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Media Bulletin - 20 September 2006

A scaffold for nerve repair, mental health, fusion and more science stories

In the bulletin

- Weaving a scaffold for nerve repair: new bionics centre launched today in Melbourne with $6 million from Vic government

- Children, their mental health and: war, 9/11, graffiti, autism and more: stories from an international conference on child and adolescent mental health held last week

 - Aboriginal art to get laser cleaning – “Woman in Physics” talking in Canberra and Tasmania

 - Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science – to be presented in Canberra 16 October 2006 – info available on embargo

 - Fusion conference – why Australia should join the $20 billion plus global effort to turn fusion power into reality - www.ainse.edu.au/fusion/workshop_information.html

 - RiverPhys – a maj0r physics conference in Brisbane in December - www.aipc2006.com/

 - and Gruber Justice Prize presented in Harvard this Wednesday (not an Australian winner)

Here are the story details:

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Weaving a scaffold for new nerves:

New centre to repair damaged nerves and turn bionics into business

A woven plastic tube infused with chemicals that encourage new nerve growth may allow patients with severed nerves in their arms and legs to regain the full use of their limbs.

The thin tubular scaffold is being developed by Bionic Technologies Australia which will be opened by the Hon John Brumby, the Victorian Treasurer and Minister for Innovation on Wednesday 20 September at the St Vincent’s Hospital Education Centre.

The new device has the potential to help people hurt in accidents, or patients who lose nerves and tissue during cancer surgery. It could be used on patients who suffered severe cuts, such as those from a knife or circular saw, or patients with trauma or crush injuries from a car accident or an object falling on them.

Current treatments to repair severed nerves are unsatisfactory as you can’t stretch severed nerves and if you do a graft, taking nerves from elsewhere in the body, the result is often poor.

If the tubular scaffold works, it will speed up repair and improve the outcome.

Press conference:  

10 am Wednesday 20 September

St Vincent’s Hospital Education Centre, 3rd Floor, Healy Wing, 35 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy

Beta SP footage, animations and graphics available. Surgery training room available as backdrop for filming

 Full story, background and photos online at: http://www.scienceinpublic.com/2006/bionictechnologies/bionictechnologieslaunch.htm

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Aboriginal art to get laser cleaning

Australian treasures including Aboriginal paintings and funerary poles could soon be getting a state-of-the-art clean thanks to the latest laser technology.

Deb Kane, professor in the physics department at Macquarie University in Sydney, will tell a Canberra audience this week of her team’s plans to use short pulsed lasers to clean contaminants from the surface of some of Australia’s unique heritage.

She’s on a national tour promoting women in physics, at a time when physics is booming, and industry is desperate to attract more physicists.

This year’s Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) ‘Women in Physics’ lecturer, Professor Kane has for some time been using lasers to clean the surface of very small objects such as optical materials.

Professor Kane is the tenth annual AIP Women in Physics lecturer. She will be giving lectures around the country to school students, the general public and fellow scientists. Her next talks are:

- Canberra Wednesday 20 September, public lecture 6 pm, Physics T Lecture Theatre, ANU

- Tasmania Wednesday 27 September, public lecture 8pm, University of Tasmania

- Sydney Saturday 30 September, public lecture 2pm Powerhouse Museum

Full story online: http://www.scienceinpublic.com/2006/physics/debkane.htm

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 Prime Minister's Prizes for Science - presented in Canberra on 16 October 2006

The Prime Ministers' Prizes for Science will be presented in the Great Hall at Parliament House, Canberra on the evening of 16 October 2006.

The awards are strictly embargoed until 9 pm on the night of the 16th. However I can brief long lead-time publications in advance. Please let me know when/if you need an early briefing.

There will also be a "recovery breakfast" hosted by the Australian Institute of Physics on 17 October. More details on that nearer the time.

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Children, their mental health and: war, terrorism, natural disasters, graffiti and more

More than 1400 delegates gathered last week in Melbourne for an international meeting on child and adolescent mental health.

The congress tackled mental health issues for children including: child soldiers, terrorism and natural disasters, jailing for autism, detaining refugees, online games, graffiti – have we got it wrong?, ADHD safe drugs or over-prescribed?, deadly medications, two tongues and drug use.

