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It’s worth keeping an eye on Mexico’s future president

May 24, 2024

By Dr Ren\u00e9 Rej\u00f3n Published on May 24, 2024 Six years ago, we wondered whether Mexicans would shake up the establishment and elect the first left-wing government in decades. They surely did. Now, few people can imagine another party making a home in Palacio Nacional (the Mexican equivalent to the “White House”) after the election on 2 June. Mexico’s outgoing president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (better known as AMLO), can’t run again in these elections.

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A new study hopes to find out whether cystic fibrosis could be treated in utero

May 22, 2024

By Dr Elena Schneider-Futschik Published on May 22, 2024 Just five years ago, starting a family was almost unheard of for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). And for expectant parents, it was often a huge shock when their child received a diagnosis of CF. Affecting around 100,000 people worldwide, including 3,700 Australians, CF is an inherited disorder where one in 25 people carry the altered gene. When a person has two copies of that gene, the body’s mucus and sweat become very thick and salty, severely damaging the lungs and digestive system.

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You had to be right-handed, female, under 25 and unmarried

May 21, 2024

By Professor Julie Satur Published on May 21, 2024 When I finished Year 12, nobody in my family had ever been to university. The options I could see in front of me were teaching and nursing – but I always wanted to do something a bit different in health. Then my mum spotted an ad in the paper, advertising training places for dental therapists. I was a terrified dental patient myself as a young child, so I wanted to do a better job and look after children in a different way.

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BMX teaches a valuable lesson: Success requires hard work and failure

May 20, 2024

By Published on May 20, 2024 BMX riding (short for bicycle motorcross) is more than just a sport. I first started riding BMX in 1995. What was meant to be a mode of transportation quickly became access to joy and freedom, and pushed me to my limits. After dropping out of school at the end of Year 10, I spent most days building and riding jumps with friends. Even after moving to Malta as a mature age student, I continued to ride and dig while studying.

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How a simulation is informing COVID-19 vaccine policy after our ‘return to normal’

May 20, 2024

By Dr Thao P. Le Published on May 20, 2024 As the saying goes “There is no such thing as normal” and this has been especially true after the pandemic. Before the emergence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, countries like the UK had high vaccination coverage along with widespread exposure to COVID-19 in the population. The waves of COVID-19 that followed the emergence of the Omicron variant completely changed the immune landscape.

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