Australia cannot be complacent about a potential infectious disease emergency, say public health experts. While Australia is well placed to respond to such an emergency, many logistical challenges remain, say specialists in a commentary article published in the Medical Journal of Australia. And co-author Professor Sharon Lewin from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity…

Apple (AAPL) has hired a small team of biomedical engineers to work at a nondescript office in Palo Alto, miles from corporate headquarters. They are part of a super secret initiative, initially envisioned by the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, to develop sensors that can non-invasively and continuously monitor blood sugar levels to better treat…

Identical twins are a source of fascination to many people and account for around 1 in 500 births in Australia. As we delve into the lives of three sets of identical twins, we discover one common thread — their bond for each other. Preston and Nash It was at a friend’s baby shower when Mount…

In two studies of mice, researchers showed that a drug, engineered to combat the gene that causes spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), might also be used to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Both studies were published in the journal Nature with funding from National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National…

An 18-month-long national telco pilot project trialing text messaging for charity fundraising has seen some “great successes” and some “total flops”, according to the Telco Together Foundation which is planning to extend the trial through 2017. The Text Giving pilot will now run until October 2017 with the foundation looking for five more large charities…

Dr Leandro Bolzoni from the University of Waikato’s School of Engineering has been awarded a Health Research Council explorer grant worth $150,000 to research bone regeneration using alternative synthetic materials for joint replacements. The project entitled “Towards bone regeneration by developing electroactive hybrid materials” has been created in response to the growing increase demand for…

AN Australian state is taking the use of positive psychology techniques to the next level by formulating a system-wide approach that can be used across an entire state or nation. South Australia is running large-scale programs to improve people’s psychological health at all stages of life, from school students to workers and the elderly. Read more

The Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia are leading the Australian effort on an international project to better understand how events during pregnancy and childhood influence the development of disease later in life. The LifeCycle Project will bring together European, UK and Australian pregnancy and child cohort study researchers into a new…

A new study suggests childhood obesity is influenced by different factors for young boys and young girls. Eating too much takeaway food is the main reason for obesity in young Queensland boys but a major influence on girls is the marital status of their parents, a new study has found. Read more

A team of New Zealand researchers will investigate whether bacteria from mothers’ vaginas could protect babies born by caesarean section from a greater risk of obesity. There is growing evidence linking c-sections to an increased risk of the baby later developing obesity and immune disorders. A large international study last year found children born by…