No parent decides to make their child obese. Yet one in five children will be overweight or obese by the time they reach primary school. We now know that excessive weight gain actually begins much earlier…
Getting the results science needs might mean no more Dr Nice Guy.
Ion Chibzii/Wikimedia Commons
War has been declared, and those who recognise the fundamental role science plays in everyday life need to decide where they stand. Building on the budgetary and rhetorical slights of recent months, rumours…
A DNA test can detect fragile X syndrome with 99% accuracy.
AAP
Most people are not aware of fragile X syndrome but they may well be affected by it or know someone who is. Commonly under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed the condition is often mistaken for Attention Deficit…
The SA legislation aims to end intolerable suffering.
Timothy K Hamilton
With the South Australian parliament passing its latest euthanasia bill to committee stage, there is a real possibility locals will be given the right to end their life. And with an unprecedented number…
Viruses, parasites and bacteria have all developed resistance to current drugs.
AAP
Marc Pellegrini, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)
The World Health Organisation’s World Health Day is dedicated to the threat posed by the rapid emergence of drug resistant organisms. Viruses, parasites and bacteria have all developed some resistance…
The drugs don’t work. But a swifter way of identifying bacteria could reduce the need for antibiotics.
AAP
Antibiotics started out as the biggest medical breakthrough of the 20th century but overuse in humans and animals has led to resistance and reduced efficacy. We’re now at risk of reverting back to a pre-antibiotic…
People who live on busy roads are at greater risk of pre-term births.
The body of evidence on the unhealthy effects of traffic pollution is now longer than a stretch limo. Our recent Queensland study found pregnant women exposed to greater levels of traffic pollution had…
The hairy-nosed wombat is just one of the species at Australia’s “frozen zoo”.
Fleshpiston/Flickr
Let’s be clear: the world’s animal resources are rapidly declining. Globally, more than 5,000 wildlife species are threatened with extinction. Some 25% are mammals, and 11% birds. Of the reptile, amphibian…
Age-related changes in body weight may have a positive impact on mental health.
keithload/Flickr
Being overweight in childhood, adolescence or during adulthood has traditionally been thought to increase the long-term risk of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular events and some cancers as well as…
In 1973, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) first aired The Six Million Dollar Man, a made-for-television movie in which Steve Austin, an astronaut test-piloting a prototype aeroplane, experienced…
The $125m already spent on bowel cancer screening will be wasted if the program isn’t funded in the May Budget.
AAP
This year 17,000 Australians will be diagnosed with bowel cancer and every week 80 people will die from this disease. Meanwhile Australia’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) has run out of…
Brisbane Lions’ Jonathan Brown sustains a head injury against Fremantle.
AAP
The intense public interest in protective headgear following recent cases of high-profile AFL players sustaining concussion and other head or face injuries, is understandable. Unfortunately we have limited…
My family has just come home from a barbeque, the second we’ve attended this weekend. That’s been quite a common occurrence for us in the last couple of months. Our house in Fairfield, a residential suburb…
Estrogen has a protective effect on women at risk of developing mental health disorders.
tumbler
Throughout history and across many cultures, changes in mood, thinking and emotional responses have been related to hormone changes in women. Unfortunately, the connection between hormones and mood have…
Complementary medicines make up half the healthcare industry.
Jeff Kubina/Flickr
Despite increasing uptake of complementary medicine, professions within its range remain unregulated, undocumented and their impact on health generally unknown. This has created an informal ‘black market…
Former AFL player Daniel Bell is seeking compensation for brain damage linked to multiple concussions.
AAP
What happens to the brain in a collision? A blow to the head can cause any form of damage to the brain. On the serious side, it can cause a large haemorrhage and damage to a large amount of brain tissue…
The mental health effects of a natural disaster can be felt for years.
AAP
In the wake of the Queensland floods, the Christchurch earthquake, and the Japanese earthquake/tsunami/nuclear crisis, people are asking for advice about how we should manage the effects of disaster on…
Donated breast milk is ideal for preterm infants but doesn’t deliver the same benefits for older, healthier babies.
WA Health
It is now widely accepted that mothers’ milk is best for babies. Breastfed infants have fewer infections and are likely to have a higher intelligence than those fed artificial formula. But a difficulty…
NGOs, public health associations and consumer organisations disagree with industry groups about the most useful system for labelling our foods.
The fight over how to label our food has never been more intense. On one side of the argument we have public health associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and consumer groups looking for effective…
The stress a mother experiences during birth can lead to interventions such as caesareans..
Salim Fadhley/flickr
More than 200,000 Australian women give birth in hospital every year, but very few give much thought to the room in which they will do it. Imagine a woman’s surprise when they walk in to discover that…
There is simply no evidence based on proper clinical trials that spinal manipulation can ameliorate children’s conditions.
AAP
Chiropractic, one of the several popular so-called complementary and alternative medicines(1), should never be applied to children. It simply isn’t based on credible scientific evidence. A practitioner…
Ten minutes of sunlight each day can be enough to boost vitamin D stores.
AAP
Vitamin D is all the rage at the moment. Everyone is measuring it and no one, it seems, is getting enough of it. Of course, Vitamin D is not really a vitamin because dietary intake is usually not required…
Energy drink consumption is associated with increased cardiovascular risk.
Tambako the Jaguar/flickr
Over 3.5 billion cans of Red Bull are sold every year in over 120 countries, claiming the drink leads to “improved performance, concentration, vigilance and emotional status” (RedBull website). Other energy…
People won’t change their behaviour unless they have a mental model of a problem.
ARM Climate Research Facility on Flickr
Most of us don’t really understand climate change, and for some of us that means we can’t accept it. Sure, the evidence is compelling, but sadly humans aren’t always interested in evidence when it comes…
Both major parties in the NSW election campaign have pledged to increase spending on hospitals.
AAP/Paul Miller
The debate about health in the lead-up to the Saturday March 26 NSW election has been unusually civilised and intelligent. The main contestants – the current minister, Carmel Tebbutt, and shadow minister…