In 64AD, the city of Rome, mistress of the known world, was ravaged by a ferocious fire. The blaze swept through the crowded alleyways and decrepit housing of the city’s poorer districts. All who were caught in its path were incinerated
In September 2007, IBT Education Limited, Australia’s only stock market-listed provider of higher education, held its annual general meeting. Investors had every reason to be pleased. Profits were $54 million, a very healthy surplus on takings of $283 million. IBT Education had recorded a higher revenue than 13 public universities
The explosion of knowledge in relation to the genetic basis of multiple conditions means that screening for the risk of preventable disease as well as for the risk of having a child with a genetic condition is increasingly possible. Genetic screening is defined as a systematic attempt to identify and counsel as many people at genetic risk in a population as possible, whether or not they have a genetic family history
No field of medicine has changed in so dramatic a fashion as has been the case with human genetics. It is only 40 years ago this year that the first human gene was isolated. Back then, identifying a single chemical in the human genome took days. Now it is possible to sequence the three billion chemicals in the genome in a similar time. In this chapter, the basic terminology and principles of genetics are outlined. Some of the major leaps forward in gene technology are also explained, and how these have really opened the window to our understanding of human genetics. It may seem a bit confusing for someone who has not learnt about genetics before, and we have outlined some key terms and rules of genetics
NCDs, or noncommunicable diseases, are a group of diseases connected by their causes — or what doesn’t cause them. They are a group of diseases defined by what they are not. Quite literally, their name means those diseases we cannot catch from another person, and the group include diabetes, heart disease, cancers, lung conditions and mental illnesses
Climate change occurs because of the excessive release of green-house gases into the atmosphere. Not only is Australia one of the largest polluters in the world, the growth in its emissions in recent years has been among the fastest in the developed world
Affordable housing of a reasonable standard is crucial to a country and its people. Without it, people are impoverished, families and communities eroded, jobs lost, the economy weakened and the environment damaged. Australia is facing a creeping crisis of housing affordability, often accompanied by deteriorating transport systems and poor urban planning
Back in the olden days, just before the internet was invented, there was a clear demarcation between journalism and advertising. The journalism brought in the readers, who consumed the ads, which paid for the journalism. It was simple. Life was good. Reporters had jobs and media proprietors were absurdly wealthy. Nowadays, in this era of digital disruption, everything is blurred
The past is prologue, or so we should hope for biomedical research. Australia has a proud history with four Nobel Prizes for Physiology or Medicine given for work done here
Although steps have been taken over the past 150 years or so to protect ‘heritage areas’ of great natural beauty, the idea that we have some long-term obligation to future generations has not resonated in the human discourse and is rarely, for example, enshrined in any substantial body of behavior, practice or law