Year of heavy weights resistance training around retirement age has long-lasting benefits, research suggests
Lifting heavy weights three times a week around the age of retirement could dramatically preserve your leg strength long into the later stages of life, research suggests.
People naturally lose muscle function as they get older, and experts say faltering leg strength is a strong predictor of death in elderly people.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak’s team helped fast-track deal with firm founded by Charles Huang, who says contracts generated $2bn profit
In California, state of sunshine and palm trees, a small group of men are locked in a big legal fight over the money made by a US company selling Covid tests to the British government. The founder of Innova Medical Group says his business collected $2bn (£1.6bn) in profits, one of the largest fortunes banked by any medical supplier during the scramble for lifesaving equipment in the early months of the pandemic.
In a storm of claims and counter-claims, Innova’s boss, Charles Huang, is accused by former associates of “squandering” or moving $1bn of those profits, spending lavishly on luxury aircraft, an $18m house in Los Angeles and “homes for his mistresses”.
Continue reading...More than half a million people have had or considered having the procedure due to lack of education and diverse representation, survey shows
Pornography and social media are driving a rise in people having or considering labia surgery, with images and videos distorting perceptions of what genitalia look like, a new report has found.
The surgery, known as labiaplasty, is one of the fastest growing cosmetic procedures among young people in Australia and worldwide.
Continue reading...The current pair, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, will return to China this year. Follow the day’s news headlines
Labor ‘continuing to consult’ on Makarrata commission, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese says he will attend Arnhem Land’s Garma festival in August to “talk about a way forward” on Indigenous policy after the defeat of the voice referendum, keeping open the prospect of setting up a Makarrata commission to advance truth and treaty processes.
Treaty process is undergoing at the various states and that’s appropriate. With regard to Makarrata, we’re continuing to consult on those issues. said.
Indigenous leaders, of course, were very disappointed by the referendum result. I’ll attend Garma once again this year and sit down with people and talk about a way forward.
Continue reading...Analysis by leading experts the Nuffield Trust reveals that main parties’ manifestos would squeeze health spending
Labour and the Conservatives would both leave the NHS with lower spending increases than during the years of Tory austerity, according to an independent analysis of their manifestos by a leading health thinktank.
The assessment by the respected Nuffield Trust of the costed NHS policies of both parties, announced in their manifestos last week, says the level of funding increases would leave them struggling to pay existing staff costs, let alone the bill for massive planned increases in doctors, nurses and other staff in the long-term workforce plan agreed last year.
Continue reading...Agency principal deputy director wants more testing of farm workers who work in proximity to affected animals
There is not enough testing for bird flu among people and animals in the US, says Dr Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – but he is wary of pushing the issue and damaging fragile trust among farm workers and owners.
“We would like to be doing more tests,” Shah said. “We’d like to be testing particularly not just symptomatic workers, but anyone on a farm who is exposed.”
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The education minister, Jason Clare, has said stricter regulations on social media for teenagers had bipartisan support.
Speaking to Channel 7’s Sunrise, Clare called social media a “cesspit”, and added that Labor’s age verification trial would be the first step to protecting young people.
I think we all agree that social media’s a cesspit. We all agree we don’t want our kids on it. It’s about how do you do it?
This should be something where the Labor party and the Liberal party can work together.
Continue reading...Below-target levels come after record highs in 2020, with some areas in NSW, Queensland and WA now showing consistently lower vaccination rates
Immunisation rates are lagging in Australia’s most vulnerable populations – the very young and old – with experts blaming practical barriers as well as the misinformation and vaccine hesitancy that took off during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2020 Australia achieved a record high rate of 95.09% five-year-olds fully immunised against infectious diseases, even surpassing the government’s target of 95%, which provides “herd immunity”.
Continue reading...Studies sound alarm at state of cancer care with hundreds of thousands waiting months to start essential treatment
Hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to wait months to start essential cancer treatment, with deadly delays now “routine” and even children struck by the disease denied vital support, according to a series of damning reports.
Health chiefs, charities and doctors have sounded the alarm over the state of cancer care in the UK as three separate studies painted a shocking picture of long waits and NHS staff being severely hampered by a worsening workforce crisis and a chronic lack of equipment.
Continue reading...Jonas Brothers star revealed he has had surgery for basal cell carcinoma, advising followers to get moles checked
Pop singer Kevin Jonas, a member of chart-topping trio the Jonas Brothers, has received treatment for skin cancer.
In an Instagram video, the 36-year-old singer, guitarist, actor and reality TV star said he had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma.
