Throughout human history, death has been an absolute concept we have learnt to accept at the youngest of ages. With the idea that death is natural and unavoidable, the notion of somehow avoiding death has been until now the territory of fictional books and movies. However, unbeknownst to most of us, the idea of immortality may not always remain just a fictional plot line for entertainment but may one day become our reality.

Hi, my name is Claudia and I’m looking into the concept of immortality for my Year 12 Project. Through the exploration of the scientific knowledge we currently have of human aging mechanics, I will set out to answer the overly ambitious question of whether humanity is capable of achieving immortality.

Like most others, the idea of immortality first occurred to me when I was a child watching such movies as Harry Potter with the immortalizing “Philosophers Stone” or children's books such as Peter Pan. When reading these stories, I never once questioned whether they were factual or even feasible, which is probably the case for most kids caught up in the magic of these stories.   I only started to question this more when I stumbled onto an article that discussed that the first person to make it to the age of 150, has actually already been born. That made me really think, and I started to question the possibility of immortality itself. This soon became an intriguing concept and formulated the basis of my Year 12 Project. This also made me think of an idea for my practical.

At first for my practical, I struggled settling on an idea that would be both relative and meaningful towards the concept of prolonging life. Believe it or not, my options for a relatable practical were fairly limited since cryogenically freezing someone was not an option. However, I decided to go with the idea of creating a meaningful book, filled with memories of a few people willing to share their personal favourite experiences in their life so far. From these memories and stories, I plan to create a short story containing aspects of their specific memory with the theme of immortality intertwined into each story. The meaning behind my decision was to immortalise these favourite memories in a sense, rather than just remaining a memory that will fade away with the person. Think of how Shakespeare is immortalised through his works or the Beatles with their music. It’s an entirely different concept of immortality where personal memories can live on through words.

Coming up with a suitable practical however, was not the hardest struggle I faced with my project thus far, when compared to understanding the complex biological mechanics of the human ageing system. In order to properly understand if there was a chance of immortality being achieved in our future, having a competent grasp on these complex mechanics was essential, but it certainly was anything but easy. Put simply, through my research, I learnt how humans only have a limited understanding of the biological ageing processes we experience because everything is so very complex. However, through the work of Dr. Sinclair (a Harvard medical professor), there was a direct link between epigenome and ageing, when testing on mice to better understand the ageing process.

A simple explanation on Epigenome is that it is a chemical compound within the body that serves the purpose of turning genes off or on and directing the genome (an entire set of DNA instructions that holds information crucial for people to develop and function), on what function it serves in the body. From this, Sinclair developed a drug using the information they knew about epigenome which has the potential ability to slow, stop and even possibly reverse the aging process. However, this drug is in the very early stages of testing and still has a long way to go, as its side effects and functionality is still somewhat blurry. Nevertheless, scientists are hopeful with this discovery as its proved to cure blindness in non-human primates as well as reset the brains of mice thus far. So who knows what will come of this.

From my research and through the extensive headaches the comprehension of all the information brought upon me, I came to the conclusion of whether immortality might be possible or not. Although article after article I read contradicted the previous information in the one before, I had to draw out my own opinion that aligned with the most reliable sources I read. From the information I have researched, I personally believe that immortality is a scientific possibility. While I do think it’s possible, however, it’s not a probable outcome. Additionally, we also need to question what this would bring to the world. Would humanity lose touch with itself? Would human life be devalued? There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration while the scientists are racing to be the first to discover the secrets of prolonging human life. Perhaps if we were to discover the secrets of eternal life, we still wouldn’t know what this would bring to humanity, or perhaps, we should just keep the idea of immortality to live forever within the fictional world instead.

Eva Franklyn

Hi, my names Eva Franklyn and for my Year 12 Project, I have chosen to explore the topic of Postnatal mental illnesses, and I will be answering the question:

“What are the three Postnatal Psychiatric mental disorders, and what support and treatment options are available?”

For most women having a child is one of the most joyful times in their lives, but for some women having a child can be the catalyst for mental illness.

I have always been interested in motherhood and pregnancy, so when we were given the task of choosing a topic for our project, I wanted mine to involve this. I had heard about Postnatal mental illness through friends and family; however, I had limited understanding of its causes and the impacts it could have on the relationship between a mother and baby. One night around the time we were choosing our topics I watched a documentary on postnatal mental illness. In the show, many women shared their stories. I was deeply moved, and it was at this point I knew I decided that Postnatal illnesses would be a central theme for my Project. Originally, I was overwhelmed by this topic, and I struggled with my research. As time went on, my interest developed to understand the reasons behind these illnesses, the causes and how they could be treated.  I found that the causes of Postnatal mental disorders are often unclear, and affect women from all around the world, regardless of race, class, or age. Postnatal illness ranges in severity and may last from a few weeks to several months. These disorders can have profound consequences and in rare cases lead to suicide or even infanticide.

Originally, I planned to focus my project just on postnatal depression. However, from reading about postnatal psychosis and postnatal anxiety I knew I wanted to broaden my scope to include these illnesses in my analysis.

