Posts by VIVA! Communications
Australian research lab training supercomputer to identify eye abnormalities
Advancements in assistive image analytics and deep learning technology could in the future help doctors in the fight against preventable blindness. The Melbourne based IBM researchers have trained a research version of Watson (their latest computing system) to recognise abnormalities in retina images. According to the researchers, this could be developed to offer doctors…
Read MoreNew hep C treatments make disease elimination a possibility by 2026 in Australia
Australia is on track to achieve hepatitis C (hep C) elimination within 10 years, having treated more than 30,000 people in 2016.1 This is according to a new report1, released today (February 21, 2017), which coincides with the availability of the latest hep C treatment, ZEPATIER® (elbasvir/grazoprevir), on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).2 The…
Read MoreMisplaced parental consent forms compromising teen vaccination coverage
Parental consent forms are critical to adolescent vaccination in schools. Up to one in three teens are missing out on National Immunisation Program (NIP) funded vaccinations due to parental consent forms being lost, or not returned to schools. The NIP is an immunisation schedule, with funding for recommended vaccines for all ages. Each State has…
Read MoreState government announces free meningococcal vaccine for NSW teens
Following substantial pressure from the lobby group, Meningococcal Australia, the NSW Government has today (February 6, 2017) announced that they will roll out a free meningococcal vaccine to all at-risk students aged 17-18 State-wide Last month, the Federal Government announced the coordination of a national response to the disease, after a noticeable increase in the…
Read MoreAustralian of the Year 2017: Professor Alan Mackay-Sim proves the old adage ‘curiosity is king’
Renowned physicist, Frederick Seitz, astutely said, “A good scientist is a person in whom the childhood quality of perennial curiosity lingers on. Once he gets an answer, he has other questions.” For Queensland stem cell researcher, Professor Alan Mackay-Sim, curiosity reigns as king. On Australia Day-eve, Prof Mackay-Sim received the 2017 Australian of the Year…
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