freelance science journalist and author
From Fish magazine, March 2013: A new FRDC report examines the role that current and developing genetic technologies can play in addressing some of the key issues involved in the exploitation of wild fisheries. Genetic technology provides a powerful new tool to understand how wild fish populations live, grow and change, and help ensure the … Continue reading Genetic technology in the management of wild fisheries
From ABC News in Science, 25 April 2013: Studying for an exam? Clench your right hand. Trying to remember a phone number? Clench your left. That’s the suggestion of a new study into the effects of fist clenching on memory. US researchers have examined the effect of single fist clenching on memory, based on the … Continue reading Total recall just a fist clench away
From Oncology Practice, 23 April 2013: Obesity was associated with an increased risk of precursor lesions among men with an initial benign prostate biopsy result, according to a nested study of nearly 500 prostate cancer cases and matched cancer-free controls. Further, obese men also were more likely to have benign findings on initial core needle … Continue reading Obesity linked to prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia
From Clinical Psychiatry News, 23 April 2013: Adherence therapy improves symptoms in patients with schizophrenia but does not appear to affect adherence, treatment attitudes. or functioning, according to results of a randomized controlled trial. “We observed a small effect of AT [adherence therapy] on patient symptoms but not adherence, treatment attitudes, or functioning following an … Continue reading Schizophrenia adherence therapy improves symptoms, not adherence
From Clinical Psychiatry News, 23 April 2013: A review of the causes and impact of hospitalization in schizophrenia has shown that hospitalization is more likely the result of cognitive and functional decline rather than a contributor. “While it is difficult to disentangle the consequence of the reasons for hospitalization from the effects of hospitalization, most … Continue reading Continued engagement with schizophrenia patients can prevent declines
From ABC News in Science, 22 April 2013: Average temperatures around the world in the last thirty years of the 20th century were higher than any other time in nearly 1400 years. That’s the conclusion of the first climate reconstruction to examine global climate change from a regional perspective by an international network of climatologists … Continue reading Late 20th century hottest in over 1000 years
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 28 March 2013: It sounds counter-intuitive, but not being exposed to viruses, bacteria and parasites in your early years could have a negative effect on your health, or at least that’s what the hygiene hypothesis suggests. The idea, which is subject to much debate, suggests our obsession with cleanliness and … Continue reading What is the hygiene hypothesis?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 24 January 2013: Think ‘dangerous Australian animals’ and images of snakes, spiders, box jellyfish or even crocodiles come to mind. But for a small number of people, the bite or sting of relatively benign insects, such as ants, ticks, wasps or bees can be as deadly as any encounter with … Continue reading Insect allergies: more than a nasty sting
From Monash Magazine, February 2013: “Nature may have come up with a beautiful design in the insulin molecule, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be improved,” says Associate Professor Andrea Robinson from Monash University’s School of Chemistry. Regular doses of insulin are essential to the health of almost 300 million people around the world who … Continue reading Molecular makeover targets insulin longevity
From ABC News in Science, 9 April 2013: After aeons of speculation, science has finally answered the biggest question of all – Does penis size matter? – with a resounding ‘yes’. Australian researchers have found that penis size is just as important as height when it comes to female assessment of male attractiveness, and that … Continue reading It’s official: penis size does matter
