If you’re an adult and live in Australia, you’re more likely to be overweight or obese than not: 63% and 37% respectively. This excess weight is associated with increased premature death and disease, and…
Australia had a quick and effective response to HIV at the start of the epidemic. Some 30 years later, however, there’s a tendency to underestimate the sheer effort involved in maintaining HIV prevention…
By James Ward, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute
Indigenous people are estimated to comprise 4.5% of the total global population. They are often overrepresented in HIV data and recognise themselves as being particularly vulnerable to HIV. In Canada…
Watch the Honourable Michael Kirby, visiting professorial fellow at UNSW Australia, talk about how the law impacts HIV below. Michael Kirby is a former justice of the High Court of Australia, serving from…
Over the last half century, the global food industry has profoundly changed the way we eat. While we understand how these dietary changes have impacted physical health, their effect on mental well-being…
There are lots of medicines available to help with the symptoms of schizophrenia. Some are a bit more effective than others. Some have side effects that make them better suited to particular patients…
One of the greatest success stories in modern medicine is that HIV is no longer a death sentence, but a chronic, manageable disease that often can be managed with a single tablet a day. Antiretroviral…
Watch the video of Professor Nick Crofts talking about the report To Protect and Serve: How Police, Sex Workers, and People Who Use Drugs Are Joining Forces to Improve Health and Human Rights below. Professor…
After reading a recent Hard Evidence piece about whether fertility “drops off a cliff” at 35, I feel that some hard evidence about the chance of having a baby with IVF is needed. Some of the figures quoted…
Bleeding gums are very common but that doesn’t mean you should ignore them. They’re usually a sign of gum (periodontal) disease. If treated in its early stages, periodontal disease can be easily reversed…
Watch the video of Professor Rob Moodie talking to Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi below. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi is the director of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections Unit, at the Institut Pasteur…
Dutch professor of medicine Joep Lange and his partner Jacqueline van Tongeren were among the 298 people who perished in Malaysia Airlines flight 17 after it was struck down on the Russian-Ukraine border…
Evidence is mounting that plain cigarette packaging is helping prevent young people from becoming addicted, life-long customers of big tobacco. From January 2012, all tobacco products have been sold in…
Research has shown that if used effectively, the media can play an important role in lessening fear and stigma about HIV – the biggest obstacles to seeking information and treatment about the disease…
The number of new HIV diagnoses in Australia remains the highest in 20 years, according to data released today by UNSW’s Kirby Institute. While rates have remained stable over the past two years, the number…
Natural or bioidentical hormones are plant-derived products closely resembling the oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone produced in the body. The hormones are made up (compounded) in pharmacies to…
By James Ward, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute
Indigenous people are estimated to comprise 4.5% of the total global population. They are often overrepresented in HIV data and recognise themselves as being particularly vulnerable to HIV. In Canada…
Watch the Honourable Michael Kirby, visiting professorial fellow at UNSW Australia, talk about how the law impacts HIV below. Michael Kirby is a former justice of the High Court of Australia, serving from…
Hope, faith and miracle are the operative words when it comes to stem cell tourism.
Hope, faith and miracle are the operative words when it comes to stem cell tourism.
pol sifter/Flickr
Stem cell tourism is when people travel to another country to receive treatments unavailable to them at home. It exists chiefly because most stem cell “treatments” are unproven and not readily available…
The legal landscape around rights and responsibilities for home births is growing increasingly complex.
The legal landscape around rights and responsibilities for home births is growing increasingly complex.
Flickr: Thomas
The ongoing and sometimes emotive debate about risks and rewards of giving birth in hospital or at home is nothing new. What is new is the attention being given to the legal rights and responsibilities…
Beginning in middle age, blood levels of testosterone progressively decrease in some men.
Beginning in middle age, blood levels of testosterone progressively decrease in some men.
"El Gabo" - Davide Gabino/Flickr
A whole industry has grown around testosterone supplementation for ageing men. But neither the benefits nor risks of the practice are clear yet, and they remain the subject of ongoing research. Beginning…
Energy requirements don’t rise much but nutrient requirements do, so women need to be mindful of the quality of their diet.
Energy requirements don’t rise much but nutrient requirements do, so women need to be mindful of the quality of their diet.
Shutterstock
Women are often encouraged to “eat for two” during pregnancy. While this is right in terms of eating to meet both mum’s and baby’s needs, it doesn’t mean doubling her total food and energy intake. The…
Ian Thorpe spoke to Michael Parkinson about being gay.
Ian Thorpe spoke to Michael Parkinson about being gay.
Network Ten
Ian Thorpe coming out as gay during an interview with Michael Parkinson last night was both the most ordinary of stories and the most extraordinary. It also showed how deeply homophobia is ingrained in…
Therapy helps patients gradually confront situations, places and activities they’ve avoided since the traumatic event.
Therapy helps patients gradually confront situations, places and activities they’ve avoided since the traumatic event.
Bill Strain/Flickr
While human beings have always known about the mental health effects of trauma, it was only in 1980 that the term post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, was coined. This acceptance spawned an explosion…
The market for men’s grooming products is doubling each year.
The market for men’s grooming products is doubling each year.
Flickr: Alan Antiporda
Youth can be a difficult phase of life, as young people attempt to forge new identities, while facing challenges at school and in their social life. Many also experience pressure and stress related to…
As the queue grows, small increases in waiting times soon turn into dramatic spikes.
As the queue grows, small increases in waiting times soon turn into dramatic spikes.
Fotoluminate LLC/Shutterstock
The introduction of a GP co-payment could see average emergency department visits increase by between six minutes and almost three hours, new modelling shows, as more patients opt for free hospital care…
While doctors still use their senses for diagnoses, they have technologies to back them up.
While doctors still use their senses for diagnoses, they have technologies to back them up.
Alex Proimos/Flickr
“Diabetic urine”, the surgeon Herbert Mayo wrote in 1832, “is almost always of a pale straw or greenish colour. Its smell is commonly faint and peculiar, sometimes resembling sweet whey or milk.” The use…
The government’s attempt to introduce a $7 compulsory co-payment for visits to the doctor and pathology services has drawn widespread criticism.
The government’s attempt to introduce a $7 compulsory co-payment for visits to the doctor and pathology services has drawn widespread criticism.
AAP Image/NEWZULU/PETER BOYLE
Arguments against health co-payments proposed in May’s federal budget will come to the fore again shortly as the Senate considers whether it will pass the necessary legislation. The government’s attempt…
The Conversation relies on sector, government and reader support.
If you would like to help us have even better conversations,
then you may like to make a one-off or on-going donation.
