Category: Medical

Medical reporting

Australia bans under-16s from social media “to protect their development”

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From the BMJ, 5 December 2024: Children and young people aged under 16 will be banned from a range of social media platforms in Australia within a year, after the federal parliament passed a law to “deliver greater protections for young Australians during critical stages of their development.” The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum … Continue reading Australia bans under-16s from social media “to protect their development”

Covid-19 inquiry finds key failings in pandemic response

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From The Saturday Paper, 2 November 2024: In 2018, the Australian government conducted a simulated pandemic stress test of how well federal departments on the frontline of a major health crisis would cope. It found they would perform well enough for shorter or “ordinary” crises but were not equipped for a significant, near-existential crisis dragging … Continue reading Covid-19 inquiry finds key failings in pandemic response

Be kind, rewind: is backwards walking any better than walking forwards?

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From the Guardian, 27 August 2024: I call it “the hill of death”: a steep uphill section of dirt road towards the end of an otherwise pleasant and not-too-taxing walk in the scenic Blue Mountains. It’s challenging enough to get up it walking forwards but my friend and I both feel pretty cocky about our … Continue reading Be kind, rewind: is backwards walking any better than walking forwards?

How pain is misunderstood and ignored in women

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From Nature, 25 September 2024: “Women are born with pain built in. It’s our physical destiny.” With those words, Kristin Scott Thomas’s character in the TV show Fleabag nailed a truth: that to be female is to be over-represented in statistics about pain. A study of more than 27,000 people in 19 European countries found … Continue reading How pain is misunderstood and ignored in women

Dispatch from the long Covid frontline

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From The Saturday Paper, 24 August 2024: In September 2020, the United Kingdom government commissioned the British Academy – the national academy for the humanities and social sciences – to explore the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. What they got in March 2021 was a report titled “The Covid Decade”. Even then, in the … Continue reading Dispatch from the long Covid frontline

‘I’m as baffled as the next ovary-owner’: navigating the science of treating menopause

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From the Guardian, 1 April 2024: There’s a meme featuring a confident, suave, smiling Henry Cavill – the actor best known for playing Superman – posing for photographers on the red carpet. Sneaking up behind him is wild-looking, maniacally gleeful co-star Jason Momoa. To me, this is the perfect metaphor for perimenopause. Cavill is at … Continue reading ‘I’m as baffled as the next ovary-owner’: navigating the science of treating menopause

Smoking rates in Australia drop below 10%, but vaping increases

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From the BMJ, 5 March 2024: Fewer than one in 10 Australians now smoke tobacco daily, although rates of vaping in teenagers and young adults have almost tripled in five years, a survey of more than 21 000 people has found. Research by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in people aged 14 and over … Continue reading Smoking rates in Australia drop below 10%, but vaping increases

The genetic revolution transforming kidney disease

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From Nature, 8 March 2023: Andrew Mallett was training to be a kidney specialist at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Australia in 2011 when he met an 18-year-old man whose kidneys were on the verge of collapse. Struck by how unusual this condition was in an otherwise fit, healthy young person, Mallett asked … Continue reading The genetic revolution transforming kidney disease

What happens to your body during extreme heat?

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From The Guardian, 26 January 2024: Last year was the hottest year in recorded history. Global average temperatures over 2023 nudged towards 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, and for two days in November, they reached 2C above those levels. With a hotter planet come more intense – and therefore more deadly – heatwaves. Extreme heat is already … Continue reading What happens to your body during extreme heat?

Big brain boost? What science says about the power of nootropics to enhance our minds

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From The Guardian, 4 February 2024: The comedian and actor Hannah Gadsby quipped in her hit show Nanette that she identified as [pause for dramatic effect] “tired”. In a monologue that resonated with many hard truths, that one particularly struck home for me. The common refrain is so many of us are exhausted, have trouble … Continue reading Big brain boost? What science says about the power of nootropics to enhance our minds