A recent survey of people living with HIV in the United Kingdom found that over half would participate in a clinical study to develop a cure for HIV despite this posing a risk to their health.
Australia has a long history of first class science.
Willem van Aken/CSIRO
Australian scientists are listened to by government and business, but must do more to ensure their advice and work contributes to a stronger future for Australia.
Restraining the growth in costs and providing better treatments and cures needs a healthy national medical research effort.
Dave Hunt/AAP
It’s been a great privilege to have been the head of NHMRC for going on a decade. That’s four governments, six health ministers, a funding increase from A$437 million in 2006 to A$859 million today.
Biological differences mean that women and men often have different health outcomes.
Freddycat1/Flickr
Despite significant gains in gender equity over the last few decades, a bias still reigns in one area of medicine. The lack of female representation in both preclinical studies and clinical trials has…
We’re in a protracted war against superbugs because we’ve overused existing antibiotics: a key weapon against disease.
Nomadic Lass/Flickr
We’ve heard a lot lately about superbugs – bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotics. But as the threat of superbugs continues to rise, the number of new treatments available has flatlined. This…
Pills ok during pregnancy? We can’t know if we don’t study them.
Medications image via www.shutterstock.com
Imagine being pregnant while having a chronic health condition such as diabetes, hypertension, depression or asthma, or being diagnosed with an illness while pregnant. Amazingly, your doctor may not know…
Participants and guests at a Walk for Breast Cancer decked out in pink.
Breast cancer walk image via www.shutterstock.com
Awareness efforts can focus public attention and help scientists raise funds for research. But the impact on eradicating the disease itself and helping patients today is much less clear.
Bats can harbour viruses such as Ebola and don’t display clinical signs of disease.
Janelle Lugge
Bats are the natural host species for Ebola and a variety of viruses, many of which can be fatal when transmitted to humans. More than 100 viruses have been identified in bats and this number is rising…
Scottish voters are still in the dark about key health and research issues.
Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
With September 18 drawing nearer, the people of Scotland still lack answers about how independence will affect a number of institutions, policies and their everyday lives. It is crucial to uncover what…
The number of animals used in scientific research in the UK fell by 0.4% in 2013, according to figures released by the Home Office. Scientists continue to work hard to reduce the numbers of animals used…
There’s no point giving money to research if there’s no-one to do the research.
University of Denver/Flickr
Including $20 billion for medical research in the recent federal budget seemed like a win for research. At the same time, however, the government imposed fees on PhD and Masters research students. Paying…
The policy is imbalanced because it imposes burdens on the poor to provide benefits to the rich.
flickr: mikeleary83
Medical research is a significant winner in the federal budget: we’re told, (probably falsely), that the government will establish the largest medical research fund in the world ($20 billion by 2023…
The budget calls for the creation of a medical research future fund from estimated savings in health expenditure.
AAP/Lukas Coch
One of the few real surprises in the budget was the creation of medical research future fund, to be partly funded by the introduction of a $7 GP co-payment. This injection of money provides an opportunity…
Hugo and Ross Turner are a pair of intrepid twins currently on an expedition to Greenland. One of them, Ross, is using the same style of equipment and facilities used by Ernest Shackleton 100 years ago…
Electronic medical records are essential for treating rare conditions. I have a two-year-old daughter with a rare medical condition. She is seen by three doctors and is on a number of different medicines…
Ill health: some effervescent tablets contain enough sodium to raise the risk of stroke.
akirsa
A new study has found a link between the amount of sodium in certain medications and the risk of cardiovascular problems, including hypertension and stroke – and says normal use of some medicines can expose…
Nowhere to hide: HIV-1 on the surface of a white blood cell.
Microbe World
HIV uses an “invisibility cloak” made up of a host body’s own cells, a team of researchers has found, in a discovery that represents a significant step forward in our understanding of the virus and could…
From street scourge to lab hero: rats have provided us with significant insights into human diseases and disorders.
ressaure
Our series, Animals in Research, profiles the top organisms used for science experimentation. In this instalment, we look at the original lab rats: Rattus norvegicus. Rats have a long history in medical…
People who use LSD and other psychedelic drugs show fewer mental health problems, according to a large population-based study. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology analysed…
Head for numbers: research into brain disorders is seriously underfunded.
Pennstatenews
According to various large-scale studies conducted by the World Health Organization, about a third of the adult worldwide population suffer from a mental disorder such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia…
Director, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute & Professor of Medical Biology, and an honorary principal fellow in the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)