News

News | 30 Aug 2023

Developing research suggests transcranial magnetic stimulation could help autism, ADHD and OCD

Since the start of the COVID pandemic, there has been more attention given to problems of mental ill-health including depression than ever before. A new therapeutic option, especially for depression, transcranial magnetic stimulation, is slowly helping to address some of these considerable unmet needs in our community.

Professor Leonie Quinn (L) and ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith (R) in a lab of the John Curtin School of Medical Research

News | 28 Aug 2023

Innovative research improving brain cancer treatment

Canberra Brain Cancer Collaborative, headed by Professor Leonie Quinn and her team, created the biobank using the $300,000 grant awarded at the 2022 Research Innovation Fund funding round.

News | 25 Aug 2023

Vaping: the health effects and harms

Vaping is on the rise among young people and they are especially vulnerable to addiction. So, what does the most comprehensive review of the health impacts of e-cigarettes tell us about their effects, including on smoking uptake in youth, and whether they can help with quitting smoking?

Aerial shot of a small town in rural Australia

News | 8 Aug 2023

Why bringing back the arvo nap could help us adapt to extreme heat

Too much air conditioning may be harming our health, according to a new study led by researchers at The Australian National University (ANU). The study found that despite spending substantially more time in air-conditioned spaces over the past 40 years, people in Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) have paradoxically become more vulnerable to heat-related deaths.

ANU Associate Professor Aparna Lal working on her computer

News | 8 Aug 2023

Top honour for trail-blazing public health expert

Associate Professor Aparna Lal is helping find solutions to some of the world’s biggest health and environmental crises. Lal, who is based at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, studies how changes in the environment can act as an early warning system for population health. This work has seen her named as the 2023 ACT Emerging Scientist of the Year.

News | 3 Aug 2023

Formula feeding frenzy contributing to climate change

The global uptake of commercial milk formula is harming our planet, but parents aren’t to blame. Fortunately, simple policy solutions can support breastfeeding, health and climate action.

Black silhouette of a kangaroo in front of the flames of a bushfire

News | 31 Jul 2023

Urgent rethink needed to better manage mental health impacts of bushfires

With an El Niño summer promising hotter and drier conditions for much of Australia, we must rethink how we measure the impact bushfires and other extreme weather events have on our mental health and wellbeing, according to experts from The Australian National University (ANU).

A CanTEST worker examining an unknown white powder.

News | 17 Jul 2023

Canberra pill testing clinic 'changing peoples’ drug behaviours', evaluation finds

More than half of the drugs tested at CanTEST, Australia’s first and only pill testing service, were not what the user expected, according to a new report that examined the centre’s first six months of operation.

Professor Ray Lovett standing in front of a staircase

News | 11 Jul 2023

Data collection underway in First Nations-led cancer study

A first of its kind study exploring cancer in Indigenous Australian communities has begun data collection. The Kulay Kalingka study led by The Australian National University (ANU) will gather information about First Nations' experiences of cancer where no data currently exists.