 passengers on board. The aircraft was en route from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to Pokhara, the country’s second largest city, situated under the picturesque Annapurna mountain range.

While the picturesque landscape of the country appeals to tourists, it poses significant challenges to aviation operators, who need to embrace and navigate the challenging environment.

The air crash on Sunday was Nepal’s worst aviation disaster since 1992. The country has been working to overcome its challenges in aviation.

A challenging landscape

Topography has gifted Nepal with picturesque landscapes, but posits unrivalled challenges to flight operations.

Nepal, situated between India and China, is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest or Sagarmāthā. For flight operations, it’s an almost unrivalled, harsh environment with sudden weather changes that can make for hazardous conditions.

Airports built in mountainous regions often need to have shorter runways that can only accommodate turboprop-powered regional aircraft, rather than large jet airliners that can access larger cities in Nepal.

As a result, aviation carriers in Nepal have a variety of aircraft on their fleets. These craft vary in condition, presenting potential safety hazards.

The ATR 72 aircraft is one typical aircraft used by Nepali carriers. It is a turboprop-powered regional aircraft with a capacity between 44 and 78 passengers. These aircraft are manufactured by a joint venture of Airbus in France and Leonardo in Italy.

The aircraft involved in this crash had been in service for 15 years, a fairly typical age for an aircraft.

The final report on what happened to the tragic Yeti Airlines flight will take over a month to complete.

A growing and fast-changing industry

Nepal has welcomed private investment into its aviation sector since 1992. Yeti Airlines is one of 20 domestic carriers. The airline, headquartered in Kathmandu, flies to ten domestic destinations using ATR 72-500 aircraft. In addition, 29 international airlines operate into Nepal’s capital too.

With air travel in Nepal becoming more accessible and affordable, airport infrastructure development has remained far behind compared to the growth of air traffic. This has resulted in increasing congestion at airports, fare competition between airlines, and decreased safety records.

In fact, the country has recorded at least 350 casualties associated with aeroplanes or helicopters since 2000, which has raised questions about the effectiveness of its aviation safety regulations.

The aviation regulator in charge is the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, a government agency established in 1998.

Working hard to improve

Nepal became a member of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in 1960. This membership obliges the country to abide by international conventions, ICAO’s regulations, standards, and recommended practices in aviation safety.

While Nepal’s aviation industry has made significant efforts to improve safety, unfortunately the safety record still doesn’t match up with the requirements of other civil aviation authorities.

In particular, the European Union banned all Nepali airlines from operating in the bloc’s airspace in 2013 after ICAO raised a red flag. That ban still hasn’t been lifted, and Nepal remains on the EU Air Safety List.

Despite the tragic casualty record, Nepal has stepped up its efforts to improve aviation safety. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has been focusing on improving safety in Nepali aviation – such as building improvements at airports, upgrading safety equipment, and fostering a positive safety culture by encouraging hazard reporting.

Nepal’s considerable improvement in safety measures and compliance with international standards was recognised by ICAO in 2018. However, the country must continue work on its aviation reform to make its skies safe for everyone.

Chrystal Zhang no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.

– ref. Why does Nepal’s aviation industry have safety issues? An expert explains – https://theconversation.com/why-does-nepals-aviation-industry-have-safety-issues-an-expert-explains-197901

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toni Hay, Expert in Indigenous climate adaptation, Indigenous Knowledge

The devastating floods sweeping through the Kimberley region of Western Australia have caused unimaginable destruction, leaving remote Indigenous communities stranded in its aftermath.

Heartbreaking reports detail community members desperately seeking assistance from loved ones in Perth. In one case, over 40 people were forced to seek refuge under one roof — unable to access emergency shelters filled beyond capacity.

Some Kimberley locals have taken matters into their own hands by using local boats for search and rescue missions. The government has also since begun organising delivering supplies to these communities in need. However, Derby Shire Council President Geoff Haerewa told the Guardian he felt authorities could have done “a lot more” to prepare for the flooding.

Climate disasters are no longer unprecedented, with both scientists and First Nations people warning of future disaster weather events. Australia needs to do better with disaster prevention, so vulnerable communities don’t have to go through this again.

Atmospheric rivers

Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow lanes of moist air transported in the atmosphere. According to the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, these weather patterns can be beneficial for breaking droughts. However they can contribute to heavy flooding, as we saw in last year’s floods in South East Queensland and NSW.

Scientists have identified that higher sea surface temperatures, increased concentrations of atmospheric rivers, and other climate-related events can lead to more severe floods, storms, droughts, and heatwaves.

Atmospheric rivers have devastated the Kimberley region with its highest level of rain since records began in 1904. Some areas received as much as 831mm of rain in a single week. Intense storms and cyclones in Western Australia have also caused heavy rainfall over the past several months.

Disaster management plans need to consider Indigenous peoples

Indigenous communities are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Yet, current Australian disaster risk management approaches fail to consider the needs of Indigenous communities, such as housing shortages and reduced access to medical services. This leaves them vulnerable to disaster events like flooding. Most towns and communities in WA have no climate adaptation plans in place.

Some Indigenous communities in Australia are reliant on bush food and hunting for sustenance, especially for those living in outlying areas. These activities are made impossible when flood events occur, heightening pre-existing food insecurity issues faced within disaster-affected homelands.

Read more:
Like rivers in the sky: the weather system bringing floods to Queensland will become more likely under climate change

Floods can also bring many health issues for local communities. Dangers include contaminated drinking water and being cut off from medical care and supplies due to infrastructure damage, as we are seeing now in the Kimberley region. Large amounts of standing water can also create an ideal environment for mosquitoes carrying viruses.

The aftermath of natural disasters can be especially devastating with physical damage to peoples’ homes and loss of community infrastructure – often accompanied by extreme financial hardship. For First Nations people, there is a deep spiritual impact as well. Some peoples are put under strain through loss of access to culturally important areas, or evacuation orders separating communities from their respective Countries.

More must be done to ensure the safety of communities whose remote location makes them vulnerable, including First Nations people. Indigenous communities need access to culturally sensitive and appropriate resources, better roads and infrastructure, water management systems, early warning systems and emergency preparedness programs. These communities also need long-term recovery plans made available after disaster events like this. Such as training and skills development, support for business recovery, and access to financial resources and culturally safe mental health support.

What we can learn from Indigenous flood knowledge

Indigenous knowledge from the Kimberley region could provide insight into climate change impacts. Stories and practices passed down through generations of First Nations peoples show how some cultures have addressed changing climates by finding ways to survive extreme weather events and looking after the land.

One example is the story “The Flood Ngawarra-kurlu” where an old man warned of rain coming, which would lead to flooding, and recommended people don’t sleep in creek beds. The people didn’t listen, resulting in them losing their belongings to the flood. This highlights the valuable lesson to governments of not building in flood plains.

Another is the East Kimberley Mulan peoples’ story “The Two Dingoes” which describes visible signs of incoming floods. The colour of the water coming through Sturt Creek and Paruku indicates how long communities will need to relocate to avoid flooding (milky colour water means a few months, red means a few days).

It’s time we include Indigenous knowledge when creating disaster risk management strategies and climate change adaptation plans. This is also in line with the reform commitments made by all Australian governments in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

In doing this, we can create more effective tools and methods to protect vulnerable people. This could ensure more comprehensive protection, and also have the potential to foster a greater appreciation of Indigenous cultures and experiences. It is through such collaboration we can create a better future for all communities in the face of climate change.

Toni Hay is Director for Indigenous Climate Change providing climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction services.

Courtney-Jay Williams works for Indigenous Climate Change providing climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction services.

– ref. Disastrous floods in WA – why were we not prepared? – https://theconversation.com/disastrous-floods-in-wa-why-were-we-not-prepared-197407

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toni Hay, Expert in Indigenous climate adaptation, Indigenous Knowledge

The devastating floods sweeping through the Kimberley region of Western Australia have caused unimaginable destruction, leaving remote Indigenous communities stranded in its aftermath.

