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【正文】 onal profile and a parliamentary mittee is investigating ways to make the schooltouniversity transition more seamless and the encouragement to do so more consistent and vigorous. But Europe and North America have been more innovative in countering similar trends. Australia39。s first steps should be to acknowledge the problem and to muster enthusiasm to confront it. Only then will real reforms take root. Word Count: 279 Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 12 August 2020 15 CAPITALISE ON SCIENCE SKILLS Media coverage of former senior CSIRO (Commonwealth Science amp。 Industrial Research Organisation) scientist‘s views on the CSIRO is part of a bigger and ongoing debate that needs extensive public discussion. A harsh truth needs to be confronted: Australia is a leader in many fields of science but remains poor at the business of science. It is in this context that we must assess scientists39。 concerns about the funding of publicsector science, the threat of declining strategic and basic research relative to applied science, and specific issues such as external earnings targets for CSIRO. Australia continues to sit on intellectual property, not knowing what to do with it, or gives it away to more entrepreneurial nations. This is not due to lack of funding but lack of appropriately placed business expertise. This is partly due to factors of culture and attitude. When Australian science is deployed with the support of very scarce domestic venture capital, it often ends up in trouble. When our science links to international venture capital, we tend not to secure a partnership that allows us to capture the benefit and develop mercialisation petencies. Given the attitudes of scientists and publicsector science managers, this shorting is no surprise. An endemic cultural antipathy exists between Australian publicsector and academic scientists and the world of business. While this is not exclusive to Australia, it seems to be particularly strong here. There are some exceptions, but as a general phenomenon it is difficult to overstate the problem. Why is this happening? What are the drivers? Australia does suffer from ugly entrepreneur syndrome, while for Americans, with whom our science petes, entrepreneur has positive associations. 16 WHO revises SARS case definition WHO has today updated its case definition for SARS to take into account the appropriate use of results from laboratory tests. Several diagnostic tests have been developed by various laboratories for the detection of the SARS virus and antibodies to the virus. However, all presently available tests have specific strengths and weaknesses. For this reason, WHO continues to advise clinicians that patients should not have their case definition category downgraded while awaiting results of laboratory testing or on the basis of negative results. WHO is concerned that inappropriate use of laboratory results can have a negative impact on patient management and selection of an appropriate level of infection control. Therefore, negative test results for the SARS virus cannot be used to exclude infection in either suspect or probable cases. In contrast, positive results of quality – assured laboratory testing can add to the efficacy of SARS case management, provided tests are properly conducted and interpreted. Positive virus results from lab tests demonstrate that the patient is excreting virus, or its geic material, and thus might pose a risk of disease transmission to others. Consequently, suspect SARS cases with a positive lab result (virus isolation or PCR) should be classified and reported as probable cases. WHO, supported by members of its laboratory work for SARS diagnosis and the Robert Koch Institute, Germany, is making standardized reagents available to improve reliability and support the quality assurance of diagnostic tests for SARS. Word Count: 243 Source: Category: Health 17 Geic link spurs asthma In a worldfirst, Australian scientists have discovered a geic trigger that causes severe asthma in children. The study found that if children suffer from asthma, and they have a variation in the gene IL12, the risk of severe asthma is greatly increased. The geic variation causes the immune cells to secrete lower levels of a particular cytokine a chemical that cells use to talk to each other. Peter Sly, who heads the division of clinical sciences at the Institute for Child Health Research, said the study had farreaching implications. If we can unravel the mechanisms behind why some people get more severe asthma, we can tell parents if their kids are at more risk of developing severe asthma and to be more vigilant with their treatment. But we might also be able to design more specific treatments that will prevent the asthma from being more severe. The findings, published in The Lancet today, are an unexpected finding from an ongoing project that began while the 2400 children were still in the womb. The discovery was made when researchers examined the children at age six. Most are now 10 years old. The research, now in its 12th year, is being pleted by scientists at Perth39。s Institute for Child Health Research and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research in Melbourne. Forty per cent of Australian children suffer from asthma, and 5 per cent of asthmatic children have a severe form of the disease. Professor Sly said half the asthma in children is related to viral infections, and the other half is related to allergies. But the geic variation influences both types. 18 Fighting Corruption The World Bank has identified corruption as the single greatest obstacle to econ