12,000+ Australians diagnosed with blood cancers each year could soon have access to a simple blood test to monitor their disease thanks to a world-first ‘liquid biopsy’ developed at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. The liquid biopsy for blood cancers developed by Associate Professor Sarah-Jane Dawson and Professor Mark Dawson, promises a new era of less…

A drug with the potential to delay the progression of motor neuron disease (MND) could be in human trials within three years. University of Queensland researchers have shown the anti-inflammatory drug PMX205 is effective in animals with the disease, delaying the progression of symptoms and extending survival. Read more

Australian researchers say they have the first proof that soluble fibre can benefit people with asthma by producing a healthy gut. A University of Newcastle study has shown fibre supplements positively altered the gut microbiota – a community of good and bad bacteria living in the bowel – and in turn reduced airway inflammation in…

A NEW $10 million research program, spearheaded by the National Breast Cancer Foundation, is working towards zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030. Associate professor Elgene Lim, researcher at the Garvan Institute reveals some of the exciting advances. Prof Lim is a breast cancer researcher at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and medical oncologist…

Cochrane Australia at Monash University is delighted to announce the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for Cochrane and Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) ongoing work to build, pilot, and scale a next generation evidence system to transform the translation of health research into practice. Co-Principal Investigator is Julian Elliott of Cochrane Australia,…

Exclusive by medical reporter Sophie Scott and the National Reporting Team’s Rebecca Armitage. A simple breath test on pregnant women with asthma can significantly reduce the incidence of the illness in their babies, according to new research. Hunter Medical Research Institute scientist Adam Collison who ran the study called it an “amazing finding”. Read more

In many neurodegenerative conditions — Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and peripheral neuropathy among them — an early defect is the loss of axons, the wiring of the nervous system. When axons are lost, nerve cells can’t communicate as they should, and nervous system function is impaired. In peripheral neuropathy in particular, and perhaps…

Inactive teens have weaker bones than those who are physically active, according to a new study. Researchers with UBC and the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, measured the physical activity and bone strength of 309 teenagers over a specific four-year period that is crucial for lifelong, healthy…

An international team of scientists led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and UConn School of Medicine sequenced a genome for an extremely rare form of cancer, demonstrating the utility of this approach to open the door for therapy options for rare diseases that are neglected due to scarcity of patients or lack…