Latest news with #Lovelock
Sydney Morning Herald
16-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Inside the forensic journey to unmask a deadly mushroom meal
An urgent taxi transported the leftovers further east to the Royal Botanic Gardens, but mycologist Camille Truong had already left for the day. As if following the script of the Ann Brashares novel the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, but for food, a colleague then dropped the food at Truong's suburban home. There the scientist extracted mushrooms from the leftovers with tweezers for the first time. Truong didn't see any death cap mushrooms inside, so she put the lunch leftovers in her fridge at home before taking them back to work and testing again later the next day. Despite using specialist tools, she told the jury she was unable to visually identify traces of death cap mushrooms using her microscope, finding only common field mushrooms. As the meal made its way across Melbourne, the court heard staff at Monash and the Austin hospitals were working around the clock to try to save the lives of the Pattersons and the Wilkinsons. The baked leftovers, now four days old, continued their forensic journey next into the hands of the Health Department and Agriculture Victoria. But still, the jury heard, there was no positive identification of the toxic mushrooms that were by now suspected of sitting decomposing inside the puff pastry wrapped morsels. On August 2, 2023, the leftovers were examined by David Lovelock, a virologist at Agriculture Victoria, who painstakingly examined the samples from the blue plastic bags. Photographs of the travelling lunch food displayed to the jury show the mushroom paste was by now distorted and mashed. Using DNA extraction techniques, Lovelock said he too was also unable to identify any death cap toxins in the sample. Lovelock told the jury he was, however, able to detect death caps in samples taken from a dehydrator that Erin Patterson had used to dry the mushrooms. He said they tested the samples against DNA from Amanita phalloides (the scientific name for death cap mushrooms), ghost mushrooms and yellow staining mushrooms. 'We were able to detect Amanita phalloides in two of the seven test tubes,' he said. Despite receiving treatment for suspected death cap mushroom poisoning on August 4, 2023, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died. The following day, Don Patterson also succumbed, unable to be saved by a liver transplant. It would be another few weeks before the dissected beef Wellington sample continued its journey by road, this time to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine in Southbank. At 11.30am on August 29, 2023 – a month after the fatal lunch – the court heard the zip-sealed bags arrived at the Kavanagh Street building that also houses the state's morgue. Here, marked with the words biological hazard, the bags were photographed and emptied, again, onto four 12-centimetre-wide trays, picked apart and placed into nine clear vials with white lids. Head of forensic science and chief toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos says his department dissected the meal into tiny samples – separated into pastry, meat and mushroom paste – and let them sit for three hours in a solvent used to draw out substances for detection. This time, for the first time, the court heard the tests finally confirmed doctors' suspicions – traces of death cap mushroom toxins inside the mushroom paste and beef samples. 'I can't comment on the way they've been handled, only on the fact we received them in a large ziplock bag,' Gerostamoulos told defence lawyer Colin Mandy, KC. This court heard this week that it takes three tablespoons of death cap mushroom toxin, or about 50 grams, to kill an average-sized adult. Gerostamoulos agreed the following factors could affect how someone recovers from ingesting toxic mushrooms: the amount they consume, the concentration of toxins within the meal, and their general health, age and weight. Loading The jury heard the toxins in death caps – alpha amanitin, beta amanitin and gamma amanitin – cause cells to stop replicating, and affect kidney and liver function. 'They are quite toxic in terms of their potency. They can lead to someone experiencing symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting and feeling quite unwell,' he said. Gerostamoulos said the toxins, which are only found in small amounts in the mushrooms, can also cause tissue necrosis, organ failure, and eventually lead to the patient's death if they are not treated appropriately in hospital. Samples taken from Don Patterson and Ian Wilkinson, Gerostamoulos says, also later tested positive for a mushroom toxin, known as alpha and beta amanitin. Samples taken from Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson returned undetectable results. Gerostamoulos said this meant the levels were not detectable in the women's samples – but that didn't eliminate the possibility the toxin might have been present. Erin Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder. Her lawyers have said the deaths were a terrible accident.
