Forget Me Not
Jim Rogers thought Alzheimer's was an old-person's disease … until he was diagnosed at the age of 55, becoming one of 29,000 Australians living with younger-onset dementia.
Now he's being hailed as the 'pin-up boy' for dementia, challenging the stigma surrounding it and spreading the message that while dementia is terminal and incurable, you can slow its progress and live well with the condition.
Watch 'Forget Me Not' at 8pm on ABC TV and iview.
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ABC News
4 minutes ago
- ABC News
NSW Health probe finds 'no definitive evidence' of health impacts from Cadia gold mine
An investigation has found no definitive evidence of health impacts from exposure to heavy metals in emissions from one of the largest gold mines in Australia. New South Wales Health has released the findings of an 18-month investigation into dust exposure from Cadia Valley Operations (CVO) near Orange in the state's central west. It was triggered by concerns among neighbouring farmers who worried heavy metals from the mine were contaminating their properties and posing health risks. CVO's owner, Newmont Mining, pleaded guilty to breaching air pollution regulations between 2021 and 2023 and was fined in the Land and Environment Court earlier this year. The Environment Protection Authority, which initiated the legal proceedings, adjusted the mine's environmental protection licence in late 2024, which saw changes to its requirements for monitoring air, surface water and groundwater. Eight adults and six children from seven properties were selected to take part in the NSW Health investigation, and the volunteers were identified through the local group Cadia Community and Sustainability Network. NSW Health acknowledged that the results did not represent "a population-level epidemiological assessment" but provided insights based on the sample. "A NSW Health investigation into the potential health risks of dust exposure from the Cadia gold mine … has found low community exposure to heavy metals, and no definitive evidence of health impacts from heavy metal exposure among volunteers who were assessed," NSW Health said in a statement. Samples were collected from indoor dust, water, soil and homegrown produce, and clinical assessments were also conducted on the 14 participants. A small group of people returned "slightly elevated concentrations of arsenic and mercury in their blood", but NSW Health concluded the levels were not considered to pose any health risks, and were likely a result of dietary intake rather than environmental exposure. However, NSW Health suggested follow-up testing for those participants. "In one case, repeat and alternative testing through an existing specialist was suggested to further explore a health concern." One of the key concerns initially raised by the community was that people may be ingesting heavy metals through dust that was contaminating their rainwater tank supplies. NSW Health's investigation found copper and zinc were detected in most samples, while lead, manganese, arsenic, chromium, cobalt and nickel were found in some of the samples collected, and close to the reporting limit. But it said the levels were at or below drinking water guidelines and consistent with other metal concentrations found in other sampling events in the area. NSW Health established the Cadia Mine Expert Advisory Panel, which reviewed the investigation's results. The panel concluded no evidence of significant contamination at volunteers' properties was found, and there was no indication that broader community testing was required at this time. The ABC has contacted Cadia Community and Sustainability Network and Newmont Mining for a response.
ABC News
34 minutes ago
- ABC News
What can we learn from New Zealand's experience with potato mop-top virus?
For the first time, potato mop-top virus has been detected in Australia. Spread by a soil-borne fungus vector that can cling to machinery and other materials, it's so far unclear how the disease made it onto a farm in north-west Tasmania. An incident management team has been created to trace and contain the virus, amid concerns for the state's $300 million potato industry. Seven years ago, one of Australia's closest neighbours was dealing with a detection of the same virus. So what can Tasmania learn from the experience across the ditch? Potato mop-top virus was first recorded in a single potato tuber taken from the storage facility of a processing factory in Canterbury, New Zealand in September 2018. Before then, the disease had never been seen in New Zealand. In Tasmania, the virus has only been detected on one farm and risk mitigation measures have been put in place to try and contain it. But in New Zealand, it wasn't clear exactly which paddock the diseased tuber had come from, so a range of sites were tested and it soon became clear the virus was in several paddocks in Canterbury. Iain Kirkwood, an agronomist and biosecurity manager from industry group Potatoes New Zealand, said an international committee of experts was set up to look at response options in New Zealand. "They very quickly came to the conclusion that we cannot eradicate it, because it's a soil-borne organism which causes a powdery scab, and that can stay in the soil for years and years," Dr Kirkwood said. According to the advisory group, eradication had not been achieved in many other international regions where the virus had been recorded either. The New Zealand response moved from "eradication" to "management". Dr Kirkwood said an entire department of the Ministry for Primary Industries looks at tracking and tracing how various incursions get into the country, but, despite a lot of time and money, it couldn't determine how potato mop-top virus arrived in New Zealand. Potato mop-top virus is also found in the United States. Professor Alexander Karasev from the University of Idaho said it might be difficult to trace how the virus entered Tasmania. "In the US, we suspect that the main route of transmission of the virus is with soil … that might be potted for ornamental [plants] which may not even be related to potatoes," Professor Karasev said. Potato mop-top virus can cause significant yield and quality reductions in potatoes. Dr Kirkwood said there hadn't been any reports of yield impacts in New Zealand. He said the virus was discovered in one seed paddock, and that seed line had to be destroyed and the grower compensated. But he said overall, there hadn't been a major impact on New Zealand's potato industry so far. "We're monitoring it through the processors — they report to us if they see mop-top in their lines — and they're recording it every so often," Dr Kirkwood said. "But it's not causing any significant economic impact either on the growers or the processors right now." The international expert advisory group did give New Zealand a warning, though. "We're hopefully monitoring it sufficiently and that it's not going to creep up upon and cause some major issues, but it's one that you do have to pay attention to." Dr Kirkwood said the most important thing New Zealand did was an early survey, testing about 200 lines of potatoes, including seed potatoes, throughout the whole country, to get a good picture of where and how widespread the virus was. "It's very difficult to carry out a response if you're not certain as to where the disease actually is, so I would encourage Tasmania to do some form of survey," he said. Dr Kirkwood also said it would be important for Biosecurity Tasmania to work with the local industry. "The local industry knows the industry better than anyone else — far better than Biosecurity Tasmania does — so I would encourage them to work closely with the growers and the grower organisations."
