Eating disorders are surging at an alarming rate. Emergency room visits for adolescent girls struggling with conditions such as anorexia or bulimia doubled from 2019 to 2021 (in the U.S.), according to the CDC. Meanwhile, discussions about eating disorders and self-harm on X, formerly Twitter, have quintupled. Scientists point to social media as the potential force driving this mental health crisis. In particular, online exposure to idealised body imagery and language can trigger negative self-comparisons, especially for young social media users whose identities and self-worth are still for ..read more

Nearly everyone experiences intrusive thoughts at some point in life. In general, they’re not a problem. However, for some people they can become very difficult to manage and can contribute to significant anxiety, distress, sadness, or self-doubt and become obsessive. At any given time, you are only partly in control of the thoughts that pop into your head. Ideas, observations, judgements, memories, bits of music, and a thousand other types of mental jetsam are constantly flowing through your mind, and most of that is going on without your say-so. A lot of these thoughts arise without you b ..read more

A patent application has been filed in the U.S. for a hydrogel ball that could eliminate injections to deliver anti-cancer, anti-microbial, and immune system modifying remedies. A Charles Darwin University (CDU) researcher is a step closer to replacing the needle to deliver drugs in the treatment of many chronic diseases. CDU pharmaceutical scientist Dr Nazim Nassar and RMIT biophysicist Professor Stefan Kasapis have filed an application in the U.S. patent office for a new technology of a “gel-like casing” in an oral tablet form to deliver naturally occurring therapeutic proteins and v ..read more

If you have depression, getting through the day can be a struggle. But the good news is, no matter what depressive symptoms you’re struggling with, there are daily habits you can implement that can significantly help face day-to-day challenges. Along with feeling sad or hopeless, many people with depression often experience a loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed – difficulty concentrating or decreased energy, according to the American Psychiatric Association. “The symptoms of depression culminate to specifically make getting through the day feel like an uphill battle ..read more

It’s happening every day. From our water, our food and even the air we breathe, tiny plastic particles are finding their way into many parts of our body. But what happens once those particles are inside? What do they do to our digestive system? In a recent paper published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, University of New Mexico researchers found that those tiny particles – microplastics – are having a significant impact on our digestive pathways, making their way from the gut and into the tissues of the kidney, liver and brain. Eliseo Castillo, PhD, an associate profe ..read more

Eating disorders are surging at an alarming rate. Emergency room visits for adolescent girls struggling with conditions such as anorexia or bulimia doubled from 2019 to 2021 (in the U.S.), according to the CDC. Meanwhile, discussions about eating disorders and self-harm on X, formerly Twitter, have quintupled. Scientists point to social media as the potential force driving this mental health crisis. In particular, online exposure to idealised body imagery and language can trigger negative self-comparisons, especially for young social media users whose identities and self-worth are still formi ..read more

Nearly everyone experiences intrusive thoughts at some point in life. In general, they’re not a problem. However, for some people they can become very difficult to manage and can contribute to significant anxiety, distress, sadness, or self-doubt and become obsessive. At any given time, you are only partly in control of the thoughts that pop into your head. Ideas, observations, judgements, memories, bits of music, and a thousand other types of mental jetsam are constantly flowing through your mind, and most of that is going on without your say-so. A lot of these thoughts arise without you b ..read more

A patent application has been filed in the U.S. for a hydrogel ball that could eliminate injections to deliver anti-cancer, anti-microbial, and immune system modifying remedies. A Charles Darwin University (CDU) researcher is a step closer to replacing the needle to deliver drugs in the treatment of many chronic diseases. CDU pharmaceutical scientist Dr Nazim Nassar and RMIT biophysicist Professor Stefan Kasapis have filed an application in the U.S. patent office for a new technology of a “gel-like casing” in an oral tablet form to deliver naturally occurring therapeutic proteins and v ..read more

If you have depression, getting through the day can be a struggle. But the good news is, no matter what depressive symptoms you’re struggling with, there are daily habits you can implement that can significantly help face day-to-day challenges. Along with feeling sad or hopeless, many people with depression often experience a loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed – difficulty concentrating or decreased energy, according to the American Psychiatric Association. “The symptoms of depression culminate to specifically make getting through the day feel like an uphill battle ..read more

It’s happening every day. From our water, our food and even the air we breathe, tiny plastic particles are finding their way into many parts of our body. But what happens once those particles are inside? What do they do to our digestive system? In a recent paper published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, University of New Mexico researchers found that those tiny particles – microplastics – are having a significant impact on our digestive pathways, making their way from the gut and into the tissues of the kidney, liver and brain. Eliseo Castillo, PhD, an associate profess ..read more