There’s a common misconception within the Australian community that asylum seekers arrive by boat. In fact, most asylum seekers arrive here by aeroplane with valid travel documents and reside in the community…
Millions of babies have been born after the use of assisted reproductive technologies, and nothing has gone wrong with the vast majority.
Chiceaux Lynch
By Jane Halliday, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Some people may be wondering whether it’s wise to undergo assisted reproduction after recent media headlines about these technologies increasing the risk of birth defects. In fact, millions of babies have…
Rates of stillbirth have fallen in rich countries but are now reaching a plateau.
flickr/Trevor Blair
Stillbirth is a major but under-researched public health problem affecting three million families each year. Following the 2011 Lancet Stillbirth Series, it has been receiving more attention, and a recent…
Could a Canadian-style class action dent the credibility of homeopathy in Australia?
Flickr/kh1234567890
One hundred years of rigorous scientific research hasn’t dented the faith of adherents of homeopathy. The complementary therapy is still centred on the notion that water has a therapeutic “memory” and…
Protesters carry portraits of Osama bin Laden on his first death anniversary, during an anti-US rally in Quetta, Pakistan, 02 May 2012.
Musa Farman/AAP
We’ve been reminded this month of the United States' success in finally finding Osama bin Laden. But one thing missing in the media coverage was the allegation that the CIA established a fake hepatitis…
Chronic pain occurs when nerve cells misfire and send faulty pain signals to the brain.
pinkangelbabe
Imagine that a soft touch or brush of the skin was enough to evoke excruciating pain. This experience is common among people who suffer with chronic pain from nerve damage. The causes are varied and include…
Kate Willetts, Aug 28 2008, the first woman to receive the world's first cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil.
AAP
Australia has had a pioneering role in the discoveries that underpin our understanding that some cancers can be caused by infectious agents. But we still face many problems that could be solved if we only…
Success would mean parents' evidence-based concerns can be taken forward.
The Wu's Photo Land/Flickr
Radio National’s Background Briefing this Sunday is about the struggle of residents of a western suburb in Adelaide who are trying to stop a McDonalds restaurant being built within 200 metres of a primary…
Anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor has come off patent and faces tough competition from generic versions.
The.Comedian/Flickr
Anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor® (atorvastatin) has been estimated to generate Pfizer revenues of more than $130bn worldwide. Australian taxpayers' share of this is about $7bn, through subsidies from the…
Sporting head injuries can be reduced through modified game rules.
flickr/Montauk Beach
Recent media and expert commentary has called for more research into brain injuries sustained by footballers. The focus has been on the need for a long-term study of the effects of concussion and chronic…
Sex workers in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to medical abuses.
Cheryl Overs
It’s been known for some time that antiretroviral medicines could have a role in preventing HIV as well as treating it. Now, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of an antiretroviral…
A new approach to understanding the genes involved in schizophrenia is an important step towards individual risk prediction.
Alaina Abplanalp
Schizophrenia is a complex and potentially disabling disorder affecting about 1% of the population. Its precise cause, though known to involve both genetic vulnerability and environmental stress, remains…
The media storm surrounding Time magazine’s recent cover featuring a three-year-old boy breastfeeding while standing on a chair, indicates how important it is for more images of breastfeeding to be circulated…
If Time magazine editors had set out to garner a huge amount of free publicity with their latest cover, they’ve achieved their aim. This week’s US edition featuring a photograph of a young, attractive…
Breastfeeding generally falls under the jurisdiction of mothers, so I decided to ask a group of mothers I see regularly on Saturday morning what they thought of the recent Time magazine cover portraying…
A woman drinks using a robotic arm, something she hasn't been able to do with her own arms for 15 years.
Nature
The world of brain-machine interfacing (BMI) has a new posterchild. A study on people with tetraplegia, published in Nature, has shown participants were able to control a robotic arm and hand over a broad…
Standards exist for certified organic eggs in Australia but not for free range.
JessNityaJess/Flickr
The RSPCA has spoken out against the increased density of free-range chickens being proposed by the Australian Egg Corporation today, saying it doesn’t “meet animal welfare standards or consumer expectations…
One of the benefits of using the health frame is that it makes the issues more tangible – here and now and about people, not just polar bears.
Roderick Eime/AAP
Climate change is a complex problem but appears to many people as lacking immediate impact on their lives. Reconceptualising it as a health issue may allow for both better understanding of the issue and…
Post-budget analysis has largely ignored the government's achievements in aged care reform.
Ernst Vikne
Much of the budget analysis over the past week has concentrated on the shuffling of expenditure for 2012-13 back to this financial year in order to achieve a surplus. It’s true that $17.6bn of such transfers…
Sydney protesters rally for marriage equality (March 2012).
A group of 150 doctors, called Doctors for the Family, have made a submission to the Senate inquiry into gay marriage which argues that children of same-sex parents suffer poorer health and well-being…
Gay couples in Canberra earlier this year to discuss gay marriage with the Prime Minister.
AAP
George Orwell’s mordant satire of politics and bureaucratic doublespeak famously featured the slogan that “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. Watching the brouhaha about…
Infants too young to receive the whooping cough vaccine are at greatest risk.
flickr/rifqy
Recent news reports say the free whooping cough vaccine for parents to protect newborns will be discontinued because it is not effective. Parents who’ve been told this is an important step to protect their…
Doctors for the Family's claims aren't based on scientific evidence.
flickr/Poes In Boots
“[T]he evidence is clear that children who grow up in a family with a mother and a father do better in all parameters than children without.” That’s according to the Doctors for the Family’s submission…
Vitamin C is so often suggested as a treatment for the common cold that it’s almost considered common sense. This well-known vitamin is primarily found in fruits and vegetables, with small quantities in…
Researchers studied nearly 310,000 births between 1986 and 2002.
flickr/spamily
Recently published research helps clarify the risk of birth defects linked to assisted reproductive technology. The study authors (including myself) found that a major factor for birth defects was parental…
