Comic explainer: how memory works

Dec 12, 2016 19:36 pm UTC| Health

We recall thousands of events and procedures every day, but what is memory? In this comic explainer, The Florey Institutes Dr Jee Hyun Kim explains how memory works, why we recall some things more easily than others and...

What makes it so hard to quit drugs?

Dec 12, 2016 11:05 am UTC| Health

Most people who use alcohol and other drugs do so infrequently and never become dependent (or addicted as its sometimes called). On average about 10% of people who use alcohol or other drugs are dependent. The rate is...

Why cutting meat from your diet could be a revolutionary act

Dec 12, 2016 04:45 am UTC| Health

Controversy erupted at the University of Cape Town in 2016 when some academics suggested that only meat-free meals should be served on parts of the campus. The debates and opposition were couched in arguments around ethics...

Who's listening? The ethical and legal issues of developing a health app

Dec 10, 2016 10:00 am UTC| Technology Health Law

From large companies to tiny startups, many people are working on creating apps to monitor and improve our health. The technical skill needed is widely recognised and developers are becoming more aware of the need to...

New evidence gives supporters of chiropractic a headache

Dec 10, 2016 02:40 am UTC| Health

A paper was published and much discussed online recently which demonstrates all the problems that I and other critics have with the way research is done and interpreted in the world of chiropractic. The study looked at the...

Time scarcity is a slippery slope to inactivity

Dec 09, 2016 03:49 am UTC| Life Health

Even though most Australians know we need to exercise more, many of us dont. Our recent study suggests this is often due to diminishing availability of time. We found that among otherwise healthy people, becoming time...

Masked hypertension is a silent killer – we must do more to detect it

Dec 08, 2016 13:15 pm UTC| Health

Some people with normal blood pressure have elevated blood pressure when their doctor takes the reading. This phenomenon is known as white coat hypertension. But theres an opposite phenomenon, known as masked hypertension,...