What's needed to do a better job of pre-empting disease outbreaks

Oct 20, 2018 15:28 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

The concept of One Health is deceptively simple: its the recognition that human, animal and environmental health are all inherently linked. Put into practice, it means approaching global health issues such as disease...

Pesticides and suicide prevention – why research needs to be put into practice

Oct 20, 2018 15:26 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

As many as 800,000 people around the world die every year by suicide, with 76% of these deaths in low and middle income countries like India and China. Between 110,000 and 168,000 people die from self-poisoning using...

Please don't dismiss the PC inquiry into mental health as 'just another inquiry'

Oct 20, 2018 06:05 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

While chairing the National Mental Health Commission I pushed hard for an all-encompassing review of mental health, and I have welcomed the recent announcement that the Productivity Commission will conduct one. But Ive...

From peaceful coexistence to potential peril: the bacteria that live in and on us

Oct 20, 2018 06:04 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

Bacteria are everywhere, including in and on our bodies. There are estimated to be as many bacteria in a human body as there are human cells. Much like Pig Pen in the comic strip Peanuts, we actually carry around a...

The surprising secret to successful psychotherapy

Oct 20, 2018 05:56 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

As a clinical psychologist and educator, I am often asked to recommend a psychotherapist for people in need. These requests come with a sense of urgency to find the best possible therapist. Many people are at a loss over...

Not all people are equally vulnerable to hepatitis C – new study

Oct 17, 2018 22:29 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects around 1% of the human population and is a devastating pathogen. In most people, it silently infects the liver for decades, often causing life-threatening inflammation, scarring and even...

Proteins wear clothes – and understanding their fashion choices could help us treat cancer

Oct 17, 2018 22:21 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

We humans are top of the evolutionary tree, the most complex organisms that have ever lived on Earth in five billion years. Right? One way we might actually prove our biological complexity is to look at the number of...