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Surgeons show superior coordination – and more cursing
Surgeons are better than other hospital staff when completing a dexterity-based children’s game, according to a new study. But, finds the study, they’re also more likely to swear while completing the...
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Stem cell hope on the horizon for preterm babies
Stem cell researchers have discovered a potential new lifeline for the tiniest and most vulnerable babies. Scientists at Monash Children’s Hospital have successfully collected and reinfused umbilical...
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Iron transfusions to transform care for anaemia in pregnancy
Anaemia in pregnancy is linked to a higher risk of negative outcomes such as preterm delivery, low birth weight, and postpartum depression. To prevent this, the World Health Organization (WHO)...
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Medication-safe grapefruit closer with genetic study
Grapefruit, and some other varieties of citrus fruit, are off the menu for a lot of people using common medications. But a new study might help to develop safe varieties. Grapefruits, as well as...
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New research could allow for more effective cancer radiotherapy
A question that has puzzled oncologists for 30 years has been solved by researchers, who say their findings have implications for increasing the efficacy of radiation therapy. Radiation therapy works...
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Popular weight-loss drugs linked to new health risks and benefits
Credit: Iuliia Burmistrova/Getty Images A large analysis of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy has surprised health researchers, who found links to multiple new benefits – and some new side...
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Paralysed person piloted virtual drone using brain implant
Credit: wenjin chen/Getty Images Advances continue to be made in neurobionics – integrating electronics with the nervous system to repair or replace impaired function – with the latest example helping...
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Brain cell transplant as a treatment for some neurological disorders
Astrocytes — named for their star-like shape — are a type of brain cell as abundant as neurons in the central nervous system, but little is known about their role in brain health and disease. Many...
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Antibody treatment prevents severe bird flu in monkeys
Illustration of antibodies surrounding a virus particle. Credit: STEVEN MCDOWELL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images As the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus continues to devastate...
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OCRF: Fostering careers of ovarian cancer researchers
In Australia, one person dies from ovarian cancer every 8 hours. There are no tools for prevention, no early detection or accurate screening tests, and its generally vague symptoms – such as bloating,...
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New AI decision tool improves hospital efficiency
Credit: Charday Penn via Getty Images A new artificial intelligence-driven approach to more efficiently free up hospital beds will likely be rolled out across several South Australian hospitals within...
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Global expert panel recommends against injections for some back pain
Credit: gaga vastard via Getty Images Spine injections offer little, or no pain relief for certain kinds of chronic back pain compared to sham injections, a panel of international experts has found....
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Weight-loss molecule discovered, with seemingly fewer side effects
Structure of the 12-amino-acid BRP peptide. Each amino acid is in a different colour, with spheres representing atoms and sticks representing bonds. Credit: Katrin Svensson/Stanford Medicine...
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Promising vaccine a step closer helping end tuberculosis epidemic
The highly inflammatory immune response to Micobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) when unvaccinated results in structures called granulomas, which are dense collections of immune cells formed to contain...
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Explainer: the science of xenotransplantation
Xenotransplantation, taking the organs, tissues or cells from one species and transplanting them into another, is rapidly approaching reality as an alternative treatment for many end-stage diseases....
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First pig-to-human liver xenotransplantation
Credit: Maryna Terletska/Getty Images Researchers in China say they performed the first transplant of a genetically modified pig liver into a brain-dead human recipient, publishing their results in...
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We could use gum and artificial sweetener to fight viruses and bacteria
Scientists have recently taken unorthodox approaches to tackling the global challenge of infectious human disease, looking to artificial sweetener to address antibiotic resistance, and chewing gum to...
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Revealed – what’s behind sudden death syndrome in young people
Swedish researchers may have helped to prevent premature deaths from Sudden Arrhythmic Death syndrome (SADS). Exploration of a decade-long patient database has revealed what was happening in the...
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Researchers release ‘molecular brake’ to restore vision in mice with retinal...
Korean researchers have developed a new method that might one day restore vision to patients with retinal disease. “Our goal is to provide a solution for patients at risk of blindness who lack proper...
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Australia on the verge of diabetes breakthrough
Professor Wayne Hawthorne and his team. Hawthorne is holding transgenic pig islets in culture prior to their quality assurance, counting validation and transplantation. Credit: Kylie Ironside/WIMR...