I have included below some local stories which may be of interest.

More information on all stories online at: www.scienceinpublic.com   

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 How to cut drug use, violence in school – change the social climate
A study in 26 Australian schools led to tobacco and cannabis use falling 25 per cent; violence and anti-social behaviour falling 20 per cent; and having sexual intercourse among 13-year-olds fell by 50 per cent.
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 How deadly are medications for children?
There is no evidence that stimulant medications given to children with ADHD increase the risk of deadly heart complications. But older drugs given as anti-depressants can have cardiotoxic effects, and anti-psychotic medication can lead to weight gain, diabetes and cardiac risks.
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Jailed for autism?
Vulnerable, undiagnosed autistic children are over-represented in the juvenile justice system, says Monash University researcher and clinician Dr Teresa Flower, speaking at the international child mental health conference at the Melbourne Convention Centre.
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How safe are the drugs used to treat ADHD? And are they over-prescribed?
Every day about 50,000 Australian children take drugs to counter ADHD, yet there is still strong debate in medical circles about whether we are doing the right thing by out children.
Drugs need not be the treatment of choice, especially when early psychological intervention with children and their parents was effective and safe.
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Adolescent eating disorders
An afternoon session draws together experts from Australia to discuss what has been learned in the past 10 years. Topics include the treatment of anorexia nervosa in hospital, involving families in change, motivation and the future in the treatment of eating disorders.
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Intellectually disabled young people missing out on treatment for mental illness
For 16 years, researchers have followed 1000 people from Victoria and NSW with an intellectual disability. Aged from 4 to 18 years old when the study began, all are now young adults, most living at home or with carers.

New findings show about 40 per cent of the group also have a mental illness – anxiety, depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder – but only 10 per cent of them receive any treatment. “It’s a tragedy because these problems are relatively easily treated,” says professor of psychological medicine at Monash University Bruce Tonge. “Most people in the general community who have such a condition are identified as having a mental illness, and receive some form of treatment. This group is simply falling between the cracks.”
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How thinking develops in the infant mind
How do we learn to think? Set our moral values? How do learn to form relationships? And how are our memories shaped to reflect who we are? Your thinking as an infant, especially between ages 1 and 3, sets patterns for life. He is the world expert in the field and brought us the concept of “mentalisation” – or how thinking develops.
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Babies try to form social bonds from birth
People once thought that in the first weeks of life, babies were sluggish and largely asleep. “But this is wrong.” Babies try to build social bonds from birth. Young mums need to respond.
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Babies in violent homes get post-traumatic stress
Babies exposed to violence between their parents developed a form of post-traumatic stress. “If they witness the violence it has the potential to cause long-term psychological difficulties. They can develop anxiety in later life, which can cause problems at school.”
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Intellectually disabled young people missing out on treatment for mental illness
For 16 years, researchers have followed 1000 people from Victoria and NSW with an intellectual disability. Aged from 4 to 18 years old when the study began, all are now young adults, most living at home or with carers. New findings show about 40 per cent of the group also have a mental illness – anxiety, depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder – but only 10 per cent of them receive any treatment.
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Terrorism, disaster and child mental health: How prepared is Australia for disaster and terrorism, and how will children cope?
Serious harm to child refugees detained by Australia: There is clear evidence that serious harm is being done to children detained by the Australian Government’s mandatory detention policy. Since 1991, about 3000 children, including unaccompanied minors, have been detained.
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 Graffiti – have we got it wrong?
Queensland University Professor Graham Martin says society is tackling graffiti the wrong way - that calling the police and making kids wash off walls is a waste of time, as is graffiti-resistant paint. Professor Martin, an expert in suicide in young people, argues the actions of many graffitists are a call for help and society should treat the problem differently.

 The full conference program available at www.iacapap2006.com

 Speaker highlights and full media releases available at www.scienceinpublic.com

General enquiries: please contact the people and organisations mentioned in our media releases

Media: for more information please contact Niall Byrne, Science in Public, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, ph +61 (3) 9398 1416.