NeuRA’s Dr Sharpley Hsieh was invited to author an article for Australasian Science on her PhD work on dementia, musical cognition and emotional processing. Australasian Science were so happy with the article they made it their cover story for the November issue!
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This month we have sent out an appeal letter in which Chontell Johnson tells her story. Chontell’s mother had the genetic form of Alzheimer’s disease and Chontell made the decision to have predictive testing some years ago. She found out that she carries the form of the gene responsible for causing Alzheimer’s disease in her family. Other family members have […]
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We are all aware of China’s surging economic growth but it may be surprising to some that China has also had a 64-fold increase in peer-reviewed scientific papers since 1981. Assuming China’s research presence continues along the same trajectory, it will become the largest producer of scientific knowledge by 2013 (in 2004-2008 China produced 10% of the world’s published scientific […]
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Evolution is the gradual development of something into a more complex or better form. I witness this everyday as a paediatric neurologist: A newborn is vulnerable and fully dependent on its parents and during childhood movements become smooth and an infant learns to stand, walk and then run. Compared to development in other species, human children take a long time […]
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Did you know that the brain contains its own set of chemicals that act like chemicals found in cannabis? You may have heard of endorphins (not to be confused with the Australian electronic musician), opiate-like chemicals made by our bodies that help us control pain and feel good after exercise. Well, the body also makes its own cannabis-like chemicals, called […]
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Since 2001, the Australian government has enabled donors to create a simple form of private foundation now called the Private Ancillary Fund (previously, a private prescribed fund). These funds are “ancillary” because they exist only to support charities like NeuRA. Put simply, they are family-style trusts. They only distribute their income to deductible gift recipient charities, and they must distribute […]
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We are all exposed to environmental sources of lead, particularly from the combustion of lead-based fuels, manufacture of lead-acid batteries, crushing and smelting of lead, and the rapidly expanding technology industry. And as the culturally-inclined are aware, the use of lead-based pigments facilitated the most inspiring paintwork during the renaissance era.
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Why are adolescent males at the highest risk for schizophrenia onset? And what is it about adolescence that makes male brains more vulnerable?
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