The Age
16-05-2025
- The Age
Inside the forensic journey to unmask a deadly mushroom meal
An urgent taxi transported the leftovers further east to the Royal Botanic Gardens, but mycologist Camille Truong had already left for the day. As if following the script of the Ann Brashares novel the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, but for food, a colleague then dropped the food at Truong's suburban home. There the scientist extracted mushrooms from the leftovers with tweezers for the first time. Truong didn't see any death cap mushrooms inside, so she put the lunch leftovers in her fridge at home before taking them back to work and testing again later the next day. Despite using specialist tools, she told the jury she was unable to visually identify traces of death cap mushrooms using her microscope, finding only common field mushrooms. As the meal made its way across Melbourne, the court heard staff at Monash and the Austin hospitals were working around the clock to try to save the lives of the Pattersons and the Wilkinsons. The baked leftovers, now four days old, continued their forensic journey next into the hands of the Health Department and Agriculture Victoria. But still, the jury heard, there was no positive identification of the toxic mushrooms that were by now suspected of sitting decomposing inside the puff pastry wrapped morsels. On August 2, 2023, the leftovers were examined by David Lovelock, a virologist at Agriculture Victoria, who painstakingly examined the samples from the blue plastic bags. Photographs of the travelling lunch food displayed to the jury show the mushroom paste was by now distorted and mashed. Using DNA extraction techniques, Lovelock said he too was also unable to identify any death cap toxins in the sample. Lovelock told the jury he was, however, able to detect death caps in samples taken from a dehydrator that Erin Patterson had used to dry the mushrooms. He said they tested the samples against DNA from Amanita phalloides (the scientific name for death cap mushrooms), ghost mushrooms and yellow staining mushrooms. 'We were able to detect Amanita phalloides in two of the seven test tubes,' he said. Despite receiving treatment for suspected death cap mushroom poisoning on August 4, 2023, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died. The following day, Don Patterson also succumbed, unable to be saved by a liver transplant. It would be another few weeks before the dissected beef Wellington sample continued its journey by road, this time to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine in Southbank. At 11.30am on August 29, 2023 – a month after the fatal lunch – the court heard the zip-sealed bags arrived at the Kavanagh Street building that also houses the state's morgue. Here, marked with the words biological hazard, the bags were photographed and emptied, again, onto four 12-centimetre-wide trays, picked apart and placed into nine clear vials with white lids. Head of forensic science and chief toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos says his department dissected the meal into tiny samples – separated into pastry, meat and mushroom paste – and let them sit for three hours in a solvent used to draw out substances for detection. This time, for the first time, the court heard the tests finally confirmed doctors' suspicions – traces of death cap mushroom toxins inside the mushroom paste and beef samples. 'I can't comment on the way they've been handled, only on the fact we received them in a large ziplock bag,' Gerostamoulos told defence lawyer Colin Mandy, KC. This court heard this week that it takes three tablespoons of death cap mushroom toxin, or about 50 grams, to kill an average-sized adult. Gerostamoulos agreed the following factors could affect how someone recovers from ingesting toxic mushrooms: the amount they consume, the concentration of toxins within the meal, and their general health, age and weight. Loading The jury heard the toxins in death caps – alpha amanitin, beta amanitin and gamma amanitin – cause cells to stop replicating, and affect kidney and liver function. 'They are quite toxic in terms of their potency. They can lead to someone experiencing symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting and feeling quite unwell,' he said. Gerostamoulos said the toxins, which are only found in small amounts in the mushrooms, can also cause tissue necrosis, organ failure, and eventually lead to the patient's death if they are not treated appropriately in hospital. Samples taken from Don Patterson and Ian Wilkinson, Gerostamoulos says, also later tested positive for a mushroom toxin, known as alpha and beta amanitin. Samples taken from Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson returned undetectable results. Gerostamoulos said this meant the levels were not detectable in the women's samples – but that didn't eliminate the possibility the toxin might have been present. Erin Patterson has pleaded not guilty to three charges of murder and one of attempted murder. Her lawyers have said the deaths were a terrible accident.
