mRNA vaccines have been a game changer for COVID-19 and now, according to The Daily Telegraph, this new technology can also be applied to vaccines for cancer, pre-eclampsia and even cures for genetic disorders.
In fact, there are at least six mRNA vaccines against influenza and HIV already in the pipeline, as well as for Nipah, zika, herpes, dengue, hepatitis and malaria.
Professor Maria Kavallaris from the Children’s Cancer Institute (CCI) told the newspaper, mRNA was the future for the treatment for cancer as well.
“We know some tumour cells abnormally express — let’s call them little flags on their surface,” Professor Kavallaris said.
“They are not flags, but receptors on the cell surface and these are unique to certain types of cancer cells. So, if you have vaccine therapy, immune cells recognise this rogue surface receptor, the cancer cells, and the immune system can go and attack that cancer cell.
“With a vaccine you are stimulating the immune system to go and kill that cancer. The reason we get cancer is because cancer cells find ways to evade the immune system, so they are not seen. This is a way to be seen by the immune cells.”
A woman who went looking for her missing sister unknowingly ended up helping the man who had just mowed down her sibling in a horrific hit and run collision, The Daily Telegraphreports.
Chenai Radnedge was searching for her sister Tammara Macrokanis, 32, on the Gold Coast on October 17, 2020 after the mother-of-five stormed out of a family gathering.
Her search though was held up when she stopped to help a man lying on the ground next to his car on the shoulder of the M1 highway.
Tammara was a mother-of-five.
Ms Radnedge at that point had no clue the man she was calling triple-zero for was Kaine Andrew Carter, who minutes earlier had fatally struck her sister while under the influence of drugs and dragged her body 60m down a highway.
When police got him off the ground, Ms Radnedge recognised him. She knew him through friends and asked if he had seen her sister – but her question received no reply.
She continued searching for Tammara until she returned home. It was hours later that the siblings’ mum, Penny Macrokanis, would wake her daughter up to the news that Ms Macrokanis had been killed in a traffic incident.
“[Carter’s ute] was still there, surrounded by police. It clicked. Kaine killed Tammara (and) I had been there not long after it happened,” Ms Radnedge told The Sunday Mail.
Kaine Andrew Carter, driver of car that killed Tammara Macrokanis.
Forensic investigators later determined Ms Macrokanis had became wedged between the bullbar of the ute and the roadside guardrail and been cut in half.
Carter last month pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance and leaving the scene without obtaining help.
Reflecting on the scene a year later, Ms Radnedge said she regularly pulls over and stands at the tree where part of her sister’s remains were found.
“At first it was hard, I actually tried to avoid driving along the highway, and then I suppose I realised it’s something I have to live with now … I realised I had to stop jumping feet first into the life Tammara had gotten away from,” she said.
A new vaccination centre opened in Western Sydney on Sunday as New South Wales turns its attention to booster shots.
The opening of the Granville Centre, in partnership with Cumberland City Council, comes as the Qudos Bank Arena vaccination hub closes after administering more than 360,000 COVID-19 jabs.
Had fun meeting the hard working staff from Western Sydney Health today at our very own Granville Centre. pic.twitter.com/RLchUGJAFe
People aged 18 years and over will now be eligible for a Pfizer booster shot six months after receiving their second dose of any COVID-19 vaccine.
In attendance at the opening of the Granville Centre was Cumberland Mayor Steve Christou, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, and NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard.
Cr Christou said the centre would benefit his community and that he was excited to do whatever necessary to beat the pandemic.
The Granville Centre WSLHD Vaccination Clinic staff Derya Birnam, Maureen Hurley, Jessica King, Jonathan Herford and Madeline Grudgings. Photo: The Pulse.
“Donated by Council free of charge I would like to thank Cumberland City Council staff for their hard work,” Cr Christou said on Twitter.
The centre has the capacity to administer 1,000 booster shots per day and a surge capacity up to 2,000.
Premier Perrottet said the journey out of the pandemic was not over and the clinic would play an important role over the next 12 months.
The Greek Orthodox Community of North Australia (GOCNA) has issued a statement condemning the behaviour of members of Darwin’s Greek community at St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church on October 31.
About 30 people used OXI Day celebrations at the church to push anti-vaccine mandate rhetoric, calling out ‘shame, shame, shame.’
NT Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro, who was at the event, was also addressed in a “very confronting and intimidating manner.”
NT Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro was also approached at the event.
In response, GOCNA said that although they “acknowledge the importance for individuals to be free to express their views,” the OXI Day celebrations “should not have been used as a platform to express those views.”
