"The thought of having such an old disease was scary," said Penelope Jackson after her diagnosis.

Dramatically cutting salt levels in processed foods sold in Australia could save an estimated 3500 lives each year by reducing cardiovascular disease, stroke and kidney disease, according to a new report.

The Baird government has announced a $576 million upgrade to Nepean Hospital, including a new emergency department and more than 200 additional beds.

A century-old antiseptic made from coal tar and used to treat wounds and sleeping sickness in World War I Australian soldiers has been found to help the body fight off viral infections, including the common cold.

Thunderstorm asthma epidemics in Melbourne almost always occur in November.

A majority of doctors support the profession being involved in assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia if laws are changed to allow it, a survey by the Australian Medical Association has found.

Precision medicine promises a new dawn for the treatment of rare cancers, but there is a hitch.

More than 50 children have died in NSW over 10 years from diseases that could have been prevented through immunisation.

Dozens of health professionals, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, are dying of fatal drug overdoses every year, and some of them are using drugs found in their workplaces.

It was an Australian invention developed in war-time conditions that allowed Queen Elizabeth II to tour insect-free in '63. While the royal link that brought insect repellent to the masses is true, not all mozzie management techniques stack up. Here are some hits - and misses.

Rob Delaporte would never have considered getting tested for prostate cancer before his father was diagnosed with the disease two years ago.

Failure to see the dentist regularly can nearly double the risk that even a healthy person will get pneumonia, finds a new American analysis of 26,000 people.

Health campaigners want soft drinks banned from the campus.

It had taken too long, their mum was slipping away. By the time her number had been called for a life saving organ the chance of survival was so low.

• EXCLUSIVE

A bitterly fought turf war over who should perform children's heart surgery in NSW has ended in stalemate.

The end of daily medication is on the horizon after scientists invented a pill which steadily releases drugs over two weeks.

Pill report and harm reduction sites have become the most popular sources of information for drug users around the world.

An Australian study of 30 babies who died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or cot death, has discovered they have decreased levels of a protein that helps adults and babies wake up if they stop breathing from sleep apnea.

Fairfax Media is partnering with the Global Drug Survey to help understand how and why people take drugs in Australia.

One of Australia's top IVF companies is continuing to publish potentially misleading success rate data on its websites despite a "warning shot" from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Wondering why it's so hard to resist when asked if you "want fries with that"? Or why the smell of sizzling bacon makes your mouth water and stomach rumble? Turns out there is a scientific explanation for salt cravings.

Some of Australia's leading IVF clinics have been caught advertising false and misleading information about their success rates in what the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has described as a "race to the bottom" targeting vulnerable people.

Hundreds of thousands of young Australians are living with a sexually transmitted disease that can lead to infertility in women but researchers warn most don't know they've got it.

The number of elderly patients using beds in Canberra Hospital jumped 25 per cent in the past financial year to over 10,000 - a figure double that recorded just three years ago.

Amy Dawes was hell bent on avoiding a caesarean. She had no idea her "normal birth" could leave her so broken.

Fertility clinics are selling unproven and expensive treatments to desperate couples, as the number of women seeking IVF treatment continues to rise.

Doctors are the most trusted professionals in Australia but many of their patients want them to face more tests and audits of their work, a survey has found.  

Conventional wisdom has it that people with dementia can't learn new things. But results of a pilot program encouraging patients with early and mid-stage dementia to write their own song lyrics suggests otherwise.

Planning to have a caesarean before 39 weeks dramatically raises the risk of the baby going on to experience developmental delays in school, Sydney researchers say.