Another reason to eat your greens A NZ research team has discovered cancer fighting properties in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. Researchers at the Christchurch School of Medicine and Otago University's Health Sciences found that compounds called isothiocyanates in cruciferous vegetables can help kill cancer cells which are resistant to other treatments. "This has provided us with a very valuable clue," says study leader Dr Mark Hampton, of the Free Radical Research Group. "Isothiocyanates alter many different proteins in a cell, but by focusing on proteins that are only modified by the isothiocyanates that kill the cancer cells, we have discovered a protein that could potentially control cell death." The ground-breaking study has been published in the American journal Cancer Research. 
(16 September 2006)

SurfAid International races aid to Tsunami areas
SurfAid International   a non-profit organization founded by New Zealander Dr Dave Jenkins dedicated to the alleviation of human suffering through community-based health programs, has secured $500,000 worth of medical supplies and equipment, including 10,000 mosquito nets, 10,000 malaria, 2,000 treatments of ACT malaria drugs, 8,000 measles and tetanus vaccines, nutritional supplements and surgical supplies for Tsunami-stricken areas in Northern Indonesia. The one-time Dunedin surfer and  Auckland Medical School  graduate Dave Jenkins is Chairman and Medical Director of SurfAid International. During his time in rural general practice he became interested in indigenous, traditional medicine and the challenge of merging the best of ancient wisdoms and modern medical practice. He has dedicated the last 5 years to building SurfAid and to working with the Mentawai people.
(3 February 2005)

Healer of body, mind and soul
The Guardian pays tribute to Duncan Forrest, NZ born surgeon and renowned anti-torture campaigner. An “outstanding and innovative paediatric surgeon,” Forrest spent his career at the vanguard of surgical developments in spina bifida, hydrocephalus and cleft palate. He was also a long-standing member of the medical arm of Amnesty International, for which he became chairman and newsletter editor upon retiring from medicine in 1987, and a volunteer clinician for the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. Forrest spoke and wrote extensively against the use of torture in Syria, Egypt, the Punjab and, more recently, in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.
(15 December 2004)

A kiwifruit a day…
Eating kiwifruit can help ward off heart disease, according to new research undertaken in Norway. Polyphenolic compounds in the fruit cut the amount of fat platelets being pumped around the body and thin the blood, thus reducing the risk of potentially fatal clots. Zespri NZ supplied the kiwifruit used in the study, and hope their global sales will increase as a result of its findings.
(30 September 2004)
   

Bring back germs
According to a NZ report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, children who suffer from asthma at an early age are less likely to outgrow the disease by adulthood. The figures are drawn from an ongoing study of the mental and physical health of 613 children born in Dunedin in 1972. Clean, modern living is a possible reason behind the marked increase of asthma in children in recent years; due to an abundance of antibacterial household products, children are exposed to fewer germs and have more sensitive immune systems as a result.
(8 October 2003)
  

Living large
New research undertaken at Auckland University suggests that the tendency towards obesity occurs in the womb, rather than as a result of our remote-control society. The findings - recently published in the American Physiological Society journal - show that the offspring of women who are undernourished during pregnancy switch to fat-storing mode to aid their future survival. "Healthcare funding may better be spent on improving pregnancy care rather than waiting until metabolic and cardiovascular disorders manifest in adults years or decades later."
(7 August 2003)
   

Tribute to edge-geneticist
NZ's "third man of the double helix" Maurice Wilkins has been honoured in the lead-up to next year's 50th anniversary of DNA. In 1962, Wilkins shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with fellow discoverers Francis Crick and James Watson. The Royal Society of NZ commissioned a portrait by Juliet Kac and a poem by Chris Orsman, both of which were presented to Professor Wilkins at a ceremony in his honour in London, November 26.
(28 November 2002)
   

The mating game
Challenging the common assumption that reproduction is a random process, Auckland University's Valerie Grant claims to be able to predict whether a woman is more likely to produce male or female offspring via a "personality test." By placing female biology at the center of the issue, Grant aligns human procreation with the rest of the animal kingdom. As she argues, many animals use factors such as temperature to control the gender of their offspring - why shouldn't humans (consciously or not) do the same?
(14 September 2002)
          

