Social media can help raise awareness of health issues, engaging people in discussion and encouraging them to take action. But thoughtless adherence to such trends has the potential to cause harm. New…

Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in Australian women. But experts disagree on the benefits of breast cancer screening programs, with some arguing that it’s unclear whether…

Belief is a powerful medicine but the term “placebo” has negative connotations. In modern evidence-based medicine, treatments considered worthless are described as no better than placebos. But this description…

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…

Two out of three Australians use complementary medicines to boost their nutrition, alleviate various symptoms and improve their overall health and well-being. There are around 10,000 products to choose…

Animal welfare and environmental sustainability are important ethical issues but Australian supermarkets don’t do much about them. Germany’s Aldi Süd chain could teach them a thing or two.

More than six million animals are used in experiments in Australia each year. Many endure pain and distress, and most are killed after their use. The research community claims that our regulatory framework…

Draft guildelines for the use of non-human primates in research will dilute what protections these animals have, despite numerous reasons to stop the practice entirely.

Maxims like turn that frown upside down may annoy you when ill-timed but it seems they have some evidence-based science behind them. A growing body of research shows that your state of mind may have a…

The UK government recently concluded a six-week consultation on discarding a section of its law on animal experimentation in the interest of openness. Australia doesn’t have such restrictive laws but we’re…