Confirmation bias: A psychological phenomenon that helps explain why pundits got it wrong

Nov 22, 2016 23:00 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

As post mortems of the 2016 presidential election began to roll in, fingers started pointing to what psychologists call the confirmation bias as one reason many of the polls and pundits were wrong in their predictions of...

Fixing an ailing Obamacare: four ways to address rising costs and less choice

Nov 22, 2016 13:43 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

Repealing Obamacare was central to both Donald Trumps, and the Republican partys, policy platforms. The President-elect has since softened his stance and there are several Republican proposals to replace Obamacare with a...

Eat your fibre or face the flesh-eating microbe cannibals

Nov 22, 2016 13:27 pm UTC| Health

Eat your bran even if it tastes horrible its good for you! Many of us remember this advice from decades ago. While fibre has been a good cure as a bulking agent for exciting disorders like constipation, it has a dull...

Mindfulness in cancer treatment: time to stop and think

Nov 22, 2016 13:22 pm UTC| Health

Breathe deeply and focus on the moment: mindfulness now appears everywhere as a technique to improve well-being, including in health care. Mindfulness training is often suggested for cancer patients to reduce high...

How changing drug patent rules will affect developing nations

Nov 22, 2016 13:17 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law Health

After years of legal battles, a global agreement has been reached for developing countries to buy and for drug manufacturers to produce or import generic medicines without breaching patent rules. The Conversation Africas...

Why it is useful to understand the role of genetics in behaviour

Nov 22, 2016 00:19 am UTC| Health

Scientists have studied twins for many years to understand how genes and environments influence differences among individuals, spanning conditions such as cancer and mental health to characteristics such as intelligence...

Health literacy can be a matter of life or death

Nov 19, 2016 22:00 pm UTC| Health

The basic ability to read is essential in looking after ones health, especially when managing a chronic illness that requires various treatments and medications. It is estimated that patients with low health literacy cost...