An Australian study has found that five percent of babies born in the country today were conceived by in vitro fertilisation (IVF), or about one child in every classroom. In partnership with the Raine Study—Australia’s longest-running public health study, the researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) also discovered an increase in depression in…

Archeologists from Australia and Indonesia have unearthed evidence of the earliest known case of amputation—thought to have occurred at least 31,000 years ago—in a cave on the island of Borneo. The skeletal remains revealed a young adult whose lower left limb had been surgically removed, after which evidence shows the person lived at least six…

A new study led by researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) has found that children exposed to domestic and family violence (DFV) are at a much greater risk of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression than children with no experience of violence, and are also five times more likely to require help…

New Australian research indicates that adolescents’ vulnerability to insomnia increases their likelihood of developing depression. Led by Flinders University in Adelaide, the paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Psychology suggests that a combination of adolescent sleep biology and psychology makes young people vulnerable to developing depression. Lecturer at the School of Psychological Sciences at…

Researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute have discovered a new way to improve response to immunotherapies in mice for the treatment of tumours. Co-authors of the study, Associate Professor Fiona Pixley and Jay Steer from UWA’s School of Biomedical Sciences, discovered that isolating a specific molecule present…

Australian scientists are helping to develop a new way to determine which mental health drugs are best for patients based on their metabolic profile. Led by Prof. Sean Hood, the head of University of Western Australia’s (UWA) School of Psychiatry, and working in combination with U.S. mental health technology company Prairie Health, the study will evaluate…

The size of female sea turtles has a bearing on population dynamics and therefore they should be protected, a University of Western Australia (UWA) study has found. The finding, published in Global Ecology and Biogeography on April 19, showed that larger females have greater reproductive output, with size a strong predictor of egg quantities, as…

The amount of personal and sensitive information collected from Australian professional athletes in recent years is allegedly beyond what is scientifically proven to benefit them, a science academy and law school paper has argued. “There are significant limitations to what technology can measure and infer about athletes,” said Jacqueline Alderson, tech director of the University of Western…

Australian classical guitarist and former student of the University of Western Australia (UWA), Craig Ogden, has been chosen by BBC Music Magazine as one of Australia’s best 11 musicians of all time. In an article titled “Eleven of the Best Australian Musicians,” the periodical included Ogden among the likes of sopranos Dame Nellie Melba and…