Latest news with #CQUniversity
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare discovery found inside shark hooked off Aussie coast
Using a microscope to examine the dead Australian sharpnose shark, researchers from CQUniversity identified a 'rare' parasitic worm, previously unknown to science, inside its gills. Video transcript A surprising discovery has been made inside the body of a shark hooked at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, using a microscope to examine the dead Australian sharp-nosed shark, researchers from CQ University identified a rare parasitic worm, previously unknown to science inside its gills. Lead researcher Doctor David Vaughan explained the new species, Loimus everingami is the first of its kind to be described in Oceania. The parasite needs the shark to survive, and the species doesn't cause any harm to its host as long as numbers stay low. The worm lives in the shark's gills for its adult life, feeding on skin and mucus.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare discovery inside shark hooked off Australian coast: 'First of its kind'
A surprising discovery has been made inside the body of an apex predator hooked at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Using a microscope to examine the dead Australian sharpnose shark, researchers from CQUniversity identified a 'rare' parasitic worm, previously unknown to science, discovered inside its gills. Lead researcher Dr David Vaughan explained the new species (loimos everinghami) is the "first of its kind" to be described in Oceania, a vast geographical area that includes Australia, New Zealand and numerous islands in the Pacific. There are only six loimos species known in the world, and he'd been searching for evidence of them in the region for two decades. The last to be discovered was in Brazil in 1972. 'Finding this one was wonderful. I was beginning to wonder if they existed at all,' he said. What do the parasitic worms eat? Australian sharpnose sharks are not considered dangerous to humans and will generally only strike if provoked. The shark with the worm in its gills was collected from Queensland's Capricorn Coast after it was discovered dead on a drumline, a shark control device used by the state government. It is not believed that the parasite was directly responsible for the shark's death. Loimos everinghami needs the sharks to survive, and the species doesn't cause any harm to its host as long as numbers stay low. The worm lives in the gills for its adult life, feeding on skin and mucus. 🐳 50-year-old discovery in Aussie museum sparks surprising whale theory ⛵️ Tourists 'totally outraged' by fishing crew's confronting act at sea 🥺 Late-night beach find highlights dark side of Aussie state's $88 million tourism pledge Vaughan said the discovery will create 'significant global interest' in the world of parasitic shark worm enthusiasts. But the discovery will have a wider impact on our understanding of shark health. Although Australian sharpnose sharks are abundant, globally shark and ray numbers have declined by 70 per cent since 1970, mostly due to overfishing. 'Sharks are apex predators on the reef, and so many food webs involve sharks. An understanding of these obligate relationships provides us with greater knowledge for conservation,' Vaughan said. 'The discovery of new species adds to our known biodiversity, which is our shared Australian heritage.' The research has been published by Cambridge University Press in the Journal of Helminthology. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Science
- ABC News
Parasitic worm, first of its kind, found on shark off central Queensland beach
It's not a discovery that many people would be delighted to make — a new, rare type of parasitic worm. But for researchers in central Queensland, the recent find is a special one decades in the making. The new species of parasitic worm, known as Loimos everinghami was found on the gills of the Australian sharpnose shark in waters off central Queensland in the southern Great Barrier Reef. Lead researcher on the project, CQ University's David Vaughan, said the worm was one of only six Loimos species. "It comes more than 50 years since the last Loimos species discovery in Brazil in 1972," Dr Vaughan said. "It's a very special little worm indeed … it's found nowhere else in the world. "These particular parasites, they are very host specific … You won't find them on anything else." Dr Vaughan said parasites had evolved over time to specifically live only on this type of shark, feeding on skin and mucus in the gills. In normal numbers, it does not cause any significant health problems for the shark. The parasite was found on the body of a deceased shark, collected from a drumline off Lammemoor Beach in Yeppoon in September 2024. Dr Vaughan said, looking at the parasite under a microscope, he initially did not believe what he had found. "I actually first thought it was something else because I was expecting to find a different group of parasites altogether," he said. But on closer inspection of the parasites, which are only 2 millimetres long, he realised how significant the find was. "I was beginning to wonder if they even existed." Dr Vaughan explained that the parasites, though small, were important to the ecosystem. "They work like miniature predators in a way; they help to regulate a healthy population of their hosts," he said. "They're connected throughout the food web, so they can provide a lot of positive information." The discovery has been published in the peer-reviewed, academic Journal of Helminthology. As for where to next, Dr Vaughan said the team would keep searching for more species. "[It will help us] conserve not only the shark species, but the things that are associated with them as well," he said.