Heartbreaking reports detail community members desperately seeking assistance from loved ones in Perth. In one case, over 40 people were forced to seek refuge under one roof — unable to access emergency shelters filled beyond capacity.

Some Kimberley locals have taken matters into their own hands by using local boats for search and rescue missions. The government has also since begun organising delivering supplies to these communities in need. However, Derby Shire Council President Geoff Haerewa told the Guardian he felt authorities could have done “a lot more” to prepare for the flooding.

Climate disasters are no longer unprecedented, with both scientists and First Nations people warning of future disaster weather events. Australia needs to do better with disaster prevention, so vulnerable communities don’t have to go through this again.

Atmospheric rivers

Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow lanes of moist air transported in the atmosphere. According to the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, these weather patterns can be beneficial for breaking droughts. However they can contribute to heavy flooding, as we saw in last year’s floods in South East Queensland and NSW.

Scientists have identified that higher sea surface temperatures, increased concentrations of atmospheric rivers, and other climate-related events can lead to more severe floods, storms, droughts, and heatwaves.

Atmospheric rivers have devastated the Kimberley region with its highest level of rain since records began in 1904. Some areas received as much as 831mm of rain in a single week. Intense storms and cyclones in Western Australia have also caused heavy rainfall over the past several months.

Disaster management plans need to consider Indigenous peoples

Indigenous communities are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Yet, current Australian disaster risk management approaches fail to consider the needs of Indigenous communities, such as housing shortages and reduced access to medical services. This leaves them vulnerable to disaster events like flooding. Most towns and communities in WA have no climate adaptation plans in place.

Some Indigenous communities in Australia are reliant on bush food and hunting for sustenance, especially for those living in outlying areas. These activities are made impossible when flood events occur, heightening pre-existing food insecurity issues faced within disaster-affected homelands.

Read more:
Like rivers in the sky: the weather system bringing floods to Queensland will become more likely under climate change

Floods can also bring many health issues for local communities. Dangers include contaminated drinking water and being cut off from medical care and supplies due to infrastructure damage, as we are seeing now in the Kimberley region. Large amounts of standing water can also create an ideal environment for mosquitoes carrying viruses.

The aftermath of natural disasters can be especially devastating with physical damage to peoples’ homes and loss of community infrastructure – often accompanied by extreme financial hardship. For First Nations people, there is a deep spiritual impact as well. Some peoples are put under strain through loss of access to culturally important areas, or evacuation orders separating communities from their respective Countries.

More must be done to ensure the safety of communities whose remote location makes them vulnerable, including First Nations people. Indigenous communities need access to culturally sensitive and appropriate resources, better roads and infrastructure, water management systems, early warning systems and emergency preparedness programs. These communities also need long-term recovery plans made available after disaster events like this. Such as training and skills development, support for business recovery, and access to financial resources and culturally safe mental health support.

What we can learn from Indigenous flood knowledge

Indigenous knowledge from the Kimberley region could provide insight into climate change impacts. Stories and practices passed down through generations of First Nations peoples show how some cultures have addressed changing climates by finding ways to survive extreme weather events and looking after the land.

One example is the story “The Flood Ngawarra-kurlu” where an old man warned of rain coming, which would lead to flooding, and recommended people don’t sleep in creek beds. The people didn’t listen, resulting in them losing their belongings to the flood. This highlights the valuable lesson to governments of not building in flood plains.

Another is the East Kimberley Mulan peoples’ story “The Two Dingoes” which describes visible signs of incoming floods. The colour of the water coming through Sturt Creek and Paruku indicates how long communities will need to relocate to avoid flooding (milky colour water means a few months, red means a few days).

It’s time we include Indigenous knowledge when creating disaster risk management strategies and climate change adaptation plans. This is also in line with the reform commitments made by all Australian governments in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

In doing this, we can create more effective tools and methods to protect vulnerable people. This could ensure more comprehensive protection, and also have the potential to foster a greater appreciation of Indigenous cultures and experiences. It is through such collaboration we can create a better future for all communities in the face of climate change.

Toni Hay is Director for Indigenous Climate Change providing climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction services.

Courtney-Jay Williams works for Indigenous Climate Change providing climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction services.

– ref. Disastrous floods in W.A – why were we not prepared? – https://theconversation.com/disastrous-floods-in-w-a-why-were-we-not-prepared-197407

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Freeman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Bond University

Maybe you’ve had a skin cancer removed from your face or body. Perhaps you had an injury or accident and needed stitches. However you came by a cut on your skin, you probably want to make it appear as small as possible as quickly as possible and avoid a longer-lasting scar.

In order to minimise scar formation we need to address wound healing, which is a complex process.

It has three major phases: inflammation, proliferation and remodelling. These are orchestrated by special body signalling chemicals acting on the skin’s layers. The majority of scar formation occurs within the first six months after an injury.

So, what can you do to assist this process and support healing?

The inflammation phase

The inflammation phase occurs immediately to remove bacteria and bring in the blood supply.

The first goal of wound care is to avoid bacteria coming into contact with the body’s insides, because these will impair normal wound healing. So keep it clean.

Ideally bacteria will be removed from the skin if a wound is anticipated, such as before surgery. Cleaning the wound to remove bacteria and bacterial spores is critical to good healing and should be done within two hours of any injury.

Don’t let any dirt remain in a wound even if that means scrubbing with soap and water after a fall on the ground. A one-off application of povidone-iodine (sold in Australia as Betadine) will help lessen the chance of bacterial spore activation.

Your body’s natural reaction includes the formation of hydrogen peroxide. Unfortunately external application of this natural antiseptic can slow wound healing. Only weak antiseptic solutions containing silver (with proper advice from your doctor or pharmacist) can improve scar formation.

Read more:
Health Check: do we have to clean out our pores?

The proliferation phase

During this phase, the blood vessel cells, the epidermal cells and the fibroblasts multiply.

The fibroblasts (a type of cell that helps makes collagen to support connective tisues) cause scar contraction, which can “pucker” the skin. Scars tend to be white and a little shiny once the redness dies down.

Collagen, the body’s most abundant protein that helps makes skin strong, is continuously produced and broken down by the body. This can have an ongoing effect on the appearance of the mature wound for at least a further six months after scar formation.

The remodelling phase

The formation of hypertrophic scars (which are raised above the skin level but regress slowly) or keloid scars (which spread beyond the injury site and don’t regress later) is often genetically determined. It’s also partially related to the type of injury and care of the wound.

In people who develop these scars during the remodelling phase, the signal to stop the production of collagen within the wound is disrupted.

Read more:
Why do older people heal more slowly?

Try a gel or dressing

For clean, non-infected wounds, the application of a hydrogel (a polymer that retains moisture and doesn’t disolve) can actually speed healing, provided there is no infection. Use one that is suitable for application to the eye, such as Refresh Liquigel.

By keeping the wound moist, the proliferation of the surface skin cells is enhanced. When they grow out under a hard scab, it’s slowed down.

Wound gels that contain antiseptics and preservatives are best avoided in case of allergy and because antiseptics can slow down healing.

There is an intimate relationship between blood vessels and the fibroblasts. Red and itchy scars are likely to be growing, which will ultimately result in a larger scar. This is when keeping the scar covered to improve hydration can make a big difference.

Cover the scar with a silicone dressing and either a gel or a sheet for as many hours as possible.

For those prone to scarring, your pharmacist can show you an over-the-counter formulation of Zatamil Hydrogel you can use once a day for one week on and one week off. Use this under the silicone to help further reduce the scar. They might also suggest a fading cream.

A dermatologist with a vascular laser (which targets abnormal blood vessels in the skin to reduce redness) can also help, especially in the early stages of a scar.

