The Health News – 14 September 2016
Overview:
• The latest report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) stated that suicide accounted for 28 per cent of deaths among 15- to 24-year-olds, and 18 per cent of people aged between 25 and 44 years. The motion, tabled by Greens’ mental health spokesperson Rachel Siewert, cited Suicide Prevention Australia’s call for a goal of a 50 per cent reduction in suicides within a decade.
• Superbugs have been identified by the World Health Organisation as one of the greatest threats to human health after adapting to become resistant to all forms of antibiotics. PhD candidate Shu Lam said the team developed a chain of star-shaped protein molecules called peptide polymers that could defeat the superbugs by “ripping apart” their cell walls.
• Leonie Southern says she can no longer live anywhere near sources of wi-fi transmissions because of severe health effects she attributes to a condition known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS).Professor Rodney Croft, director of the Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research, said the symptoms experienced by sufferers of EHS were recognised as genuine, but the cause was something other than exposure to wi-fi.
News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 14th of September 2016. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-13/suicide-remains-primary-health-concern,-report-shows/7838414
Suicide remains the leading cause of death among young Australians, as well as one of the main causes of early deaths across the entire population, according to a report.
The latest report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) stated that suicide accounted for 28 per cent of deaths among 15- to 24-year-olds, and 18 per cent of people aged between 25 and 44 years.
The report stated that at some point in their lives, more than one in eight Australians aged between 16 and 85 years have experienced suicidal ideation, while one in 25 had made suicide plans and around one in 30 had attempted suicide.
From 2004 to 2013, an average of 2,300 Australians took their lives each year.
The report comes the day after the Senate passed a motion calling on the Government to set a suicide prevention target.
The motion, tabled by Greens’ mental health spokesperson Rachel Siewert, cited Suicide Prevention Australia’s call for a goal of a 50 per cent reduction in suicides within a decade.
It is a call also backed by Lifeline chairman and former NSW Liberal leader John Brogden, who attempted suicide a decade ago.
The Turnbull Government has refrained from a setting such a target, but last month pledged to review suicide prevention services for veterans.
Scientists have made a major breakthrough in the battle against antibiotic-resistant superbugs by creating molecules which are able to kill the deadly bacteria.
The team from the University of Melbourne’s School of Engineering made the discovery as part of work to find treatments for cancer.
Superbugs have been identified by the World Health Organisation as one of the greatest threats to human health after adapting to become resistant to all forms of antibiotics.
PhD candidate Shu Lam said the team developed a chain of star-shaped protein molecules called peptide polymers that could defeat the superbugs by “ripping apart” their cell walls.
“That actually makes it very difficult for bacteria to adapt and to survive after being treated by these peptide polymers,” she said.
The scientists said unlike antibiotics, the superbugs showed no signs of resistance to the molecules.
Ms Lam said superbugs posed a grave threat to humans.
Ms Lam said the team’s work had so far focused on one major class of bacteria and more research was needed to examine how other types of bacteria responded to the molecules.
The research has been published in the journal Nature Microbiology.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-12/evidence-rejects-wi-fi-health-effects-claim/7580686
Leonie Southern says she can no longer live anywhere near sources of wi-fi transmissions because of severe health effects she attributes to a condition known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS).
The condition is so distressing she and her husband have moved from their home in Bermagui on the NSW far south coast to a farm further inland, to get away from any wi-fi reception.
However, extensive international research studies have found no evidence the condition is caused by electromagnetic waves such as wi-
Professor Rodney Croft, director of the Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research, said the symptoms experienced by sufferers of EHS were recognised as genuine, but the cause was something other than exposure to wi-fi.
Professor Croft oversees ongoing studies looking for evidence of effects of wi-fi on human health, as well as assessing international research
He said the symptoms appeared as a result of anticipation by the sufferer that they were going to be
Ms Southern describes the problem as “the asbestos of our era”.