Sydney, Jan 19 : An increase in body weight during a man's adult life is associated with an increased risk of suffering an aggressive form of prostate cancer and of dying from it, a new study has found.

The study also found that having a high body mass throughout life was also associated with increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

Sydney, Jan 13 - A signal found in plants could act as a drought alarm, allowing them to adapt to such extreme conditions.

Scientists stumbled on the signal while trying to understand how different parts of the cell chat with one another in the Arabidopsis thaliana, a kin of canola, under drought conditions.

Sydney, Nov 17 : A new approach to treating spinal injuries among animals could pave the way for prevention of paralysis in thousands of people worldwide every year.

Ben Goss, researcher at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, investigated how the spine could be protected after an injury.

Sydney, Nov 16 : Stimulating the brain with magnets is likely to improve the language skills of stroke survivors.

Researchers led by Caroline Barwood from the University of Queensland's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences found marked improvement in the language skills of stroke patients after they underwent Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).

Melbourne, Oct 24 : Venom from funnel-web spiders and tarantulas could be used to kill breast cancer cells, Australian researchers say.

University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience will test the arachnid’s ability to combat cancerous cells and hope that the complex mix of molecules in the venom could offer a natural solution to breast cancer treatment.

Sydney, Sept 29 : Bad news for those who have desk jobs - a new study has found that sitting down for long periods of time increases risk of early death.

The study of more than 200,000 men and women in NSW has found that the longer people sit each day the greater their chances of going to an early grave.

Melbourne, Sept 9 : Surfing the Internet is changing the way our brains work, reducing our ability to think and concentrate, a leading psychologist in the UK has warned.

Sheila Keegan says that its long-term use could even cause brain dysfunction.

Melbourne, July 25 : Nearly one-third of smokers believe the health effects of smoking are exaggerated, a new Australian survey has found.

And fewer than four out of 10 smokers are able to identify emphysema as a health effect of smoking, reports the Age.

Melbourne, May 13 : A new study in fruit flies has found that genetic mutations in mitochondria, inherited from the mother, are an important cause of male infertility.

"What we''ve uncovered here is an evolutionary process that can explain why male infertility is so common," said evolutionary biologist Dr Damian Dowling of Monash University in Melbourne.

Melbourne, May 09 : An obesity lobby group in Australia has called for a total ban on junk food advertising during children''s peak-hour television scheduling.

The call comes at a time when the Obesity Policy Coalition also released research finding 84 percent of consumers believe children should be protected from unhealthy food advertising.