From signing to 'sensory': can trendy baby classes really boost a child's development?
Mar 11, 2016 15:00 pm UTC| Health
Parent and baby classes are increasingly popular, and the choice greater than ever. These days you can even take newborns on courses ranging from massage, yoga, music and swimming, to signing (teaching babies simple...
Why some humans developed a taste for milk and some didn't
Mar 11, 2016 09:07 am UTC| Health
Imagine a dinner party somewhere in Italy to which, as it turns out, my dad has been invited. On the menu tonight is a sliced tomato, basil and mozzarella salad, pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce topped with parmesan...
Highway to hearing hell: musicians and the danger of deafness
Mar 10, 2016 15:08 pm UTC| Health
AC/DC have postponed their US tour after singer Brian Johnson was warned by doctors that he was at risk of total hearing loss. This is unsurprising, perhaps, given the decades that the Australian band has been pumping out...

We should use placebos more often, especially in surgery
Mar 10, 2016 14:58 pm UTC| Health
Youre ill, probably scared, not sure of the future. Your doctor talks to you about your condition and says that, unfortunately, there are no effective treatments. However, she knows of a clinical trial for a new drug, and...

Has history proved Eysenck right about genes and IQ?
Mar 10, 2016 14:05 pm UTC| Health
Hans J. Eysenck, one of the most famous and infuriating British psychologists of the 20th century, would have been 100 years old this month. While Eysenck pioneered behaviour therapy (paving the way for the acceptance of...
Ten myths about smoking that will not die
Mar 10, 2016 09:39 am UTC| Health
Across forty years Ive come to recognise many factoid-driven myths about smoking that just wont die. If I asked for a dollar each time I had to refute these statements, Id have accumulated a small fortune. Their...

We should broaden our view of science if it's to help make good public policy
Mar 09, 2016 22:14 pm UTC| Science Health
Actor and science advocate Alan Alda will address the National Press Club today, talking about the importance of communicating science to the public. Alda is in Australia to launch the new facility at ANUs Centre for...