“This indifference shown on the 31st of October disrespects the ethos of this most solemn of Greek National days and the people who feel strongly enough to commemorate it,” the GOCNA statement reads.
“We must be mindful in the future to remain civil and respectful to each other to accord the proper due respect to days such as OXI Day.”
This statement came the same afternoon St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was told by Bishop Silouan of Sinopen not to provide its regular Sunday service due to the current NT lockdown, the NT Newsreports.
Pope Francis will travel to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus on a five-day trip next month, the Vatican has confirmed.
According to AP News, the pope will visit Larnaca, Cyprus, from December 2-4, before travelling to Greece, with stops in Athens and on the island of Lesvos, from December 4-6.
The Vatican released no further details of the trip.
Pope Francis has visited the Greek island of Lesvos previously in 2016.
The Cyprus leg had already been confirmed by Cypriot officials, who said that the pontiff will hold talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. Francis will be the second Roman Catholic pontiff ever to travel to the eastern Mediterranean island nation.
Francis had also previously travelled to Lesvos in 2016 to highlight the plight of refugees.
Cyprus has signed a deal for Israel’s military to build an electronic surveillance system to monitor activity along the UN-patrolled Green Line across the divided Mediterranean island.
The 180 kilometre Green Line has split the island from east to west since 1974. It divides the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union’s most easterly member, from the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Ankara.
Cyprus plans on spending 27.5 million euros on the project, which will be constructed over the course of the next three years.
A woman walks her dog on the Turkish side of the green line, a UN controlled buffer zone separating the divided Cypriot capital Nicosia. Photo: AFP.
The surveillance system will be used to monitor activity such as smuggling and illegal migration, as well as provide military intelligence, officials said.
“It is an electronic surveillance system that will provide us with images 24 hours a day,” Cypriot Defence Ministry spokesperson, Christos Pieris, told the Cyprus News Agency.
In May, Cyprus said it was in a “state of emergency” because of an inflow of Syrian migrants overwhelming reception centers.
Walking along Homer Street in Earlwood, you’re guaranteed to come across elderly Greek migrants sitting at the local café sipping their coffee and catching up with friends. But nothing can prepare you for the group of people gathered around a newly launched Street Library right outside Greek-owned tutoring business, First Education.
Street Libraries are a relatively new movement across Australia which encourage people to “share the joys of reading” with their local community. They can do this by giving, taking or sharing free books from Street Libraries set up on local Sydney streets.
Harry Mavrolefteros, who owns First Education, was so inspired by this idea that he decided to launch four Street Libraries outside his tutoring centres in Earlwood, Bondi, Maroubra and Mascot.
The Street Libraries have been a huge hit with the locals.
“The idea was born out of COVID because I wanted to have more communication and more contact with parents to support them in any way we could,” Harry tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
“We thought that if we can have books available for parents to take and give to their kids and support them, that’d be great.”
Typically, Harry fills the Street Libraries with free school books in subjects such as Maths, English and Science, but he says that over time this has evolved into people donating home appliances and Greek textbooks as well.
Harry’s Street Library in Earlwood. Photo: Andriana Simos / The Greek Herald.
“It started off as a school book type of thing but it’s evolved… We had four tomes of some Greek very hard-core looking text that I was worried wouldn’t go, but somebody took them,” Harry says with a laugh.
“In reality, it doesn’t really matter and the good thing is that the turnover is quick. I was worried that books would just sit there forever but that really hasn’t happened. The books disappear after a few days.”
‘We believe in building our students’ passion’:
This clear passion for the Street Libraries is not surprising as Harry has always advocated for community initiatives within the Greek community which foster the sharing of knowledge and information.
In fact, that’s why he started his own tutoring business back in October 2010 in a small room on top of his parent’s optometry shop in Maroubra.
Harry at First Education Earlwood. Photo: Andriana Simos / The Greek Herald.
“I always had this feeling as a kid where I never understood why people didn’t like maths and I found other people that were like that about English and History and Science as well,” Harry explains.
“I think if you find the right teacher, the right mentor, the right guide, then learning becomes the privilege and honour that it’s meant to be rather than something that you’re meant to do. You can just think more clearly because you understand things on a deeper level. So I wanted to share that with kids.”
It’s this realisation which saw Harry expand First Education from its Maroubra home-base to tutoring centres in the aforementioned Sydney suburbs of Earlwood, Bondi and Mascot as well.
First Education offers one-on-one tuition. Photo: Facebook.
