Time-restricted eating shows benefits for blood glucose

Publicly released: Wed 24 Apr 2019 at 1023 AEST | 1223 NZST

Obesity

By restricting the time period during which they could eat, researchers have seen promising results for controlling blood glucose levels in men at risk of type 2 diabetes. In a small study now published in the journal Obesity, researchers from the Read more about Time-restricted eating shows benefits for blood glucose - Scimex

Our personal boundaries are cross-cultural

Publicly released: Wed 24 Apr 2019 at 0901 AEST | 1101 NZST

Proceedings of the Royal Society B

International scientists investigated 'body maps' of acceptable places to touch depending on the emotional bond and relationship between people in both the UK and Japan. They found the countries were consistent - touching larger areas of our bodies Read more about Our personal boundaries are cross-cultural - Scimex

Flies have a sixth sense: detecting rotational motion

Publicly released: Wed 24 Apr 2019 at 0901 AEST | 1101 NZST

Journal of the Royal Society Interface

Flies move too fast to rely on sight alone, so they have other sensory organs - halteres - to help them change course rapidly while flying. Researchers from the US have discovered these dumbbell-shaped sensors on sticks are actively flapped while Read more about Flies have a sixth sense: detecting rotational motion - Scimex

Changes to the Great Barrier Reef can be seen from space

Publicly released: Wed 24 Apr 2019 at 0901 AEST | 1101 NZST

Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Changes to the Great Barrier Reef are visible from space, a fact Aussie and international researchers are now using to monitor the reef’s health. Using remote underwater cameras and satellite images from Google Earth, researchers looked at Read more about Changes to the Great Barrier Reef can be seen from space - Scimex

Thanks to climate change, our reefs are pushing poleward...again

Publicly released: Wed 24 Apr 2019 at 0901 AEST | 1101 NZST

Royal Society Open Science

Climate change is forcing reef corals to move away from the equator and towards the poles, according to international researchers who used fossil records to observe reef movements in the long term, allowing them to predict the reefs' futures. Read more about Thanks to climate change, our reefs are pushing poleward...again - Scimex

Keep those hands clean on the election trail – important health advice from the Food Safety Information Council

Publicly released: Wed 24 Apr 2019 at 0801 AEST | 1001 NZST

The Australian Federal Election period has coincided with cooler weather in the southern parts of Australia when viral infections such as norovirus and influenza become more common. The Food Safety Information Council is advising handshaking Read more about Keep those hands clean on the election trail – important health advice from the Food Safety Information Council - Scimex

Poorer Aussies get poorer end-of-life care

Publicly released: Wed 24 Apr 2019 at 0400 AEST | 0600 NZST

PLOS Medicine

An analysis of end-of-life care in wealthy countries, including Australia, has found that poorer people are more likely than their wealthier compatriots to receive poor-quality end-of-life care and to die in hospital. Bringing together the data from Read more about Poorer Aussies get poorer end-of-life care - Scimex

Piggy pacemaker is powered by the beating heart

Publicly released: Wed 24 Apr 2019 at 0100 AEST | 0300 NZST

Nature Communications

US and Chinese scientists have developed an implantable power source that generates electricity using the energy of the beating heart, and used it to a power a pacemaker that can correct irregular heart rhythms in pigs. The power harvester removes Read more about Piggy pacemaker is powered by the beating heart - Scimex

Finally, a potential flu-fighting superfood

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 1350 AEST | 1550 NZST

Journal of Functional Foods

Folk medicines and herbal products have been used for millennia to combat a whole range of ailments, at times to the chagrin of modern scientists who have struggled to explain their medicinal benefits. However a recent study by researchers at the Read more about Finally, a potential flu-fighting superfood - Scimex

WWII shipwreck discovered: Australian freighter SS Iron Crown found after being sunk by submarine in WWII

