Powder to the people: Multinational Pharma defending allegations it knew of asbetos contaminants
Multinational pharmaceutical company, Johnson and Johnson (J&J) has been forced to rebut allegations of selling its baby powder with knowledge of trace carcinogenic asbestos contaminants, following a damning article published by Reuters last week. Investigations led by the international news agency alleged the company was aware of trace elements of cancer-causing asbestos in its products…
Fish oil helping to guard against allergies
Fish oil supplementation during childhood may offer a protective effect against allergies for children that reside within heavily polluted areas. New Australian research out of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, has released the finding of a ground-breaking study that paves the way forward for parents to safeguard their children against common childhood allergies.…
Creatives are more prone to becoming addicted to drugs
Psychology researchers have uncovered a link between creative people and the development of mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and depression. A propensity in extremely creative individuals to become drug abusers has been studied for centuries, with some experts attributing the link to creatives being hyper sensitive to their environment. While being creative doesn’t necessarily…
Analysis of 2,000 brains unlocking some clues to schizophrenia & autism
Researchers are now a step closer to potentially identifying a link between molecular mechanisms and neuropsychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In a study performed by the scientific collaboration, The PsychENCODE project, researchers assessed DNA, RNA and protein data to obtain more information about the brain’s architecture. The study, which kicked off in…
Maintaining Mental Health at Christmas
For someone with a mental illness, the holiday season could present a lot of challenges From stress over buying gifts, to dealing with large crowds, crazy traffic, and attending family events – the festive season isn’t always a joyous occasion. Things like family tensions, excessive alcohol consumption, poor food choices, loneliness, isolation and money worries…
Helping elderly loved ones throughout Christmas
For the elderly, Christmas time can present as more of a challenge than a relaxing break due to schedules rapidly filling up with meals and celebratory arrangements. Holidays can highlight difficulties for our older loved ones, as gatherings and social occasions require and great deal of energy and can be an exhausting exercise. For those…
New mobile phone ban to protect primary school kids’ mental health
Mobile phones will be banned in primary school classrooms in a New South Wales Government bid to reduce online bullying and risk factors associated with students’ mental health. The introduction of the new law was announced Thursday and followed a commission in June led by psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg. Under the new rules, students will…
Singapore study finds mental illness more prevalent in young adults
Young Singaporean adults aged 18-34 are most at risk of developing a mental health illness, a Singapore Mental Health Study has found. A report on the findings, released on Tuesday this week, showed individuals in that age group were most likely to have experienced bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, alcohol abuse, and obsessive compulsive disorder.…
Renewed call for a sugar tax aligned with Obesity Epidemic committee recommendations
The Select Committee into the Obesity Epidemic has this week published a report featuring 22 recommendations to address Australia’s weight crisis. Among them, a tax on sugary drinks, mandating the Health Star Ratings, and banning junk food ads on TV until 9pm. Despite the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending the taxing of sugary drinks, Australia…
Funding injection into the mental health of small business owners
More than $3.1million of federal funding has been invested into a program to aid the mental health of our nation’s small business owners, particularly those living in rural areas. Those grappling with long hours, ongoing stress and cashflow concerns Australia-wide will soon have access to an online portal called Ahead for Business, which is currently…