What’s taking the biggest toll on our mental health? Disconnection, financial stress and long waits for care

Johnny Cohen/Unsplash The new Labor government arrives at a time of mounting mental health strain: Australians have endured COVID, extreme weather events and financial stress from...

When is a condition ‘chronic’ and when is it a ‘disability’? The definition can determine the support you get

Unsplash, CC BY “Chronic conditions” and “disability” are not just words. They can determine the funding and supports we can access, how we’re treated and how...

Monkeypox FAQ: How is it transmitted? Where did it come from? What are the symptoms? Does smallpox vaccine prevent it?

With cases reported in a number of countries, human monkeypox infection is generating global interest and concern as an emerging infectious disease threat even in the...

Listening to asthma and COPD: An AI-powered wearable could monitor respiratory health

A neck patch that monitors respiratory sounds may help manage asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by detecting symptom flareups in real time, without compromising...

Herd immunity was sold as the path out of the pandemic. Here’s why we’re not talking about it any more

Future COVID-19 booster shots will likely need fresh formulations as new coronavirus variants of concern continue to emerge

Being up to date on COVID-19 vaccines means having had three or four doses of the same shot at this point. Current boosters are the same...

‘Masked’ cancer drug stealthily trains immune system to kill tumors while sparing healthy tissues, reducing treatment side effects

Aslan Mansurov, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Many cancer treatments are notoriously savage on the body. Drugs often attack both healthy cells and...

Inhaled vaccine for COVID-19: The pandemic accelerated decades of research leading to jab-free vaccine now in human testing

Fiona Smaill, McMaster University No one wanted COVID-19. The pandemic has created misery, death and hardship, and it isn’t finished yet. Still, the lingering crisis has...

Weight loss advice from GPs really can help people slim down and stay that way – new research

For people looking to lose weight, it can be hard to know where to start. Not only are there scores of commercial weight loss programmes to...

The doctor says my mole is a melanoma. What happens next?

So your doctor removed a mole from your skin and now says it’s cancerous. What happens next? Firstly, you’re not alone! Two in three Australians will...