British researchers say they have identified the gene that controls chronic pain, opening the door to new drug therapies that block the chemical processes that cause chronic back pain, headaches or arthritis…
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Health – Research and News
Displaying 376 - 400 of 435 articles
Older women who have one standard alcoholic drink a day may be healthier than their teetotalling peers, a new study has found, but experts have warned that moderation is still key to ageing well. Australia’s…
Mobile phones could track human movement during disasters or disease outbreaks, directing authorities in real time to where aid is needed most, new research has found. Natural disasters displace tens of…
Sun-lovers may one day be able to pop a ‘sunscreen pill’ that uses a compound found in coral to protect skin from harmful UV light, according to UK researchers. Cancer Council Australia has cautiously…
Emergency medicine specialist Chris Baggoley has been appointed Australia’s new Chief Medical Officer, after acting in the role since April. The Chief Medical Officer works out of the Department of Health…
Soldiers returning from combat have heightened activity in the part of the brain that regulates fear but this usually normalises after around 18 months, a study has found. The amygdala, the tiny part of…
Many university students use scholarly databases like they would Google, revealing an astonishingly poor understanding of how to refine searches for better research results, a US study has found. The Ethnographic…
Homo sapiens mated with their ancient human counterparts, including Neanderthals, and helped improve the modern human immune system in the process, according to a new study. Researchers from the Stanford…
World-first field trials of a new technique to stop mosquitoes passing the dangerous and painful dengue virus onto humans have been declared a success, with plans afoot to roll out the method in dengue-plagued…
A new infant formula that aims to mimic the nutritional value of breast milk is under development at CSIRO, but breastfeeding advocates say research dollars could be better spent supporting women’s attempts…
Obese people tend to perform worse than healthy people at cognitive tasks like planning ahead, a literature review has found, concluding that psychological techniques used to treat anorexics could help…
Scientists have discovered a new way of controlling a hormone that stimulates cancer growth and, along the way, gained new insight into how the feel-good hormone oxytocin can be regulated. Researchers…
“Fat acceptance” blogs urging overweight people to shed negative feelings about their body image can lead to healthier diet and exercise choices, a study has found. The fat acceptance movement, which seeks…
A “spelling mistake” in a DNA sequence can trigger a process that switches a crucial anti-cancer gene off, thereby boosting the risk of cancer developing, researchers have found. In a paper published in…
Scientists have invented new stick-on ‘tattoos’ that track human heart, brain wave and muscle activity and could one day replace cumbersome medical monitors. Known as an epidermal electronic system (EES…
A new method of predicting the chances an embryo will survive has shown promise in tests on mice and could one day be used on humans to boost IVF success rates, UK scientists have said. Many couples undergoing…
Smokers who light up within 30 minutes of waking up are 1.79 times as likely to develop lung cancer as those who have their first cigarette at least an hour after waking up, a study has found. It’s no…
A quick, cheap and non-invasive test on newborn infants is effective in picking up heart defects missed by some prenatal ultrasounds, a UK study has found. Pulse oximetry involves clipping a sensor to…
Young men whose partners have had an abortion or miscarriage are twice as likely to develop depression than those whose partners have never been pregnant, a new study has found. While previous studies…
Dieting can cause brain cells to eat themselves, a new study has found. In a paper published by the journal Cell Metabolism, US researchers report that tests on mice revealed that hunger triggers a process…
Women who are raped, sexually assaulted, bashed by a partner or stalked are much more likely to develop mental health problems than women who do not experience gender-based violence, a study has found…
Experts in epidemiology have described as weak a study that found high levels of exposure to magnetic fields during pregnancy may triple the risk the child will develop asthma. The California study, published…
Scientists have invented a new pliable implant that can be injected in liquid form, massaged into shape and hardened up through exposure to light. Fillers are used to make patients look younger, reconstruct…
Around 20 minutes of tiny electric shocks to the scalp may improve brain function in schizophrenia patients, a study has found. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) involves passing a mild, painless…
People hospitalised for abuse of methamphetamines like crystal meth or ice have a 76% higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to those with no drug addiction, a study has found. Parkinson’s…