Gone are the days where prolonged antibiotic use is without healthy scrutiny. Even in allopathic circles, there appears to be hesitation when it comes to prescribing antibiotics unnecessarily. However, the potential adverse effects that can be tied up with such use are still being revealed. A new study published in the Journal Cell Reports notes…
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is significant contributor to the burden of disease in many countries. In Australia alone, 14.5% of Australians over age 40 suffer from a limitation of airflow in their lungs. This increases to 29.2% of Australians over the age of 75. It is the “second leading cause of avoidable hospital…
Maybe you’re the type that can zone out if there’s a radio playing in the background? Or maybe you’re the exact opposite where just the sound of someone chewing dinner sends you tearing off down the corridor for ear plugs? Well if you’re the later, it may not be all bad news. Scientist from the…
We’re kind of used to the idea that it’s ok to spray a liberal dose of chemicals on a cockroach or a spider. And God help you if you’re an Aussie fly at a BBQ. But have we considered that we might be doing the same things to ourselves, simply by the products we shower…
We’ve all seen the avid talker who waves their hands wildly in the air, almost conducting their thoughts as they chatter aloud. However new research shows that children gesturing with their hands actually improves children’s creative thinking. In a recent study1 published in the journal Physiological Science, researchers found that children who gesticulated came…
As each summer fades into memory, people head into their local doctors surgery for flu shots – a ‘convenient’ way to avoid the acute respiratory infections and seasonal influenza that are all too common in the colder months. However, a recent study holds some interesting information for us on this front. A meta-analysis of 25…
It’s hard not to jump in and tell someone when they’re doing something wrong. But it appears there is a difference between explaining an error and just being down right rude. In a recent study1, researchers have found that putting people down actually impairs their cognitive abilities and in fact, makes their performance worse. The…
Sometimes when a piece of research lands in a reputable journal, it is heralded and celebrated. At the very least, it makes the science section of the big newspapers. Other times, research arrives with more of a whisper than a yell. Of the two categories, this piece of news fits more with the latter: it…
It’s already the first couple of months into 2017. After committing to yourself you’d do a stellar job of keeping to your new fitness routine, your new eating habits or whatever else was on your goal list, here we are, and how’s it shaping up for you? If you’re one of those people who made…
You only have to ask someone like Jerry Maguire, driving his car, flicking through the radio stations searching for just the right song, how important music is. Music when it hits that sweet spot makes your foot tap and your heart sing. It makes you want to jump up and dance, or sing loudly out…
It’s that time of year again. Kids have been back at school a few weeks and parents are starting to see just how heavy their kid’s backpacks are. Half the weight seems to be in the school bag itself, even before it’s loaded up with books and laptops and sports shoes. Whilst being stoic and…
Depression is a worldwide issue. To give you some idea, it’s the number one psychological disorder in the western world1. And not unlike the common cold, it doesn’t discriminate between age groups or gender assignment. Depression is growing in all age groups, the largest increase noted in the younger generations, in our teenagers. At the…
Gluten free is everywhere these days. You can’t stop for a coffee in your local café without seeing half a dozen gluten free (GF) muffins or friands. Fancy the GF pasta or pizza? Or how about being alerted to the fact your spicy prawns are GF too? Menus everywhere are touting GF options galore. So…
There’s a new magic number. 39. That’s the number of hours you should be working in any given working week. That is, unless you want to get sick. That’s a substantial number less than the 49-hour week limit that was brought in around 80 years ago as the internationally recognised number of what a person…
ADHD… If you don’t know a kid who’s been diagnosed with it, you’re in the minority. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is one of the most controversial topics in child behaviour today. Firstly, there’s the hotly debated question over its actual existence. Followed by the heavily contested views over the medical treatment employed to manage it…
Scientist have been rubbing their foreheads in frustration over dyslexia, trying to find the underlying cause for dyslexics’ reading difficulties. But it’s not just dysfunction with reading that individuals with dyslexia present, they also frequently show behavioural deficits in perceptual adaptation. Or what neuroscientists call ‘rapid neural adaption’. However, a recent study by neuroscientist from…
You would be hard pressed to meet someone who has not been affected by breast cancer either personally or through association. It’s an insidious disease that is ranked second in all new cancer cases worldwide. It is the leading cause of cancer death in women. And it’s showing no sign of abating. Instead it’s…
Epigenetics is the study of biological mechanisms that switch inherited genes on and off. The theory is that our own personal life experiences, or for that matter, those of our parents and our parent’s parents, are passed onto subsequent generations. Studies done on survivors from traumatic events, particularly events as catastrophic as ones such…