Some final tips

Keeping the scar moist with oils is more difficult than with the silicone, but can reduce excess scarring, sometimes called “over-scarring”.

Finally, avoid overexposing the scar to sunlight. Scars can become very dark in comparison to the rest of person’s skin and ultraviolet light is the major preventable factor.

Wound healing is complex. Doctors, pharmacists and dermatologists can help advise on which of these tips will help with your specific wound.

Michael Freeman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How to treat scars at home – and hopefully make them disappear – https://theconversation.com/how-to-treat-scars-at-home-and-hopefully-make-them-disappear-193948

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato

The humanitarian aid worker Andrew Bagshaw, who has dual New Zealand and British citizenship, has been missing in Ukraine for more than ten days.

Bagshaw and his British colleague Christopher Parry worked as part of a team of Ukrainian and international volunteers delivering aid and carrying out evacuations of civilians, often under fire from Russian forces. They have not been seen since January 6, when they left the city of Kramatorsk for Soledar, in eastern Ukraine, which has since been claimed by the Russian mercenary company Wagner.

Humanitarian volunteers often represent the best of us. They are driven to put themselves at personal risk with little financial reward to reduce human suffering and the impacts of conflicts. Their ethical justifications for entering dangerous locations, despite clear warnings from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to travel to Ukraine, are often exemplary.

But aid workers are at high risk. During the past two decades, intentional attacks on aid or humanitarian workers have become a disturbing trend, often perpetrated to drive outside influences away from war zones and fully isolate populations.

It is a war crime to intentionally attack aid workers. Some, such as personnel working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations, have considerably more rights than others.

Despite this division, all aid workers are covered by basic rules. The problem is that international humanitarian law is not based on the ethics of why someone is in a war zone. This is especially the case if they are foreigners.

Read more:
Ukraine: abduction of UK aid workers raises safety questions over humanitarian organisations

Rights of foreigners who enter war zones

There are three main groups of foreigners who voluntarily go into war zones.

Some people volunteer to fight in foreign wars and are paid more than local fighters. If captured and deemed mercenaries, these people have no rights. They can be executed.

The second group are “aliens”, inadvertently caught up in a conflict in a country that is not theirs. For these people, if captured and non-combatants, they have a prima-facie right to leave the country. However, this is not an absolute right – they can still be held if their departure is contrary to the national interests of the state that captured them.

Aid workers represent the third group, and they are at increasing risk. Capturing aid workers for hostage and propaganda purposes is a repugnant trend. In recent conflicts, we’ve also seen a rise in the number of victims of collateral violence – their deaths were not intended but a result of indiscriminate force now commonly used in war zones.

More often that not, attacks on aid workers are a combination of intentional and unintentional actions. Globally, at least 460 aid workers were victims of major attacks in 2021: 140 were were killed, 203 wounded and 117 kidnapped.

Most of these attacks happened in countries such as South Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria and Ethiopia. But other conflict zones are also contributing to the figures, with growing numbers of deaths, kidnappings and wounding of aid workers recorded in Ukraine in 2022.

Read more:
Humanitarian aid workers need security, rights and better pay

International humanitarian law is clear that if a country where a war is happening consents to the presence of aid workers and they are impartial in their work, they “shall be respected and protected”.

Although Russia has withdrawn its consent to the specific convention that contains this rule, Ukraine is a signatory. The obvious problem is that Russia now considers this annexed territory to be Russian, not Ukrainian.

Irrespective of debates about ownership and consent, Russia is still bound by other rules. Russia, like Ukraine, is a party to the Hostages Convention, which prohibits and criminalises the taking of hostages, for whatever justification.

Russia is also bound by the Security Council resolution, in which it strongly condemned all forms of violence against humanitarian workers. The council, including Russia, then urged states to ensure crimes against such personnel do not go unpunished.

Read more:
Ukraine war: the bloody battle for Soledar and what it tells us about the future of the conflict

Between theory and practice on the battlefield

Despite all of these rules and obligations, there is a large gap between the theory of restraint and the practices developing in Ukraine.

It is possible that Bagshaw and other humanitarian workers have been directly caught up in the violence in Ukraine. To be operating in a war zone, which involves the indiscriminate use of force, Somme-like conditions, the possibility of war crimes and the arrival of thousands of mercenaries who often pay scant regard to rules, is extremely risky.

It is also possible they have been taken for bargaining purposes. A practice is developing in Ukraine in which combatants and non-combatants, including foreigners, are taken and traded by the belligerents. These exchanges also include the bodies of the dead.

Whichever scenario applies, this is a tragedy. We are at a point where individuals with the highest ethical motivations to provide impartial humanitarian assistance have themselves become victims: collateral in a war being conducted without honour.

Alexander Gillespie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. NZ aid worker remains missing in Ukraine: the tragedy of people motivated to help in war zones becoming victims themselves – https://theconversation.com/nz-aid-worker-remains-missing-in-ukraine-the-tragedy-of-people-motivated-to-help-in-war-zones-becoming-victims-themselves-197804

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alessandro Palci, Research Associate in Evolutionary Biology, University of Adelaide

When we think of evolution, we tend to picture slow changes occurring over very long periods of time, typically millions of years. However, evolution can actually happen much faster, over only a few generations: think COVID-19 strains, for example. And this fast evolution isn’t just restricted to viruses and microbes.

Our study, recently published in Evolutionary Biology, documents rapid evolution in tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus). In less than a century, these snakes evolved the ability to swallow whole seagull chicks, allowing them to survive on a tiny island.

Marooned survivors

Most Australians are familiar with the tiger snake, one of our most iconic animals. The snakes in our study were from Carnac Island, a tiny islet off the coast of Perth in Western Australia. They were introduced here less than a century ago, possibly dumped by a travelling snake performer to avoid trouble with the law.

These marooned tiger snakes are now adept at swallowing the large chicks of the seagulls that nest there. Adult snakes have little else to eat on this island in order to survive and reproduce.

But how did they adapt so well, and so quickly? Tiger snakes on the mainland (the ancestral stock of the snakes on Carnac Island) typically feed on much smaller creatures, especially frogs.

The secret is a process called “phenotypic plasticity”, which is a phenomenon where an organism physically changes its body within its own lifetime to match the environment it is experiencing.

Myriad examples exist: from water fleas (Daphnia) that can develop a spiky “helmet” in the presence of predators, to the tadpoles of some spadefoot toads (Spea), which morph from omnivore to carnivore bodies when exposed to environments packed with small prey (including other tadpoles!).

Rearing baby snakes

Our research team took a detailed look at how the snakes from Carnac Island have adapted to survive there. We raised some baby snakes taken from the island and some from the nearby mainland, and divided them further into two groups – one group fed on small mice, and the other on large mice.

After the snakes matured, we looked into their heads using a high-resolution version of a medical CT scanner and took measurements of the different skull bones. This showed us how the island and mainland groups responded to different prey sizes.

Read more:
How venomous snakes got their fangs

Mainland snakes always had the same head shape, regardless of whether they were fed small or large prey. But Carnac Island snakes showed an intriguing reponse: those fed large prey developed a much bigger bite, with longer jaw bones (especially in the lower jaw and palate).

Previous studies had only looked at external head dimensions. We confirmed their conclusions and further revealed exactly which skull bones were responding to the drastic dietary change.

Easy-gainers

The explanation behind our results can be more easily understood if we compare our snakes to people at a gym – a human example of phenotypic plasticity. As all gym-goers know, some people can quickly build up muscle from weight training, the so-called easy-gainers (who doesn’t envy those!), while others struggle more – hard-gainers.

The snakes from Carnac Island are easy-gainers: they have a stronger intrinsic (genetic) capability to change their shape in response to a stimulus, in this case large prey items. This means they have a higher level of phenotypic plasticity.

