Bianca Nogrady

Radiation exposure in children with heart disease highest for transplants

June 17, 2014No Comments

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

To record or not to record

June 5, 2014No Comments

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

Ancient reefs helped shape fish diversity

June 1, 2014No Comments

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

The Truth is in here?

May 28, 2014No Comments

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?

Can homeopathy ‘work’ even when there’s no evidence?

May 23, 2014No Comments

From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 23 May 2014: The debate about the effectiveness of homeopathy is nothing new. Most recently it made headlines after Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council released a draft information paper on homeopathy which found there were “no health conditions for which there was reliable evidence that homeopathy was effective”. … Continue reading Can homeopathy ‘work’ even when there’s no evidence?

Blog tour: How I Write

May 6, 20142 Comments

This is a blog tour. A what? It’s a kind of blog chain letter, in this case, for authors. But it’s a lot more fun than a chain letter because you get to talk about yourself and then you get to plug your friends, which is a great thing to do. This particular blog tour … Continue reading Blog tour: How I Write

Salt targets could reduce cardiovascular disease burden and health expenditures

May 6, 2014No Comments

From Cardiology News, 6 May 2014: MELBOURNE – Reducing salt intake to less than 5 g/day could reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease by 11% and significantly decrease out-of-pocket health expenditures, particularly among economically vulnerable middle-income households, according to a modeling study of South Africa’s salt reduction policy. The study used surveys and epidemiological data to … Continue reading Salt targets could reduce cardiovascular disease burden and health expenditures

Significant improvements in adherence, blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol with polypill

May 6, 2014No Comments

From Cardiology News, 6 May 2014: A polypill combining aspirin, simvastatin, and two antihypertensive drugs has shown a significant improvement in adherence as well as reductions in blood pressure and LDL cholesterol in patients with existing heart disease, according to data from a large international multicenter trial. The Single Pill to Avert Cardiovascular Events (SPACE) … Continue reading Significant improvements in adherence, blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol with polypill

The Writer’s Voice: BIOHUNTER

May 3, 20147 Comments

Dear Writer’s Voice coaches, I’d like to submit my completed adult science fiction manuscript Biohunter for your consideration (and hopefully enjoyment), and introduce you to my unconventional heroine Niobe Grace. Niobe is guilty of many things – bar brawls, affairs with married mayors, eyebrow-raising morals, and of swaggering through life like a punch-drunk cavalier. She is … Continue reading The Writer’s Voice: BIOHUNTER

Unblocking the antibiotics pipeline

May 3, 2014No Comments

From ABC Science, 2 May 2014: The time has come for a major rethink on antibiotics believes Monash University researcher Professor Jian Li. “People think you can throw antibiotics in the system or in the patient and it will kill the bacterial cells, but actually there are two major factors we have to consider,” says … Continue reading Unblocking the antibiotics pipeline