Hobart has the highest incidence of multiple sclerosis in Australia, could our DNA provide the answers?
Hobart has one of the highest rates of MS in Australia. And while genetics can play a role, the evidence points more strongly to environmental factors. So one of the key reasons is Hobart's latitude, it's quite southern, and so there's less sunlight, which means there's lower vitamin D levels, and that's a known risk factor for developing MS. So this geographic pattern has also been seen globally, not just in Australia. So that's why research like this is important, especially in Tasmania, where MS is more common. If we can detect biological changes before symptoms appear, we might be able to intervene earlier and improve outcomes. It's about understanding who is at risk of developing MS based on their DNA, and how the immune system responds to common viruses. So what it does highlight is the importance of early detection and personalised research. And the more we understand genetic risks, the better we'll be able to support people with MS in the future.
Kylie Baxter
And just one thing more coming back to the UV exposure. So vitamin D, how is it that lack of vitamin D can increase the risk of developing MS? What is the link there? Why is that?
Tennille Luke
That is a really good question. And we're all trying to understand that in more detail. There is a link in the immune system, but scientists are still trying to answer that. And I'm not exactly the expert to answer that. So it's an ongoing research area. And we're still trying to understand the link there.
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NT's vast Cambrian Limestone Aquifer 'getting drier', new study finds
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ABC News
2 hours ago
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Black-tailed godwit joins NSW endangered species list as population dives
Scientists fear a remarkable migratory shorebird, which flies vast distances each year to reach Australia, will become extinct in the near future. The black-tailed godwit is capable of reaching speeds of 95 kilometres per hour as it flies from as far as Siberia to Australian coastlines and inland locations such as the Macquarie Marshes in western New South Wales. "Black-tailed godwits are a truly impressive bird, flying more than 10,000km twice a year to and from the Northern Hemisphere where they breed," UNSW ecologist Richard Kingsford said. "Not many other birds in Australia fly such long distances." Despite its strength and endurance, the bird was classed as endangered by the NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee in late July. Its estimated population met the "endangered" threshold of a 50 per cent to 80 per cent loss over three generations, or 23 years. The committee also added four other birds to the state's threatened species list for the first time, determining the grey plover, ruddy turnstone, sharp-tailed sandpiper, and red knot birds all met the "vulnerable" threshold of a 30 to 50 per cent population decline. All five species are migratory birds that travel to Australia through the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, an internationally recognised waterbird travelling route stretching from the Arctic Circle to New Zealand via East and South-East Asia. Citing several population studies, the committee report noted the Australian numbers of the black-tailed godwit had fallen by a minimum of 52 per cent to as high as 77.5 per cent in 23 years. It outlined how its habitat at stopovers on its long-haul journey are shrinking, competing with humans for the preferred coastal locations, and climate change and water management impacting on inland wetlands. Professor Kingsford said it was a similar story for all the birds newly added to the list, with the challenges echoed across forests and estuaries. "They're all indicative of the same problems — habitat loss and altered ecosystems — but also things like pollution, diseases and over-harvesting," he said. Using an analogy of biodiversity as an aeroplane, he described how each declining species "rattled" the ecosystem. "It's the equivalent of thinking about a plane that's stitched together with little rivets. If you start to lose those rivets, there's some point where that plane might fall out of the sky," Professor Kingsford said. Professor Kingsford said the black-tailed godwit played an important role in the ecosystem, such as its contribution to improved water quality as a predator of worms, crustaceans and molluscs in mudflats and shallow waters. He said while it faced an "imminent risk of extinction in the next 10 to 30 years", its decline along the way had also had a detrimental impact. "We depend so much on what biodiversity gives us," Professor Kingsford said. Professor Kingsford encouraged people to consider the environmental changes needed by directly addressing policy and to think longer term. "The environment, things like climate change and pollution, and flooding in rivers, these are all major threats, and most of those are really a reflection of policies by governments and communities," he said. "There's no more important way of influencing that than through the political process … not just for the next election cycle, but the next 100 years."
