"I believe it is a worse health problem than tobacco," says Professor Patrick Ball, from Charles Sturt University’s School of Biomedical Sciences, "for the first time in human history, Type 2 Diabetes is more common than Type 1."

Earlier this month, the OECD released a report which shows that Australia spends less on early childhood education than any other nation in the industrialised world. It prompted calls from both sides of federal politics for a national approach to early childhood education. Fran Press, Charles Sturt University senior lecturer in early childhood education, says “What we have at the moment is a dog’s breakfast".

Earlier this month, a senior federal Labor MP put forward a proposal to make Year 12 compulsory for all Australian students. The proposal attracted widespread opposition, and for good reason, according to vocational education researcher Associate Professor Erica Smith from Charles Sturt University (CSU).

Cooperative agricultural research projects between the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and Charles Sturt University (CSU) was a feature of the Cambodian Prime Minister’s visit to Wagga Wagga yesterday (Thursday 12 October).

"Frankly, it’s been so low this whole season so far, that we haven’t started reporting it yet!" says Dr George Car of CSU’s School of Biomedical Sciences. He says the pollen count is the lowest ever in the ten years he has been monitoring it in the Wagga Wagga area. "In previous years, the grass pollen count would have been well into the moderate or even into the high range by mid-October."

Would a human baby brought up in space look a lot like ET? “Possibly,” says Dr Graeme Wren Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Science & Technology, Charles Sturt University (CSU), Wagga Wagga. Dr Wren will present the public lecture Space Medicine: Physiological Adaptation to Microgravity on Wednesday 25 October 2006 at 6.00pm at the Dubbo Campus of CSU.

More CSU journalism students will be heading overseas thanks to a scholarship program funded by the Copyright Agency Ltd (CAL) Cultural Fund.

The Prime Minister John Howard flies to Fiji today for the Pacific Islands Forum, and once again the Solomon Islands is expected to be the focus of discussion. While relations between Australia and the Solomons becomes increasingly more strained, a CSU PhD student, Cliff Bird, described as “one of the prime intellectuals of the country” is preparing to address a Solomon leadership forum on conflict resolution.

Leading Charles Sturt University research ranging from addressing the scourge of cereal cropping in southern Australia - annual ryegrass - to developing a computer game to simulate a major national crisis has won major funding in the latest round of Federal Government grants.