freelance science journalist and author
Medical reporting
From Nature News, 22 February 2016: An Australian bill, proposed by Greens senator Lee Rhiannon, to ban the importation of non-human primates for medical research provokes rush of protests from the Australian and international scientific establishment. Read more.
From BBC Future, 1 February 2016: Walking through Sydney’s northern beaches in the height of summer, the dense, humid bush is alive with the buzz of cicadas, the screech of rosellas, and the mouth-watering smell of barbecue. But hiding in the undergrowth is a tiny creature that is forcing some unrepentant carnivores to turn their … Continue reading A tick bite that makes you allergic to red meat
From BBC Future, 10 November 2015: It used to be called ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’: a collection of symptoms such as headache, nausea and a strange numbness that certain people seem to suffer after a meal of Chinese food, which went beyond the usual queasiness and self-loathing at having eaten one too many barbecued pork buns. … Continue reading Is MSG as bad as it’s made out to be?
From ABC Science, 20 November 2015: Even if we all ate the same meal, everyone would metabolise it differently, according to a new study that suggests that there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all dietary advice. Rather diets should be tailored to an individual’s gut microbiome, or combination of gut bacteria, Israeli scientists said. The … Continue reading Diets should be personally tailored to your gut microbiome, study says
From ABC Science, 4 November 2015: Moods, both positive and negative, may actually serve an evolutionary purpose in helping us to have more realistic expectations. Researchers have used mathematical modelling to show that our mood may be a subconscious way for us to keep track of the availability of rewards in our environment, and to … Continue reading Moods may have an evolutionary purpose
From ABC News in Science, 13 October 2015: The trick to multi-tasking may be training our brain to ‘divide and conquer’ each task separately, Australian researchers have found. In one of the largest studies of its kind, Professor Paul Dux and Dr Kelly Garner from the University of Queensland’s School of Psychology used real-time brain … Continue reading Training the brain to ‘divide and conquer’ may be the secret to multi-tasking
From ABC News in Science, 23 October 2015: The microbe responsible for the Black Death plagues was infecting Bronze Age humans more than 3,000 years earlier than the pandemics it is most notorious for. Early forms of the bacteria, Yersinia pestis, have been found in Bronze Age human teeth up to 5,000 years old, according … Continue reading Black Death plague pathogen thousands of years older than first thought
From BBC Future, 2 September 2015: Those of us who enjoy the occasional glass of beer or wine would dearly love to believe that we’re doing our bodies a service. Any study suggesting a glass or two a day can keep the doctor away is greeted with disproportionate enthusiasm by the media and general public. … Continue reading Is alcohol actually bad for you?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 4 August 2015: Countless lives have been saved in the hundreds of years that people have been receiving blood transfusions. Transfusions replenish blood lost through trauma, illness or surgery. They are a medical safety net; there for when surgery doesn’t quite go according to plan, and patients need a little … Continue reading Why experts are rethinking blood transfusions
From ABC Science, 29 July 2015: Stress during childhood can affect the make-up of our gut bacteria and this, in turn, could influence our mental health as adults, a new mouse study suggests. The research found transplanting gut bacteria from mice stressed when they were young could encourage anxiety-like behaviour in some recipients. The researchers … Continue reading Could gut bacteria help make you more anxious?
Bianca Nogrady 