Cell growth
London-based NZ biochemist Dr Peter Shepherd was honoured for his groundbreaking work on the causes of type-2 diabetes at the London Biotechnology Network (London, Oxford and Cambridge) biotechnology excellence event in London. Shepherd was joint winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award for his role in founding Xcellsyz, a company formed to enhance the drug development and discovery spin-offs from his University of London research. Shepherd's latest research shows that caffeine might help fight cancer. 
(19 July 2002)
       

DMXAA discovery fights cancer
Yahoo News recognises Professors Bruce Baguley and William Denny of the Cancer Society Research Centre , University of Auckland, for their discovery of DMXAA, a significant new development in to cancer research.
(30 August 2001)

Star-jumps for Gran
Seniors who perform supervised exercises at home reduce the risk of falls and serious injury report two studies from Otago Medical school.
(31 March 2001)

Best breath? No Breast!
Breast-feed infants may have a greater chance of developing asthma in later life according to a study conducted on over 1000 New Zealanders.
(23 May 2001) 
         

Good health globally
New Zealand doctors spread the word on good health with on-line Doctor Global.
(21 April 2001)
          

Antelope contagion
Professor Roger Morris of Massey University believes he has tracked down the source of the BSE epidemic - an antelope from a wildlife park, probably in south-west Britain. His paper on the subject will be published later this year.
(19 April 2001) 
             

Cut short
Can you catch apotemnophilia, the desire to become an amputee? A spate of recent "voluntary amputations" performed in Britain take their cue from work by ground-breaking but controversial New Zealand sexologist John Money. 
(December 2000) 

Kiwi goes AWOL with marvel of medical handiwork
After acquiring a new hand in a revolutionary operation, he was meant to lie back, take his drugs and recover.  Instead Clint Hallam hit the US chat shows, spent 20000 pounds on another patient's credit card, then vanished, taking with him one of the most valuable relics of the late 20th century: his right hand. The Guardian meets the smooth talking fraudster who has grasped a place in medical history.
(30 May 2000) 
        

Counting on Sheep
A flock of mentally deficient sheep in New Zealand are providing scientists with vital clues in the search to find a cure for Batten disease.  Dave Palmer of Massey university has spent nearly twenty years breeding sheep that may hold clues to solving genetic diseases such as Batten's and Alzheimer's.
(26 May 2000)

Home environment can affect puberty
Research jointly undertaken by researchers at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and Vanderbilt University in Tennessee show that Moms may have more of an effect on their daughters' lives than they realize - or even want. 
(26 April 2000)
         

The Wired Doctors
Free medical consultations for a year are being offered by a group of Internet doctors to a small rural town in New Zealand. The New Zealand-based Doctor Global is offering to give "virtual housecalls" and adopt a rural community that has no doctor in the area.
(26 April 2000)
          

Photonz edges out global competitors 
A tiny Henderson-based company is reportedly leading the global race to extract a brain acid from algae which may offer a cure for depression. Photonz is growing micro-organisms which produce eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), one of two highly desirable omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids found in fish which eat the algae. Along with its close relative DHA, EPA is used to treat conditions ranging from heart disease and dyslexia to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression. According to Photonz chief executive Karl Geiringer, his company chose to focus on depression because NZ suffers from of the world's highest rates of depressive disorders. "We are using a naturally occurring organism so we are not genetically engineering anything, and we are inducing it to produce the EPA in a way that makes it much easier to get out, and we are using new technology to get it out," says Geiringer. Photonz already has three patents pending and its financial backers include Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall. 
(27 December 2006)

At the forefront of disease control
Professor Neil Pearce, Director of NZ's Centre for Public Health Research, was elected President of the International Epidemiology Association (IEA) at the recent World Congress of Epidemiology held in Bangkok. The first ever president from the Southern Hemisphere, Pearce will president-elect for 3 years before assuming the presidency at the next World Congress in Brazil, 2008. "The IEA was originally founded in England in 1955, and for many years was centred on Europe and North America," says Pearce in Massey News. "However, we are now particularly interested in building the work of the association in developing countries, while maintaining and supporting its current activities in Europe and North America." Epidemiology is the branch of medical science dealing with the transmission and control of disease. 
(23 September 2005)

A glass a day won't keep the doctor away 
NZ researchers have put a dampener on previous claims that drinking in moderation is good for the heart. According to Auckland University's Dr Rod Jackson, the studies conducted in the 1970s and 80s were flawed and the harm caused by drinking almost certainly outweighs any positive side effects. Alcoholics, he points out, have "clean" arteries, which indicates that heavy drinking is in fact better for the heart than a glass or two a day. But any coronary benefits gained from drinking heavily are rendered useless by the damage alcoholism inflicts on the rest of the body's functions. 
(5 December 2005)

