Tag: health
-
The Health Risks of Energy Drinks
The slim-lined cans promise an energy hit that will have you flying through your day of study, work or play. Energy drinks are now a popular choice for teenagers and young adults as opposed to a good old cup of coffee. One study found energy drinks are consumed by 30-50% of adolescents and young adults…
-
Changing Time Zones: The Health Effects of Jet Lag
As a human race, we have only been able to cross such large distances and multiple time zones in the past century. Before commercial flights were a common way of travelling overseas, we would have been able to cope with changing time zones better during a lengthy voyage by sea. Besides the lack of hydration,…
-
Alternative therapies – the facts
People have been using alternative therapies for thousands of years, long before scientific-based medicine became the norm. Defined as any form of medical treatment not covered by top medical school courses, alternative therapies come under many guises, from acupuncture and chiropractic to homeopathy and naturopathy. Many people will only use alternative therapies whereas others believe…
-
Weekly Science Picks
I’m loath to begin a weekly roundup on a low note, and I’m truly sorry to have to, but this most certainly needs to be discussed. It’s been a turbulent week this week in the science blogging world. Turbulent and full of raised concerns over the state of things for those in a science communication…
-
Advances in health technologies: Saunas
For many, saunas are the epitome of health and wellbeing luxury. Originating in Scandinavia, they are now a staple in day spas and gyms around the world. However, new health technologies are coming out all the time, many offering similar health benefits to saunas but often at inflated prices. The question is, are we better…
-
Hopeful results in latest HIV vaccine trial, but many hurdles to overcome yet
A HIV vaccine, known as SAV001-H has shown promising results in an early clinical trial, with no adverse effects reported and importantly, a significant increase reported in HIV specific antibodies in participants who received the vaccine. In this trial, 33 HIV positive participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups: half into a treatment group receiving…
-
The Ten Hallmarks of Cancer
This series of articles originally appeared on Know The Cosmos. I will be reposting the articles here for AusSci with added commentary over the coming weeks! In 2002, Robert Weinberg and Douglas Hanahan published a review article in the journal Cell titled “The Hallmarks of Cancer”. It was a seminal paper in every sense of the word; downloaded 20,000…
-
Pacific plant could be good news for anxiety sufferers
A clinical study on kava, a Pacific plant, has found that it has properties which could be extremely useful in treating the symptoms of anxiety. The plant has been used recreationally in Pacific societies, in places like Polynesia and Hawaii, for a long time but this is apparently the first proper clinical study of the…
-
An outdated appetite control system in a rapidly evolving world?
Imagine yourself for a moment waiting for a meal at your favourite restaurant, local takeaway store or at home counting down the time until the oven buzzer sounds. You know you’re hungry, but we seldom think or care about the complex series of processes that go on inside our bodies that drive that hunger. And…
-
Plastics Make it… Problematic
The American Chemistry Council sponsors an initiative “Plastics Make it Possible.” While there is no debating the fact that plastics have completely transformed modern life, from lifesaving medical devices to cellular phones to food storage to sports equipment, to well, you name it; we owe a lot to this accidental creation of Hans von Pechmann:…