Helen Petousis Harris • Jan 14, 2020 •
The conspiracy I saw a new conspiracy theory flying around the other day. According to the conspiracy (that seems to originate from Del Bigtree), the World Health Organization have been ‘caught on camera’ questioning the safety of vaccines. Gosh this sounds as though someone was a mole at a secret meeting and filmed scientists admitting vaccines were … Read More
Alison Campbell • Jan 17, 2019 •
You read that right. Vaccine hesitancy – “the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines” – is viewed by the World Health Organisation as one of the top 10 health threats we face in 2019. And worse, that hesitancy will have an effect on other threats in that top 10 list. Ebola and the potential … Read More
Guest Author • Jun 20, 2018 •
Joanne Orlando, Western Sydney University Could your child be addicted to playing video games? Maybe. If you’re a parent looking for tips on moderating your child’s gaming habits, read on. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has, for the first time, recognised “gaming disorder” – compulsive and obsessive playing of video games – as a diagnosable condition. Read More
Guest Author • Jan 31, 2018 •
Gunda Georg, University of Minnesota; Jon Hawkinson, University of Minnesota, and Shameem Syeda, University of Minnesota This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. After decades of research, development of a male birth control may now be one step closer. My colleagues and I are working on a … Read More
Alison Campbell • Sep 14, 2017 •
The latest news reports indicate that the mumps outbreak in Auckland is spreading. As you might expect, the very first commenter on the FB page for that story is someone claiming that vaccines don’t cure mumps and offer a significant risk to health. (I wish Moveable Type allowed the Comic Sans font…) The only reason I bother dipping … Read More
Jean Balchin • Jul 20, 2017 •
4.7 billion people – 63% of world’s population – are covered by polices such as strong graphic warnings, smoke-free public places or other measures. According to the latest World Health Organisation report, more countries have implemented tobacco control policies, ranging from graphic pack warnings and advertising bans to no smoking areas. Roughly 4.7 billion people, or 63% of the world’s … Read More
Ken Perrott • Jan 11, 2017 •
Want to get up to date on research about community water fluoridation (CWF) and the effects of fluoride in dental health in general? Have a read of this new review. It’s published in a special issue of Community Dental Health devoted to the WHO approach to the prevention of dental caries through the use of fluoride. And is also … Read More
Erica Mather • Jun 22, 2016 •
There is no conclusive evidence that drinking coffee causes cancer, but experts report that drinking very hot beverages ‘probably’ causes cancer of the oesophagus. The specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) – the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), held a press call last week where they released the results of a thorough investigation of the … Read More
Siouxsie Wiles • May 28, 2016 •
Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are in the news again. This time a strain of E. coli resistant to the antibiotic colistin has been spotted in the USA. So why is this newsworthy and should we be scared? A strain of E. coli has been identified in the USA that is resistant to the antibiotic colistin. A paper describing the strain has just been published … Read More
Grant Jacobs • Oct 28, 2015 •
Many media reports are reporting it incorrectly or confusingly. For example, in New Zealand’s TV3 News starts out1 World Health Organisation (WHO) experts have put processed meat in the same cancer-causing category as cigarettes … … it has ranked processed meat in the highest cancer risk category, alongside asbestos and even smoking. Sorry, but … Read More