Why apes can't talk: our study suggests they've got the voice but not the brains

Aug 13, 2018 13:52 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

We all know that parrots can talk. Some people may have even seen elephants, seals, or whales mimicking speech sounds. So why cant our closest primate relatives speak like us? Our new research suggests they have the right...

Ageing in human cells successfully reversed in the lab

Aug 13, 2018 13:43 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

The ability to reverse ageing is something many people would hope to see in their lifetime. This is still a long way from reality, but in our latest experiment, we have reversed the ageing of human cells, which could...

Frontal lobe paradox: where people have brain damage but don't know it

Aug 13, 2018 13:40 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

Humans have big brains and our frontal lobes, just behind the forehead, are particularly huge. Injuries to this part of the brain often happen after blows to the head or a stroke. Paradoxically, some people with frontal...

The influence of opium and cocaine panic in Canadian drug policy

Aug 13, 2018 13:30 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

Current discussions on the history of prohibition and drug laws in Canada have explored the narrative that Canadas drug laws were fuelled by racism. The story goes like this: A 1907 anti-immigration attack on Chinese...

Five easy ways to boost children's spatial skills

Aug 13, 2018 13:29 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

When we read maps, pack the car for holidays, assemble flat-pack furniture or cut cake into equal slices, we use spatial reasoning skills. These allow us to mentally manipulate objects or think in a way that relates to...

Is it time to remove the cancer label from low-risk conditions?

Aug 13, 2018 13:28 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

Over the past few decades, our understanding of cancer has changed. We now know some cancers dont grow or grow so slowly that theyll never cause medical problems. But the way we label disease can harm. The use of more...

Obesity is a market failure and personal responsibility will not solve it alone

Aug 13, 2018 13:27 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

This is the first of a two-part series on obesity as a market failure. Read the second part here. Obesity levels in Australia and around the world are high and rising. This comes at an enormous economic cost for society...