Life Changes
Healing Through Storytelling: Lessons from The Odyssey
The journey of Odysseus in Homer's 'The Odyssey' offers profound insights into healing...
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- Written by: Andrew Whitehouse, Winthrop Professor, Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia
One of the great and enduring mysteries of autism is what causes the brain to develop so differently. The behavioural differences of many individuals with autism are so apparent that it seems intuitive that the causes would also be obvious.
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- Written by: Keith Laws, Professor, University of Hertfordshire
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has become a byword for unbiased, evidence-based healthcare advice. Its recommendations strongly influence which treatments are made available on the NHS. We wouldn’t expect NICE to make recommendations that are unsupported by evidence or, worse, contain contradictory evidence.
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- Written by: Jana Králová, PhD Candidate , University of Bath
In 2100, I will be 117 years old, and my younger sisters will be 112 and 107. According to the Cambridge academic, Peter Laslett, we can now live to such ages, but those of us who do will be experiencing the fourth age, “an era of final dependence, decrepitude and death”. Not quite the dream
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- Written by: Jennie Jackson, Lecturer in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Glasgow Caledonian University
In the film The Martian, Matt Damon’s character, Mark Watney, is stranded on the red planet with nothing to eat but spuds. Now, a 36-year-old Australian is following the same diet, voluntarily. In an attempt to lose weight and improve his relationship with food, Andrew Taylor has decided to eat nothing but potatoes for a year.
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- Written by: David Caldicott, Emergency Medicine Consultant, Australian National University
Last night’s Four Corners focused on party drugs and the policies Australia is implementing to combat their use. Not only is what we’re doing not working, we’re falling behind the rest of the world and what evidence says is best to ensure we have fewer deaths from illicit drugs.
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- Written by: Saad B. Omer, Professor of Global Health, Epidemiology, and Pediatrics, Emory University
Every year in the United States, about 226,000 people are hospitalized because of the flu, and 23,000 die. And about 80-90 percent of flu-related deaths occur in people over 65 years old.
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- Written by: Kevin Arbuckle, Honorary postdoctoral research fellow at University of Liverpool, University of Liverpool
Passing on our genes to the next generation is the key process in evolution that happens through natural selection. So why do women suddenly stop having periods when they have at least a third of their lives left
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- Written by: James Betts, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition, Metabolism and Statistics, University of Bath
In the middle of the last century, popular nutrition author Adelle Davis advised people to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. Her advice stuck. Recent examination of the merits of adults eating breakfast has raised the question of whether we should indeed eat like kings at breakfast or just skip it all together.
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- Written by: Margaret Morris, Professor of Pharmacology, Head of Pharmacology, UNSW Australia
We all know that cola and lemonade aren’t great for our waistline or our dental health, but our new study on rats has shed light on just how much damage sugary drinks can also do to our brain. The changes we observed to the region of the brain that controls emotional behaviour and cognitive function were more extensive than those
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- Written by: David Salisbury, Vanderbilt University
"The brain is incredibly complex, so it's reasonable to expect that introducing changes from a different evolutionary path might have negative consequences," says Corinne Simonti.
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- Written by: Christopher Maher, Associate Professor, Urogynaecology Royal Brisbane and Women's and Wesley Hospitals Brisbane , The University of Queensland
A common surgery to treat vaginal prolapse using an artificially grafted mesh has more problems than benefits, our Cohrane review has found. Women who underwent the operation had high rates of needing repeat surgery due to mesh exposure, bladder injury and urinary incontinence.
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- Written by: Clare Collins, Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle
Don’t limit yourself to grapefruit – increasing the amount and variety of fruit and vegetables can help you lose weight. Monday – start diet. Tuesday – break diet! Wednesday – plan to start again next Monday.
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- Written by: Bruno Gran, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Nottingham
Multiple sclerosis affects millions of people worldwide. It’s a neurological disease characterised by inflammatory lesions in the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) that cause damage to the myelin sheath – the protective layer around the nerve cells. This causes neurological dysfunction, such as muscle paralysis or loss of sensation.
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- Written by: Rhi Willmot, PhD Researcher in Behavioural and Positive Psychology, Bangor University
Do the same rules that govern human attraction also apply to our choices of fruit and vegetables? Plenty of evidence suggests we do look for similar traits in both people and produce, and our perceptions of food are clearly affected by what
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- Written by: Dominic Ali, University of Toronto
A new study has uncovered a strong link between schizophrenia and the likelihood of attempting suicide. The risk is particularly high for women, people with substance abuse issues, and those who were abused when they were children.
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- Written by: Emily Boynton, University of Rochester
Scientists have discovered a way to make a nasal spray flu vaccine safer for those who are at greatest risk of catching the flu, particularly infants under the age of 2.
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- Written by: Peter Rüegg, ETH Zurich
A new water filter can remove toxic heavy metal ions and radioactive substances in just one pass.
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- Written by: Kate Moore, Professor, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Head of Department of Urogynaecology, UNSW Australia
Urinary incontinence is often seen as a degrading condition and women can feel too ashamed to seek help. Urinary incontinence is urine leakage from a loss of bladder control that mainly affects women
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- Written by: Cameron Webb, Clinical Lecturer and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney
What’s the worst thing you could be burdened with this Valentine’s Day? Unrequited love? Unwanted affection? Unpaid invoice from the local florist? How about an itchy dose of pubic lice? Pubic lice, Phthirus pubis, or “crabs” as more commonly...
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- Written by: Ya-Ling Liou, D.C.
No one says it better than Dick Van Dyke in his new book Keep Moving. The secret to maintaining lasting agility lies in joyful movement. Van Dyke turns a very vibrant 90 years old this year, and he continues to not only hit the gym every day, but to dance every chance he gets -- not for the exercise, but simply because he enjoys it!
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- Written by: Holly Shive-Texas A&M
"For some individuals, this simple nutritional supplement might really help reduce the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder. Any progress on the prevention front would be welcome given the number of people affected," says Zhigang Xie.
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Creating a Legacy of Joy for Future Generations
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Spirituality & Mindfulness
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You don't need a week in silence at a mountain retreat to feel spiritually alive again....