An HMRI research team from the University of Newcastle is hoping to determine whether ‘addiction’ to pleasurable foods high in salt, fat and sugar could be contributing to the obesity epidemic.
University of Newcastle researchers are helping families with a history of cardiovascular disease to become ‘heart smart’ in a bid to lower their risk factors for heart attack or stroke.
HMRI researcher Associate Professor Jeannette Lechner-Scott was part of an international team of scientists which made a key discovery towards finding the cause of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
The E2EEE (Enrich 2 Engage, Educate & Empower) program being developed around the concept of “Enriched Environment” is focusing on a largely untapped area of medical research.
It’s estimated that 80 per cent of Australian children have limited access to music and art education in primary school, and private tuition is almost certainly priced out of the reach for families in low socio-economic areas.
Despite the pledge by former prime minister Bob Hawke that no child should live in poverty, the latest UNICEF report card shows that Australia is far from being the lucky country for all.
Choir members have long attested to experiencing wellbeing benefits when singing, and a research project that HMRI Director Professor Michael Nilsson is involved with has shown why – song melody and structure influences breathing and heart rate to produce a biologically soothing effect.
Radiation oncologist Associate Professor Jarad Martin, a member of HMRI’s Cancer Research Alliance, is using advanced MRI scanning to accurately track men’s bone composition as they undergo hormone therapy in conjunction with radiation treatment.
Tiny electrical junction boxes in our brains, known as glial cells, radically alter their structure and pattern of connectivity when exposed to chronic stress – with long-term implications for further cognitive and mood disturbances.
An asthma management study developed by University of Newcastle researchers, which halved asthma attacks in pregnant women, has also yielded a 90 per cent postnatal reduction in bronchiolitis and croup episodes among their children.