I bet you didnt know that

The earliest known examples of Australian Indigenous art were found in Central Australia and are roughly 30,000 years old. Cave art in Australia follows three basic styles, the first and most common is geometric style concentric circles and pointillism or a combination of both, the second concentrates on figurative shapes of both people and animals and is both painted and/or engraved, the third a more detailed figurative painting giving much greater detail of it's subjects.

The interesting thing about Aboriginal art is that it's the oldest ongoing tradition of artistic expression in the world, with the art being produced today still bearing the hallmarks of it's earliest forms while still evolving to reflect the changing experiences of indigenous Australians. While first expressed on rocks and cave walls, these styles were replicated on wood bark, fibres, paper, and now on glass and ceramics. Aboriginal hand print stencil art was the first means of accounting for individuals present, the intricate engraved and painted animals and fish were a way of keeping track of an areas particular resources.

The most recognizable Indigenous art to the Western eye is the Aborignal tradition of pointillism, a system of using dots to form patterns and images. Some modern Indigenous Australian artists command vast sums for their art on the international and domestic markets. A artist may need permission to portray certain sacred themes, ancient events or stories, or images of deceased persons or that imply the presence of the deceased, or portray a tribes secret knowledge. Images that portray actual events are forbidden unless the persons or events portrayed belong to the artists own family lineage.

Aboriginal art is thought to have survived so intact as a living tradition because Indigenous Aussies have no written language and relied on images and storytelling to keep their history alive.

The University of Cambridge's research into the Zika virus (the virus carried by mosquitos that overshadowed the Rio Olympics) has thrown up the possibility of harnessing the virus to save lives.

Zika virus is particularly dangerous for pregnant women to contract, as it can pass through the blood brain barrier (BBB), a semi permeable membrane that allows water and nutrients to pass through, but keeps most of the bad stuff out. If a pregnant woman contracts the virus, it can pass the BBB and attack the developing brain of the foetus. Few viruses can penetrate the BBB, HIV and Zika being two.

Research involving glioblastoma the most common type of brain tumour, suggests the possibility of using Zika to kill the cancerous cells, as the virus attacks them in the same way as it attacks and kills cells in the developing brain of the unborn.

Lab research has shown that Zika slows down the growth of tumours, and the mechanisms it uses to penetrate the BBB and target the cells may form the key to future treatments of a cancer that kills thousands (in the UK) a year.

New Home wrote: »

That's weird, I was reading about Zika only earlier tonight. Apparently the disease can be transmitted through the eye. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160906130949.htm

Yeah, I'd heard about that. When the last outbreak was getting underway it was still thought that it could only be contracted in limited ways, via blood. It really is much more dangerous and transmissible than thought.

Diseases of poverty always seem to be underestimated at first.