Bivalent Vaccine Slashes COVID Hospitalisations in Seniors

The bivalent COVID-19 booster targeting BA.4/5 showed high levels of protection against COVID-19 hospitalisation in older adults, an observational cohort study out of Israel showed.

COVID-19, Healthcare Excellence, vaccine

February 2, 2023

AI Passes U.S. Medical Licensing Exam

Two artificial intelligence (AI) programs, including ChatGPT, have passed the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), according to two recent papers.

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Technology

January 31, 2023

Obesity Linked to Brain Abnormalities in Kids

Children with overweight or obesity appeared to have abnormalities in the brain that could affect executive functioning, an analysis of data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study showed.

Brain Health, Obesity

January 28, 2023

MRI-Targeted Biopsy for Prostate Cancer Reduces Risk of Overdiagnosis

Excluding systematic biopsy in favour of MRI-targeted biopsy in men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels reduced the probability of detecting clinically insignificant cancers, but at the risk of missing some clinically significant cancers and delaying their diagnosis.

MRI, Prostate cancer

January 26, 2023

Scattered Brain Bleeds, Vasculitis in Alzheimer’s Trial Death

A fatal bleeding event in an Alzheimer’s clinical trial participant may have been linked with the investigational anti-amyloid agent lecanemab, a case report suggested.

Alzheimer's, Clinical trials

January 24, 2023

Optimising Treatment for Older Patients With HR + Low-Risk Breast Cancer

The time has come to revisit the practice of omitting adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) for older patients with early hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer and instead consider a more individualised approach to RT and hormonal therapy, authors of a review article argued.

Breast Cancer, hormonal therapy, Radiotherapy

January 21, 2023

Can Biomarkers Give Early Heads-Up on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis?

In the quest to catch myocarditis earlier during immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy for cancer, researchers have found a potential role for routinely measured biomarkers.

myocarditis, Research

January 19, 2023

Higher Brain Cancer Risk After CT Exam in Childhood

There has been an escalating risk of brain cancer associated with increasing radiation dose to the brain from CT examinations, a cohort study of more than 650,000 children and young adults indicated.

Brain Cancer, Research

January 17, 2023

Ultra-High-Res MRI Highlights Migraine Brain Changes

Powerful MRI scanners have detected white matter spots in the brain that appear to be associated with migraines, a researcher reported.

medical research, Migraines, MRI

January 14, 2023

Drug Overdose Deaths in Pregnancy Rose 81% in Recent Years

Drug overdose deaths in pregnancy or the postpartum period increased sharply in the U.S. in recent years, with the rise most pronounced at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, researchers reported. From 2017 to 2020, overdose deaths in this population rose from 6.56 to 11.85 per 100,000 individuals, representing an 81% increase.

medical research, pregnancy

January 12, 2023

CRC Screening Decision Aid May Align Preferences With Benefits in Older Adults

While a decision aid on preferences for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening aimed at older adults appeared to help improve knowledge, findings from a secondary analysis of a randomised trial did not show statistically significant differences in patient preferences between patients in varying states of health.

Healthcare News

January 10, 2023

Can Oncologists Reduce the Suicide Risk in Their Prostate Cancer Patients?

Whether it’s due to the side effects of local and systemic therapies, or the diagnosis itself, men with prostate cancer are at increased risk of mental distress and suicide. The mental health burden associated with a diagnosis and treatment is substantial, pointed out Zachary Klaassen, MD, of the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University.

mental health, Prostate cancer

Medicare reform is off to a promising start. Now comes the hard part
The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce report is light on detail but lays out clear directions and includes big reforms. However, change won’t be easy.
Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Grattan Institute
Wondering about ADHD, autism and your child’s development? What to know about getting a neurodevelopmental assessment
Parents and carers might be worried a child is slow to talk or can’t seem to maintain attention. But getting a proper assessment can take years and connecting to support, even longer.
Adam Guastella, Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, University of Sydney
The 'Kraken' subvariant XBB.1.5 sounds scary. But behind the headlines are clues to where COVID's heading
XBB.1.5 and other subvariants do signal a change in how the virus is mutating. Here’s what this means for Australia and globally.
James Trauer, Associate Professor, Monash University
COVID remains a global emergency, the World Health Organization says, but we're at a transition point. What does this mean?
We’re moving towards the ‘disease control’ phase of our response to COVID, which means learning to live with the virus. But significant challenges remain as authorities battle COVID fatigue.
Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University
8 everyday foods you might not realise are ultra processed – and how to spot them
‘Ultra-processed’ is not just another term for junk food. It has been shown to be bad for the body and the planet – and it can be tricky to identify.
Sarah Dickie, PhD Candidate in Public Health Nutrition, Deakin University

Text-to-audio generation is here. One of the next big AI disruptions could be in the music industry
Google is one of a number of companies getting involved in AI music-generation.
Oliver Bown, Postdoctoral fellow, UNSW Sydney
Why do black holes twinkle? We studied 5,000 star-eating behemoths to find out
While we can’t see inside a black hole, we can spot the intensely bright glowing disc that surrounds one. Now, we might better understand why these discs appear to ‘twinkle’.
Christian Wolf, Associate Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National University
A rapidly growing rocket industry could undo decades of work to save the ozone layer -- unless we act now
Rocket emissions in the upper atmosphere can damage the ozone layer but are neither measured nor regulated. It’s a policy gap we have to close if the space industry is to grow sustainably.
Laura Revell, Associate Professor in Environmental Physics, University of Canterbury
This strange donkey orchid uses UV light to trick bees into thinking it has food
Orchids give nothing in return to pollinators, so how come they get visited by bees anyway? The answer is trickery and deceit.
Adrian Dyer, Associate Professor, Monash University
The world’s oldest fossils or oily gunk? New research suggests these 3.5 billion-year-old rocks don’t contain signs of life
Ancient rocks from Western Australia may not contain the world’s oldest fossils – but they do preserve organic compounds that may have formed the raw materials for the first living cells.
Birger Rasmussen, Adjunct Professor, The University of Western Australia