   


New findings, new hope
Doctors at NZ’s Liggins Institute have made a crucial breakthrough in the study of breast cancer. Researchers have discovered a growth hormone in breast cancer cells which determines how quickly the cancer spreads. “We have found a switch which determines whether the breast cancer cells stays where it's made or can spread throughout the body,” says Institute Director Professor Peter Gluckman. “We are using this research to design some new therapies which we think will be even more effective.” See NZ Herald story for more details.
(8 September 2004)

Honey power
Professor Peter Molan of Waikato University's Honey Research Unit was the subject of a BBC feature on the healing power of honey. Molan hopes to take his area of expertise to the world via revolutionary wound dressings, made using NZ manuka honey. "It's like a sheet of rubber, you can touch it without it being sticky at all," says Molan of his invention. NZ natural health company, Comvita, has taken on the marketing of Molan's products. "The global market for wound care is in the range of two to six billion US dollars," says Comvita's Ray Lewis. "So if we can capture just a small percentage of that, we will obviously be doing very well."  
(8 June 2004)
  

Gene-injected performance 
Dr Matthew During of Auckland University is part of a US medical team promoting the groundbreaking use of gene therapy in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Speaking in New York, During emphasised that the procedure was designed to treat rather than cure the disease, by injecting patients with a gene designed to quiet the overstimulated brain activity that causes Parkinson's. The first recipient of the radical new treatment - 55-year-old New Yorker, Nathan Klein - appears to be recovering well.
(21 August 2003)
   

Battle of the bulge
Auckland University is at the forefront of new medical research linking malnutrition at the time of conception to instances of premature birth. Pediatrician Dr. Frank Bloomfield has conducted a study using sheep which "[seems to] suggest that women who have extremes of diet may put their pregnancies at increased risk of preterm birth." The study is being hailed as groundbreaking in the US, where scientists have been struggling to explain a dramatic increase in premature births.
(26 April 2003)
   

Brain-gain
The findings of a team of Auckland University researchers have created hope for sufferers of degenerative brain disease. According to Professor Richard Faull, diseased brains produce new cells to replace dying ones at a previously unknown rate. Faull and team aim to enhance the brain's "too little too late" fight-back in the hope of creating greater natural defence systems against diseases such as stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
(30 January 2003)
  

I can see your heart beat
Auckland University's Bioengineering Institute  leads ground-breaking new research into heart and lung modeling and software development. Led by Dr Peter Hunter, the team of in silico biologists translate human organs "into thousands of mathematical equations and millions of datapoints" which then run as computer simulations. "It is absolutely world-class research, with massive commercial spin-off", comments GlaxoSmithKline director Ian Griffiths.
(1 February 2002) 
      

As good as new?
Age should be no barrier to going under the surgeon's knife: 85 year-old patients come out of surgery as well as 65-year old patients according to Auckland researcher Dr Falah Haddawi, who believes the elderly are missing out on surgery they could benefit from.
(18 May 2001)
             

Picking the IQ knot
Otago scholar James Flynn suggests our brains rise to the occasion, developing higher IQs in response to more challenging work and environments.
(17 April 2001)

Smokin' gun
New Zealand anti-smoking study reveals passive smoking's deadly aim and gives Massachusetts legislation breath of life.
(4 April 2001) 
               

We want Waitangi
Canadian victims of the Feb blues want a holiday, citing Waitangi day's health-giving properties.
(29 January 2001)
             

Wheezy September
Mysterious medical matter: asthma admission in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Trinidad all have an unexplained annual peak in the third week of September.
(27 January 2001)
            

Locally better
Staying awake with a local anesthetic may reduce surgical complications by 30% states an Auckland University study published in the British Medical Journal. 
(15 December 2000)
               

Heartening news
New Zealand researchers have found Pravastatin, a drug that helps control cholesterol, also helps ward off heart disease. Bring on the Xmas pav...
(3 December 2000)
 

Honey cures tummy
New Woman confirms a "traditional New Zealand cure": eating manuka honey to banish stomach ulcers.
(2 November 2000)

