A team of researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne have made a breakthrough in developing treatment for motor neuron disease, a deadly neurodegenerative disease.

While the condition is incurable, lead researcher Seth Masters’ animal studies of the treatment have suggested it could lead to longer life expectancy and slow down progression of the disease.

Pham Doan Trang, a Vietnamese writer and blogger who advocates for democracy, has been arrested for carrying out anti-state activities.

This closely followed the US-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue, with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International having demanded the release of Ms Trang as she faces up to 20 years of jail if convicted.

The one party communist state has a history of jailing critics and dissidents, who in the age of social media have been able to share their pro-democracy views in Vietnam, which heavily controls press and media. 
 

Dan Levy, the co-creator of Canadian television sitcom Schitt’s Creek, has criticised India’s Comedy Central channel for censoring a kiss between two male characters in the show.

At the recent Emmy Awards, the show received many accolades and has been a fan favourite in Canada and the US for its positive portrayal of LGBT+ relationships.

Facebook says it will move to ban groups that openly support QAnon, an unfounded conspiracy theory relating to the existence of a supposed child-trafficking ring run by celebrities and government officials that can only be stopped by US president Donald Trump.

The ban will extend across both Facebook and Instagram with all Facebook pages and groups and Instagram accounts spreading QAnon-supportive content to be removed, regardless of whether they encourage violence.

The Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced further financial support for a $1.8 billion project to extend the national electricity grid into the outback north-west of the state.

Palaszczuk said her Government had signed an agreement with proponents of the CopperString 2.0 project to proceed to the next level, declining to reveal the exact size of the new investment.

CopperString 2.0 involves the construction of a 1,100 kilometre high-voltage transmission line from Townsville to Mount Isa and is expected to create 400 construction jobs.
 

Industry giants BHP and Origin have made the decision to leave the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) after the lobby group published a series of Facebook ads urging people to put the Greens last in the upcoming state election.

The QRC's ad campaign encouraged Queensland residents not to vote for the Greens, arguing the party wants to stop jobs within the resources industries including fishing, forestry, tourism, mining and gas.

Both Origin and BHP issued statements voicing their disapproval of the QRC’s advertising directly targeting and criticising the Greens. 
 

Victoria has recorded six new COVID-19 cases as the Chadstone shopping centre outbreak grows leading to more than 170 people being forced into self-isolation.

Victoria's COVID testing program commander Jeroen Weimar yesterday confirmed 31 cases are now linked to the Butcher Club at Chadstone Shopping Centre, an increase from the 28 reported on Tuesday.

Yorta Yorta woman Sheena Watt looks set to make history as Victorian Labor's first Indigenous parliamentarian.

Ms Watt, a trade unionist with a background in the health and community sectors, tweeted yesterday that she had been preselected to become Labor's next member for the state's upper house Northern Metro seat, replacing former minister Jenny Mikakos.

Ms Watt's past work includes managing COVID-19 outbreaks in Melbourne's north as the deputy chair of Merri Health and leading a paid Aboriginal traineeship program as part of AFL SportsReady.
 

Scientists Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna have taken out the 2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their development of a method for genome editing.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences stated that Charpentier and Doudna discovered one of gene technology's sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors.

The innovative technology has made a significant contribution to the development of new cancer therapies and may make the curing of inherited diseases a reality.