Neuroplasticity and me

Neuroplasticity is the notion that our brains are not set in concrete, but with training are able to form new neural connections throughout life. Allan Catlin discovered neuroplasticity after a stroke and urges us to pay as much attention to brain fitness as we do to physical fitness.

DonateLife Week – discover, decide, discuss

Next week is DonateLife Week to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation. Fiona Nash, Assistant Minister for Health and Senator for NSW, urges all Australians to have the chat that saves lives.

Have the chat that saves lives

DonateLife Week 2014 is Australia’s national awareness week to promote organ and tissue donation. It is held from 23 February to 2 March. Organisers are asking you to have the chat with your loved ones so that they know your donation decision. You also need to ask and know their donation decision.

Where Positive Psychology is heading – highlights from the Australian Positive Psychology and Well-being Conference

Positive Psychology receives increasing credibility with mounting evidence that it works. Organisational coach Clive Leach shares his highlights of the Australian Positive Psychology and Well-being Conference.

Get your heart racing

Heart Research Australia has initiated RedFeb as part of Heart Research Month. The organisers are asking you to raise funds and increase awareness of Australia’s biggest killer, heart disease.

Using an eye tracker in autism research – autism and the social mind

Social learning relies on a natural inclination to watch people’s faces and eyes. Dr Giacomo Vivanti explains how the technology of eye tracking can afford a new window into the mental world of individuals with autism.

How not to make a bed – synthetic drugs in Australia

Sophisticated synthetic drugs are flooding the Australian market, and for every drug banned there are five others lurking in the wings. Emergency consultant and illicit drug expert Dr. David Caldicott says a temporary ban on these products is just a starting point to buy us some time.

Anti-depressant prescribing

Australian doctors are among the highest prescribers of anti-depressants worldwide. AMA President Dr Steve Hambleton thinks that while it’s a good thing that more people seek help for depression, the health system should better support doctors to spend more time with their patients.

Ride to cure diabetes

At this fundraising event people from all over Australia meet from 17 to 19 January, for just one day or the whole weekend, to cycle through the beautiful Barossa Valley. Participants can choose between 35, 80 or 160 kilometres.

Year in review 2013

I would to thank you, the Open Forum community, for all the support you have shown throughout 2013. As readers and bloggers you play a major role in shaping the content of this website.

Bringing Christmas wishes to kids in need

Leading up to the festive season, the Starlight Children’s Foundation is working hard again to make wishes come true for hundreds of children battling a chronic or life-threatening illness. Louise Baxter asks everyone to ‘Join the Mission’ this Christmas.

Testosterone for diabetes prevention in men

In men aged 50 or more who are overweight and have low testosterone levels the risk of developing diabetes over the next five years is extraordinarily high. Professor Gary Wittert and his team at the University of Adelaide are leading a study to investigate if testosterone supplements can prevent diabetes in these high risk men.