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AboriginalKknowledge Used
for Mammal Research
Aboriginal knowledge is being combined with scientific research to better understand
the recession of mammal habitats in the Top End.
The Territory Environment Department has reported
a steady decline in the populations of medium-sized
mammals, and hopes to apply aboriginal knowledge to
gain a better understanding of whether the animals
were dispersed and where they might be.
The Territory Environment Department is concerned
about a widespread decline in several species but most
notably the quoll. The northern quoll populations have
disappeared from parts of Arnhem Land in the last 30
years, mostly as a result of cane toad intrusions.
Burnie Trials High-Speed
Internet Technology
The northern Tasmanian city of Burnie is taking part
in the first trial in regional Australia of new technology
providing high-speed Internet connection through a
power point.
The Burnie City Council will install the optical fibres
in two suburbs.
In a statement Tasmania's Energy Minister Bryan Green
said residents will notice that the speed in their
access will dramatically increase, and that they will
be able to have telephone calls over the Internet very
cheaply.
“It opens up a world to Tasmania in the way
that people in Sydney and Melbourne experience and
why shouldn’t we have it here.”
Study Shows Link between
Stress and Illness
A group of Sydney researchers says it has scientifically
proven that stress causes sickness.
Scientists at the Garvin Institute have made a connection
between Neuropeptide Y (a hormone released while under
stress), and the erosion of the immune system.
Stress can come from many sources. Pressures at work
and at home cause emotional and mental stress that
can be extremely damaging. Almost a third of all work
absenteeism is due to illness, costing employers more
than $10 billion a year.
The Garvin Institute’s research could lead to
the development of a new drug, which may work to inhibit
the action of the neuropeptide Y hormone that attacks
the immune system.
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