In any population, some individuals are more plastic than others. Of the tiger snakes marooned on Carnac Island and forced to exist on seagull chicks, the most “plastic” snakes would develop the biggest bites – and be more likely to survive and pass down their easy-gainer genes to their descendants.

Over the course of a few generations (and less than 100 years), the entire population of tiger snakes would become easy-gainers.

The march of evolution

But evolution doesn’t stop there. Eventually, genetic mutations occur so that snakes are born with longer jaws; these would have a survival advantage even over the easy-gainers (who only develop longer jaws after “training”), and eventually replace them.

Thus, a wide gape becomes fixed at birth. This phenomenon is called “trait canalisation” or “assimilation”.

In our study we observed examples of this as well: some skull bones were relatively longer in the Carnac Island snakes from birth, regardless of their diet.

So how much change has occurred in the Carnac Island snakes? We found that certain jaw bones can lengthen by about 5% simply as a result of feeding on large prey for a year.

On top of this, the bones of the snakes from Carnac Island were also about 5% longer at birth than those in the mainland snakes (because of “trait canalisation” mentioned above). The island snakes are indeed on a rapid path to evolve very big jaws to effortlessly swallow baby seabirds.

Our study delves deeply into how rapid evolution occurs in complex organisms, and shows how diet has profound effects, even greatly affecting individual skull bones. It also reveals the resilience of tiger snakes, and how their “easy-gainer” bodies help them adapt almost instantaneously to extreme new environments.

This is one of the likely reasons tiger snakes have been so successful at colonising islands.

Read more:
The sun’s shining and snakes are emerging, but they’re not out to get you. Here’s what they’re really up to

Alessandro Palci’s research is made possible by funding provided by the Australian Research Council and is currently affiliated with the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Museum.

Emma Sherratt works for University of Adelaide, is an Honorary Researcher at the South Australian Musueum, and receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Mike Lee works for Flinders University and the South Australian museum, and receives funding from the Australian Research Council

– ref. On a tiny Australian island, snakes feasting on seabirds evolved huge jaws in a surprisingly short time – https://theconversation.com/on-a-tiny-australian-island-snakes-feasting-on-seabirds-evolved-huge-jaws-in-a-surprisingly-short-time-197791

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Prema Arasu, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Western Australia

We know more about the Moon than the deep sea.

This idea has been repeated for decades by scientists and science communicators, including Sir David Attenborough in the 2001 documentary series The Blue Planet. More recently, in Blue Planet II (2017) and other sources, the Moon is replaced with Mars.

As deep-sea scientists, we investigated this supposed “fact” and found it has no scientific basis. It is not true in any quantifiable way.

So where does this curious idea come from?

Mapping the deep

The earliest written record is in a 1954 article in the Journal of Navigation, in which oceanographer and chemist George Deacon refers to a claim by geophysicist Edward Bullard.

A 1957 paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts states: “the deep oceans cover over two-thirds of the surface of the world, and yet more is known about the shape of the surface of the moon than is known about that of the bottom of the ocean”. This refers specifically to the scant amount of data available on the topography of the sea floor and predates both the first crewed descent to the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana Trench (1960), and the first Moon landing (1969).

Read more:
Just how little do we know about the ocean floor?

This quote also predates the practice of using ship-mounted echo-sounders to map the sea floor from acoustic data, known as swathe bathymetry.

Almost a quarter of the world’s sea floor (23.4%, to be precise) has been mapped to a high resolution. This amounts to about 120 million square kilometres, or about three times the Moon’s total surface area. This may be why the comparison has shifted to Mars, which has a surface area of 145 million square kilometres.

What’s more, high-resolution maps do not constitute the total sum of knowledge. The deep ocean must be considered in three dimensions – and, unlike the Moon, it is a diverse and dynamic ecosystem.

A surprising number of visitors

Another related and incorrect comparison is that more people have set foot on the Moon than have visited the deepest place on Earth.

This statement is difficult to substantiate. “The deepest place on Earth” could refer to the Mariana Trench, or just the deepest part of it (the Challenger Deep, named for the British survey ship HMS Challenger).

Nevertheless, at least 27 and as many as 40 or more people have visited the Challenger Deep as of early 2023. On the other hand, only 12 people have “set foot” on the Moon and 24 people have visited it.

Out of sight, out of mind

So why do people keep saying we know more about the Moon or Mars than the deep sea?

It feels natural to compare the deep sea to space. Both are dark, scary and far away.

But we can see the Moon very easily by simply looking up. By being able to see it, we accept an apparently glowing rock hanging in the sky more easily than that parts of the ocean are very deep. We can see the Moon wax and wane and we can experience the push and pull of the tides.

It feels like we know more about the Moon than the deep sea, because we are forced to accept its presence. It intrudes on our lives in a tangible way that the deep sea does not.

We don’t think much about the deep sea unless we’re watching a documentary or horror film, or perhaps reading about some “horrific alien-like monster” dredged up by a deep-sea trawler.

A useful analogy

Because the deep sea is so physically inaccessible, comparing it to space may offer a useful analogy for an otherwise difficult-to-imagine ecosystem. But some deep-sea scientists argue that the persistent estrangement of the deep sea minimises the vast amount of research about it that has emerged in recent decades.

Deep-sea biology is relentlessly referred to as a discipline that knows less about its own field of study than a relatively small, barren rock devoid of atmosphere, water and life. And yet this self-deprecating line is repeated by scientists themselves, who may find that highlighting the deficit of knowledge about the deep sea helps to promote the need for ocean research.

Ultimately, the idea we know more about the Moon than the deep sea is at best about 70 years out of date. We know much more about the deep sea – but there is even more left to be known.

Read more:
Final frontiers: the deep sea

Prema Arasu receives funding from Inkfish.

Alan Jamieson receives funding from the Minderoo Foundation and Inkfish.

Thomas Linley works for Armatus Oceanic Ltd. He is affiliated with The Deep-Sea Podcast.

– ref. They say we know more about the Moon than about the deep sea. They’re wrong – https://theconversation.com/they-say-we-know-more-about-the-moon-than-about-the-deep-sea-theyre-wrong-197410

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney

Over the past 12 months, significant challenges by way of policy and politics have impacted professional tennis.

Chief among them have been participation constraints around the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by considerations about the eligibility or otherwise of Russian and Belarussian competitors following the invasion of Ukraine.

With the Australian Open beginning today, where are we currently at with these quandaries?

The COVID conundrum

Public health measures during the pandemic inevitably impacted the staging of tennis tournaments, with organisers obliged to follow local protocols.

At many events this meant players needed to be vaccinated or receive a medical exemption. For the most part this wasn’t an issue. For example, in January 2022 the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) reported 97 of the top 100 men’s players were vaccinated.

This suggested most tennis professionals – much like workers in many other occupations – accepted the public health objectives underpinning vaccination. Doubtless, though, some tennis players had been vaccine hesitant, most notably Novak Djokovic, who famously declared he’d rather miss grand slams than be vaccinated against COVID.

Read more:
Djokovic admits doing photoshoot knowing he was COVID positive

Just a year ago, Djokovic attempted to take part in the Australian Open on the basis of a “medical exemption”, which prompted raised eyebrows among sceptics.

Eventually, the Serb was required to leave Australia after his visa was cancelled, a decision that caused a furore in his home country.

Djokovic says he cannot forget the experience of being deported, but hopes he will be received respectfully by fans at this year’s tournament.

As with wider society, tennis authorities have adjusted their COVID protocols over time, particularly in the wake of the “opening up” of society following widespread vaccination.

At the 2022 Australian Open, players needed to be vaccinated or medically exempt, but in 2023 there’s no such requirement. Indeed, this year there’s no COVID testing at all, and players can even take part should they contract the virus during the tournament.

The contrast over 12 months is stark, with some players finding it hard to reconcile what was required back then to now.

The Ukraine imbroglio

Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, endorsed by its ally Belarus, shows no sign of resolution.

