Health & Medicine
The Microplastics in Your Kitchen Sponge and What to Use Instead
A new 2026 study found that your kitchen sponge sheds up to 4.2 grams of microplastics per year. But the bigger lever is the tap, and here are the swaps that actually help.
Health & MedicineTGA Proposes to Ban Andrographis from Australian Cold and Flu Supplements
Australia's TGA is moving to ban Andrographis from cold and flu supplements after 287 anaphylaxis cases and at least one death. Two decades of warning labels have failed to slow the harm.
Health & MedicineYellow Oleander Hidden in Weight Loss Supplements: The FDA's Ongoing Alert on Tejocote Root and Brazil Seed Products Sold on Amazon
The FDA has confirmed 29 Amazon weight loss products labeled as tejocote root or Brazil seed contain toxic yellow oleander, including a documented pediatric hospitalization.
Health & MedicineMethylene Blue: What Science Actually Says About the Viral Brain Supplement Biohackers Are Dropping in 2026
Methylene blue is the 2026 biohacker brain supplement darling, but the FDA has warned since 2011 that it can trigger fatal serotonin syndrome. Here is what the evidence actually says.
Health & Medicine2026-27 Bushfire Risk: Three La Niñas Built a Black Summer Fuel Load
After three La Niña wet seasons, a Black Summer-scale fuel load is curing across southeastern Australia. Here is how households in four states can prepare ahead of the 2026-27 fire season.
Health & MedicinePaedNEO-VAX: How Australia Is Leading a World-First Trial of Personalised mRNA Cancer Vaccines for Children with Brain Cancer
PaedNEO-VAX, the world's first paediatric trial of personalised mRNA neoantigen vaccines, will enrol up to 70 Australian children with relapsed brain cancer across eight hospitals from 2026, offering a vaccine designed from each child's own tumour.
Health & MedicineAF From Age 55: The 30-Second Test That Could Save Indigenous Lives
A new MJA review recommends dropping the atrial fibrillation screening age for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults from 65 to 55, after finding AF arrives almost 16 years earlier in this population.
Health & MedicineCRISPR's New 'Kill Switch': How Cas12a2 Could Change Cancer Treatment
A May 2026 Nature paper shows Cas12a2, a new CRISPR variant, can selectively shred cancer cells and virus-infected cells while leaving healthy tissue untouched. Here is what makes it different from the CRISPR most people know.
Health & MedicineGLP-1 Microdosing: What the Evidence Actually Shows
One in seven GLP-1 users is microdosing. Telehealth giants are selling microdose programs. Clinical researchers say the practice is not supported by evidence. Here is what the data actually show.
Health & MedicineDementia in Younger Adults: What Is Behind the Rise in Early-Onset Cases
New research is reframing dementia as a problem of working age, not just retirement. Here is what the latest evidence says about causes, missed diagnoses, and the midlife steps that may help.
Health & MedicineAI Companions and Mental Health: The Rise of ChatGPT, Replika, and Character.AI as Confidantes
Two teenagers are dead. A crossbow plotter is in a secure hospital. A state medical board has filed suit. Behind the headline cases, 900 million people talk to ChatGPT every week and 40 million have built relationships with Replika bots. The mental-health infrastructure is being built in plain sight, and it has no clinicians attached.
Health & MedicineMicroplastics in Your Arteries: What the 2024 NEJM Study Actually Means for Your Heart
In March 2024, a group of Italian researchers published the most consequential paper on microplastics and human health in years. They had taken carotid artery plaque , the fatty deposits that build...