Out of the darkness: A History of Huntington's Disease in Australia

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a genetic neurological condition which has a profound influence on the families it affects. The symptoms of the disease are challenging – in addition, social forces strongly influence the way the disease is experienced. It has been a deeply stigmatised condition, and its presence was often kept secret. In this dissertation, I have explored both social and medical aspects of the history of HD, primarily in Australia, building on the work of two scholars, Peter Harper (UK) and Alice Wexler (US). By tracing the histories of HD families, I discovered that HD has been part of the fabric of life in Australia since the convict era, and that some families with the disease were well-respected in their communities, in contrast to narratives which have presented the stigma as inevitable. Wexler has previously shown that in the US, the degree of stigma faced by HD families has varied over time, and my research found this to be also true of the disease in Australia. The earliest descriptions of the disease in the US were mostly made by physicians familiar with HD families. My research revealed a similar story - two physicians who published on HD both grew up in an area of Tasmania with relatively high rates of the disease. The impact of eugenic thinking in the stigmatization of HD in the US, Germany and the UK was noted more than 20 years ago, though its impact in other countries has remained unexplored. Eugenics as a formal movement was not successful in Australia, however eugenic ideas formed part of the social discourse. I show through medical journal articles, items in the popular press and educational organisations how those with hereditary diseases were labeled as “unfit”, promoting stigma which contributed to it being hidden. Finally I describe how the disease began to emerge from “the closet” in the early 1970s, with families and researchers forging a new collaboration to search for treatments, support families and reduce stigma

The effect of an experimentally created mussel bed on bird densities and food intake of the Oystercatcher <i>Haematopus ostralegus</i>

When an experimental mussel bed was created in 1987 on the mudflats south of Schiermonnikoog, Herring Gulls immediately increased in numbers, consuming starfish and damaged Mussels. The build-up of oyster catcher numbers was more gradual, but persisted for longer. Most Oystercatchers attracted to the mussel bed fed on Mussels. The proportion of Oystercatchers that hammered Mussels was relatively high, which may have been due to the relatively thin shells of the Mussels fished from the subtidal. Intake rates on the experimental mussel bed were on average higher than those achieved by birds feeding on other prey (mainly Macoma balthica and Nel-eis diversicolor), but the difference did not reach statistical significance. As the feeding density on the mussel bed increased, intake rates dropped, but it is not known if this relationship has a causal basis. Previous suggestions that the hammering birds substantially depleted the hammerable Mussels seem less likely in the light of our current analysis. The discussion stresses that the experimental creation of mussel beds is a powerful technique to test in the field distribution models derived from ideal free theory and investigates what lessons can be learned from the current pilot experiment that may be of use in the design elf future experiments

Space Telescope digicon technology

The objective of this program was to develop the technology and construct a number of tubes conforming to the chosen configuration. A total of ten starts were made and ten tubes went through to test. Of the ten tubes three were CsI on LiF, six were CsTe on MgF2 and one was KNaCsSb on SiO2. All three faceplate crystals sealed successfully using indium as the sealant. In addition, a number of test seals were made and two photocathode sample runs were made. The tasks E-field, faceplate, anti-corona and electron optical analysis were actively pursued and the results integrated into the BASD HRS project