Can organs have a sexual identity?
Feb 23, 2016 11:05 am UTC| Health
A new study published in Nature suggests that the stem cells that allow our organs to grow know their own sexual identity, and this influences how they function. These findings could explain why the prevalence of some...
Using birth control to combat Zika virus could affect future generations
Feb 22, 2016 15:50 pm UTC| Health
In a recent article, Oxford Universitys director of medical ethics, Dominic Wilkinson, argued that birth control was a key way of tackling the Zika viruss apparently devastating effects on unborn children a strategy that...
Contraception is essential for the health of mothers, babies and future generations
Feb 22, 2016 15:48 pm UTC| Health
This week the Pope made headlines with his comments about the use of contraception to prevent pregnancy in regions affected by the Zika virus, most quotably saying that avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. Pope...
Health Check: do we crave the food our bodies need?
Feb 22, 2016 15:16 pm UTC| Health
Food craving is an intense desire to consume a particular food that is difficult to resist. This is different from hunger, as consumption of any number of foods satisfies hunger. Food cravings are very common. One study...
Blaming victims for domestic violence: how psychology taught us to be helpless
Feb 19, 2016 05:09 am UTC| Health
The story of how psychology framed women for their own assaults began, as so many of psychologys stories do, with some trapped animals. In the late 1960s, psychologist Martin Seligman conducted a series of behavioural...
What causes autism? What we know, don’t know and suspect
Feb 19, 2016 03:01 am UTC| Health
This is a long read, enjoy. Andrew will be answering reader questions from 4pm-5pm AEDST on Friday, February 19. One of the great and enduring mysteries of autism is what causes the brain to develop so differently....
Are treatment guidelines on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder just plain wrong?
Feb 18, 2016 12:59 pm UTC| Health
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has become a byword for unbiased, evidence-based healthcare advice. Its recommendations strongly influence which treatments are made available on the NHS. We...