Why taking vitamin D pills could help the fight against TB and HIV

Mar 23, 2016 16:11 pm UTC| Health

Clinical trials have shown that adding vitamin D supplements to the antibiotic treatment regimes for TB patients improves their chances of recovering from the disease. The supplement reduces inflammation in the body much...

Illusion or reality? Does SMS messaging really help the medicine go down?

Mar 23, 2016 15:47 pm UTC| Health Technology

Mobile health solutions or mHealth encompasses all of the technology and software that combined with mainly smartphones, provide individuals to measure, record, monitor, analyse and report the state of their health. The...

Text message medication reminders can save the lives of those with chronic illness

Mar 23, 2016 02:41 am UTC| Health

If you are diagnosed with a chronic disease, chances are youll have to manage it for the rest of your life. This means changing your lifestyle and taking medications as directed. Many find this challenging. In fact,...

The lowdown on laughter: from boosting immunity to releasing tension

Mar 23, 2016 02:35 am UTC| Health

Laughter is supposedly the best medicine which is lucky because Im planning on staying up late, drinking, smoking and eating like mad throughout the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Id better choose my shows...

In defence of observational science: randomised experiments aren't the only way to the truth

Mar 23, 2016 02:02 am UTC| Health Science

Would you volunteer to become vegetarian for the next three decades for the sake of science? What if you were asked to run at least 50 kilometres per week, or live through a natural disaster? Granted, these are extreme...

Veggie is the most low-carbon diet, right? Well, it depends where you live

Mar 22, 2016 02:02 am UTC| Health

It is often claimed that a vegetarian diet is better for the environment, because grazing animals such as cattle and sheep produce a lot of methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The areas needed...

Sugar: it's not just the calories that are bad for you

Mar 21, 2016 15:10 pm UTC| Health

The main aim of the UKs new tax on sugary soft drinks is to reduce obesity in children. But, apart from causing child and adult obesity, too much sugar also increases the risk of many serious diseases, from cancer to...