freelance science journalist and author
Medical reporting
From ABC Science, 23 July 2015: Jeff Buckley or Rage Against The Machine? Your music preferences reveal a lot about how you think. There is a clear link between people’s cognitive styles and the type and depth of emotion they prefer in music, say researchers. Their work, published today in PLOS ONE, shows people who … Continue reading Music preferences reveal your inner thoughts
From ABC News in Science, 17 July 2015: Does the sound of a human scream make your hair stand on end? Now scientists say they can explain why. They’ve found the sound of human screaming is acoustically designed to plug directly into your brain’s fear and alarm circuit. A study, published today in Current Biology … Continue reading Human screams target brain’s fear centre
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 8 July 2015: Australia has long been called the lucky country. We have a life expectancy of 82 years, which places us in the top 10 countries in the world when it comes to lifespan. But this isn’t the case for all of us. Indigenous Australians have a ten-year lower … Continue reading The Indigenous health gap: social factors hit hard
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 17 March 2015: How many times have you been told that if you’re prescribed antibiotics, you must always finish the full course, even if you’re feeling better? The popular notion has always been that if you don’t complete the full course, you’re encouraging the development of antibiotic resistance. But in … Continue reading Antibiotics – when is enough enough?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 1 June 2015: Time poor? Of course you are. Who isn’t, these days? We’re all desperately trying to cram two-days’ worth of activity into one, and it seems like everything has to have happened yesterday. Deadlines scream at you while yet another crumpled note from your child’s school gently nudges … Continue reading Time or money? Why you need both to be healthy
From ABC Health & Wellbeing, 14 May 2015: When it comes to healing the sick, we look to doctors. When it comes to preventing us from getting sick in the first place, many say we should look to governments. That’s because the vast majority of our biggest killers, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, lung … Continue reading Understanding what really makes us sick
From ABC Science, 5 June 2015: A highly resistant malaria parasite hijacks resources in immature red blood cells to defend itself against the impact of anti-malarial drugs, researchers have found. The study, by Australian and Scottish researchers, looks at how different species of malaria parasite behave inside the human body. Their findings, published today in … Continue reading Malaria parasite hijacks red blood cells to beat drugs
From ABC News in Science, 12 March 2015: A deadly strain of bird flu known to infect humans is spreading rapidly and silently through chicken populations across China. The findings, published today in Nature, raise fears of a bird flu pandemic, as the sheer size of this disease reservoir increases the likelihood of a mutation … Continue reading Silent spread of bird flu raises pandemic fears
From ABC News in Science, 10 March 2015: Overvaluing and overpraising children can contribute to the development of narcissism, researchers have found. A study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science , answers a long-standing question of whether narcissistic traits develop as a result of too much or too little parental … Continue reading Too much praise helps create narcissistic kids
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 26 February 2015: Mention the word ‘Pap smear’, and most women will reflexly cross their legs and shudder. It’s become something of a modern rite of passage for young women; receiving your invitation to join the cervical cancer screening program, and submitting yourself to the dubious pleasure of being prised … Continue reading Why there are plans to part ways with Pap smears
Bianca Nogrady 