Blood donation eligibility rules change
In June, it changed the rules around gay and bi-sexual men's eligibility to donate blood and plasma.
Now, those in remission from cancer no longer have to wait five years to donate.
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SBS Australia
6 hours ago
- SBS Australia
The effects of scrolling social media on your brain
Scrolling social media is a guilty pleasure ... that can quickly spiral into distraction and people are certainly becoming more aware of it. "Definitely scroll on Instagram way too frequently, way more than I need to, yeah it's in the back of my mind but I'm not super conscious about it." "You just lose focus for even a second - you just go in there - it's like a doom scroll, you start doom scrolling for an hour or something, so you're just unproductive after that, that's it." It's a new age challenge - with an impact that's yet to be fully understood . Dr Alexandra Gaillard of Swinburne University says her new research sought to explore the effects of screen time on the brain. "The main takeaways that our research really showed that time spent on social media may be a waste of resources for the brain can lead to decreased focus and increase in stress." The research has found 18 to 25 year olds exposed to phone screens for just three minutes, experienced changes in mood, energy, tension, focus and happiness. The pilot study of 27 people compared responses to gaming, television and social media on these devices. Dr Gaillard said this tracked brain activity by using small electrodes that track oxygen levels. "With social media there was the biggest increase in blood flow to those regions, but it doesn't actually get used - compared to something like gaming where a lot of blood goes to the region but it's actually used up, people engaging there's problem solving, they're doing things with that oxygen and that brain area." The findings indicate even short periods of screen time can have measurable effects. But Professor Michael Dezuanni of Queensland University of Technology says the full impact on young people is a nuanced and evolving field of research. "We need to think about how social media can have negative impacts on young people, but when it comes to learning - we can't just have a kind of generalised view." From December the 10th, a federal government ban on under 16s accessing social media takes Professor Suzanne Schweizer of UNSW Sydney says it's important efforts continue to better understand the impact of social media. "Because young people spend so much time interacting online - we need to know does it actually influence their brain development and if so again how so those are reasons why it's important that we invest more in experimental research."
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
The Alfred Hospital issues apology after power outage disrupts three surgeries
The Alfred Hospital has apologised to three patients and their families after a power outage forced doctors to pause procedures mid-operation. Power was temporarily cut to three operating rooms at the Alfred on Wednesday afternoon, the hospital confirmed in a statement. "Taking appropriate precautions, three procedures were paused during the loss of power and we have apologised to those patients, and their families," a spokesperson for the Alfred said. "The affected patients have each since received their surgery and are recovering in hospital." Backup power was available at the time of the outage. The surgeries were paused as a "clinical decision" made in the patients' interests. The hospital would not comment on what type of procedures were disrupted, due to patient confidentiality, or how long the outage lasted. All operating rooms at the Alfred have since resumed activity.
The Australian
7 hours ago
- The Australian
Top sports doctor reveals concerning concussion timeline for Aussie codes
One of Australia's leading sports doctors suspects combating the full extent of concussion remains 'years and years' away. Dr Peter Harcourt was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on Thursday after 40 years of medical service. He oversaw seven Olympic Games and spent time in the AFL and at Basketball Australia tackling the biggest medical hurdles. Harcourt says concussion remains one of the top challenges in world sport and while Australia's football codes have made progress, 'there's still a long way to go'. 'Concussion is the big one at the moment and I think sport is making some pretty big progress,' Harcourt said. 'Certainly, you can see that in the way the game is being played in AFL and in NRL and other competitions like that. 'I think understanding exactly the full depth of it and the mechanisms of it, prevention, the treatment, there's still a long way to go. 'This is going to take years and years to pull it apart and understand what the risks are and how you actually combat that.' Dr Peter Harcourt AM was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on Thursday at the MCG. Picture: Hamish Blair Several AFL players, including premiership stars Jeremy McGovern and Angus Brayshaw, have been medically retired due to concussion in recent seasons. Cronulla Sharks co-captain Dane Finucane also last year retired following advice from medical professionals. Harcourt said the awareness of long-term damage had prompted players and sporting clubs to change the narrative around head knocks. 'There's no holding back organisations these days in terms of tackling something that is really critical for the welfare of their athletes,' he said. 'The way we managed it 40 years ago was it was a self-limiting condition that would fully resolve – that's the way you thought about it. 'These days obviously you don't because you're worried about the long-term risks associated with that sort of trauma. 'I think the culture in the player groups has changed in that they will come forward and tell you when they're not well. 'There's been a lot of awareness. I'm not saying that it wouldn't happen (hiding concussions), but I think it's much less than what might've happened 10-15 years ago.' Tyler Lewis Sports reporter Tyler Lewis is a sports reporter based in Melbourne's south east. @tmlew_ Tyler Lewis
