Queensland researchers have been granted almost $15 million to assist in developing vaccines to combat outbreaks of deadly diseases.

A research team from the University of Queensland is ahead of the competition, as they have developed a method to easily create vaccines for known diseases and rapidly respond to new ones.

Due to the ability to swiftly respond to new pandemics that arise, vaccines could be developed in as little as sixteen weeks.

The Queensland Government is urging Google to amend its Maps application over claims inflated travel times are deterring tourists from travelling to the outback.

Acting Premier Cameron Dick has vowed to send a letter to the Head of Google Australia and New Zealand in regards to incorrect travel times that add up to 6 hours onto journeys.

He said it was crucial the error was fixed early in 2019, which the Government has declared the “Year of Outback Tourism”.

QTAC offers for 2019 have revealed one-third of courses chosen by prospective Queensland university students are health-related.

QTAC chief executive John Griffiths said the demand for allied health workers in disability, aged care and mental health sectors was largely behind the push towards such courses.

More than 12 000 allied health jobs are expected to be created by the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Queensland.

Within Australia, it is estimated that 1 in 5 individuals will experience a common mental illness every year, and around 45% will experience it throughout their lifetime, but only half will access treatment.

Under a funding model shakeup, mental health services around Australia will share $1.45 billion offering local organisations, staff and patients greater long term certainty.

At least 11 people have been killed in a suspected terror attack at a hotel compound in Nairobi carried out by Somali Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab.

The attack began in a bank parking lot inside the complex, with an explosion targeting three vehicles, followed by a suicide blast in the hotel’s foyer.

Kenyan security forces have secured the buildings where the attack took place.

A University of Queensland international research team has found potentially life-saving bat peptides within the venom of vampire bats located in Mexico.

A new class of blood pressure-regulating peptides found in the bat’s venom could help revolutionise treatments for conditions such as hypertension, heart failure, kidney diseases and burns.

This research, however, has come to a complete stop as Mexican drug lords take control of the field site, with Associate Professor Bryan Fry saying this could set research back years.

Cotton seeds taken to the Moon by China’s Chang’e-4 mission have started to sprout according to the China National Space Administration.

This marks the first time any biological matter has grown on the Moon, and is a significant step towards establishing a future in long-term space exploration, such as trips to Mars.

By establishing crops on the Moon, astronauts could potentially harvest their own food in space, reducing the need for consistent trips to Earth to resupply.

Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary has selected “Me Too” as its 2018 word of the year, with “big dick energy”, “single use” and “deepfake” missing out on the annual honour.

In a statement, the committee said the fact that the MeToo is now being used as a verb and an adjective, combined with the undeniable significance of the movement, made the decision a straightforward one.