🌞 Australia's first accessible card range

The wonderful Anju, who compiles this newsletter, has requested that I remind all readers that today is World Alpaca Day🦙!

Don’t you dare say we aren’t hitting the big topics on a Sunday morning.

As a ‘words of affirmation’ girlie, writing and receiving cards is one of my favourite experiences.

Now, more Aussies can experience this, with an accessible card range developed by Hallmark Cards Australia and Guide Dogs Australia. 

The range is intended to help people with low or no vision take part in card-giving! The 12 cards have braille messages, tactile surfaces, high-contrast colours and bold designs. 

23-year-old Karlee Symonds, who lives with her Guide Dog Isla, said: “I’ve celebrated milestones where I couldn’t read the card in my hands in front of friends with everyone waiting for my reaction, it makes me feel invisible and awkward. These small moments of inaccessibility build up and can make the world become so small.

“Accessible greeting cards mean my community can share in life’s simple but special joys just like anyone else”. 

Alexa Leary celebrates after winning gold in the 100m Freestyle S9 at the World Para-Swimming Championships in Tokyo. Leary was a triathlete until a 2021 cycling accident left her with a traumatic brain injury. She spent six months in hospital re-learning how to talk and walk before taking up para-swimming. Leary won two gold medals and a silver, and set a world record in the 100m freestyle, at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

📸: Yong Teck Lim via Getty Images.

A special triathlon is happening in Moreton Bay today. 

Athletes competing include transplant recipients, organ donors, people on waiting lists and supporters, who’ll compete to honour their donors and raise awareness.

One of the competitors is Queenslander Emmy O’Neill, who is celebrating the fifth anniversary of her kidney transplant. 

She represented Australia at the World Transplant Games, a biennial event where transplant recipients, donors, and donor families raise awareness for organ donation.

Scientists at University College London (UCL) have announced the first successful treatment for Huntington’s disease.

Huntington’s disease is caused by a single genetic mutation, and until now, there haven’t been any effective treatments against the disease.  

The disease causes the brain’s nerve cells to deteriorate over time, often developing when a person is in their 30s or 40s. 

In a global clinical trial, patients receiving the treatment experienced “75% less progression of the disease overall,” compared to a control group.

Excitingly, this is the first time a drug trial has shown “continuing, statistically significant slowing” of the disease.

The new gene therapy is called AMT-130. It’s injected directly in the brain and introduces new functional DNA into a person’s cells. It's expected that a single dose would have lifelong effects.

Principal investigator Professor Ed Wild said the result “changes everything”.

“It seems likely AMT-130 will be the first licensed treatment to slow Huntington’s disease, which is truly world-changing stuff,” Wild added.  

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A UN treaty to protect marine biodiversity has met the 60 ratifications needed to take effect. Last week, African countries Morocco and Sierra Leone ratified the treaty, pushing it past the 60-country mark.

The treaty establishes legally binding rules to conserve marine biodiversity, set up protected areas, and achieve international biodiversity targets. 

It’ll cover two-thirds of the ocean that doesn’t fall under national boundaries. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the agreement “a lifeline for the ocean and humanity.” 

The treaty will take effect in January 2026.

Meet the internet’s favourite grandparents. 

Sue and Geoff are a couple who share the most heartwarming videos about their adventures. They’re known for their cruise videos, which they share with their grandkids (all of us).

I really can’t put into words how absolutely beautiful their videos are. They make growing old and spending time together look so lovely.