In response to the incursion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its allies provided Ukraine with military supplies and logistical support, while implementing economic sanctions against Russia.

Tennis, like many other sports, has also been immersed in the question of sanctions; specifically, how to address the participation or otherwise of Russian and Belarussian players.

For team-based competition, the response was decisive, and pro-Western. The International Tennis Federation ruled that Russian and Belarussian teams be banned from the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. This was especially bad news for Russian tennis players, who were expecting to defend victories in both events from back in 2021.

However, in the case of tournaments focused on individuals, where athletes officially compete for themselves (and unofficially on behalf of their country), the position of tennis authorities varied.

At the first grand slam following the invasion, Wimbledon organisers, with the support of the British government, declined to accept Russian and Belarussian players.

However, this position was repudiated by both the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), which fined the All England Club.

In an effort to counter what they described as “discrimination” against sanctioned players, these international tennis bodies determined that ranking points would not be awarded at Wimbledon, which disappointed many players.

At the French Open, however, organisers deemed that players from Russia and Belarus were eligible to participate, though with the proviso they compete as “neutral” athletes – bereft of regalia, symbols, or status indicating a connection with their homeland.

This would also require, at the very least, neutrality in respect of their public position on the invasion of Ukraine. As the tournament director emphasised, if any players were to show support for Putin, sanctions would follow.

Subsequently, the US Open also allowed Russian and Belarusian participants, again under an expectation of neutrality. The tournament organisers expressed their “concern about holding the individual athletes accountable for the actions and decisions of their governments”.

Meanwhile, though, ordinary Russians are not treated as “neutrals” by NATO and its allies: they have been collectively penalised by Western sanctions, thus being made accountable for Putin’s war.

Read more:
Boycotts in sport may not advance human rights. But they do harm individual athletes

In 2023, the Australian Open – like the US and French Open – announced that “neutral” tennis players from Russia and Belarus are welcome. This incensed the Ukrainian ambassador in Canberra, who labelled Tennis Australia’s position as “unprincipled”.

However, Daniil Medvedev, the leading Russian men’s player, expressed relief at being able to play, asserting a personal commitment to “peace”.

On the other hand, Belarusian tennis star Aryna Sabalenka complained that playing under a neutral flag at the Australian Open makes her feel she is “from nowhere”.

Cheers and jeers

So, how might these political issues impact this year’s Australian Open?

Novak Djokovic is back in town, chasing an incredible tenth singles title. After a year’s absence he remains a polarising figure. How will tennis fans respond?

And what of the Russian and Belarusian players? No player from either country competed at Wimbledon in 2022, and none featured as finalists at last year’s French and US Open. There’s an opportunity in Melbourne for that trend to change.

With these background tensions in mind, Australian Open boss Craig Tiley has instructed security to be on a tight leash in the event of booing, declaring: “If [fans] disrupt the enjoyment of anyone else – boom, they are out. We don’t want them on site. They can stay away or we will kick them out”.

Daryl Adair does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The 2023 Australian Open pauses a year of profound political tensions in tennis – https://theconversation.com/the-2023-australian-open-pauses-a-year-of-profound-political-tensions-in-tennis-197397

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney

When is a surgeon not a surgeon? It’s a riddle that’s long puzzled regulators and consumers. But it may soon be solved.

State and territory health ministers have decided to restrict the title “surgeon” to specialist doctors. The move represents a significant change in Australian medical regulation.

So, if you’re thinking of having cosmetic surgery in 2023 (or beyond), these reforms might help you choose the right health professional.

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What’s the problem?

For as long as cosmetic enhancements have been offered in Australia, there have been no rules about which medical practitioners can call themselves cosmetic surgeons.

Consequently, any registered medical practitioner may call themselves a cosmetic surgeon in Australia, even though other specialist titles are protected under legislation.

A “plastic surgeon”, for instance, needs to have completed postgraduate training in surgery certified by the Australian Medical Council and Medical Board of Australia. In doing so, they attain the Australian equivalent of “board certification”, a term you might be familiar with from American TV shows, such as Botched.

Read more:
Who’s the best doctor for a tummy tuck or eyelid surgery? The latest review doesn’t actually say

How did we get here?

Arguments about who should be allowed call themselves a cosmetic surgeon have persisted for more than 20 years.

In 1999, the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission detailed the risks and dangers of the lack of restrictions in its Cosmetic Surgery Report.

The report recommended all medical practitioners who performed invasive surgery as surgeons be trained to the standard required of Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

These reforms have never been adopted, partly due to resistance from some doctors. These doctors have argued they are entitled to call themselves surgeons because they hold the traditional medical degree, called the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). Despite its name, the degree provides only rudimentary surgical training.

Read more:
Friday essay: the ugly history of cosmetic surgery

What’s happened since?

The number of cosmetic surgery procedures has increased over the past 20 years.

Social media continues to popularise treatments, such as buccal (cheek) fat removal and the Brazilian butt lift. Many of these surgeries expose the patient to significant risks of harm.

Allegations of unsafe surgeons dubbed “cosmetic cowboys” have surfaced in the media. And the range and seriousness of complaints about unsafe cosmetic treatments (some leading to fatal outcomes) have been of increasing concern to governments and regulators.

In 2018, these concerns triggered a NSW parliamentary inquiry and led to a new code of conduct for health organisations, which came into effect last September.

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What do normal labia look like? Sometimes doctors are the wrong people to ask

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has also recently taken action. Some of the doctors mentioned in media coverage have had their medical practice restricted or have been suspended from practice altogether.

AHPRA has also formulated (but not finalised) an endorsement system to set new standards for cosmetic surgeons. It’s also established a cosmetic surgery enforcement unit to enhance complaints and investigations through a cosmetic surgery complaints hotline.

However, some have criticised these changes as inadequate.

Read more:
Who is our health regulator, AHPRA, and does it operate effectively?

What happens now?

In December last year and after public consultation, Australian health ministers decided to implement legislation that restricts the title of “surgeon”.

The consultation report warned that doctors’ continuing use of the title “cosmetic surgeon” might not just diminish public confidence, but chafe against recent updates to the health practitioner law intended to make health regulators, such as AHPRA, put consumer protection first.

Soon, these legal amendments will restrict the title “surgeon” to doctors holding “specialist registrations” in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, or ophthalmology.

Read more:
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What does this mean for doctors and consumers?

Although the new law is yet to be drafted, the impact of the change may be significant – for doctors and consumers alike.

Some doctors who have long promoted themselves as surgeons will be prevented from doing so, with disciplinary action or even prosecution on the cards should they continue to call themselves surgeons.

For consumers, the longstanding riddle about who is a “real” surgeon may soon be a little clearer.

Will this fix things?

Will this completely solve the problem of increased complaints and injuries in cosmetic surgery? That’s unlikely.

It still remains unclear how AHPRA’s new approach will interact with the new restricted title, or how demanding the new accreditation standards for endorsed cosmetic surgeons will be.

In the meantime, it’s still important for consumers to inform themselves about the skills and training of their chosen practitioner. They can check the doctor’s AHPRA registration and identify whether they’re a member of any relevant society, such as the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Having said that, the forthcoming changes to the meaning of the phrase “cosmetic surgeon” promises to make that homework just a little simpler.

Christopher Rudge was formerly a legal research associate at the Medical Council of New South Wales.

Cameron Stewart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Thinking about cosmetic surgery? At last, some clarity on who can call themselves a surgeon – https://theconversation.com/thinking-about-cosmetic-surgery-at-last-some-clarity-on-who-can-call-themselves-a-surgeon-196947

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Griffith, Professor of Avian Behavioural Ecology, Macquarie University

When you hear beautiful birdsong, such as the warbling of the Australasian magpie, you might believe it’s a sign of intense competition for territory or showing off to attract a mate.

