It’s a well-worn political trick that you caricature and call your opponents names when you don’t want to engage with the substance of their claims. In debates about porn, pornography advocates often seek…
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Health – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 6451 - 6475 of 8068 articles
**A more sustainable Australia* As we hit the half-way mark of the 2013 election campaign, we’ve asked academics to look at some of the long-term issues affecting Australia – the issues that will shape…
I was recently interviewed by a reporter from a major news organisation about my research on the psychology of nostalgia. The reporter was asking me questions such as, “Isn’t it unhealthy to live in the…
The issue of training places for new medical graduates was again in the news last week when Health Minister Tanya Plibersek announced A$8 million to expand medical intern places in rural private hospitals…
Most people have the strong desire for a normal weight but in many developed countries such as Australia, only a minority are able to achieve it. Research we recently published provides an insight into…
Clinical trials of an experimental cancer drug being undertaken by the University of New South Wales were suspended this week, after questions about the accuracy of some preliminary results were made public…
Scientific research requires a commitment to total honesty. This is a foundation upon which the country’s two major research funders’ Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research is based. Misconduct…
Research published in the journal Nature overnight describes the mutations that make cancer cells grow faster than ordinary cells. These “mutational signatures” don’t just open up avenues for better cancer…
The news that the AFL has charged James Hird, and other members of the Essendon Football Club’s management staff (including the club doctor, Bruce Reid) with bringing the sport into disrepute should surprise…
Welcome to the The Conversation’s Election 2013 State of the Nation essays. These articles by leading experts in their field provide an in-depth look at the key policy challenges affecting Australia as…
Have you ever wondered how diseases get defined? How “high” does your blood pressure have to be before it’s called “high blood pressure”? How “low” does bone density have to be before it’s “osteoporosis…
“The changes to lifetime health cover will increase [private health insurance] premiums by up to a reported 27.5%. This is hitting many local residents very hard, with some struggling to find the money…
The recent arrest by Canadian police of two young people who allegedly shared a photo of a young woman being sexually assaulted has once again highlighted the danger that social media can pose for teenagers…
Although in use for over 50 years now, chemotherapy is a blunt instrument in the battle against cancer and one that’s based on an outdated understanding of tumour biology. Personalised treatment has been…
Over the years, hundreds of diet books have claimed to have the perfect recipe for decreasing the national girth. They manipulate quantities of protein, fats or carbohydrates and most work in the short…
One in nine Australians over the age of 25 (that’s 1.7 million people) has chronic kidney disease. That’s more than the number living with chronic lung disease, stroke, heart failure, and all types of…
Curtin University researchers have developed a new obesity prevention app that shows users how they will look in future if their diet and exercise habits do not change. The app, which is currently in the…
Is sex addiction real? That is, is it really a disorder, involving diminished control over behaviour? Questions such as these are difficult to answer because it’s always difficult to distinguish diminished…
Community-care packages have traditionally been case-managed packages of services for older people requiring residential care but wanting to stay in their home. Since July 1, all new community-care packages…
Intrigued by recent research that shows longer-term breastfeeding may be linked to higher IQs, I shared an article about it on my Facebook page. I was promptly accused of “breast-is-best” fascism. It appears…
Predictable positions followed the recent announcement of an increase in tobacco tax by 12.5% a year for four years. Public health advocates praised the tax, labelling those questioning it as “tobacco…
The holy grail of obesity research is a simple, single solution that could stem the tide of this epidemic. But research we published in PLOS ONE today shows that this is an implausible, if not impossible…
Vitamin D has emerged as “the vitamin of the decade”, with a long and growing list of maladies supposedly caused through its absence or prevented through its bountiful supply. But is there adequate evidence…
It might be fine for us to inject ourselves with Botox in a quest for eternal youth, but when the microorganism that produces this potent toxin is found in whey powder that might end up in baby milk formula…
Not content with saving lives, doctors are now credited with (accused of?) bringing the dead back to life. But how true are the stories we hear about people “coming back” from being dead and how does it…