A teaspoon of honey
Search under 'Honey New Zealand' to view
Waikato scientist Peter Molan thinks honey doesn't just help the medicine go down, it is the medicine. Honey from New Zealand's Leptospermum tree kills bacteria, reduces inflammation and encourages re-growth of skin.
(November 2000)
          

 
Cancer clue in birthmarks
New Zealand researchers led by plastic surgeon Swee Tan have found a gene they believe helps shrink a benign tumour. The gene, they hope, may do the same thing in cancerous tumours. Their research involved investigating why hemangiomas, or strawberry birthmarks, shrink spontaneously.
(21 August 2000) 
           

Aspartame to blame?
Veteran NZ journalist Chris Wheeler has published a lengthy denouncement of the food additive aspartame on US sceptic site Rense. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used in products such as Diet Coke, Equal, Lemsip and Wrigleys chewing gum. "... [W]hile we have finally accepted in our law courts and at a Government level that substances like Agent Orange, lead, and blue asbestos can medically disable ... we seem quite unable to extend that logic to the artificial dietary chemicals that we consume every day, year after year," writes Wheeler. "Little wonder then, that ill health and classrooms full of medicated children are part of normal, daily life and lunatic murders, road-rage, air-rage, depression and a steady media reportage of odd and irrational behaviour in people of all ages is just put down to modern living." Wheeler heads the NZ branch of Mission Possible, a global organisation that campaigns against aspartame. 
(26 October 2007)

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Red Cross honours NZ nurse
Aucklander Marianne Whittington has been awarded the Red Cross's highest nursing honour, the Florence Nightingale Medal. Whittington has undertaken 11 international aid missions for the organisation in the last 17 years, including dangerous assignments to Afghanistan, Sudan and Angola. "She has taken three missions to Afghanistan during and after the Taliban's rule," said Red Cross operations manager Andrew McKie. "They were conducted under difficult circumstances, given the position of the International Committee of Red Cross and of female aid workers in particular. For her to volunteer during these times demonstrates her commitment to the Red Cross." Only 50 Florence Nightingale medals are awarded internationally every two years. Whittington is the 23rd New Zealand nurse to receive the honour since 1920. She was awarded the New Zealand Red Cross international service award in 2005.
(15 June 2007)

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Backstage essential 
NZ-born osteopath to the stars Garry Trainer has released a new book, Back Chat, with health writer Tania Alexander. Back Chat examines 40 individual case studies of back pain, identifying common causes and offering advice on how best to avoid them. Regarded as a pioneer in his field, Trainer has worked in the UK for the past 25 years and runs a successful clinic in London's Primrose Hill. His clients, past and present, include Brad Pitt, Paul and Linda McCartney, George Michael, Emma Thompson and Paul Simon. Despite his star clientele, Trainer remains grounded by his patients' common physiology. "It doesn't matter if you're black, white or green, how rich you are or how poor you are. We have all got the same muscles and nerves and the same discs. Anyone that moves is prone to back pain", he said in a recent interview with NZ's Sunday Star Times. Trainer's next high-profile job is working on the film version of ABBA musical Mama Mia, starring Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep. 
(10 June 2007)

 

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Something good comes from possums 
Scientists at NZ's AgResearch and Otago Medical School may have found the cure for a common prostate problem and it is largely thanks to NZ's no.1 environmental pest: the brush-tailed possum. According to a study published in AgResearch's In Touch magazine, the prostate gland in possums is anatomically identical to that found in humans. The possum's prostate gland grows and shrinks in accordance with breeding seasons. By studying the brush-tailed possum the scientists hope to find the trigger which causes the prostate to shrink and then replicate it in a drug for humans, thus removing the need for invasive surgery. The research is currently in its third year. 
(26 December 2006)

Kiwis breathe easy
NZ has joined Ireland and Norway in banning the smoking of tobacco in bars, casinos and restaurants. “The 75% of NZers who do not smoke have the right to a smokefree environment, and we congratulate the Government for passing this legislation in the face of significant opposition,” says NZ Medical Association Chairperson Dr Trisha Briscoe. “This legislation will help smokers to give up, and will help them to stay smokefree by providing social environments that don't encourage them to smoke.”
(12 December 2004)
    

