School holidays are here—and while the promise of slower mornings and no lunchboxes is sweet, keeping kids entertained (and screen time under control!) can be a challenge, especially if the weather turns grey. Whether you’re staying local or just looking to make the most of time...
One in three are children short-sighted, a study reports, so how can parents protect their child's vision? Children’s eyesight is steadily worsening, with one in three now suffering from short-sightedness, or myopia, according to a global study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. The study, involving...
You wake with a sore throat and realise you are sick, writes Natasha Yates, G.P. Is this going to be a two-day or a two-week illness? Should you go to a doctor or just go to bed? Most respiratory illnesses have very similar symptoms at the...
As COVID cases rise again, Lara Herrero looks at where they have come from, and if they are a cause for concern. We’ve now been living with COVID for well over four years. Although there’s still much to learn about SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID)...
The reverberations of the COVID-19 pandemic persist, casting a shadow over the lives of young people in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria. A recent report from Monash University's Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice sheds light on the enduring impact of the pandemic on...
A COVID inquiry has been announced. Michael Toole, Heidi Drummer and Suman Majumdar ask, but is COVID still a thing? Do I need a booster? Today’s announcement of an independent inquiry into Australia’s COVID response will examine how we’ve handled the pandemic and how we could...
Pharmacologists Tina Hinton, Jessica Pace, and Nial Wheate look at which works best and when? In most cases, pain and fever relief is as simple as a trip to your local supermarket for some paracetamol or ibuprofen. While both are effective at reducing pain, they work in...
A recent study conducted by Monash University has raised concerns about the increased dispensing of psychotropic medications to Australian children and adolescents. The study found that the use of these drugs among young people has doubled in less than a decade, which is a worrisome...
The COVID pandemic had a silver lining, report researchers Andrew Miller, Jenny Gore and Leanne Fray Students from schools in low-income communities did not suffer significant “learning loss” during the pandemic years of 2020-2021 but instead improved their results in certain areas of study. That’s one key...
Kylie Hillman reports that her research shows Australia’s Year 4 students have not lost ground on their reading skills, despite all the disruptions to schooling during the pandemic. A major international test has found about 80% of students have “more than elementary” skills in reading comprehension....
