The Conversation

Half time warm-ups boost athletic performance

High-intensity, short duration warm up activities at half time intervals boost athletic performance, a study of soccer players has found.

Health created May 20, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Deep brain stimulation: A fix when the drugs don't work

Neurological disorders can have a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers and their families.

Neuroscience created May 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Want to boost your memory and mood? Take a nap, but keep it short

We're told to have power naps to keep us safe on the road and improve our alertness if we've had insufficient sleep. They even help our surgeons stay awake during long shifts. But siestas and nana naps can ...

Sleep apnea created May 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Medical myth: Flatlining patients can be shocked back to life

Beep….beep……….beep……….beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. "We're losing him. Out of my way, nurse!" The quick-thinking young doctor charges the defibrillator paddles and places them on the chest of ...

Cardiology created May 14, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Explainer: What is diabetes?

To keep your body functioning, glucose must always be present in your blood. It's as important as oxygen in the air you breathe. The brain can only function for a few minutes without either before it stops ...

Diabetes created May 13, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Frozen in time: Clarifying laws on IVF embryo use and destruction

Over the past two decades, the frozen preservation of embryos has become routine practice in IVF. What currently happens to embryos next is controlled by overlapping and complicated rules that confuse and ...

Obstetrics & gynaecology created May 13, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Sexual assaults in psych wards show urgent need for reform

Women admitted to psychiatry wards experience high levels of violence and sexual assaults, according to a report released this week by the Victorian Mental Illness Alliance Council.

Health created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

What is BRCA1?

Actress Angelina Jolie has today written an op-ed in the New York Times explaining that she has opted to have a double mastectomy because she carries the hereditary BRCA1 gene, which she says increases her risk o ...

Cancer created May 15, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 2

Animals in research: Zebrafish

Zebrafish are probably not the first creatures that come to mind when it comes to animals that are valuable for medical research.

Medical research created May 10, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Assessing the effects of cell phone radiation on brain tissue

Researchers have found a novel, non-invasive technique for measuring brain hot spots caused by electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones, according to a study published today.

Medical research created Dec 17, 2012 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (10) | comments 9 | with audio podcast

Migrant women less likely to have unassisted birth, study finds

Some groups of migrant women in Australia are at a higher risk of medical interventions in childbirth that may lead to health problems for the mother or child, a new study has found.

Obstetrics & gynaecology created May 06, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Explainer: What is intuition?

The word intuition is derived from the Latin intueor – to see; intuition is thus often invoked to explain how the mind can "see" answers to problems or decisions in the absence of explicit reasoning – ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 03, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 3

The science of magic: It's not all hocus pocus

Think of your favourite magic trick. Is it as grandiose as David Copperfield's Death Saw, or is it as simple as making a coin disappear in front of your very eyes?

Neuroscience created May 01, 2013 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Medical myth: Reading from a screen harms your eyes

The time most of us spend looking at a screen has rapidly increased over the past decade. If we're not at work on the computer, we're likely to stay tuned into the online sphere via a smart phone or tablet. ...

Health created Oct 19, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

No evidence H7N9 spreads between humans—but fear does

It's ten years since SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) upset our complacency about infectious diseases and now we are faced by another "new" disease. H7N9 bird flu is currently spreading through Chi ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Apr 29, 2013 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0