Is there a doctor on board?
SurfAid International, a volunteer group of surfing doctors established by NZ physician Dave Jenkins, was the first medical team on hand in the wake of the Indonesian earthquake. Jenkins founded SurfAid in Nias 6 years ago while on a luxurious surf break from his job as a corporate doctor. “It looked like paradise, then you go on shore and it all changes,” says Jenkins. “I was optimistic. I thought if (surfers) are coming here in big numbers, maybe there's a way of coming and creating something unique and leaving a legacy by the surfing world.” SurfAid also played a major role in the tsunami aftermath, treating an estimated 70,000 survivors.
(30 March 2005)
   

NZ cancer rates third worst in world
New international research from IRAC show NZ men and women have the third highest cancer rates in the world. Male cancer rates are highest in the United States, Hungary and New Zealand, and lowest in Niger, Gambia and the Congo. The US also leads in female cancer rates, ahead of Israel and New Zealand, with Tunisia, Gambia and Oman at the bottom of the table of 2002 data. 6.7 million die from cancer each year globally. In New Zealand about 16,000 people a year develop cancer and there are 7500 cancer-related deaths. The IARC figures show of New Zealand's cancers: 14 per cent are colon and rectum; 13 per cent are breast; 13 per cent are prostrate; and 10 per cent are skin melanomas. "These are bloody awful figures,” says NZ Cancer Society medical director Peter Dady.  “Our rate of colon/rectum cancer is very high - we are the world leaders." Colon/ rectum cancer was related to diet and could be avoided by eating more fruit and vegetables, he said. "It's as simple as that." Obesity played a far bigger role in cancer than previously thought. "We are a well-nourished people." Reporting by Danya Levy (thanks www.stuff.co.nz).
(28 April 2005)

Hobblers anonymous
Paul Kennett of the NZ Police has founded what is believed to be the first broken leg recovery room online. Entitled ‘My Broken Leg,’ the website was inspired by Kennett’s own biking accident and has quickly caught on with users worldwide. “It dawned on me that I could set up a site to let people tell their stories,” he says. “Non-broken-leggers tend to underestimate how much of a drama it is. I haven't heard of any broken leg support groups out there in the real world. So the website pulls all those geographically spread people together.”
(21 October 2004)
    

Tukuitonga joins WHO's who
Nieuean Colin Tukuitonga has resigned as NZ's director of health to take up a post with the United Nations World Health Organisation. Tukuitonga, a former community health lecturer at Auckland University, will work in non-communicable diseases and obesity research.
(4 August 2003)
   

NZ says no to "suckle chuckle"
Apparently, the NZ public is "not ready" for the image of a breast-feeding man. The Ministry of Health vetoed an advertisement designed by the Women's Health Action group in support of World Breastfeeding Week, stating that it did not "[fully convey] the message that there are a number of ways employers can support one of the most natural things a mother can do." The poster sh.owed actor Michael Hurst holding a baby to his unbuttoned shirt.
(1 August 2003)
   

Via satellite
In a world first, surgical teams in NZ and Australia have successfully completed a trans-Tasman kidney operation using state-of-the-art digital conferencing technology. The procedure itself took place in Christchurch, where a team of doctors led by Peter Davidson worked under the electronic supervision of David Nichol, of Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital. Davidson: "This will be an advantage to surgeons in this part of the world, where we are remote from other western countries … [Now] we can have world experts involved in operations that we are performing in real time."
(19 May 2003)
     

Team NZ's high-tech edge
NZ bioengineering group, Christian Cook, have developed a radical method of keeping Team NZ one step ahead of their rivals. Health levels of the 36 sailors are monitored via a daily "blood reading." The low-frequency ultrasound delivers the vital statistics without the stress and invasiveness of traditional blood-tests. Finally, hope for the needle-phobic…
(20 November 2002)
   

Lolita, letters and the language instinct
Influential scientist Steven (The Language Instinct) Pinker names New Zealanders Brian Boyd and Dennis Dutton amongst his exemplary practitoners contributing towards a third culture "convergence" of art and science. To Pinker, the Nabakov scholar and founder of website Arts and Letters Daily respectively, embody a third culture where "the sciences of the mind […] pipe in with insights that complement those of scholars in the humanities."
(9 September 2002)
 

Diabetes breakthrough
New Zealand biotechnology company Diatranz will run clinical trials in the Cook Islands of an experimental diabetes treatment which once in place should start making diabetes-curing insulin. The controversial treatment involves transplanting cells from pigs into people, a technique already successfully undertaken by the company in Mexico.
(5 March 2002)
 

