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...
Why life is tougher for short men and overweight women
Mar 09, 2016 14:16 pm UTC| Life Health
Are you a short man or an overweight woman? If so, you may have a slight disadvantage in life compared with taller men and thinner women. Our latest study has found evidence that men who are shorter due to their genes...
Obesity: stop accusing the poor of making bad choices
Mar 09, 2016 14:06 pm UTC| Health
Last month, the UK health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, called childhood obesity a national emergency, but the government has once again delayed publishing its strategy aimed at combating it. Obesity is much more common in...
'Resistance-proof' antibiotics may never exist – but there are some promising alternatives
Mar 09, 2016 00:04 am UTC| Health
Few will have missed the warnings about the increasing threat from antibiotic resistance and the dire predictions of a looming post-antibiotic apocalypse. And were right to worry: bugs that are resistant to commonly used...
Where do the 2016 candidates stand on contraception?
Mar 08, 2016 23:54 pm UTC| Health Politics Law
Access to safe and effective birth control is part of health care for tens of millions of Americans. The vast majority of Americans view birth control as morally acceptable, and make sharp distinctions between approval for...
The most damaging gateway to hard drugs? Drugs policy itself
Mar 08, 2016 10:39 am UTC| Health Law
There is only one certainty about drugs if you dont use them, you wont get addicted. Everything else we know about how and why people develop problems with drugs remains uncertain or at least up for debate. Forty years...
South Africa’s plan to move away from coal: 8 steps to make it succeed
Germany lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections
IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects