freelance science journalist and author
Medical reporting
From The Guardian, 12 September 2026: For some it’s a high-pitched mosquito whine; for others it’s a low bass hum. It might come and go with periods of stress, or it might be the permanent, irritating background track to daily life and nightly sleep. Whatever form it takes, tinnitus – hearing sounds like ringing, buzzing … Continue reading Living with tinnitus can be distressing. So what can you do about it?
From The Saturday Paper, 19 September 2026: On June 5, 1981, the United States Centers for Disease Control issued a report on five young men diagnosed with severe pneumonia caused by a yeast-like fungus then called Pneumocystis carinii. The cases were noteworthy because this infection only affected people with severely compromised immune systems. These young … Continue reading Australia reaches a major milestone in the effort to end AIDS
From Medscape Medical News, 10 September 2026: Public hospital doctors in the Australian state of Victoria plan to walk off the job for 24 hours as part of their escalating industrial action to improve working conditions. Members of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) Victoria and the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (ASMOF) Victoria have been … Continue reading Hospital doctors plan 24-hour walkout in Victoria, Australia
From The Guardian, 12 September 2026: For some it’s a high-pitched mosquito whine; for others it’s a low bass hum. It might come and go with periods of stress, or it might be the permanent, irritating background track to daily life and nightly sleep. Whatever form it takes, tinnitus – hearing sounds like ringing, buzzing … Continue reading Living with tinnitus can be distressing. So what can you do about it?
From BBC Science Focus, 1 September 2026: It happens when we’re overheated, stressed, exercising, anxious or under pressure… or even when we’re perfectly relaxed but it happens to be humid outside. Whether we like it or not, humans sweat. Some more than others, some more easily than others and some more (ahem) aromatically than others. … Continue reading What your sweat is trying to tell you about your health
From the BMJ, 24 August 2026: Australia’s hard fought herd immunity to measles is under threat, with a study finding that its population level immunity is hovering just above the World Health Organization’s recommended threshold. Australia introduced measles vaccination in 1968, starting with a single vaccine dose for children aged 12-23 months. In 1993 the … Continue reading Measles: Australia at risk of losing herd immunity, study suggests
From the BMJ, 3 July 2026: Australia is stepping up its attempts to prevent children under 16 from accessing social media, a year on from becoming the first country in the world to enact a ban. In new moves, the Australian government is targeting social media companies with greater penalties for failing to enforce the … Continue reading Australia increases penalties for social media companies to enforce under 16s ban
From BMJ, 1 July 2026: The Australian state of New South Wales is set to be the first jurisdiction in the world to make motor neuron disease (MND) a notifiable condition. Classifying MND in this way means that any new cases must be reported to the state health authority.1 Experts hope that this will create … Continue reading Motor neuron disease: Australian state makes condition notifiable disease in world first
From Medscape, 26 June 2026 The first year of Australia’s lung cancer screening program has seen nearly 100,000 current and former smokers take up the offer of free low-dose CT screening. As a result, more than 230 primary lung cancers have been detected. The program, which was launched on July 1, 2025, aimed to recruit … Continue reading Australia’s new lung cancer screening enjoys high uptake
From Medscape, 30 April 2026: Ten-year follow-up data from the FIDELITY study of arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) in patients with symptoms of degenerative meniscal tear found the procedure offered no benefits and was even associated with worse outcomes. The FIDELITY study used sham APM as the placebo control. The study involved 146 patients, aged 35-65 … Continue reading 10-Year data confirm no benefit from arthroscopy for degenerative meniscal tear