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Health Check: Pro Medicus banks the profits as customers go the ‘full stack'
Pro Medicus shares surge up to 7% on record revenue and earnings Tetratherix pockets $3.3 million, while Rhythm girds for a raising CEO oration inspires Starpharma share run The $32 billion market cap ProMedicus (ASX:PME) has drawn the chapter on what co-founder and CEO Dr Sam Hupert dubs 'the most successful year in the company's history by any measure'. The US-focused radiology imaging house today posted revenue of $213 million for the full year to June 30 2025, up 32%. Net earnings surged 39%, to $115 million. While the numbers were pretty much as expected, the shares surged up to 7% on the prospect of further revenue gains from newly-written contracts. The company is also expanding into areas such as cardiology and pathology – the latter of which could be two-thirds the size of the radiology market. "But it's early days." Hupert describes a 'record year of new contract wins, contract renewals and sales of additional modules'. Revenue rose in the three key jurisdictions of the US, Germany and Australia, but North America led the way with a 36% increase. The company derives about 90% of its revenue from the US. During the year, Pro Medicus won $520 million of new contracts. Yep, that's a record. These included a monster $330 million deal with Trinity Health, one of the biggest not-for-profit networks in the US. The company also signed two key renewals, totalling $130 million. Hupert says more customers are going the 'full stack', which means they are availing of the company's image viewing, archiving and workflow tools. Only the beginning? He adds that many of the recently signed contacts will come on stream 'in the next year and beyond', which means 98% of this revenue is yet to be recognised. He cites forward contracted revenue for the next five years at $948 million, up from $624 million a year ago. Despite the growth, Pro Medicus still accounts for only 10% of the US total addressable market. The company still trades on an extravagant price-earnings multiple, which implies that this 10% will become a much bigger number in the near future. 'We don't have a fixed target in mind, our aim is to get as big a percentage market share as possible,' Hupert says. 'Importantly, we do not see any technical or capacity-related reason why we will not continue to increase our market share materially from here.' Hupert says the company's recent $10 million loan facility to lung imager 4D Medical (ASX:4DX) related to the companies AI capabilities. There's the prospect of adding one or morr 4D products to the Pro Medicus stable. "But I wouldn't read more into it than that." Broker RBC says while the result was broadly in line with consensus, the company pleased with its free cash flow generation and upbeat outlook on contracts. RBC has a 'hold' rating on the stock with a 'price target' of $350. Starpharma shares take a run Starpharma (ASX:SPL) CEO Cheryl Maley's prezzo to Bioshares annual summit in Hobart last week appears to have been enough to spark a 50% share run. The contents weren't new, but Maley did outline how management had tweaked the company's strategy over the last year. Maley started in January 2024. Otherwise, Starpharma's June quarterly report showed customer receipts of $2 million, 51% higher than the March quarter. Net cash outflows were $2 million. Starpharma's reason for being is its dendrimer enhanced product (DEP) platform, which has produced the commercialised bacterial vaginosis treatment Vivagel and the germ-busting nasal spray Viraleze. Before you ask, dendrimers are nanoscale polymers aimed at improving drug efficacy and reducing side effects (such as bone marrow toxicity and hair loss). The company has oncology programs that combine the dendrimer with three existing drugs. They are irinotecan (colorectal cancer), cabazitaxel (prostate cancer and others). Management is attempting to outlicense these assets. Maley says despite considerable interest 'the licensing process has taken longer than anticipated.' She attributes this to factors including "the evolving oncology landscape shifting towards targeted treatment options and the current geo-political environment, which has impacted the biotechnology industry at large". Starpharma ended the quarter with cash of $15.5 million – enough funding for close to two years – with an expected $3.5 million R&D tax rebate yet to come. Starpharma shares today had a well-earned rest, falling around 10%. Rhythm limbers up for raising Rhythm Biosciences (ASX:RHY) shares are on trading halt pending a capital raising announcement, on or before next Monday. It's not a bad time for the company to tap the market, given its shares have gained 75% over the last month. Rhythm is developing Colostat, a blood-based cancer assay which could replace the commonly used 'poo' tests. The company also owns Genetype, a genetic risk assessment testing platform combining clinical, family history and genetic data. Rhythm bought this asset from the administrators of Genetic Technologies. Tetratherix gets a grant Of course, the best form of funding is the free variety and the recently listed Tetratherix (ASX:TTX) has come up trumps in this regard. The wound-care house has been awarded $3.3 million of non-dilutive funding, under the federal Industry Growth Program grant. Tetratherix is commercialising products based on its polymer biomaterials, which offer claimed benefits such as increased flexibility and bioresorbability. The grant will partly fund a $7.4 million project to take its Tetramatrix platform global, including expanding its production facility near Sydney Airport. The funding spans the current financial year and 2026-27. Tetratherix shares have gained a sprightly 40% since listing on June 30, the only local life sciences IPOs year to date. But if you think that's a drought, there been no US biotech IPO for six months. The last one was diseases specialist Aardvark Therapeutics, which listed on the Nasdaq in mid-February.