The genetics of antipodean cattle
The Times of India reports that "an Australian-New Zealand company aims to run off copies of top breeding bulls for export to the world."
(12 August 2001)
             

Doctor nurse
"There is not many people I take my hat off to, but I take my hat off to Olly. She is one of the best [nursing] sisters we have ever had," says Wanaaring local Jimmy Skinner of New Zealand nurse Olwyn Johnston, Australia's first "nurse practitioner".
(27 May 2001)
         

Mussel and bone
New Zealand green-lipped mussels put the flexibility back into stiff joints.
(17 April 2001)

A sweet alternative 
An LA Times health feature discusses the healing properties of NZ Manuka honey, which is becoming increasingly accepted in international medical circles. Manuka honey has been cleared for use as a wound dressing and antimicrobial in both Canada and the USA, and clinical trials testing its effectiveness are currently underway in Germany, Scotland and South Africa. "In the last few years, a lot of good science has been done in the area," says Shona Blair, a microbiologist at the University of Sydney, who studies the antibacterial properties of honey. Manuka honey has been shown to be particularly effective in treating wounds that will not heal, such as those suffered by diabetics and cancer patients. 
(10 September 2007)

During breaks new ground 

Findings nothing to sneeze at 
A NZ-led medical study has found that children around the world became more susceptible to common allergies during the 1990s. The research, which questioned parents and children in 56 different countries, found that rates of asthma, hayfever and eczema increased more often than they decreased between 1991 and 2003. "The data have direct relevance for health service delivery in the countries included in the study, as well as providing a basis for understanding these disorders," says study leader Professor Innes Asher, from the University of Auckland. The paper has been published in leading medical journal, Lancet. 
(25 August 2006)

Christopher Shaw leads motor neuron research
Professor Christopher Shaw, Professor of Neurology at Kings College London and Otago  University  graduate in Medicine (1984), is to co-lead a team to clone embryos to study motor neuron disease, in particular those patients whose condition cannot be linked to genes already identified as causing the disease. He will be working with Professor Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, the creator of Dolly the sheep. Motor neuron disease is an umbrella term for a collection of illnesses of varying severity that all lead to loss of muscle function because of nerve failure. The most common is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. About 10 percent of those stricken live for a decade or more, like celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking. However, most die within five years of the onset of symptoms. Drugs prolong life by three to six months. Of about four neurology professors in Britain, four are New Zealanders. 
(8 February 2005)

Make no bones about it
NZ has again opened a new path in medicine, this time in the field of bone reconstruction. Dr George Dias of Otago University’s anatomy and structural biology department struck on the idea of using a material based on keratin (the chief component of wool, hair and fingernails) to mend bone fractures and damage caused by tumours. The new substance is gradually absorbed by the body and promotes bone repair, as opposed to the old method of bone clips (taken from other parts of the body and thereby causing new complications) or synthetics such as titanium. Wool Equities (NZ) subsidiary Keratec has won the rights to the product from Otago University and is working towards commercializing it into sell to an international market estimated to be US$400m by 2007. Says Keratec Research Manager Dr Rob Kelly, “We've been able to do something no one has been able to do before.”
(23 January 2005)
   

Iron-will an inspiration
The inspiring story of Napier mother-of-four, Tracey Richardson, has made headlines around the world. Two of Richardson’s children have cystic fibrosis and, in 2002, she decided to create awareness for the disease by competing in the 2004 NZ Ironman. News of her mission spread internationally, resulting in her invitation to attend the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. She came 1,446th in a race with a record number of non-finishers, both professional and amateur. “For me Ironman has been about finding out who I am and what I am made of, of discovering a strength deep inside me that I could draw on to get me through, a strength I know I will need to tap in to in the sad times to come,” says Richardson. “Ironman from the very start was always about setting an example and inspiring my children to believe that no matter what the goal, or how unattainable it might appear, that by taking one step at a time in the right direction you get there eventually.”
(2 November 2004)
    

Edge therapies in demand
Virionyx - the NZ company behind an experimental new AIDS drug - has been hired by two US organisations to develop therapies for diseases such as SARS. Said PM Helen Clark, at the opening of Virionyx's new Mangere headquarters; "These developments at Virionyx are a significant step for the NZ biotechnology industry and one that will boost its international profile." Virionyx is to develop antibody and antiviral treatments for SARS, West Nile virus, dengue fever, smallpox, anthrax, plague, tularaemia, and botulism for the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and ZeptoMetrix biotechnology firm.
(2 August 2003)
  

