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On the heels of announcing blockbuster earnings for the past quarter, Apple unveils a slew of new products, including a pair of iMacs with razor-sharp, 16:9 displays, a redesigned plastic MacBook, and a new mouse that you can swipe with your fingertip, à la the iPhone.

First up: Meet the "Magic Mouse," a touch-enabled successor to the tepid, trackball-toting Mighty Mouse. A sleek, smooth sliver of plastic, the wireless Magic Mouse comes without dedicated buttons or wheels; instead, you perform simple multi-touch gestures (like tapping, swiping, and "zooming" on the iPhone) on the mouse's curved surface to select, rotate, or otherwise manipulate items on the screen. Lefties and righties can also configure the Magic Mouse as they see fit, according to Apple. I've yet to try the new Magic Mouse in person, but Engadget says that the new peripheral "feels much thinner than its predecessor," and that "the whole front of the unit provides a satisfying, unified click." Interesting. The price tag: $69.

Next: the new iMacs, including a 27-incher and a 21.5-inch model. Both retain the basic, all-in-one iMac design, but the upgraded models arrive with what look to be gorgeous new LED-backlit displays, complete with 16:9 aspect ratios ideal for movie fanatics. The new 21.5-inch iMac boasts a 1920 by 1080-pixel display, same as on your standard 1080p flatscreen, while the 27-inch model comes with a whopping 2560 by 1440 pixels ... or in other words, 1440p. Nice.

The two new iMacs also deliver upgraded graphics chipsets, with the choice of integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400M or dedicated ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics in the 21.5-inch model, or discrete ATI Radeon HD 4670 or 8850 graphics in the 27-inch iMac.

As usual, the new iMacs don't come cheap, but even the priciest 27-inch model starts south of $2,000, with the 3.06GHz, 4GB 21.5-inch iMac (with a 500GB hard drive) beginning at $1,199, while the cheaper of two 27-inch configurations (with a 3.06GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive) starts at $1,699. Not included in the mix: Blu-ray support.

Moving right along, we've got a redesigned white plastic MacBook, which now takes on the "unibody" design of its bigger MacBook Pro brothers. The MacBook's new polycarbonate shell weighs in at about 4.7 ounces and measures 1.8 inches thick, and it also comes with a non-replacable seven-hour battery—again, same as with the updated MacBook Pro line. Other improvements include an LED-backlit display and a bigger multi-touch glass trackpad. Prices still start at $999, though (for the 2.26GHz model with 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive).

Last but not least: an  upgraded Mac Mini, now with a faster processor (up to 2.66GHz) and more memory (up to 4GB), with prices starting at $599. Power users can also snap up a 2.53GHz Mini with dual 500GB hard drives and Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard pre-installed, for $999.

So, what do you think: Ready for the touch-sensitive Magic Mouse? How about the new, cinema-ready iMacs? Still chafing at Apple's high prices, or do the new price points sound reasonable?

A study by researchers at Perth’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has found that the rapid increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Western Australia reflects changes to diagnostic practices and services.

The research will be published in October's edition of the InternationaJournal of Epidemiology.

Research co-author Dr Emma Glasson said the study investigated factors behind the concerning increase in autism rates.

“We wanted to address community concerns as to why there are so many more young children being diagnosed in recent years with autism spectrum disorders,” Dr Glasson said.

“While a true increase can’t be ruled out, there is a very definite pattern that shows the increase coincides with changes to the way autism was diagnosed and the provision of funding for early intervention services.”

The study found that in 1983 1.7 in every 10 000 children born in WA were diagnosed with ASD by age 8 compared with 53.4 per 10 000 children born in 1997, representing a 16.6 per cent increase per annum.

From the late 1980s there was a parent-initiated drive towards more proactive early intervention services. In 1991 a new panel was set up to determine the eligibility of children for services. In 1994 the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome was introduced. In 1997 new funding was made available for early intervention for pre-school children.

Dr Glasson said the study also observed that children were being diagnosed at a younger age, reflecting better awareness and parents’ willingness to access early intervention services.

“Early diagnosis and specialised services will give children with autism spectrum disorders and their families the best results,” Dr Glasson said.

“While we need to do more research to see if there is also a real increase in prevalence, we are confident that a substantial proportion of this rapid rise is due to better diagnosis and access to services.”