At these centres, students from Kindergarten to Year 12 are given one-on-one tuition by dedicated tutors in a range of school subjects, and there are also group debating classes and study sessions for the Year 12 Higher School Certificate exams.
Harry says he’s incredibly proud of what his team has achieved so far.
“We really believe in building our students’ passion and confidence. There’s a big focus in everything we do on getting the students to enjoy the learning, to see the value in it and to believe in themselves,” he concludes.
A worthwhile goal for a Greek Australian who’s tutoring centres and Street Libraries are leaving their mark on the lives of students and parents across Greater Sydney.
Greek athlete Marios Giannakou is an ultra-marathoner.
The first-year university student is raising awareness of crucial environmental and social issues.
He says his view of the North Cape during the ‘Up In The Arctic’ expedition gave him new insight into the effects of climate change.
“We were on deck when we saw a massive section of a glacier, as tall as a six-story apartment building, come unstuck and collapse into the sea. It’s a scene I will never forget,” Giannakou tells Ekathimerini.
“The changes being brought about by climate change are more intense and more visible at the poles compared to areas closer to the equator. They occur three times as fast, according to scientists.”
In October last year, Giannakou carried Eleftheriou Tosiou, a quadriplegic university student with a dream to scale Mount Olympus, up to its summit.
“Eleftheria was so happy! As soon as we reached the top, she asked me to do a 360-degree turn so she could see the view. I don’t think anything is more wonderful than this. No medal from any race can give you so much joy.”
“There is nothing more real than a dream,” Marios Giannakou writes on his Facebook (Photo: Marios Giannakou)
His most recent excursion?
“The trip to Norway was about recording some of the problems stemming from climate change and marine pollution,” he said.
“The trip was a revelation about what is happening to the Arctic Circle and how rising temperatures impact the landscape, flora, and fauna.”
He says it showed him the “toughest” side of climate change, with “glaciers shrinking or disappearing altogether.”
“That’s where you realise that if we don’t take drastic action, our children will face situations we can barely imagine right now.”
“I feel that as humans we have done more harm than good to our planet.”
“On the other hand, I see a ray of light in the awareness my generation seems to have about the climate and pollution.”
Sleepless nights, full of thoughts, nothing to eat and with ghosts flickering lights in the dark. The uncertainty conquering the mind from the first light of each dawn. These were the days of the Greeks during the occupation by the Axis Powers, when nobody knew if they would live to see another day.
Greek American motion picture pioneer and film executive, Spyros Skouras, had a keen eye for these kinds of screenplays when he was choosing which one to bring to the big screen.
During the occupation, together with the Greek War Relief Association (GWRA), an organisation of Greek Americans who were willing to offer a helping hand to their motherland, he managed to save 3 million Greeks from death. Keep in mind that back then, the total population of Greece was roughly 7 million.
Skouras was one of the founding members of the GWRA. He had his own filming company when he realised there were so many things that needed to be done in Greece and he could extend a helping hand together with leading American figures such as the wife of US President Roosevelt, Eleanor.
Greek American motion picture pioneer and film executive, Spyros Skouras.
With Hollywood as the starting point, the organisation succeeded in getting the American public opinion in favour of defending the Greek fighters. By mid-April 1941, the GWRA had raised $5 million for the cause. Every week they were transferring to Athens between $250,000 to $500,000. After Greece’s collapse due to the German invasion, Skouras kept the organisation alive and he continued collecting money for humanitarian aid to save the Greeks from starving.
These are just a few of the ‘gems’ Ilias Chrissochoidis found when he decided to study the life of Skouras. The research associate at Stanford’s Department of Music was kind enough to talk to The Greek Herald about his research work on the unknown benefactor who saved 3 million Greek lives from starvation during the occupation.
Mr Chrissochoidis had the opportunity to study countless hours of Skouras’ private recordings about his life, his career and his thoughts and worries on Greece’s ordeal.
“From the first second I opened up the first box with Mr Skouras’ memoirs, I came to realise I had on my hands Mr Skouras’ autobiographical notes. Until that day, I knew very few things about him,” Mr Chrissochoidis tells The Greek Herald.
Skouras with Marilyn Monroe.
“I immediately began to read the notes and very soon I was really impressed with the work of the Greek War Relief Association, for which I knew nothing about, and his initiatives for the relief of our compatriots.”