Trade Arabia
03-04-2025
- Business
- Trade Arabia
Global GenAI spending to hit $644bn in 2025, says report
Worldwide generative AI (GenAI) spending is expected to hit $644 billion in 2025, thus recording a 76.4% increase from 2024, according to a report by Gartner. "Expectations for GenAI's capabilities are declining due to high failure rates in initial proof-of-concept (POC) work and dissatisfaction with current GenAI results," remarked John-David Lovelock, VP Analyst at Gartner. "Despite this, foundational model providers are investing billions annually to enhance GenAI models' size, performance, and reliability. This paradox will persist through 2025 and 2026," he stated. According to him, GenAI spending is poised for significant growth across all core markets and submarkets in 2025. It will have a transformative impact across all aspects of IT spending markets, suggesting a future where AI technologies become increasingly integral to business operations and consumer products. "Ambitious internal projects from 2024 will face scrutiny in 2025, as CIOs opt for commercial off-the-shelf solutions for more predictable implementation and business value," remarked Lovelock. "Despite model improvements, CIOs will reduce POC and self-development efforts, focusing instead on GenAI features from existing software providers," he added. According to Lovelock, this spend will be driven largely by the integration of AI capabilities into hardware, such as servers, smartphones and PCs, with 80% of GenAI spending going towards hardware. "The market's growth trajectory is heavily influenced by the increasing prevalence of AI-enabled devices, which are expected to comprise almost the entire consumer device market by 2028," he noted.
Zawya
03-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Global GenAI spending to hit $644bln in 2025, says report
Worldwide generative AI (GenAI) spending is expected to hit $644 billion in 2025, thus recording a 76.4% increase from 2024, according to a report by Gartner. "Expectations for GenAI's capabilities are declining due to high failure rates in initial proof-of-concept (POC) work and dissatisfaction with current GenAI results," remarked John-David Lovelock, VP Analyst at Gartner. "Despite this, foundational model providers are investing billions annually to enhance GenAI models' size, performance, and reliability. This paradox will persist through 2025 and 2026," he stated. According to him, GenAI spending is poised for significant growth across all core markets and submarkets in 2025. It will have a transformative impact across all aspects of IT spending markets, suggesting a future where AI technologies become increasingly integral to business operations and consumer products. "Ambitious internal projects from 2024 will face scrutiny in 2025, as CIOs opt for commercial off-the-shelf solutions for more predictable implementation and business value," remarked Lovelock. "Despite model improvements, CIOs will reduce POC and self-development efforts, focusing instead on GenAI features from existing software providers," he added. According to Lovelock, this spend will be driven largely by the integration of AI capabilities into hardware, such as servers, smartphones and PCs, with 80% of GenAI spending going towards hardware. "The market's growth trajectory is heavily influenced by the increasing prevalence of AI-enabled devices, which are expected to comprise almost the entire consumer device market by 2028," he noted. "However, consumers are not chasing these features. As the manufacturers embed AI as a standard feature in consumer devices, consumers will be forced to purchase them," he added.- TradeArabia News Service Copyright 2024 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
TECHx
02-04-2025
- Business
- TECHx
Global Generative AI Spending to Soar to $644 Billion in 2025
Global Generative AI Spending to Soar to $644 Billion in 2025 News Desk - Share Worldwide spending on generative AI (GenAI) is expected to reach $644 billion in 2025, a 76.4% increase from 2024, according to Gartner. Despite the rapid growth, expectations for GenAI are cooling due to high failure rates in early proof-of-concept (POC) projects and dissatisfaction with current results. John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, explains that while foundational model providers continue investing billions to enhance AI capabilities, many businesses are rethinking their strategies. CIOs are now shifting from experimental AI projects to commercial off-the-shelf solutions for better predictability and business value. Instead of building their own models, companies will increasingly rely on AI features offered by existing software providers. GenAI spending will rise across all key segments, with the biggest investments in hardware. Servers, smartphones, and PCs with built-in AI capabilities will drive most of the growth. By 2028, AI-powered devices are expected to dominate the consumer market. However, consumer demand for AI features remains lukewarm. Lovelock notes that manufacturers are embedding AI into products as a standard feature, leaving consumers with little choice but to adopt it. Gartner's forecast is based on extensive analysis of sales data from over 1,000 vendors worldwide. The latest research, Forecast Alert: GenAI IT Spending, 2023-2028, Worldwide, provides insights into emerging trends, market shifts, and investment strategies.