Continue reading...Biochemist found cholesterol-lowering compound in 1973 and the drugs have prolonged millions of lives
The scientist whose work led to the creation of statins, a chemical that prevents heart attacks and strokes, has died aged 90.
Akira Endo found the first cholesterol-lowering compound in 1973 in a lab in Tokyo. The Japanese biochemist was said to have been inspired by Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928, which lead him to study mould or fungi in order to develop medicines.
Continue reading...Andreas Pantziaros given prohibition order from NSW Health Care Complaints Commission after purporting to be a paramedic
A man who wore a uniform, drove a vehicle closely resembling an ambulance and charged for emergency health services he was not qualified to perform has been deemed a risk to public health and safety.
The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission has handed down a permanent prohibition order against Andreas Pantziaros for offering health services via his company Medic Corp Ambulance.
Continue reading...Opposition leader says Coalition will ‘make our announcements in relation to our targets in due course’. Follow today’s news headlines live
Murray Watt says the opposition has “started the new climate wars” after Barnaby Joyce and Keith Pitt, two senior Nationals, called for Australia to pull out of the Paris agreement. You can read more on this from Karen Middleton below:
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Watt said:
We’re back to the same old climate wars in the Coalition. I saw overnight that [Joyce and Pitt] openly called for the Coalition to pull out of the Paris agreement. They’ve spent the last couple of days trying to paper over the cracks in the Coalition, saying that they can withdraw the target without withdrawing from the agreement. Now it’s out there in the open for everyone to see. And you can set your clock by Barnaby Joyce causing new climate wars within the Coalition. It’s seem like we’re back to the bad old days.
We’re on track to get to 42%, which is only 1% short of the 43% target.
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Brisbane Christian school issues apology two years after gender contracts
A Pentecostal Christian school has expressed regret for introducing a controversial student gender and sexuality contract two years ago.
We regret any distress or concern which was caused to students, parents and guardians of students or prospective students of the college.
We are working closely with all of our suppliers to ensure eggs remain available for our customers and we are providing support to the industry in responding to the Avian Flu cases in Victoria.
Continue reading...Experts say fluorescent dye, which spotlights tiny cancerous tissue invisible to naked eye, could reduce risk of cancer returning
Scientists have developed a glowing dye that sticks to cancer cells and gives surgeons a “second pair of eyes” to remove them in real time and permanently eradicate the disease. Experts say the breakthrough could reduce the risk of cancer coming back and prevent debilitating side-effects.
The fluorescent dye spotlights tiny cancerous tissue that cannot be seen by the naked eye, enabling surgeons to remove every last cancer cell while preserving healthy tissue. That could mean fewer life-changing side effects after surgery.
Continue reading...Exclusive: New platform to provide same-day appointments with digital physiotherapist in effort to cut waiting times
The first NHS AI-run physiotherapy clinic is to be rolled out this year in an effort to cut waiting times amid growing demand and staff shortages.
The new platform will provide same-day automated video appointments with a digital physiotherapist via an app that responds to information provided by a patient in real time.
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Max-Chandler Mather weighs in on Bandt’s potential legal action against attorney-general
Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather spoke to ABC News Breakfast earlier about the ongoing stoush between his party and Labor, with Adam Bandt threatening legal action against the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, over comments on pro-Palestine protests.
Asking me to comment on the specifics of a case like that – outrageous comments by the attorney general, completely baseless and without fact … this is an attempt to distract from the fact that the Labor government is complicit in a genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza.
Continue reading...Disclosure in Senate estimates comes in response to David Pocock’s questions about ‘astounding’ out of pocket fees for private surgery in ACT
Only 20 doctors are disclosing their fees on the federal government’s $24m medical costs comparison website, despite the health department encouraging patients to shop around for affordable specialist care.
The Medical Costs Finder website was a $2.5m initiative launched in 2019 by the former Coalition government to help patients find and understand typical costs for private procedures.
Continue reading...Scientists pinpoint driver of IBD and other disorders with work under way to adapt existing drugs to treat patients
Researchers have discovered a major driver of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and several other immune disorders that affect the spine, liver and arteries, raising hopes for millions of people worldwide.
The breakthrough is particularly exciting because the newly found biological pathway can be targeted by drugs that are already used, with work under way to adapt them to patients with IBD and other conditions.
Continue reading...Those with BMI of 35 and a comorbidity can now be prescribed tirzepatide and Nice says it is more effective than Wegovy
The medical treatment regulator for England has approved a second drug to combat obesity, giving patients and doctors what it says is a more effective alternative to semaglutide.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) issued draft guidance on Tuesday recommending that very obese people should be prescribed tirzepatide, which is marketed in the UK as Mounjaro.
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