After all, that’s the way birdsong is often thought of – a way for male birds to compete with each other. A prettier version of nature red in tooth and claw, as Tennyson put it. There’s some truth to it – in many species, even the most beautiful song by a male in another’s territory will invite attack.

But birdsong isn’t one dimensional. In some species, birdsong is much less about competition and much more about social cooperation. Our study of highly social zebra finches found the song of the males boosts social cohesion in local populations. It even helps these tiny birds to coordinate their nest building, mating and reproduction when there’s about to be abundant food for their young.

So when you hear a melodious song, enjoy it. Nature isn’t just about competition. More and more, we’re learning cooperation is there too. In some species, birdsong promotes harmony at a species level – and boost bonding between a male and his partner.

What did we find?

Zebra finches travel in large flocks through Australia’s arid interior, looking for seeds. They’re highly social, and are known as a bird species able to learn new songs.

Zebra finches are one of Australia’s most-studied birds, because they’re easy to keep in captivity. But to discover how they act in the wild, we had to go remote to a study area near Broken Hill.

To capture their song, we installed more than 20 microphones and recorded them from dawn to dusk every four days over a whole year.

We chose this species because the males sing their own individually distinctive songs – and they do it relatively quietly, compared to the loudspeaker bugling of, say, a currawong.

That’s important. When birds sing softly, it’s a sign the song isn’t a warning about territory. Zebra finch songs can be heard only by birds within a few metres, and they’re often sung when birds perch together in the same bush. So why do they do it? When each male sings their own unmistakable songs, it lets others in the group figure out who is singing – and gauge how many males are close by.

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Listen for yourself. The two songs below are from male zebra finches – but they’re clearly very different from each other.

What happens when you play one male’s song to another male? In more territorial and less social species, it would provoke a aggressive response. But in zebra finches, it has the opposite effect. It actually draws in other males closer to share the same space. That’s why you can often hear multiple males sing together in the same bush.

Song for social bonding

On our recordings, we heard zebra finches every day – even though it was in 2019, when one of the worst droughts in the last 100 years made conditions very poor. No finches even attempted to breed.

But then the climate cycle shifted from drought to rains and flood. Water drove grass growth – and that meant seeds were coming. The finches sensed this and began mating.

As the drought broke, we heard the males sing more, peaking around the time the female birds laid their eggs. This suggests zebra finch song is part of an ongoing “discussion” between a female and her partner, which helps synchronise their activity. Song is likely to be related to how birds feel. When food is abundant birds feel better and sing more. When individual finches hear lots of singing in the area they know others are also enjoying the conditions and it gives greater confidence in the decision to start breeding.

So if zebra finch males don’t sing to claim territory, are they doing it to show off to prospective mates? Nope. In these remarkable birds, the males tend to sing after they’ve found a partner. They sing to her while perching next to her on a branch, and they will sing regularly – even daily – over the years of their relationship.

The females of most singing species sing too. Female zebra finches, however, don’t sing.

We believe the serenading of the female zebra finch by her partner may play a similar social function to the commonplace song duets you can hear from Australian songbirds in suburbs or in the bush.

For instance, magpie-lark couples will sing a duet while doing a kind of dance, making distinctive, synchronised wing spreading, shoulder raising and body flicking movements.

These duets help to strengthen the pair’s bond and help them coordinate their behaviour. These synchronised songs and visual displays also show the strength of their partnership, which can make territory intruders think twice. For zebra finches, it may be the male’s constant song is enough to keep the pair well bonded.

Australia is rightly famous for its birds, from raucous cockatoos to melodious songbirds. After all, birdsong evolved here first and spread to the rest of the world.

Now we know the zebra finch uses song as social bonding, we can look for this in other species around the world. We expect many other gregarious species will use song in ways more complex than marking territory or drawing in mates.

Birdsong is the animal sound we most regularly encounter – it’s part of the background of our lives. But for birds, it’s far beyond a pretty melody. It’s fundamental to how they live and who they are as a species.

Read more:
Only the lonely: an endangered bird is forgetting its song as the species dies out

Simon Griffith receives funding from The Australian Research Council, and this work was supported by a grant to Marc Naguib from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

Hugo Loning is doing a PhD supported by a grant to Marc Naguib from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

– ref. Birdsong isn’t just competition for mates or territory. Zebra finches sing to bond – https://theconversation.com/birdsong-isnt-just-competition-for-mates-or-territory-zebra-finches-sing-to-bond-197531

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lachie Scarsbrook, DPhil Student, University of Oxford

Aotearoa New Zealand is home to an incredible diversity of lizards (mokomoko) – more than 120 species are identified, and counting.

Elusive species are being (re)discovered in cracks and crevices in remote areas, while geneticists are using DNA to untangle hidden diversity in widespread populations.

We’ve known for a long time that Hoplodactylus geckos living on rocky islands in the Cook Strait were a little different from their northern counterparts. They are smaller, have different patterns and possess unique DNA fingerprints – all indicating a new species.

The arrival of rats, coupled with the burning of native forests centuries ago, complicated this taxonomic task by driving geographically intermediate mainland populations to extinction. With those crucial puzzle pieces missing, it was unclear how significant the observed differences between northern and southern populations were.

It wasn’t until we used new methods of analysing ancient DNA on those extinct populations that we realised northern and southern Hoplodactylus geckos were quite different indeed – they had been separated for over five million years. Our new research describes these populations as different species.

Mistaken identity

Before now, all living Hoplodactylus populations were known as Duvaucel’s gecko, named after French naturalist Alfred Duvaucel.

In the early 19th century, Duvaucel travelled through India, where he acquired various plants and animals to ship back to Paris. Among these samples was a jar of pickled geckos of a species that was later named Hoplodactylus duvaucelii in his honour.

Scientists later realised the assumption that Duvaucel’s geckos lived in Bengal, India, was incorrect, as no similar geckos were ever found in Asia. Hoplodactylus geckos are only found in Aotearoa and, at up to 30 cm in length, they are our largest living lizards.

What’s in a name?

Taxonomy is the study of how different lineages relate to one another. Funding and conservation efforts are often dependent on taxonomic recognition. Robust taxonomic work is critical to conservation.

Once published, scientific names can be impossible to change. This is to limit petty and confusing changes. However, this practice can also “lock in” names that honour historical figures who have fallen from social grace, as well as misspellings and names of little significance to the communities where the species lives.

We wanted to ensure our newly identified species of gecko was appropriately named. We approached Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, mana whenua of Ngāwhatu-Kai-ponu (the Brothers Islands) in Cook Strait, home to the largest surviving population of the “new” gecko. They proposed the te reo Māori common name te mokomoko a Tohu (scientific name: Hoplodactylus tohu).

Tohu Kākahi, with whakapapa (genealogical) ties to Te Ātiawa, was a pacifist who was taken prisoner by British forces during the invasion of Parihaka in Taranaki.
He was transported to Whakatū (Nelson) and then passed the Brothers Islands while being taken south along the prehistoric range of te mokomoko a Tohu to Ōtepoti (Dunedin). This legacy is now immortalised in the name of this special gecko.

The North Island Hoplodactylus populations retain the name Duvaucel’s gecko following International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) rules.

As a globally applied system, scientific naming conventions sometimes conflict with regional perspectives and values: non-Roman characters (such as macrons) cannot be used, for example, and it may seem that long-standing traditional names are being replaced. Formulation of most new scientific names does not include consultation with Indigenous communities. Women, people of colour and Indigenous people remain underrepresented in species names or as authors of new species.

Read more:
A new method of extracting ancient DNA from tiny bones reveals the hidden evolutionary history of New Zealand geckos

Currently, the legality and ethics of how to select a taxonomic name, who chooses it and what root languages are used are subject to heated debate. As yet, there are no widely supported solutions.

