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Health news

  • Bill Shorten in June

    Shorter hospital stays for NDIS participants saving ‘hundreds of millions’, Bill Shorten says

    Outgoing minister says combination of more medium-term housing and dedicated staff has dropped average discharge rate to a record low of 20 days
  • Signs and barricades around Rozelle parklands after asbestos was found in January

    More than 100 charges brought over Sydney asbestos mulch crisis after major NSW EPA investigation

  • Female patient talking to mental health professional

    ‘Major crisis’ in NSW mental health care escalates as public psychiatrists prepare to quit en masse

  • Victoria Chief Health Officer Prof Ben Cowie in front of some trees

    Buruli ulcer: flesh-eating bacteria spreads in Melbourne suburb amid warning about rise in cases

  • A person holding test tube labelled ‘Bird Flu’

    Most pregnant women and unborn babies who contract bird flu will die, study finds

  • A young woman sits at a drum kit with drum sticks in hand, smiling

    ‘It would deflate our world’: how NDIS cuts to music therapy may silence Ava’s voice

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Key issues

  • Illustrations of capsules in the shape of a brain

    ‘A pill for every ill’: doctors say Australia overprescribing antidepressants to mask toxic social conditions

  • An illustration of a person climbing a hill of pills towards a light at the top

    We asked readers about taking antidepressants. The response points to a ‘silent epidemic’ and urgent need for reform

    Out of 776 responders to our callout, 711 say they experienced withdrawal symptoms, many debilitating
  • Pokies machines

    ‘I had a full-blown relapse’: woman allowed into Victorian pokies clubs despite self-excluding from gambling

    Bree Hughes says state’s safeguards to curb gambling are a ‘joke’ after she realised very few venues checked if she was on the self-excluding list
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Antiviral

  • Composite for Antiviral column - retinol and anti-ageing skincare

    Antiviral
    Can retinol, vitamin A or other compounds really keep your skin healthy and ‘youthful’?

    Melissa Davey
    The ads are everywhere but the evidence is poor for most creams, experts say – with one limited exception
  • The composite shows varied multivitamins and supplements.

    Antiviral
    Multivitamins promise glowing skin, better sleep and a longer life. But who do supplements really benefit?

    Donna Lu
  • Composite image for Antiviral column. The image shows orange and green squar pollen, a honey pot and an inhaler

    There’s a buzz online about local honey being the ‘ultimate hay fever hack’ – but does it actually help?

    Melissa Davey
  • Composite for Antiviral. The image shows orange and green squares, with a person squeezing sunscreen out of a tube

    Antiviral
    The sunscreen myth: could it really be causing skin cancer?

    Melissa Davey
  • Composite for Melissa Davey's fortnightly column.

    Reader callout
    Antiviral: Guardian Australia’s new health column helps you determine science from snake oil

    Melissa Davey
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Opinion

  • Illustration of boy with phone looking at giant jar labelled “Anabolics”

    ‘Why are my biceps so small?’ The boys and young men turning to steroids

  • Elias Visontay

    My petty gripe: our slovenly attitude to soap dispensers just won’t wash

    Elias Visontay
    • Doctor holding hands with patient

      Here’s what I learned in medical school – beyond the curriculum

      Roland Bull
    • A colour portrait of the Cartwright family, with Simon on the far right in black and white

      In agony, Simon begged for water 19 times. Guards mocked him – then found him dead

    • People taking care of plants in community garden

      From mindfulness to learning something new: seven simple strategies for wellbeing

      Matt Fisher
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Science

  • Ozempic and Wegovy packets

    Weight-loss drugs can improve kidney health, study finds

    Analysis involving more than 85,000 people showed risk of worsening function was reduced by 22%
  • Aerial view of open cut coalmine in the Hunter Valley, Australia

    Australia’s coalmines and gasfields may be emitting twice as much methane as declared, report warns

  • Prof Matthew Bailes

    Australian astrophysicist’s $250,000 prize for field-changing discovery a ‘nice surprise’

  • Stunning microscopic worlds captured in video competition – video

  • September Supermoon: the best place and time to see tonight’s bigger and brighter full moon

  • Mobile phones not linked to brain cancer, biggest study to date finds

  • Patients seriously affected by flu or Covid may have high levels of crucial enzyme, research finds

  • ‘Hobbit’ bone from tiny species of ancient humans found on Indonesian island

  • Modern-day dingoes already established across Australia thousands of years ago, research finds

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Multimedia

  • How office buildings, factories and shopping centres can cause legionnaires' outbreaks – video

  • The Covid-19 Omicron variant’s increased transmissibility has prompted the question: should you consider switching your reusable mask for a respirator instead?

    3:20

    What face mask should you wear during the Omicron outbreak: N95, KF94, cloth, P2? – video explainer

    The Covid-19 Omicron variant’s increased transmissibility has prompted the question: should you consider switching your reusable mask for a respirator instead?
  • School teacher Dr Malcolm Binns holds a small jar of the compound of an anti-parasitic medicine used to treat malaria, called Daraprim, which was partly made by his students in a lab at Sydney Grammar School in Sydney, Australia December 2, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray

    Australian students describe how they made copycat Malaria drug – video

    Students from Sydney grammar school describe how they created a version of Daraprim, a drug used to treat malaria, in a school laboratory

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