freelance science journalist and author
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 23 May 2014: The debate about the effectiveness of homeopathy is nothing new. Most recently it made headlines after Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council released a draft information paper on homeopathy which found there were “no health conditions for which there was reliable evidence that homeopathy was effective”. … Continue reading Can homeopathy ‘work’ even when there’s no evidence?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 1 May 2014: Talk to many parents and they’ll list a number of foods guaranteed to turn their normally well-behaved offspring into an uncontrollable monster. But speak to those who spend their days working with children who have behavioural problems and you get a very different perspective. Parenting forums, blogs … Continue reading Does diet affect children’s behaviour?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 24 March 2o14: With an increasing number of children being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), it’s no surprise that we’re also seeing more children being treated for the condition. But concerns are also increasing about ADHD treatments – especially medications. Last year the Therapeutic Goods Administration issued a … Continue reading ADHD treatments: are they meeting children’s needs?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 7 March 2014: Toddlers are hard work. As any parent knows, they’re into everything, they have the attention span of a goldfish, the focus of a spinning disco ball, and the exploratory instincts of a spaniel puppy. That’s all well and good when they’re toddlers, but what happens when those … Continue reading Diagnosing ADHD: why is it so challenging?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 21 January 2014: Obesity surgery is hardly a new kid on the medical block. The first surgical attempts to help people lose weight were performed more than half a century ago. Bariatric or metabolic surgery, which involves either chopping out or tying off a section of the stomach, is now … Continue reading Is weight loss surgery the answer for diabetes?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 17 January 2014: In the 15th century, an unknown Dominican friar penned Ars Moriendi, or The Art of Dying. At the time, it offered an immensely popular guide on the attainment of a ‘good death’ and spawned a rash of translations and copycats across Europe. One wonders what its author … Continue reading Is there a right way to approach death?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 5 December 2013: Like most first-time mothers, Sheridan had certain expectations of how the birth of her first child might go. Those expectations did not include giving birth to her baby nearly six weeks before her due date. Nor did they include a panicked ambulance trip to the nearest major … Continue reading Premature birth: why do some babies come early?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 10 November 2013: Over the years, the placebo has earned an unfair reputation as an instrument of medical fakery; a white lie to convince unsuspecting patients they are being treated when in fact their treatment is nothing more than a sugar pill or surgical sleight of hand. However growing evidence … Continue reading Placebos more effective than mere sugar pills
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 17 September 2013: Talk to people about the kind of death people want to avoid and almost everyone has a story to share. It may be of a grandfather diminished and ridiculed by dementia until he is incontinent, incoherent, and bed-bound; or a young friend wracked with the agony of … Continue reading Is it possible to have a good death?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 9 July 2013: Death is a lot like birth. Sometimes it’s a peaceful, even beautiful event that goes according to plan. Sometimes it’s a horrible bloody mess that is utterly beyond all control. Most of the time, it’s a bit of both. We have this idea that death is something … Continue reading Death: what are your choices?
Bianca Nogrady 