Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a serious eye condition that can cause vision loss or even blindness. It affects about one in three people with diabetes. CSR researchers have just finished trialling a world-first, artificial intelligence-driven technology that enables GPs to scan people for DR. This technology detected signs of DR as effectively as the ophthalmologist. It could reduce unnecessary referrals, potentially reduce waiting periods for patients, and help ophthalmologists focus on patients who need treatment and surgery. https://blog.csiro.au/eyes-using-ai-detect-diabetic-eye-disease/

Scientists are researching ways of deactivating or repairing faulty DNA within people?s bodies, another pathway that could lead to breakthrough cures. Specialists take a patient?s immune cells and reprogram them with a new gene that instructs them to detect and kill specific cancer cells. They then inject those reprogrammed cells back into patients? bodies, where they go to work destroying deadly malignancies. In a clinical trial, 83 percent of patients saw remission within three months. This technique is one of several classified as "gene therapies.? https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-new-cancer-drug-may-

Australian researchers believe they have made an important step toward curing melanoma after its spread from the skin to the lymph nodes. Two international drug trials - led by investigators at Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) - have proven successful in preventing the spread of the disease in Stage III melanoma patients whose tumours had been surgically removed. If identified early, melanoma is easily cured via surgical removal from the skin surface. However for about 15 per cent of melanoma patients the disease has spread to the lymph nodes which is classified as Stage III melanoma. Australia has one of the highest incidences of melanoma in the world.? http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/09/11/we-now-have-ammunition-breakthrough-fight-aga

With space at a premium, particularly by the water, this is a novel solution. A designer in Spain has built a minimalist office between the girders of a large, concrete bridge. At one end of the rails there are items that adorn a typical office -shelves, plants, framed pictures, a desk and a chair. Doors fold outward, giving you the option of opening up the office to the outside world. At night, the doors can be closed and bedding stored on the shelves above you to spend the night. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/09/08/this-man-created-a-mysterious-office-suspended-underneath-a-bridge/?

Bombora is an ocean energy company in Perth, Western Australia. Their mWave converters deliver environmentally friendly, large scale energy for national electricity grids. Bombora wave farms can be deployed in coastal locations throughout the world. https://www.bomborawave.com/

The New Zealand government is experimenting with a private prison model designed to discourage inmates from returning. The Auckland South Correctional Facility, known as Wiri, is the largest privately run prison in New Zealand. But what sets it apart is its bold application of an approach called payment-by-results, which links payments to outcomes. For Wiri, those outcomes include a 10 percent reduction in the rate of recidivism. This model contrasts with others in the US where private prisons gain revenue the more people are imprisoned. This year, Geo Group, the second-largest prison operator in the U.S., will begin operation of another prison using the Wiri model?in Australia. https://www-citylab-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.citylab.com/amp/article/538506/