News.com.au
08-07-2025
- News.com.au
Search for Erin Patterson's motive continues after guilty verdicts
Killer mushroom cook Erin Patterson is 'certainly intelligent' but 'vastly overrated' her ability to fool police and her peers into getting away with murder. Patterson, 50, was found guilty on Monday of plotting to kill members of her estranged husband's family by serving them beef wellington laced with death cap mushrooms in 2023. Criminologist Dr Xanthe Mallett said the guilty verdicts handed down – three for murder and one for attempted murder – were 'momentous' after a trial that could have gone either way. Dr Mallett, based at CQ University, said that despite the closure of the trial, there remained a question over what motivated Patterson to target her extended family. 'We'll never know what her motive was unless she chooses to share it. She's the only person who knows,' she said. 'But certainly the Crown did speak about – and some of the text messages (tendered as evidence) do demonstrate – some tensions within the family. 'And that could have been a driver.' Speaking on The Trial podcast, the professor said she and renowned criminal psychologist Dr Watson Munro had 'picked apart' Patterson's personality as they observed the case. 'It appears, or what I believe happened is, she has this simmering rage for (ex-husband) Simon and perhaps felt that his family hadn't supported her. 'And therefore some of that rage is transferred to them, and she felt justified in harming them because of this … and therefore she is protecting herself.' Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson died after attending a lunch at Patterson's Leongatha home on July 29, 2023. Heather's husband, local pastor Ian Wilkinson, fell critically ill but survived. At trial, prosecutors argued Patterson had intentionally lured her in-laws to lunch by lying about a cancer scare and baked the deadly mushrooms into their meals. She denied this and claimed the inclusion of toxic fungi was a tragic accident. The court heard Patterson, a true crime buff, foraged for mushrooms in areas where death caps were known to grow in regional Victoria. Dr Mallett told that Patterson – now a convicted mass murderer – demonstrated her intelligence while giving her evidence on the stand and under cross-examination from the Crown. 'She was emotional at the right times, but not histrionic. So nothing extreme,' she said. 'And when she didn't understand the question, she asked for an explanation. And she was very measured and controlled and considered in her responses. 'And I think she's clearly an intelligent woman. But intelligent women and people still commit crimes.' She told The Trial, however, that Patterson was 'very dumb in other ways'. 'This was obviously premeditated, planned. It was not well-planned, it was not well carried out,' she said. 'Her sense of own ability I think is vastly overrated. 'She thought she could out-think the police, all the experts and the witnesses and everybody else because she is so smart.' The jury was asked to weigh Patterson's lone version of events, which exculpated her of the allegations, against the 50-odd witnesses who testified during the 46-day trial. Prosecutors highlighted Patterson's 'lies upon lies', including suggestions she made to Don and Gail about potentially having cancer and telling police she did not own a dehydrator. 'I can't speak for the jury … but I imagine it would have been difficult to believe her, given the litany of lies she told,' Dr Mallett told 'And you know, she said basically everybody else was either lying or wrong. 'And clearly the jury didn't believe that and found the Crown's case more compelling.' Dr Mallett said one of the aspects of the case that had made it such a worldwide phenomenon was its setting in a 'beautiful wine cheese region of Australia'. 'And yet it was harbouring a mass murderer,' she said. 'And I think that with Erin Patterson, everything about this case is so normal. 'The location is so idyllic, Erin Patterson presents as so normal – a middle aged mother, cooking a lunch, a very normal activity for her family. 'And then you've got that kind of juxtaposed against the tragedy that's unfolded. 'And I think that is what really shocked people … they couldn't imagine why somebody would do something so awful and abhorrent to their own family members. 'And I think we still haven't got to the crux of that, because obviously no motive was presented in court.' The professor said it was important to remember the family at the centre of the case, which was still 'suffering'. Patterson was remanded in custody ahead of her sentencing after the verdicts were read out on Monday.
