Should health professionals play a role in identifying would-be terrorists? If you’re in the United Kingdom, the answer seems to be yes. In 2007, the United Kingdom launched a counter-terrorism strategy…
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Health – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 7901 - 7925 of 8049 articles
A controversy is brewing on the website Psychology Today and subsequently in The Australian newspaper. At the heart of the issue is US psychiatrist Dr Allen Frances’ comments on the Australian Federal…
Almost half of all cigarettes smoked in Australia, the US and the UK are smoked by people with a mental illness. It’s a startling statistic and it paints a grim picture for the physical health of the one…
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called for a ban on the sale of pre-packaged alcoholic energy drinks based on recent research, echoing a similar call for bottle shops to stop selling pre-packaged…
Let’s be clear: immunisations matter. They matter a lot. We all have a complex and ever-changing ecology of microorganisms and parasites inside our bodies and in our community. A recent fatal case of diphtheria…
In 2002, the Australian federal Parliament passed two Acts to regulate human embryo and stem cell research. The Prohibition of Human Cloning Act banned practices that people seemed to be most worried about…
The rapid development of genetic science and technology holds hope for greatly improved health outcomes, with better diagnostics, treatments and cures, as well as the beginning of pharmacogenomics and…
The thought that most of us only use 10% of our brain is appealing because it means we have a whole lot of untapped potential waiting to be harnessed. Unfortunately, that figure is off by about 90%. This…
The human genome provides penetrating and unexpected insights into human individual and collective history. Among them is the counterintuitive idea that genes are at the mercy of experience – that what…
For the first time, scientists have seen how nicotine depresses appetite signals in the brain, unlocking potential treatments for obese people and smokers who want to quit without gaining weight. Some…
Drugs to relieve pain for people with chronic diseases are expensive and can have harmful side effects. But there are alternatives that promise benefits exceeding pain relief. Mindfulness meditation…
Despite high vaccination rates, Australia and other developed countries periodically have small outbreaks of measles, as seen in the recent scares in Victoria and New South Wales. Until about 40 years…
Vital heart muscles damaged during cardio arrest can be replaced by stem cells within the organ with the help of a special protein, scientists have discovered. Heart attacks cause dangerous damage to muscle…
Previously unthinkable questions about vitamin use by cancer patients are being asked following a series of recent clinical studies. Is it time for cancer patients’ love affair with vitamins to end? Might…
British American Tobacco Australia has launched yet another attack on the Australian government’s plain packaging legislation. On top of its latest “Where’s the proof?” campaign, launched today, it is…
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant and growing global public health problem. But the creation of a new type of stem cell offers new hope for therapies and drugs for this worldwide problem. In…
Federal and state governments in Australia appear much less successful than their United States counterparts in recovering taxpayers funds lost to suspected large-scale corporate fraud. For instance, there…
How we are born, who supports mothers and the quality of the care provided during birth are vital to good public health and personal well being. But all is not well in modern birthing in spite of the advances…
Feeling tired and grumpy? Maybe a litte emotional? If you’re a middle-aged male, these symptoms might be hormone-related, but no, you’re not going through man opause. It’s true that signs of men’s low…
With public attention firmly focused on the increase in the suicide rate among people under the age of 35 in the last 20 years, few people are aware that those aged 75 years and over, particularly males…
E. coli is a common germ that has traditionally caused blood stream infections and urinary tract infections. The virulent strain we’re seeing in Europe which has infected more than 1500 people and killed…
Public health experts have warned for more than two decades that climate change will harm human health. Initially their attention focused on “primary” health effects (e.g heat waves, bush fires and flooding…
As many as a one in 20 men is infertile, but in many cases the underlying cause for it remains unknown. Recent research has found that a peculiarity in the way in which the DNA inside our mitochondria…
You’ve just died. Your family is distraught. Before passing on, you made arrangements to donate your body to your local university for the purpose of scientific training. Your family and friends respect…
Doctors working in an environment of armed conflict face situations where patients have overwhelming injuries. There is often limited access to medical resources to provide treatment. And the doctors themselves…