The research was supported by funding through the National Health and Medical Research Council.

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The study, published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, showed that a range of compounds containing the two transition metals Ruthenium and Osmium, which are found in the same part of the periodic table as precious metals like platinum and gold, cause significant cell death in ovarian and colon cancer cells.

The compounds were also effective against ovarian cancer cells which are resistant to the drug Cisplatin, the most successful transition metal drug, which contains the metal platinum.

Dr Patrick McGowan, one of the lead authors of the research from the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds, explains: "Ruthenium and Osmium compounds are showing very high levels of activity against ovarian cancer, which is a significant step forward in the field of medicinal chemistry.

Sabine H. van Rijt, lead researcher in the laboratory of Professor Peter Sadler in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick, said:

"Most interestingly, cancerous cells that have shown resistance to the most successful transition metal drug, Cisplatin, show a high death rate with these new compounds."

Professor Sadler, at the University of Warwick, commented that he is "excited by the novel design features in these compounds which might enable activity to be switched on and off".

Cisplatin was discovered in the 1970s and is one of the most effective cancer drugs on the market, with a 95% cure rate against testicular cancer. Since the success of Cisplatin, chemists all over the world have been trying to discover whether other transition metal compounds can be used to treat cancer.

In this type of anti cancer drug transition metal atoms bind to DNA molecules which trigger apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in the cancerous cells.

The study is a collaboration between the universities of Warwick and Leeds and was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

A team of Perth scientists are using a relatively new cellular therapy to treat a life-threatening complication that occurs in 50 per cent of bone marrow transplant patients, Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD).

The cellular therapy uses mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), which are obtained from donor bone marrow and then grown and expanded in the laboratory over a period of several weeks.

GVHD occurs as a result of the complex interaction between donor cells and recipient tissues after a bone marrow transplant is used to treat disorders like leukaemia.

The Perth researchers are hoping that infusing the MSC into patients will help to increase the survival rate after bone marrow transplants.

“One of the great advantages of this cell therapy is that it is not necessary to match donor cells with the recipient so that anybody is a potential donor for any recipient,” said Prof Richard Herrmann, Director Cell and Tissue Therapy W.A., clinical manufacturing facility at Royal Perth Hospital.

“When the cells are infused into the patient,” according to Prof Herrmann, “the signs and symptoms of GVHD are reduced.  These MSC are able to tune down the recipient’s immune response. The other remarkable property is they have the ability to differentiate or change into multiple tissue types.  That is, they can convert to cells of cartilage, bone, muscle, heart muscle and neural origin and this may assist with healing,” he explained.

Prof Herrmann said that the team at Royal Perth’s CTTWA has been conducting a Phase I trial to evaluate the safety of these cells in GVHD patients and have also monitored the patients’ response to this therapy.  He said it is still ‘early days’ but indicated that of the group of nine patients trialled, “all nine have responded to MSC infusion.”

He added that an international Phase III study conducted by Osiris Ltd that compares active cell treatment with placebo treatment has just recently been completed, but the results have not yet been released.

“MSCs are an exciting and emerging cellular therapy with potential for diverse clinical applications”, according to Dr Stewart Hay, CEO of Research Infrastructure Support Services (RISS) Ltd, the Melbourne-based, not-for-profit funding agency that supports Australian cell therapy researchers including Cell Tissue Therapy of WA (CTTWA).

“Prof Herrmann and his team have made significant in-roads in this area, however a major challenge is that MSC research costs approximately $10,000 per patient. The financial support delivered through the Commonwealth Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), has significantly reduced these costs and in doing so has made a valuable contribution in fast-tracking CTTWAs’  research program”, Dr Hay added.

According to Dr Marian Sturm, Principal Scientist and Production Manager of CTTWA, the team is currently in collaboration with other groups in WA and interstate looking at using these cells in other conditions involving immune responses and tissue repair. The group is particularly interested in incorporating these cells into different types of scaffolds as a means of delivering the cells to where they are needed for tissue repair.

Dr Sturm has no doubt that MSC therapy could prove beneficial in any number of treatment areas, but prefers to remain less forthcoming until further studies can be completed.

“This treatment has improved the clinical outcome and quality of life for those patients who have responded,” Dr Sturm began.  “The benefit to the community lies in the reduced dependence on medical services and in the ability to return to a normal life.”

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