Tailoring medicines through DNA sequencing – the future of medicine
It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but scientists and health researchers believe genetic testing should lead to the personalisation of medicine to an individual’s DNA – a practice that will be the norm within 15 years. Breakthroughs in DNA sequencing have already led to the development of cancer vaccines for melanoma skin cancer,…
Women’s Health Week 2017 – different life stages critical to understanding women’s health
To mark Women’s Health Week (September 4-8, 2017), the Jean Hailes Foundation has released data from its Women’s Health Survey, 2017. According to the organisation, their 2017 women’s health survey, the third annual survey they have released to better understand the health information needs and behaviours of Aussie women, had the following three main aims:…
New heart-health app revealed
A revolutionary new app that gives a “heart health check” in 60 seconds using only a smart phone camera could ultimately replace the currently used echocardiography, according to a new paper published recently. By holding the phone up against a patient’s neck for one minute, the technology measures the tiny amount of displacement in the…
Visiting GLOBALHealthPR HQ
VIVA! Communications’ Junior Account Manager, John Wanna, visited GLOBALHealthPR HQ – the world’s largest, independent health and science communications agency partnership, which we represent exclusively in Australia – and our American partner, Spectrum, in New York on August 22, 2017. Upon approaching the GHPR office, located close to the World Trade Centre, John was impressed…
How morning sickness feels!
Disclaimer – The author of this piece is male – he does not know what morning sickness feels like, but his wife does. This is his attempt to understand more. Pregnancy can be one of the most exciting times in the life of a pending new parent. As a male, you observe and work to…
Channel 10’s The Bachelor championing Australia’s mental health
Life’s not all a bed of roses for the host of Channel 10’s The Bachelor. The Bachelor host and member of Brisbane’s HIT 105 breakfast radio team, Osher Günsberg, has been battling mental illness for many years now. In 2006, at his colleague’s insistence, he sought professional help for his anxiety. He was subsequently diagnosed…
Cracking the genetic code of clinical depression
The Australian arm to a huge international study into the genetics of depression is on its way to recruiting 20,000 participants to try to crack the genetic code to depression. The interim data released today has shown that more than two-thirds of Australian study participants have tried at least two antidepressants to treat their clinical…
Reported flu cases at record high
Australia looks set for a record number of flu cases this winter with over 75,000 lab-confirmed incidences already this year. Shockingly, that number is twice as many as were recorded in the whole of 2016 and could lead to a record high for 15 years. Many more Australians are likely to have been suffering with…
Conventional methods of dealing with mental health not working
According to the nation’s largest, proactive, online mental health check, conventional approaches to managing mental health are expensive, time-consuming and inaccurate. Australia’s Biggest Mental Health Check-in – an innovative digital public health initiative, in conjunction with Medibio’s world first wearable objective test for the diagnosis of depression and other mental health disorders, designed to measure,…
Occupational exposure link to COPD found
According to an Australian study released this week, workers exposed to herbicides in their workplace are more than twice as likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by the time they reach middle age. For those exposed to pesticides, there is a 74 per cent increased chance of developing COPD. The British Medical Journal…