Text message medication reminders can save the lives of those with chronic illness

Mar 23, 2016 02:41 am UTC| Health

If you are diagnosed with a chronic disease, chances are youll have to manage it for the rest of your life. This means changing your lifestyle and taking medications as directed. Many find this challenging. In fact,...

The lowdown on laughter: from boosting immunity to releasing tension

Mar 23, 2016 02:35 am UTC| Health

Laughter is supposedly the best medicine which is lucky because Im planning on staying up late, drinking, smoking and eating like mad throughout the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Id better choose my shows...

In defence of observational science: randomised experiments aren't the only way to the truth

Mar 23, 2016 02:02 am UTC| Health Science

Would you volunteer to become vegetarian for the next three decades for the sake of science? What if you were asked to run at least 50 kilometres per week, or live through a natural disaster? Granted, these are extreme...

Veggie is the most low-carbon diet, right? Well, it depends where you live

Mar 22, 2016 02:02 am UTC| Health

It is often claimed that a vegetarian diet is better for the environment, because grazing animals such as cattle and sheep produce a lot of methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The areas needed...

Sugar: it's not just the calories that are bad for you

Mar 21, 2016 15:10 pm UTC| Health

The main aim of the UKs new tax on sugary soft drinks is to reduce obesity in children. But, apart from causing child and adult obesity, too much sugar also increases the risk of many serious diseases, from cancer to...

Fizzy drinks tax alone won't solve childhood obesity nightmare

Mar 21, 2016 13:42 pm UTC| Health Law

George Osbornes sugar levy on soft drinks seems to acknowledge, at long last, that the food industry should be regulated to help consumers adopt healthier diets. A substantial body of evidence strongly supports a soda tax....

No-one should get dud hospital care – it's time to lift our game on quality and safety

Mar 21, 2016 07:51 am UTC| Health

In 2013-14, Australian governments spent A$105 billion on health; A$44 billion of that was on public hospitals. The Commonwealth government is increasingly concerned with the size of the health budget and has acted to...