We should use placebos more often, especially in surgery

Mar 10, 2016 14:58 pm UTC| Health

Youre ill, probably scared, not sure of the future. Your doctor talks to you about your condition and says that, unfortunately, there are no effective treatments. However, she knows of a clinical trial for a new drug, and...

Has history proved Eysenck right about genes and IQ?

Mar 10, 2016 14:05 pm UTC| Health

Hans J. Eysenck, one of the most famous and infuriating British psychologists of the 20th century, would have been 100 years old this month. While Eysenck pioneered behaviour therapy (paving the way for the acceptance of...

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...