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 1201 AEST | 1401 NZST

After being lost for 77 years, an Australian freighter sunk by a Japanese submarine during World War II has been located by maritime archaeologists using CSIRO research vessel Investigator. Funder: This research was supported by the Australian Read more about WWII shipwreck discovered: Australian freighter SS Iron Crown found after being sunk by submarine in WWII - Scimex

Marine sponge tests point to human microbiome answers

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 1155 AEST | 1355 NZST

Scientific Reports

Using marine sponges, Flinders University researchers have developed a new technique to read complex microbial populations – a technique that could also be applied to improve analysis of the human microbiome. Media Release. From:Flinders Read more about Marine sponge tests point to human microbiome answers - Scimex

QUT study centres on injuries for netball players

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 1115 AEST | 1315 NZST

QUT researchers will be conducting the first comprehensive study of netball players in a decade on the link between training workload and non-contact injury. Media Release. From:Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Exercise and Nutrition Read more about QUT study centres on injuries for netball players - Scimex

Mercury is solid to the core

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 0900 AEST | 1100 NZST

Geophysical Research Letters

NASA scientists have confirmed that Mercury's innermost core is solid - just like Earth's. The team looked at spin and gravity measurements from NASA’s MESSENGER probe, which orbited the planet for four years before landing on the surface April Read more about Mercury is solid to the core - Scimex

Dengue mosquito is Queensland’s biggest threat for spreading Zika virus

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 0800 AEST | 1000 NZST

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Researchers at QUT and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have found that the dengue fever mosquito common to north and central Queensland poses the greatest danger of spreading the Zika virus in Australia. The researchers showed that not Read more about Dengue mosquito is Queensland’s biggest threat for spreading Zika virus - Scimex

Flu booster shots could be given later

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 0700 AEST | 0900 NZST

Science Immunology

Got your flu jab yet? New research suggests that after receiving a vaccine your body continues to generate virus-neutralising antibodies long after the virus stopped replicating in your body. The researchers say their findings suggest that the Read more about Flu booster shots could be given later - Scimex

Common diabetes drug could help maintain long-term weight loss

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 0700 AEST | 0900 NZST

Annals of Internal Medicine

Taking the common diabetes drug metformin may help maintain weight loss in the long-term, according to international researchers. A trial of more than 3, 000 participants with prediabetes compared weight loss programs and diabetes prevention with Read more about Common diabetes drug could help maintain long-term weight loss - Scimex

Pescetarians keep a healthy heart

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 0400 AEST | 0600 NZST

Journal of the American College of Cardiology

International researchers say a 'plant-based' diet - one that includes vegetables, fruit, beans and, oddly, fish - is associated with a lower risk of your ticker failing if you're not currently suffering from any form of heart disease. At the Read more about Pescetarians keep a healthy heart - Scimex

Can physical activity offset the health risks of too much sitting?

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 0400 AEST | 0600 NZST

American College of Cardiology

In findings that could relieve desk-bound office workers, a weekly dose of at least 150 minutes of physical activity could substantially reduce or offset the mortality risks in ‘high sitters’, University of Sydney research finds. As an adult, Read more about Can physical activity offset the health risks of too much sitting? - Scimex

A finely tuned brain gives blind people super hearing

Publicly released: Tue 23 Apr 2019 at 0300 AEST | 0500 NZST

JNeurosci

People who were born blind or lost their vision at an early age have keener hearing than people with normal vision because the area of their brains that deals with sound - the auditory cortex - is more refined, although it's no larger than the Read more about A finely tuned brain gives blind people super hearing - Scimex

Pregnant? Don't forget to get a flu vax

Publicly released: Mon 22 Apr 2019 at 0001 AEST | 0201 NZST

MJA

Women born overseas, those who smoked during pregnancy and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are less likely to be vaccinated against the flu during their pregnancies, according to an analysis of data from 153, 980 pregnancies between 2015 Read more about Pregnant? Don't forget to get a flu vax - Scimex