Our naming of te mokomoko a Tohu is just one example of how researchers might approach the naming of new species. Taxonomic and Indigenous names and perspectives constitute different systems, yet those systems are not inherently incompatible. How names are formed and used can be very important, and convey respect to these species and to the communities for whom they are a taonga (treasure).

How to save a species

The few remaining populations in Cook Strait are the last survivers of te mokomoko a Tohu, making them critically endangered. While these islands are currently safe havens, climate change, scrub fires and potential predator incursion pose ongoing risks.

To safeguard their survival, translocation to mainland ecosanctuaries (such as Orokonui Ecosanctuary in Otago) could be used to establish “insurance” populations in regions they once lived. If we don’t act soon, this species may disappear.

Read more:
Taxonomy, the science of naming things, is under threat

We cannot hope to stop extinctions if we don’t know what’s out there. This is why taxonomy, which is critically underfunded in Aotearoa, is so important. Our research has merely scratched the surface of understanding the diversity in New Zealand’s lizard fauna.

We desperately need scientific methods to inform evidence-based conservation management so we can be effective kaitiaki (guardians) of taonga species. Who knows what we will discover as we delve into the biological heritage of other species.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Meet te mokomoko a Tohu: a new species of New Zealand gecko hidden in plain sight – https://theconversation.com/meet-te-mokomoko-a-tohu-a-new-species-of-new-zealand-gecko-hidden-in-plain-sight-195093

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Rice, Professor of Law; Kim Santow Chair of Law and Social Justice, University of Sydney

The Iranian government has attempted to brutally suppress the widespread protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022.

Central to Iran’s response have been the country’s “revolutionary courts”. They have conducted heavily-criticised trials resulting in at least four executions, while over 100 protesters are in considerable danger of imminent execution.

Criminal trials in these courts often occur behind closed doors presided over by clerics, with none of the standard guarantees of criminal procedure such as allowing time and access to lawyers to prepare a defence.

Submissions to the United Nations from Iranian civil society organisations report that lawyers are routinely denied access to clients, and that coerced confessions, often obtained by torture, are used as evidence.

Tara Sepehri Far, senior Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch, describes the trials as “a total travesty of justice”.

Read more:
Iran executes first protester as human rights abuses come under international scrutiny

Unfair trials

Criminal trials that are unfair by international standards have been a feature of the Iranian legal system since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The courts were established to try opponents of the regime who face ill-defined national security charges that carry the death penalty. Such vague charges include waging war against God (“Moharebeh”), corruption on Earth (“Ifsad fel Arz”), and armed rebellion (“baghi”).

The courts are integral to the consolidation of Islamist power which began within a few months of the revolution. As is apparent from the structure of the Iranian government, the courts complement the role of para-state organs such as the Basij.

The Basij is a paramilitary organisation formed very soon after the revolution. It supports the guidance patrol, known colloquially as the morality police.

The Basij is essential to the Iranian authoritarian state. It sits under the command of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, and is fiercely loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The United States Treasury has imposed sanctions on senior members of the Basij, and on a network of businesses it believes is financing the organisation.

Human rights obligations

The revolutionary courts’ secret trials, vague charges, denial of lawyers, and evidence obtained by coercion and torture have focused attention on Iran’s flagrant and persistent breaches of its international human rights obligations.

In 1975, Iran ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to life and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has stated the death penalty is not consistent with these guarantees, putting Iran in breach of its international human rights obligations.

The guarantee of a right not to be tortured is repeated in the Convention Against Torture, which Iran has not ratified. It’s the only country in the Middle East to not have done so, and one of only 20 in the world.

In a periodic review of Iran’s human rights compliance, the UN recommended in 2020 that Iran ratify the treaty, end the use of torture, and credibly investigate and prosecute all allegations of torture. Iran rejected these recommendations.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran warns the executions are “a prelude to more state-sponsored murders of young people in the absence of a strong and coordinated international response”.

Hangings such as these have been characterised by opposition parties in exile as desperate efforts to forestall the inevitable overthrow of the regime, and by the US Department of State as efforts to intimidate Iranians and suppress dissent.

Will sanctions help?

Australia’s response to two executions late last year was to condemn the executions, issue a joint statement with Canada and New Zealand, and subject Iran’s morality police and the Basij to international sanctions.

Despite widespread international condemnation, Iran is following through on its pledge to continue to crackdown on the protests.

We can condemn the country’s conduct and enact sanctions, but sadly, Iran is free to persist despite sanctions if it wants.

At the very least, what international sanctions and global outrage may do is give heart and hope to the protesters, and help signal to them that the world is watching and standing with them.

Simon would like to acknowledge an Iranian-born colleague who requested anonymity for their contributions to this article.

Simon would like to thank an Iranian-born colleague who requested anonymity for their contributions to this article.

– ref. Iran executions: the role of the ‘revolutionary courts’ in breaching human rights – https://theconversation.com/iran-executions-the-role-of-the-revolutionary-courts-in-breaching-human-rights-197534

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University

Sun Cable – considered to be the world’s biggest renewable energy export project – announced this week it had entered voluntary administration following “the absence of alignment” with shareholders.

Sun Cable is expected to cost over A$30 billion. It proposes to build an enormous, 12,000 hectare solar farm in the Northern Territory, add an enormous (40 gigawatt hour) battery for electricity storage, then connect Australia to Singapore via Darwin through an undersea cable over 4,000 kilometres long. This would be by far the world’s longest electricity cable if it existed today.

It would see Darwin access 800 megawatts of additional electricity and Sun Cable could supply “up to” 15% of Singapore’s electricity by 2030. To put this into context, Singapore’s annual electricity consumption is about one quarter of Australia’s.

While this prominent and well funded project has gone into voluntary administration, those enthused about rapid decarbonisation and Australia’s renewable energy export potential need not despair. These events are part of the usual discovery processes.

Read more:
It might sound ‘batshit insane’ but Australia could soon export sunshine to Asia via a 3,800km cable

What Sun Cable promises

Sun Cable offers an enticing possibility of putting Australia’s land, and the rays of sunshine that fall on it, to use in displacing gas for electricity production in a distant land. Singapore is keen to procure renewable electricity, and has limited ability to produce that electricity itself.

The project has attracted the enthusiastic support of Australia’s two richest men: Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest. Each has already committed about $50 million to the project and both are experienced investors in renewable electricity in Australia.

When Cannon-Brookes first invested in the project he described it as “batshit insane” but also that the “engineering all checks out”.

Sun Cable is also supported by Australia’s governments. The NT government passed laws last year to facilitate its development. The federal government gave it “major project” status. And Infrastructure Australia called the project “investment ready” and placed it on its National Infrastructure Priority List.

Media commentary since Sun Cable’s announcement has drawn attention to the differences of view of its two most prominent shareholders, particularly about their differing level of support for Sun Cable’s management.

Read more:
Cannon-Brookes shakes up AGL: what now for Australia’s biggest carbon emitter

But the exact nature of their disagreement is unclear, and both men have said they remain interested in the project.

Commentators have suggested the apparent disagreement is a reflection on the commercial and technical viability of the project itself. Matthew Warren, former chief executive of the Australian Energy Council, went so far as to describe Sun Cable as “a quiet running joke inside the electricity industry” and that it:

reflected the ignorance, egos and quest for notoriety of its proponents rather than the needs of its prospective customers.

But Federal Energy and Climate Minister Chris Bowen, commenting on conversations with Sun Cable’s management, said he was assured the project would proceed. He said the latest developments reflected only a change in corporate structure and approach.

Comparable projects overseas

Sun Cable is obviously a very ambitious project. Yet much too little information is publicly available to pronounce, with any certainty, on its commercial and technical viability.

While the project will certainly break new ground, it is not totally in its own league. The similar Xlinks project was proposed overseas in 2021 and is now advancing quickly. This project would connect Morocco and England with similar capacity renewable generation and storage, and has a comparably long cable to Sun Cable’s.