So far, what I have found to be the most interesting is Postnatal psychosis (PNP), because it is the most severe postnatal illness and is frequently misunderstood. PNP distorts a person’s sense of reality, causing delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia. It's been quite confronting reading about PNP and the huge effect it can have on a women’s mental health. The most shocking thing I have discovered is that 50% of the time PNP is not genetic and is instead based on biological factors, such as environment, financial situation, and stress levels.  People in the community don’t really know about PNP, so it leaves many women vulnerable to picking up on early signs and therefore seeking treatment in a timely way.  I have read a few stories of women reporting feelings of alienation during the postnatal period, in which she thinks an outside force is controlling her feelings and actions. I have found it fascinating to read about the way women feel during psychosis. It has given me the opportunity to gain a new perspective on my topic through reading about these women's personal experiences.

Often, we will see a story in the media about a mother murdering her children, however, what the media doesn’t portray is that the mother may have been impacted by Postnatal Psychosis. Throughout the process of my project topic exploration, I have recognized how misunderstood this condition is, as well as the impact of the media and the way it reports. Like most things that are reported on, there is always more to the story than meets the reader.

I choose to do this topic as I want to raise awareness for not only the mothers who have previously had a Postnatal mental illness but also for women who haven’t had children yet. I also want to use this opportunity to raise awareness among my community as while most of my peers aren’t having children just yet, I think it's important for them to be aware of these illnesses for the future.

Regarding my practical, I plan to hold a workshop with women who have previously suffered from a postnatal illness. The Workshop will be an opportunity for women to share their stories with other women who have had similar experiences and for me to learn more about this topic firsthand.  

During the workshop I’d like the participants to create a small square which can be embroidered, knitted or in any other style of their choice.  I plan to use the squares created in the workshop to make a story quilt. With this quilt I plan to donate it to a community Mother & Baby group as a way of giving back to the community.

I am currently looking for willing volunteers to join the Workshop who feel comfortable sharing their experiences in a safe and confidential space. I’m also looking for donations of fabric for the making of the quilt. I will provide morning tea, and sewing supplies, experienced and beginner sewers are welcome.   If you’re interested in partaking in the workshop or donating fabrics, please message me on 0468762783. 

Millie Harvey

Hi everyone, my names Millie Harvey and I am a Class 12 student this year. One thing I’ve learned over the last few years is that life can be one intense journey. Sometimes we fall down, we get lost, we may lose our way. But if we have the skills, we can find our way back to the trail, pick ourselves up and step forward with a new sense of resilience.

Those who know me, know that I love outdoor adventuring, swimming, camping, and being in wild places. I love sleeping in the bush and navigating my way through new terrain. This is the stuff that inspires me and fills me with energy. Outdoor Ed and school camps have filled me with so much joy. But they haven’t always been easy.

On my Year 8 camp, I had a severe asthma attack. I was stuck up on a hill in the middle of the bush for almost 3 hours until I was carried back to base camp, shaking, with blue lips, struggling to breathe. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to make it home. The scariest part was that we were out in the middle of nowhere with no phone reception to call an ambulance.

That kind of experience shakes you.

I had another big asthma attack on my year 10 camp, but this time everyone was a little more prepared. My teacher Jadon was by my side in a few seconds and knew exactly what needed to be done to keep me safe. Most recently, while snorkelling in an outdoor Ed class, I was stung around the throat by a swarm of jellyfish tentacles. That thing was brutal and didn’t want to detach from my neck. Three months later and I still bear the scar.

This kind of thing happens to me a lot… But it’s a price I’m willing to pay for this kind life. Not once has it stopped me pushing my body to the limit, seeking out new experiences and exploring in unknown spaces.

The key point in all of this is that I was made to feel safe by having prepared and skilled instructors or teachers with me who were ready to administer first aid, keep me calm and take action to keep me breathing. This quite literally made all the difference. It got me thinking about how First Responders often keep people alive. And how important these skills are for us all to have. The difference is often quite literally life or death.

That lead me to my research question, “What are the key techniques and first aid skills needed for survival in the West Australian bush?” In these uncertain times and unstable future, it seems really important we are all skilled in some pretty essential survival techniques such as how to find and filter water, build a shelter, navigate by the stars, protect ourselves from extreme temperatures like heat or cold, deal with stings, bites (and asthma attacks) and how to survive if we lose our way.

After Year 12 it is my plan to study Paramedicine at Uni and spend my time ‘for the service of humanity’, as the St John’s Ambulance motto goes. Since my first trip in an ambulance was after a particularly bad asthma attack, I have been in awe of the Paramedics who bravely turn up to save lives of people they’ve never met. From that moment on, I’ve felt inspired to train to be one. If you can learn to save a life, why wouldn’t you?  What better way to show my appreciation to all those people who helped keep me breathing and safe. We could all do with a helping hand now and again.

At some point, there will be a time in all our lives that we may find ourselves a little lost and far from home. When that happens, I hope we’ll be able find our way back to the trail. My goal is to bring this lifesaving information out into the world and hopefully make it a safer place and give everyone that extra chance of survival.