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Health & Mind

HIV

Why failed HIV vaccine increased infection

Thursday, 19 November 2009

In 2007 a major HIV vaccine trial ground to a halt when the results showed that it actually increased rates of infection. Now researchers have discovered why.


Speech

Tiny mutation led to human speech

Thursday, 12 November 2009

Two minute changes in a gene that is otherwise identical in humans and chimps could explain why we have the power of speech while other primates do not.


Fibre-rich foods.

Fibre boosts immune system, study finds

Friday, 30 October 2009

An apple a day may keep the doctor away but a fibre-filled diet could also hold the key to keeping asthma, diabetes and arthritis at bay, according to Australian research released Thursday.


Michael Cowley

Profile: Michael Cowley

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

Why does our brain not regulate or suppress obesity and hypertension? - and what's the link with diabetes? These are some of the questions that earned Michael Cowley the 2009 Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year.


Coffee

A few coffees a day keeps liver disease at bay

Friday, 23 October 2009

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has found another good reason to go to the local espresso bar: several cups of coffee a day could prevent liver disease.


Juggling balls

How juggling rewires your brain

Monday, 12 October 2009

Neuroscientists have discovered that learning to juggle causes changes in white matter - nerve strands which help different parts of the brain communicate.


Elizabeth Blackburn

Australian wins Nobel for work on ageing

Monday, 5 October 2009

Australian researcher Elizabeth Blackburn and U.S. colleagues Carol Greider and Jack Szostak have won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for identifying a key molecular switch in cellular ageing.


baby

Today's babies could live to 22nd century

Friday, 2 October 2009

More than half of the babies born today in rich countries will live to 100 years if current trends of life expectancy continue, says a study in the medical journal The Lancet.


Study

'Smart drugs' set to cause trouble

Thursday, 1 October 2009

Students who use performance-enhancing drugs to stay alert and learn faster could pose a major dilemma for universities, and they may even face future urine tests, warns an Australian expert.


school kids

Popular kids grow into healthier adults

Tuesday, 29 September 2009

Children who are the most popular and powerful at school also enjoy better health in adult life compared to counterparts at the bottom end of the pecking order, say Swedish scientists.


HIV ribbon

AIDS vaccine cuts infection rate

Friday, 25 September 2009

An experimental AIDS vaccine has for the first time cut the risk of infection in humans, but it may still fall short of requirements for an effective preventative.


Social connections

Social connectedness is vital for health

Monday, 21 September 2009

Forget expensive drugs, social connectedness is the new health and well-being blockbuster to ward off illness, according to a group of studies.


Broken heart

You really can die of a broken heart

Monday, 21 September 2009

People mourning the loss of a loved one are six times more likely to suffer cardiac arrest, potential proof that you can die of a broken heart, say Australian researchers.


Similar faces

We trust people more if they resemble us

Thursday, 17 September 2009

A new study has found that subconsciously we are more likely to trust people with similar facial features to our own, but less likely to be physically attracted to them.


Little girl with crossed fingers

Superstitions stay with us from childhood

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Superstitious beliefs we hold as adults may be a by-product of the processes we use to make sense of the world around us as children.