Sydney Morning Herald
01-07-2025
- Climate
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Bomb cyclone' to intensify amid evacuation warnings and pleas to stay indoors
'The terrible thing is that the situation is going to worsen over the course of the next 24 hours, particularly later this afternoon and into the evening tomorrow. So once again, we're asking people to be as prepared as they possibly can be.' Authorities urged people to move their cars away from large trees as heavy rain hit saturated ground and fierce winds began to tear down branches and powerlines, cutting power to 30,000 people across the Hunter, Central Coast and Sydney, as of Tuesday night. Although much of the coast was on alert for minor to moderate riverine flooding, flash flooding unleashed by possible downpours of 200 millimetres posed the greatest threat, particularly between Newcastle and the Illawarra. The South Coast will encounter the greatest risk from flash flooding as the weather system continues its poleward crawl before spinning into the Tasman late in the week. 'The most intense impacts, including the heavy rainfall, are most likely across the Illawarra and parts of the South Coast [on Tuesday night],' said Miriam Bradbury, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology. What is a 'bomb cyclone'? Meteorological jargon used to describe the unusual low-pressure storm system has included 'bomb cyclone', 'bombogenesis' and 'explosive cyclogenesis'. These terms all refer to the rapid intensification of the weather system. A dramatic plunge in pressure – about 20 to 30 hectopascals over the past day or two – transformed the low into a severe storm system. Regions of low pressure in the atmosphere funnel air upwards, which triggers the development of storm clouds and powerful winds. The system the bureau called a 'vigorous coastal low' spiralled down the coast while generating storm-force offshore winds comparable to a category two cyclone, adjunct professor of environmental geography at CQUniversity Steve Turton said. 'That's certainly going to increase the wave energy and the swells and so on coming onto the coast. We're looking at over 5 million people likely to be affected by this system,' he said. Abnormally warm water off the NSW coast helped fuel the rapid intensification, Turton said. Warmer oceans turbocharge storm energy and supply weather systems with moisture for heavy rain. A region of ocean water brewing 1 to 3 degrees above the long-term average also contributed to Tropical Cyclone Alfred and May's flood disaster, Turton said. 'That pool of warm water off the coast will certainly be providing additional energy into this system and increasing the risk for more rapid intensification and flash flooding,' he said. About 90 per cent of the Earth's extra heat caused by the burning of fossil fuels is trapped within the ocean, he noted. NSW East Coast weather warnings A severe weather warning for damaging, locally destructive winds remained in place for Sydney, the Illawarra, and parts of Mid North Coast, Hunter, South Coast, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, Northern Tablelands and Northern Rivers as of 4pm Tuesday. Rock fishers, boaters and swimmers were urged to stay away from the ocean under a hazardous surf warning in place from the Hunter down to Eden. Coastal erosion and damage to infrastructure may strike the coastline between Seal Rocks and the NSW-Victorian border. Southern parts of the Mid North Coast, the Hunter, Sydney-Illawarra Coast and Snowy catchments were under flood watch for minor flooding, while moderate flooding was possible for the Hawkesbury-Neapean. Stay up to date with warnings here or on the Hazards Near Me app. Public transport warnings and flight cancellations Transport for NSW operations management executive director Craig Moran advised people to avoid non-essential travel, and if they did need to travel, to give themselves extra time and be prepared for disruptions. 'There may be sudden road closures or there may be sudden delays on the public transport system. Everything is holding up OK at the moment, but … just be prepared that circumstances can change,' he said shortly after midday on Tuesday. A number of low-lying roads were closed in the Shoalhaven area on the state's South Coast, which had received high amounts of rain overnight, he said. Sydney Airport switched to using just its east-west runway on Tuesday afternoon due to strong south-westerly winds, leaving two of its three runways closed. The agency said delays are expected, with passengers advised to check with their airlines regarding any changes to travel arrangements.
