QIMR Berghofer

Spanning nearly 100 laboratories in 45 countries, a landmark study has, for the first time, shown an association between genetic brain shape and size and the prevalence of neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease and ADHD.

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking vaccine that generates immunity against the Epstein-Barr virus, a virus that almost all of us carry and which has been found to be a primary cause of diseases like multiple sclerosis and some cancers.

The death of a loved one following a cancer battle can trigger prolonged grief that can seemingly cause life to come to a standstill. It can also be hard to treat, leaving the griever 'stuck' in this stage. Now, magic mushrooms are offering fresh hope.

The largest-ever global genetic study of glaucoma has uncovered more genes associated with the disease, including never-before-identified genes that could be targeted to prevent the optic nerve damage that leads to irreversible blindness.

Australian researchers have achieved two firsts that will assist in the battle against heart disease: they created a tiny beating heart with its own vascular system and uncovered how the vascular system affects inflammation-driven heart damage.

Australia is poised to undertake its first clinical trial using fecal transplantation to treat blood cancer patients who’ve developed serious complications following bone marrow transplantation.

A new study is offering insight into how a novel ultrasound technique could help treat Alzheimer’s disease describing how the treatment weakens the blood-brain barrier in brain cells, potentially improving the uptake of drugs to treat the disease.

Cancer has a knack for deceiving the immune system, giving itself time to grow and spread. Now, researchers at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have identified one way it does so, and found a method to counter it in mouse tests.

Adding fuel to the endless coffee debates comes the latest large study. This time, researchers looked at data from over 300,000 people for possible links between coffee and cancer, and found it neither gave, nor prevented us from getting cancers. It's just a tasty beverage after all then.

A global study into the genetic origins of anorexia suggests the illness is not just a psychiatric condition but also a metabolic disorder. The research revealed metabolic genetic variants unique to those suffering from this chronic eating disorder, and not seen in other psychiatric conditions.

Scorpions, rattlesnakes and funnel-web spiders have all provided scientists with promising building blocks for next-generation medicines, and a dangerous Australian arachnid has again reared its head with a compound in its venom found to be a potent killer of melanoma cells.