Liz Minchin, The Conversation and Carley Tonoli, The Conversation
Even the tiniest taste of beer can be enough to drive some men to want to drink more, a new study has found. While it sounds like the kind of study dreamt up at a backyard barbeque, US researchers have…
Doctors should be able to provide subsidised “prescriptions” for healthy food to people in remote Aboriginal communities, says an Indigenous nutrition expert. Professor Kerin O'Dea, Professor of Nutrition…
Flu vaccines given to children should be more rigorously tested before before being allowed onto the market, researchers say, to prevent a repeat of the 2010 vaccine release, which caused a spate of high…
Health commissions and medical boards should publicly disclose the details of complaints against doctors when multiple allegations of misconduct or inappropriate behaviour are made, experts say. The call…
Mobile phones should be used to express and store our end-of-life medical care preferences, experts say. Advance care directives (ACDs) are legal documents that allow people to detail the quality of life…
A nutrient found red meat may increase the risk of heart disease when it interacts with the bacteria in the human gut, according to a paper published this week in Nature Medicine. The results point to…
Showing young people computer-generated images illustrating the effects of smoking on their appearance later in life may encourage them to quit, a new study has found. The findings are published in the…
The average cost to the Australian economy of each quad bike related fatality is $AUD2.3 million, according to fresh research that tallied up the cost of lost earnings, emergency services, accident investigations…
NSW Health authorities should withdraw advertisements urging people to cover their coughs and sneezes with their hands and instead tell people to use their inner elbow, according to a letter to the editor…
A team of international researchers, including a number of Australian scientists, have identified 74 new areas of the genome that can increase a person’s risk of developing breast, prostate and ovarian…
Australian experts are urging caution over a new study that suggests a link between insufficient vitamin D and pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and lower birth weight in…
The entire editorial board of a US academic journal has resigned in protest over restrictions that would require scholars to wait up to 18 months before making their published research more widely available…
Changing the way people think and move can have a huge impact on their experience of unexplained lower back pain, a study has found. The new findings, published in the European Journal of Pain, show that…
At least 37 cows have died after an anthrax outbreak in Moree, northern NSW, it was reported today. Here are some expert responses to the news, collected by the Australian Science Media Centre. Dr David…
Experts have warned of the growing risk of travellers to India, China and South East Asia bringing home E.coli infections that are immune to treatment with a normal course of antibiotic tablets. People…
Around one in six Australian children live below the poverty line, according to a report released today by the Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth (ARACY). While the rates have improved…
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Nancy Youssef, The Conversation
Compulsive hoarders are more likely to suffer from executive dysfunction, a cognitive deficit that inhibits flexible thinking and categorisation skills, a study has found. The findings, published in the…
People who sleep five hours or less a night are more likely to snack after dinner and gain more weight than those who get a full night’s rest, a new study has found. Staying awake burns more energy than…
Women who use aspirin for five or more years have a 30% lower risk of developing melanoma skin cancer than women who don’t take aspirin, a new study has found. Previous studies have linked aspirin with…
A new study that found the common plastic ingredient bisphenol A (BPA) may harm a baby’s brain development in-utero has been described as ‘misleading’ and ‘not relevant’ by Australian experts. BPA is a…
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted Federal Court proceedings against a repeat offender over allegedly misleading claims on a homeopathy website. The regulator is targeting…
Bullies and their victims are at a higher risk of young adult psychiatric disorders, a new US study has found, with the worst effects seen in those who are both victims and perpetrators. In a study published…
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Georgina Scambler, The Conversation
Infants should be exclusively breastfed until six months of age and solids should be introduced at “around six months”, according to official new infant feeding guidelines released today. The guidelines…
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Will Mumford, The Conversation
Private firms are allowed to hold a patent over cancer-causing gene mutations, according to an historic ruling in the Federal Court today that has wide-ranging implications for researchers and cancer patients…
Smoking bans have been linked with a reduction in the risk of preterm baby deliveries in a new Belgian study. The study, published on the British Medical Journal website today, included more than 600,000…