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Cheap “lab-in-a-tube” tuberculosis test could change remote healthcare
Researchers have created a “lab-in-a-tube” tuberculosis test, with all the ingredients necessary to detect the disease in under an hour. Costing just AUD$4.3 (US$2.70) per sample, the lab-in-a-tube...
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Blood supply will be another victim of the climate crisis
Bags of blood emergency blood type. Credit: Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Climate change will impact all aspects of life as we know it, including blood donation with a new review in The Lancet...
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Trailblazer: a gene therapy pathway to a cure for HIV
Professor Sharon Lewin is an infectious diseases physician internationally renowned for her research into all aspects of HIV disease – specifically in strategies to achieve an HIV cure. She is the...
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Measles: we’re on the precipice of a disaster, experts say
Measles may become endemic again in the US within 20 years if vaccination rates don’t improve, according to new modelling. Only 2 doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine are required to...
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Superbugs on the rise as antibiotics in livestock threatens global health
The billions of doses of antibiotics administered to farm animals are accelerating the rise of drug-resistant superbugs and undermining our most vital medicines. International researchers warn that,...
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New treatment may reduce chronic pain by ‘re-training the brain’
In a “major step forward in pain care”, a new approach to treat people living with chronic pain has been shown to reduce pain intensity in a randomised controlled trial of 89 people. The team behind...
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Results of breast cancer trial excite researchers
When Jackie Van Bochoven was diagnosed with an aggressive breast tumour in 2019, her family history of cancer—and a mutation in the BRCA gene, which raises the risk of various cancers—qualified her...
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New era in gene therapy as baby with ultrarare disease receives personalised...
Dr Kiran Musunuru and Dr Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas with patient KJ. Credit: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia In a major step forward for gene editing, an infant’s rare genetic disorder has been...
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Even if 5G penetrates a few millimetres into the skin, it is safe
Aerial view of a mobile phone telecommunications tower at Goonellabah, NSW, Australia. Credit: davidf / E+ / Getty Images Plus. Wirelessly transmitted data using electromagnetic frequencies in the 5G...
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US demand for directed blood donations based on misinformation
A growing number of patients in the United States are requesting blood from personally selected donors – often for reasons grounded in misinformation rather than medical need. Between 2019 and 2021,...
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Treating bed nets to kill malaria parasite may sidestep resistance problem
Biomedical scientists have successfully dosed bed net material with drugs to kill Plasmodium, the malaria parasite carried by the Anopheles mosquito, before the insect finds a human blood meal and...
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‘Cambrian explosion’ in cell signalling knowledge drives new research
Illustration of extracellular vesicles. Cross section shows surface receptors (blue) embedded in the membrane (purple) which surrounds the molecular cargo inside (blue and red). Credit: Juan...
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Could a kava session offer new path for PTSD treatment?
A clinical trial is set to explore the ancient Pacific tradition of kava drinking as a potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD affects nearly 4% of the global population at some...
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World first gonorrhoea vaccine to be tried in the UK
A vaccine targeting gonorrhoea will soon be rolled out on the NHS. This will make England and Wales the first two countries in the world to offer such a programme. This move comes amid a sharp rise in...
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A glimmer of light: bionic eyes bring hope and doubts
We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. In March 2024, Manuela Callari reported on the burgeoning excitement around bionic eye technology and the doubts that linger about...
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Bats may hold the secret to cancer resistance
Bats are unusually long-lived for their size. The Brandt’s bat holds the record, with some individuals living more than 40 years. Greater mouse-eared bats can live into their late 30s, while little...
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Is there a better way to develop new drugs?
Pharmaceutical giants claim that research and development costs justify the sky-high prices of drugs. But this isn’t the whole truth. In December 2023, Clare Watson dived deep into the data and laid...
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Poison or cure? The dangers of chemicals in toxins
At the molecular level, poisons are chemicals typically with very specific functions. And whether naturally occurring or synthesised by humans, they play an important role in our lives, with many both...
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Microscopic mazes could stop bacteria spreading on surfaces
Researchers from the University of Nottingham have discovered that microscopic patterns etched into plastic surfaces can dramatically reduce bacterial growth — offering a promising new way to prevent...
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Why some pain lingers: brain’s ‘braking system’ fails chronic pain sufferers
Why does a papercut hurt for a moment, but a bad knee can ache for years? A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem suggests the answer lies deep in the brainstem — and may lead to better...
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