Read more:
Australia needs much more solar and wind power, but where are the best sites? We mapped them all

And at the end of last year, the European Commission committed funding to a high-voltage direct current link between Tunisia in North Africa and Sicily, Italy. It would export 600 megawatts of (mainly) solar electricity produced in Tunisia.

Although a much less ambitious project than either Xlinks or Sun Cable, it is founded on the same vision of long distance inter-continental transmission of renewable electricity. And it is almost certain to proceed.

Just like fossil fuel resources, the world’s renewable resources are unevenly distributed. There are powerful incentives now, on economic and sustainability grounds, to find ways to reliably and cost effectively move renewable electricity from where those resources are abundant to where they are scarce.

No need for hand wringing

Inevitably, the latest Sun Cable developments draw attention to the questions of how best to exploit Australia’s endowment of land, sun and wind and how to capitalise on our track record as a reliable supplier with credible government and trusted courts.

For example, instead of trying to export electricity, should we focus on exporting renewably produced hydrogen or ammonia for fuel and fertilisers? Or, should we focus on using renewables to process and refine mineral resources before shipping higher-valued products (such as steel, aluminium and silicone metal) to distant shores?

These questions have attracted considerable interest from policy makers, investors and researchers – in particular, in books from economist Ross Garnaut (Superpower and The Superpower Transformation) and in former Australian chief scientist Alan Finkel’s forthcoming book Powering Up.

Both authors canvass many possibilities and neither categorically rule out direct renewable electricity export. They also suggest ore processing using renewable electricity is likely to offer great immediate value.

As best I can see, the latest Sun Cable developments provide no new publicly available information to confidently provide new insights into these issues.

Read more:
Red dirt, yellow sun, green steel: how Australia could benefit from a global shift to emissions-free steel

The outpouring of “I-told-you-so” commentary following Sun Cable’s voluntary administration is to be expected. But perhaps the main import of Sun Cable’s developments is to draw attention to Australia’s good fortune in attracting ambitious and enterprising developers, supported by rich Australians who have been successful swimming against the tide.

Rather than dipping their hands into the public’s pocket to fund the discovery of the best way to exploit Australia’s renewable resources, these enterprising people are risking their own money and reputations in a discovery process likely to benefit us all.

There is no need for a crisis of confidence or a bout of hand wringing about the viability of Australia’s renewable energy export prospects.

Disagreements arise between investors all the time. Administrative and legal processes should provide ways for these to be resolved quickly and amicably, as we should expect here. Viva the discovery process.

Bruce Mountain does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The A$30 billion Sun Cable crash is a setback but doesn’t spell the end of Australia’s renewable energy export dreams – https://theconversation.com/the-a-30-billion-sun-cable-crash-is-a-setback-but-doesnt-spell-the-end-of-australias-renewable-energy-export-dreams-197688

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicky Morrison, Professor of Planning and Director of Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University

Public concerns about high food prices highlight how meeting basic human needs can’t be taken for granted, even in a country like Australia.

Food prices are but one part of the equation that determines access to food – and healthy eating more generally. Just as poverty for some can be hidden within a relatively wealthy community, lack of access to fresh affordable foods can be a problem even in our largest cities.

Read more:
How many Australians are going hungry? We don’t know for sure, and that’s a big part of the problem

The term “food desert” describes this concern. It is believed to have been first coined in the United Kingdom. It’s now widely used in the United States and also in Australia.

People living in food deserts lack easy access to food shops. This is usually due to combinations of:

• travel distances as a result of low-density suburban sprawl

• limited transport options

• zoning policies that prohibit the scattering of shops throughout residential areas

• retailers’ commercial decisions that the household finances of an area won’t support a viable food outlet.

The term “healthy food desert” describes an area where food shops are available, but only a limited number – or none at all – sell fresh and nutritious food.

Our recent research looks at whether food deserts might exist in a major local government area in Western Sydney. We mapped locations of outlets providing food – both healthy and unhealthy food – and of local levels of disadvantage and health problems.

Our initial results are disturbing. We found nearly two-thirds of suburbs have no food stores at all. In those that have them, only 16% of the stores are healthy food outlets.

The maps also show strong correlations between these food deserts and areas of poor public health and socioeconomic disadvantage.

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How did the study assess the area?

Our research took a rapid appraisal approach to assess whether food deserts might be present in the study area.

Health data from the Australian Health Policy Collaboration indicate concerning rates of overweight and obesity, diabetes and early deaths from cardiovascular disease in these areas.

As for the physical environment, the local government area is made up of large single-use residential zones, inconvenient distances to shops, and many fast-food outlets. Walk Score ratings of the suburbs indicate how much a car is needed for almost all errands. People who don’t have a car face real hurdles to accessing affordable, healthier food options.

We used other data sets (online business directories, store locators and Google maps) to plot the locations of food outlets and make an initial assessment of the types of food they offer. We broadly classified these as “healthy” (chain-operated and independent supermarkets, multicultural grocery stores – mostly Asian and African in this area – and fruit and vegetable shops) and “unhealthy” (independent and franchise takeaway stores and certain restaurants and cafés).

We mapped the health and livability indicators and food outlets in different colours.

The coloured maps offer quick, informative and approachable appraisals of the situation. Because community members can easily interpret them, the maps may help to prompt community action to improve the situation.

Read more:
Australia is dragging its feet on healthy eating. In 5 years we’ve made woeful progress

What did the study find?

Overall, “non-healthy” food outlets account for 84% of all food outlets in the local government area.

Further, all food outlets (healthy and non-healthy) are located in 14 suburbs. This means 22 suburbs have no food stores at all. The 14 suburbs with food outlets also commonly have more – at times substantially more – unhealthy than healthy stores.

The mapping also shows a strong correlation between suburbs with large proportions of unhealthy stores and those with greater levels of disadvantage (using the Australian Bureau of Statistics index of relative socioeconomic disadvantage). The suburb ranked as the most disadvantaged, for instance, has six unhealthy food stores but no healthy food stores. Its Walk Score indicates residents depend on the car and could manage few errands by foot.

Our rapid appraisal method does not provide all the answers. Care needs to be taken to not fall into the trap of over-interpretation.

Nor should food outlets themselves be seen as a proxy for healthy or unhealthy eating. They are but one of several factors to be considered in assessing whether people are eating healthily.

Read more:
‘If only they made better life choices’ – how simplistic explanations of poverty and food insecurity miss the mark

What can be done about these issues?

It’s clear large parts of this urban area do not support residents’ health and wellbeing by providing good access to healthy food choices.

Urban policy can be effective in eliminating food deserts. Social, land use and community health actions always need to be on the ball and targeted to need.

After all, diet-related choices are not just an outcome of personal preferences. The availability of food outlets, and the range of foods they sell, can influence those choices – and, in turn, nutrition and health.

Our findings pinpoint where targeted investigations should be directed. Determining the exact nature of this lack of choice will help policymakers work out what can be done about it.

It’s an approach well worth taking throughout Australia to check where there might be similar hidden concerns.

Our study lists other proven tools to assist follow-up research that our work has shown is needed. These include:

• onsite appraisals of individual food outlets

• assessments of the freshness and affordability of items on offer

• more detailed local accessibility data

• direct surveys of residents’ experiences of their local food environments.

We all deserve to live and work in places that intrinsically support, rather than detract from, healthy choices and behaviours, and therefore our health itself.

Ruvimbo Timba, a planning officer at the NSW Department of Planning and Environment and formerly of Western Sydney University, is a co-author of this article.

Ruvimbo Timba, Planning Officer at NSW Department of Planning and Environment and formerly of Western Sydney University, is a co-author of this article.

Nicky Morrison and Gregory Paine do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Are you living in a food desert? These maps suggest it can make a big difference to your health – https://theconversation.com/are-you-living-in-a-food-desert-these-maps-suggest-it-can-make-a-big-difference-to-your-health-196477