freelance science journalist and author
From Medicine Today, June 2014: Early natural menopause is associated with a moderate but significant increase in the risk of heart failure, particularly among smokers, a large prospective population-based study has found. Data from 22,256 postmenopausal women in the Swedish Mammography Cohort showed those who experienced natural menopause between 40 and 45 years of age … Continue reading The health costs of early menopause
From ABC News in Science, 3 July 2014: Two dolphin species in north-western Australia are vulnerable to local extinction because they rarely mingle with their own kind outside their immediate location, a new study has found. The genetic analysis, published today in PLOS ONE, also identified one of the first cases of successful breeding between … Continue reading Vulnerable dolphins keep to themselves
From ABC News in Science, 26 June 2014: The oldest known samples of Neanderthal faeces have revealed these early humans actually enjoyed some salad with their steak. The findings, published today in PLoS ONE, challenge the image of Neanderthals as unrepentant carnivores, and the theory that their high meat intake may have contributed to their … Continue reading Neanderthals loved vegies with their meat
From ABC News in Science, 25 June 2014: The unique damselfish practice of cultivating their favourite type of algae on coral reefs contributes to an increase in coral disease, Australian researchers have found. The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, also suggests that overfishing of other fish species may contribute to … Continue reading Damselfish ‘algal gardens’ harbour coral disease
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 24 June 2014: A little experience goes a long way towards making a man more desirable to the opposite sex, Australian researchers have found. Women are more likely to rate a man desirable if he has had one or two partners than if he has had no relationship experience, according … Continue reading Women go for ‘road-tested’ mates
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 19 June 2014 Do you know your Body Mass Index, also known as BMI? It’s easy to calculate – simply take your weight in kilograms and divide it by the square of your height in metres. If the number you reach is between 20 and 25, congratulations. You are one … Continue reading Does BMI measure up?
From Cardiology News, 9 June 2014: Children with heart disease are cumulatively exposed to relatively low levels of ionizing radiation from imaging procedures – less than the average annual background exposure in the United States – although those who have undergone more complex procedures such as heart transplants or cardiac catheterization experience significantly greater exposure, … Continue reading Radiation exposure in children with heart disease highest for transplants
I record almost all of my interviews. I’m sure old-timer journos will be all … … at this breach of journalistic hard-assness, but I would recommend it for a number of reasons. Firstly, it means I get my facts and my quotes correct. There are few things worse than having a story run, then getting … Continue reading To record or not to record
From ABC Science Online, 30 May 2014: Large coral reefs have acted as survival centres for fish biodiversity during periods of climatic upheaval, explaining the extraordinary biodiversity present in the Indo-Pacific region. The findings appear in an international study published today in the journal Science. Researchers used sediment core data to map the changing distribution … Continue reading Ancient reefs helped shape fish diversity
Is it possible to be totally objective as a journalist? This is a major can of worms to open, but as I’ve recently written an article on homeopathy – a practice that flies in the face of everything I believe – it seems a timely question to ask. I’ve been involved in a few heated … Continue reading The Truth is in here?
Bianca Nogrady 