Obituary

The crime of infanticide is recognised in a number of Australian states. Generally, the legislation requires that a mother kill her child aged less than 12 months, and, at the time of the offence, her mental balance is disturbed by the effect of childbirth or lactation. According to research, however, the relationship between childbirth-related mental disturbance and infanticide, is unclear. Research is warranted to explore this relationship further using Australian data. In particular, given the highly diverse nature of the population, specific focus should be given to vulnerable Indigenous infants as well as to culturally diverse groups.     

Obituary

“Bill's mind was Einstein's universe, finite, but boundless. Always reaching into spheres you wouldn't imagine.” These are the words of L. Jolyon West, MD, Chairman of Psychiatry at UCLA. Bill died from the complications of heart disease on December 14, 1992. The scientific community has been well aware of his prodigious research and fundamental observations in blood-brain barrier mechanisms, cerebral metabolism, and perhaps most importantly, the principles of computed tomography.