Unemployed at risk
Research into suicide conducted by the Wellington School of Medicine has been published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health and reported on around the world. The findings - based on the NZ population for three years after the 1991 census - show that unemployed men and women are up to three times more likely to commit suicide than those with jobs. The link stayed true even after other risk factors, such as education, marital status, income and mental illness, were taken into account.
(29 July 2003)
   

Tea-total
Auckland University researcher, Joy Hsu, has confirmed the belief of generations: a strong, hot cuppa works wonders. Hsu measured the antioxidant levels of 33 types of green, black and oolong teas to discover that the stronger and hotter the brew, the better.
(18 February 2003)

Perils of modern life
Who says desk-jobs are easy? NZ medical researchers have discovered a potentially deadly threat to frequent computer users. Dubbed "e-thrombosis," the blood-clotting disorder has similar effects to those sometimes suffered by long-distance air travellers. The methods of prevention are identical: get up and stretch the legs often.
(30 January 2003)
     

A model diet
British scientists have developed a type of pet food aimed at helping arthritic dogs. The "joint support" food contains NZ green-lipped mussels, which have an ideal combination of fatty acids and antioxidants for reducing pain caused by osteoarthritis. Scientists hit on the discovery after making a connection between the amount of green-lipped mussels eaten by Maori and their remarkably low levels of arthritis.
(9 September 2002)
     

Do you remember?
Why are our early years a blur? Otago University's Gabrielle Simcock and Harlene Hayne have found a clue. According to their research, so-called "childhood amnesia" is ultimately informed by language development. After conducting controlled memory experiments, the researchers concluded that "children can only describe memories of events using words they knew when the experience occurred." 
(9 June 2002)
        

Diabetes breakthrough
Diatranz of Auckland claims it has conducted a successful trial that could eventually provide a cure for 15 million people around the world with type 1 diabetes who currently need daily injections of insulin. The Mexican trial, involving pig cell transplants, has yet to be approved in NZ.
(28 January 2002)
        

The heart of the matter
Dr Peter Hunter, of the University of Auckland, has created a "virtual heart" - hailed by Economist magazine as a spectacular example of in silico biology, an emerging discipline that brings computing power to bear on a wide range of biological problems. Hunter translates the human heart into thousands of mathematical equations and millions of datapoints which are programmed into a computer to produce the on-screen organ.
(6 December 2001)
         

Dozing at the wheel
42% of drivers involved in crashes are affected by lack of shut-eye according to research done by the Wellington School if Medicine Sleep Investigation Centre.
(14 May 2001)
             

Milk for the heart
It's a rogue protein in diary products, not fat, that clogs the arteries and causes heart disease according to New Zealand scientist Dr Corrie McLachlan.
(10 April 2001)
          

Baby step
Researchers at Auckland University have uncovered a gene that may be linked to premature menopause, a condition that prevents up to 1% of women bearing children. 
(7 January 2001)
            

Flying doctor
Mama Daktari spent her life working for the African Medical Research Foundation, co-founded by Kiwi Sir Archibald McKindoe.
(3 January 2001) 
              

Masai milk
Milk from Asian and African cows is free of the heart disease-linked beta casein protein found in other milk, according to Professor Bob Elliott of the University of Auckland. The healthy hearts of the milk-drinking Masai switched Elliot onto the protein.
(2 January 2001)
 

Sane Dolly
PPL Therapeutics, the company that brought the world Dolly, hooks up with New Zealand company Celentis to clone cows  in a BSE-free environment. 
(15 December 2000)
              

Smart milk
Breast is best for premature babies according to Christchurch School of Medicine researchers. Brest-fed babies have a slighter higher IQ at ages 7 and 8, compared to their peers raised on the bottle.
(28 December 2000)
             

Gender bender
Questions continue to be raised about surgical gender re-assignment, a la Kiwi sexologist John Money.
(November 2000)
                

Pain buster
Dr Abbey recommends New Zealander Robin MacKenzie's Seven Steps to a Pain-Free Life to tame the back pain of Chicago.
(6 November 2000)
   

Disease beaten
Polio has been eradicated in the he Western Pacific, which stretches from China to New Zealand to French Polynesia.
(30 October 2000)

Ultra Careful
Sarah Buckley, a New Zealand-trained