Hep C 'time bomb' can be defused, doctor says

Richard Woolveridge   It is financially feasible to defuse the Hepatitis C "viral time bomb" affecting 150 million people worldwide, an international conference will hear on Saturday.

'Dark thunderclouds on the horizon': The end of the Age of Antibiotics is looming

Ross Peake   A Canberra doctor has some bad news about modern Australian medicine.

Soft drink tax 'could save lives'

Lucy Cormack   There could be 16,000 fewer cases of type 2 diabetes and 4400 fewer cases of heart disease - but at a price for some.

PMH ethics committee 'divided' on cancer treatment for Oshin

Emma Young   Princess Margaret Hospital's ethics committee was 'divided' on whether Perth six-year-old Oshin Kiszko should have active treatment to attempt to cure his brain cancer, court documents show.

Staff consider resigning over hospital car parking saga

Doctors and nurses at a Sydney hospital are threatening to resign over a lack of parking following the expiry of the staff car park lease and its takeover by a private operator.

There are 13 people resistant to inherited diseases - but we don't know who

Gina Kolata   ​Somewhere in the world are 13 incredibly lucky people. Although they do not know it, each inherited a mutated gene that causes a fatal or terribly debilitating disease in infancy or childhood - but these people are adults, and healthy.

Aggressive infectious bacteria species found in Sydney Harbour

Daisy Dumas   An aggressive species of marine bacteria responsible for many more deaths than sharks worldwide each year has been found in Sydney Harbour, with experts predicting outbreaks in spots along the city's waterfront as water temperatures rise with global warming. 

How to outsmart a superbug

Harriet Alexander   Cynthia Whitchurch has become so familiar with the habits of a superbug that her next trick is to exert "mind control" over it.

Redback spider bites: the facts

There have been no deaths in Australia from a confirmed spider bite since 1979, according to the Australian Museum.

13 things you need to know about the flu vaccine

Daisy Dumas   Health authorities recommend people have the flu vaccine now to be protected when the flu season hits in July.

Marriage boosts odds of beating cancer – especially if you're a guy

Ariana Eunjung Cha   Just how big of a difference does being married appear to have on survival? Big, and for both genders, but the impact seems greater for men than women.

Perth mothers share breast milk online to feed babies

Aleisha Orr   Despite mixed reactions from health officials, women are sharing breast milk.

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Needless early deaths among mentally ill cost the economy $15 billion a year

Catherine Armitage   The average Australian woman dies at 84. But 61-year-old Ann Tullgren figures she's a good chance instead to be one of the 9000 Australians a year with mental illness whose lives are cut short, on average 30 per cent, by avoidable physical illness.

Rising cost of sleep deprivation

Liam Phelan   American media guru Arianna Huffington has become a sleep evangelist, shouting from the rooftops the benefit of a good night's kip.

Putting mice on the autism spectrum

Bridie Smith   Scientists have found out how to make mice autistic – a finding that could enable researchers to better diagnose and manage the condition in humans.

Royal Flying Doctor gets an $18 million boost

Julie Power   For the first time ever, the Royal Flying Doctor Service will operate a commercial service – offering training to hundreds of pilots and teams in the region that fly Beechcraft King Air planes. 

Inside the mind of an upskirter

Catherine Armitage   Modern technology makes it easier than ever before to photograph victims covertly.

Diabetes becoming a 'global issue for public health': WHO

Kate Kelland   The number of adults with diabetes has quadrupled worldwide in under four decades to 422 million, and the condition is fast becoming a major problem in poorer countries, a World Health Organization study showed on Wednesday.

Be still my beating heart: atrial fibrillation connected to death of partner

Marcus Strom   It seems dying from a broken heart is more than just a poetic metaphor.

The 'most infectious' disease visits Sydney

Harriet Alexander   Recent plane passengers, hostel residents, hospital and medical centre patients are among those at risk of developing measles following confirmed cases of the highly contagious disease in Sydney.

UNSW scientists say they have developed tissue 'repair system' from human fat cells

Marcus Strom   Researchers at the University of NSW say they have developed new stem cells that could lay the basis for a system of tissue regeneration.

St Vincent's misled public and failed patients, report finds

Kate Aubusson   St Vincent's Hospital misled the public and failed to disclose the seriousness of systemic chemotherapy underdosing to its cancer patients, a damning report reveals, prompting an unreserved apology.

This lab-grown skin could revolutionise skin grafts

Sarah Kaplan   One molecular dermatologist says this was the study researchers in his field have been waiting for.

Mandatory complaints about ACT health professionals nearly double

Clare Sibthorpe   And seven health professionals in the territory had their registrations suspended.

World's obese now outnumber the underweight

Catherine Armitage, Inga Ting   Over a quarter of the world's severely obese people live in just six countries, new research has found.

How about it Malcolm? It's time to tax soft drinks

Peter Martin   One of the worst myths ever promoted by an industry association is that all we need is self-control.

Water cooling tower at Sydney hospital suspected cause of Legionnaire's disease outbreak

Kate Aubusson   Health authorities suspect a cooling tower near one of Sydney's biggest public hospitals is responsible for the second outbreak of Legionnaire's disease in the city in a month. 

The ambulance stations earmarked for downgrade

Harriet Alexander   New regional hubs hubs will be used as bases for each area's management team, restocking and cleaning vehicles and training exercises, NSW Ambulance says.