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2 hours ago
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Authorities aware of concerns about mother's drug use in months before baby died, coroner finds
Queensland child safety authorities were aware of concerns about a mother's drug use in the months before her baby starved to death while she was on a drug binge, a coroner has found. Warning: The following story contains content which may distress. In June 2019, the eight-month-old boy was left in a cot and not checked again for about 21 hours while his mother and her partner were doing drugs for three days. The baby had received 'no or minimal' food or fluid during that time. His cause of death was severe acute dehydration and acute malnutrition. A forensic paediatric review said the hour before his death 'would have been extremely distressing physically and emotionally'. The baby's mother and her former partner were originally charged with murder but have since pleaded guilty to his manslaughter. As part of a coronial investigation, Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard examined the 'adequacy' of the Department of Child Safety's response to known concerns about the mother's ability to care for the baby in the lead up to his death. In February 2019, authorities received two separate notifications about concerns over her ability to meet the child's medical needs. The baby was assessed as being "at risk of neglect due to inadequate basic care and emotional harm," the findings said. The next month, authorities received more information about concerns for the baby. Those included the mother's drug-taking, mental health, history of domestic and family violence and financial poverty. In early April, Child Safety launched an Investigation and Assessment (I&A) which ultimately found the child was "in need of protection". The coronial findings said there was a delay of about six weeks between the notification in February and the I&A in April. The baby was highly vulnerable due to his age and lack of visibility in the community, "so an urgent departmental response was required," the findings said. Then, between mid-April and May, there was a "lapse in departmental action" because the allocated child safety officer took leave. The case wasn't reallocated because that officer had already started the process, sighted the child, and assessed there were "no immediate harm indicators". 'While the [baby's] teenage aunt and [neighbours] observed the consequences of [the mother's] increasing drug use on her ability to care for her children, this information was not available to [authorities],' Coroner Kirkegaard said. "Delay commencing the I&A and a lapse during this phase due to the child safety officer's emergent leave without the case being reallocated, meant plans for [the mother] to undergo urine drug screening were not implemented. Around May, the baby's aunt — who was 17-years-old — began spending more time at the family's unit to make sure the child was taken care of. She bought food for the baby and got up during the night to attend to him. Child safety officers visited the mother at home in late May and discussed an Intervention with Parental Agreement (IPA) — where the department works with a parent to meet the child's needs — which the mother agreed to a few days later. An internal department review team found the decision to leave the child in her care and start an IPA was "appropriate", given "the absence of any immediate harm indicators" and the mother being assessed as willing and able to work with authorities. "That said, there was some concern about her ability to engage on a medium to long-term basis given her history of avoiding or disengaging with services," the coroner's findings said. That findings said there were "missed opportunities" for child safety officers to "record observations" of the boy's physical appearance, speak with the mother about his eating routine and "sight" formula. Child safety officers involved with the family did not observe any signs of substance use by the mother during their engagement with her over April to June, the findings said. Coroner Kirkegaard said they also did not identify the emerging pattern of her disengagement with them after 31 May as indicative of her drug use. On June 3 — just weeks before the baby's death — child safety officers completed an assessment of the mother's strengths and needs. That assessment identified "drug use, domestic violence and mental health as priority areas of concern at that time". On June 7, officers visited the family's home, but a man answered the door saying the mother was not well, and the child was not sighted. Six days later, officers tried to contact the mother to organise a home visit, but she did not answer the call. The Child Death Review Panel looked at the case and said that six-day delay was "inadequate". Officers went back to the home on June 17 for an announced home visit. "It transpires that [the mother] had tried to cancel the visit that morning but when the child safety officer insisted the visit needed to go ahead, [she] said she was at her neighbour's unit and asked that the visit take place there," the findings said. "She said her neighbour was supporting her with the [baby]. "In truth, there were dog faeces in [the] unit which she did not want child safety officers to see." The findings said it was during that visit when the mother agreed to drug screening. The child safety officers who visited the family that day also told the internal departmental review team that the child "did not appear malnourished to them". According to the findings, the Child Death Review Panel considered the mother's "non-engagement throughout the IPA should have been considered more thoroughly and triggered more intrusive intervention". The baby died on June 21. Coroner Kirkegaard found his cause of death was severe acute dehydration and acute malnutrition. She said the baby's "utterly tragic death" illustrated the "ongoing challenge for child safety and other agencies supporting families where parents have problematic substance use". She said it was "vital" for frontline officers to be equipped with adequate training and support to identify substance use and understand the risk of harm to children and infants. Coroner Kirkegaard also added she strongly encouraged the current Commission of Inquiry into Queensland's child safety system "to closely examine Child Safety's resourcing to provide early assertive intervention for families like that of this vulnerable infant". She closed the investigation. Her findings did not detail why an inquest would not be held into the baby's death. The Department of Justice has been contacted for comment. Asked about the non-inquest findings, a spokeswoman for the Department of Child Safety said the Child Protection Act prevented them from talking about individual cases, 'however when there are failing and weaknesses, we will not shy away from making changes'. She said, since 2019, the department has strengthened its responses to vulnerable infants, including by updating its practice guidelines regarding high-risk infants. It has also established an alcohol and other drugs' state-wide practice leader to assist with how risks are assessed when parents or children are using alcohol or drugs.
