Few would disagree that the mark of a successful health and medical system is its ability to respond quickly and effectively to improve the well-being of the population it serves. So much of achieving…
- Deputy Director, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Professor of Autism Research, The University of Western Australia
One of the great and enduring mysteries of autism is what causes the brain to develop so differently.
In some cases, clinicians recommend special diets; in others, they’re instigated by parents eager to find anything that may help their child.
A synthetic version of the hormone oxytocin has been shown to improve social responsiveness among some children with autism.
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Baseless claims about the damage done to kids’ development create needless panic. And they distract from legitimate, evidence-based concerns with which parents need to engage.
Increasing autistic children’s levels of vasopressin, a hormone that regulates social behaviour, could help treat the social deficits common to autism, research suggests.
Autism is usually diagnosed between the ages of two and five. But studies show therapies delivered earlier in childhood could help children at risk of developing autism.
‘Gain a child, lose a tooth’ is a phrase that’s bugged me for a while. The basic premise here is that, along with back-ache, reflux and stretch-marks, tooth loss is a very natural consequence of pregnancy…
There aren’t too many topics about pregnancy more controversial than what a mother-to-be can and can’t eat. No sooner does a couple announce the news of an impending arrival than a woman is bombarded with…
Not many people would know the peculiar vocabulary used to evaluate scientists. ‘H index’, ‘impact factor’ and ‘citation number’ are some of the snazzy phrases that are now ubiquitous in the world of science…
When I first heard someone say, “today’s newspaper is tomorrow’s fish and chips paper”, my immediate reaction was to nod in enthusiastic agreement. It was so clever and cynical that it just had to be right…
Just as science has changed the world, so has the world changed science. Once upon a time, scientists could beaver away in relative isolation pursuing their passion for revealing the mysteries of the world…
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a condition that brings out the best in people. First and foremost, there are the people who themselves have autism, who bring extraordinary talents, skills and diversity into…
Sociology influences medicine more than we like to admit. One only needs to look at the history of psychiatric disorders – a term used broadly here to incorporate developmental disorders – to see how “normal…
Wilhelm Röntgen was a physicist, a man far more interested in understanding the building blocks of our universe than discovering medicines to cure the masses. In 1895, Röntgen performed a series of experiments…
Boys are more likely to be diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, because girls need more extreme genetic mutations to develop them, according to a study published in the American…
Reason is the slave of the passions. So said David Hume, whom I’ve always considered to be one of the sanest of the grand old philosophers. Put more simply, Hume was telling us a cautionary tale about…
Lawyers have conniptions whenever they hear it, Parliamentarians routinely avoid using it, and all over the world, people have arguments about who should say it first. The latest grumblings about the humble…
Probiotics can alleviate the symptoms of autism-like disorders in mice, according to a US study published today in the journal Cell. The findings have the potential to guide the search for autism spectrum…
Christmas rolls around again like a tinselled-covered freight train. Shopping centres sway in unison to the tune of carols, while children test the patience of their parents as the queue slowly contracts…
The internet was ablaze last week with the news that health authorities in Western Australia (WA) have given approval for IVF clinics to ‘screen’ embryos to reduce the chances of a couple having a child…
The risk of a couple who have a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder having another child with the same condition is around 7%, according to a new Danish study released today. The new findings, published…
There are few experiences more life-changing than having a child. Nine months of anticipation are followed by hours of intense excitement, until a squawk and a squeal signal the beginning of a new life…
Science and the media have long been uncomfortable bedfellows. Traditionally, much of the prickliness has come from the side of scientists, who (often unfairly) view ‘the media’ as having a tendency to…
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