Adventure Ausrama Blog

A New Zealand cat falls from a great height and lives! Alison and Graham Pike live a quite life in an apartment on Auckland's viaduct. They had no idea that their tabby cat, Camo , would become a celebrity. Spending life on an apartment balcony can be quite dangerous. One small slip and you fall a very long way.  And Camo did fall. It is not actually a free-fall from the balcony - there are things in the way to block the fall. The cat either jumped onto the glass balustrade then fell on to the tarseal, or ducked under the balustrade then slid off and fell further. A balcony lower down sticks out more than the fifth level balcony so the cat would have bounced off that before finally landing at ground level. In all it must have been like an obstacle course for the cat. Well, the outcome was a broken jaw and three broken teeth. Mr and Mrs Pike were informed by security staff that their cat was under the restaurant sofa and its mouth was bleeding. The cat has learned something...

Gene therapy for brain injuries and illnesses may be a good thing, but this treatment changes the shape of brain cells. Researchers in Western Australia say there is nothing to worry about because damaged brain cells regenerate or live longer. They say this when there is no proof that in the long term everything will be alright. They say it is wonderful how brains cells function better after nine months of treatment. Apparently, the neurons become round due to new growth-promoting genes that stimulate them. The fact that surrounding genes away from the treatment area also change is in my opinion something to worry about. Obviously, when this occurs it cannot be reversed. Doctors admit that the way neurons deal with information after treatment is never the same again. Furthermore, they suspect that the long-term effects may not be beneficial to the patient. It is a good thing that researchers are looking for a way to stop gene therapy in its tracks if anything goes wrong. htt...