Churchill, Alexander the Great and Skouras:
If you wonder which was the starting point of Skouras’ efforts to help his compatriots who were in great need, Mr Chrissochoidis explains: “it all began through private correspondence and afterwards he received some shocking, initially classified, photos of people who had lost their lives from famish. That was when the Greek community in the USA began to understand the magnitude of the national catastrophe in their homeland.”
With Skouras and other pioneers, like Archbishop Athenagoras, the GWRA reached out to all of the Greeks in the USA and in Canada and they were able to collect food and medical supplies for the Greeks.
“When the Allies imposed the naval blockade, Skouras put pressure on the American government and he, personally, persuaded Winston Churchill… to agree on a partial lift and allow for the refuelling of ships to save the Greeks,” Mr Chrissochoidis says.
Skouras never forgot his Greek roots.
“The help approached Greek ports under the International Red Cross flag since the occupying forces didn’t want the mission to be received as a propaganda from the Allies. Even to this day there are millions of Greeks who are unaware they were saved from their brothers and their sisters in America. Before the end of the war Skouras had started already his mission to get the American government to help with the rebuilding of our country.”
How much help was given to the Greeks?
“The total sum was astronomical. We are talking about food and medical supplies for the total weight of one and a half tone, worth $250 million. If you put in the equation the reduction of the administrative expenses to 5 percent, you can understand we are talking about the most successful international assistance fund campaign of World War II. After Alexander the Great, I consider Mr Skouras the most influential man in the world. As the president of 20th Century-Fox he had access to a quarter of the planet.”
An assessment of Skouras’ contribution:
A few years ago, Mr Chrissochoidis discovered the archives of 15 different meetings the GWRA’s Board of Directors had during the 40s. That was the time Skouras was in charge and was head of the Board. This revelation opened the path for one more thorough assessment of Skouras’ contribution to the salvation of millions of Greeks from famish during the occupation. How exactly was he able to help?
Letter from former US President Richard Nixon to Skouras.
“If we set aside his profound generosity to everybody (from his compatriots to Onassis, Karamanlis and the British Royal Family), his great achievement was persuading the British navy to lift the blockade they had imposed in Greece in 1942,” Mr Chrissochoidis says.
“Thus our country gained access to much-needed medical supplies and food in the middle of the occupation. At least one in 3 Greeks was saved from starvation and the epidemics, thanks to Skouras’ heroic campaign: for three months he put pressure on Churchill and Eden to let the ships sail. At the same time, he single-handedly worked on convincing the Swedish ships to accept the money and take over the precarious operation.”
Onassis’ refusal to allocate his fleet for the cause damaged their friendship. Nevertheless, Skouras’ help wasn’t just about the difficult times of the occupation.
“He continued providing assistance after the war, through his networking and by attracting foreign funds and capitals for purposes and businesses like an oil refinery, a TV station, housing estates and canned agricultural products.”
Skouras.
The ‘Esso Pappas’ might be the biggest industrial investment Greece ever had (its worth is $100 million). It was one of Skouras’ achievements together with his good friend, Tom Pappas, who eventually took over the project by himself.
But Skouras didn’t do just that. He has behind the production of film “The child and the dolphin” in Hydra (1957) with scenes at the Acropolis, Epidaurus and Meteora – the first global advertising campaign of Greece. Same goes for “The 300 of Spartans” and “It Happened in Athens,” in 1962.
With that being said, we can understand that every time we honour the day of our freedom from the occupation the least we can do is illuminate unknown stories of our great expatriate benefactors, like Skouras’ one.
The former house of 18th century Souliote general Lambros Tzavelas has officially opened its doors to the public.
Tzavelas’ son of the same name began renovating the “Tzeveleiko”, as it’s known, in Mount Voutsi 36 years ago.
“This was a desire that my father had from a young age, ever since his grandfather … told him about the achievements of our great grandparents in Souli,” Tzavelas’ grandson Konstantinos Tzavelas said.
Tzavelas was a hero of the Balkan wars who died three years after the Battle of Kiafa.
He was a leading figure in the Souliote resistance against the Ottomans in the late 18th century, particularly against European ruler Ali Pasha.
“Lambros Tzavelas was the patriarch of the legendary Souliote family, many of whose members fought for the supreme goals of freedom and independence, making the Tzavelas name synonymous with courage and patriotism,” Deputy Minister of Defense Alkiviadis Stefanis said.
The restored fireplace was lit for the first time 218 years after Pasha cursed that Souliote fireplaces would never smoke again.
The museum features historic relics, including paintings of Tzavelas’ descendants, costumes, manuscripts, and weapons.
Busts of Tzavelas and his wife Moschos stand outside.
