Fran Molloy

Trillions of microbes live in our digestive systems, impacting everything from our immune response to our brain health. Microbiologist Dr Hasinika Gamage explains how you can get better acquainted with  your gut microbiome.

The free, easy-to-use query tool has schools in a lather – but should clinicians be worried too? The artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT that launched as a free “research preview” late last year has quickly gained momentum, with millions of…

With health contributing a significant portion of global emissions, the sector needs to be part of the solution. Climate change has been dubbed the greatest health challenge in human history – and digital health is late to the party, says Professor…

While your vaccine doesn’t have a sensor, your psych meds might: pills that can track you are projected to be a $7 billion industry by 2030. They are the ultimate in invasive surveillance: capsules containing digital sensors. Dubbed ‘smart pills’ or…

AI will revolutionise rheumatology imaging and diagnostics. But what are the risks? Artificial intelligence (AI) is making inroads across most fields of medicine, with the potential to reduce workloads for specialists while improving screening,…

US abortion law crackdowns in June prompted hundreds of thousands of women to delete their period-tracking apps. Digital health apps for women have seen rapid growth in recent years, but predictions that FemTech would become a billion-plus-dollar…

Prevention, telehealth, self-managed care – can the Labor government bring us into the 2020s? Our health sector still relies on funding models developed in the 1960s. How can Australia reform its archaic health funding models to best serve the sector…

Australian-designed birth monitor may help reduce rates of deadly postpartum haemorrhage. Clinical trials are under way at two NSW Health sites for an Australian-designed maternal and neonatal monitor that identifies women at higher risk of…

A new generation of founders are commercialising solutions for their own health challenges. Covid had a serious impact on all health screening, and gaps in women’s routine health care included missed screenings for cervical and breast cancer,…

Remote monitoring is becoming part of routine antenatal care in WA – and has been rolled out to a field hospital in Ukraine. Pregnant women trapped in Ukraine have been able to use remote antenatal monitoring supported by obstetricians in other…

Practitioners may avoid seeking mental health treatment, fearing career consequences or AHPRA reports. Incognito mental health consultations via telehealth have provided welcome relief for hundreds of in-crisis healthcare professionals, who would be…

Digital psychological therapies should be a core part of the strategy – but GP referrals are still key. Our mental wellbeing has been sorely tested by two years of a global pandemic, deadly bushfires and floods, war in Europe and ongoing climate…

Flooding more than 14m high is a freak event, even in flood-prone Lismore in northern NSW. But as climate change makes “freak” events more commonplace, and with almost every medical interaction now having an online component, last week’s big wet…

Physical activity dropped in most populations over the pandemic, as shutdowns closed gyms and sports facilities, and school and work closures kept entire populations at home – with one UK study estimating a 30% decline in exercise in over-16s.…

In the past four weeks, over half of Queensland’s 4,000 or so paramedics have completed the required online training to gain access to patient health records via “The Viewer”, in one of the speediest training completion rates that project leader Alex…

But supply issues mean tough decisions for physicians. The highly infectious Omicron variant of covid hit our shores just as many pandemic restrictions were lifted around the country. The predictable outcome saw hospitals swamped and testing and…

Apple Watch-wearing baby boomers were more likely to clock 150 minutes of activity a week than their younger counterparts during 2021, according to new data from the Apple Heart and Movement study. Is it because during 2021, over-65s had more time…

You know you’re in an ongoing pandemic when neither TikTok nor Instagram feature in Australia’s top five free iPhone apps for 2021, bumped off the list by government apps – from Express Plus Medicare app at number one (handy for downloading your…

The ongoing shortage of the monoclonal antibody tocilizumab, as a result of global demand for its use as a therapy for severe covid, has drawn into sharp focus the lack of treatment options for patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA). But with…

They watch you while you sleep – and though it’s a bit on the creepy side, sleep tracking is now a signature feature of today’s smartwatches. Various watches from Apple, Samsung, Garmin, Fitbit and others also promise to count your steps, measure…