Search results: Jane McCredie 2021

  • Issue 26 / 11 July 2022
    Census 2021: drilling down into our health

    YOU’VE probably seen some of the headline findings of the 2021 census over the last couple of weeks: we’re an increasingly multicultural society, we’re decidedly irreligious, and the millennial generation is overtaking the baby boomers as the dominant age group. The usefulness of the census is…


  • Issue 24 / 4 July 2011
    Jane McCredie: Defending freedom by stealth

    THOSE do-good wowsers will stop at nothing in their never-ending quest to control our lives. They’ve made us wear seatbelts and bike helmets, taken all the fun out of a good old bake in the sun and now they want to stop fast-food institutions from advertising to little children. Fortunately, somebody…


  • Issue 28 / 25 July 2022
    Exploring the rich vein of stories in medicine

    It’s been a privilege to write for Insight+ these past 12 years, exploring that rich vein. To all who have read and engaged with what I’ve written, thank you. WHAT do Gwyneth Paltrow’s jade vaginal eggs, the wisdom of Socrates, and the multiple foreskins of Jesus have in common? They’ve all…


  • Issue 24 / 27 June 2022
    Smishing: cyber scams reach a whole new level

    Medicare: You have been in close contact with someone who has Omicron. Please follow the link below to order your PCR kit… WHEN I received this text last week, there was a microsecond of anxiety. “Oh no, here we go again” was my first thought, swiftly followed by the realisation that Medicare…


  • Issue 22 / 13 June 2022
    Climate reality: taking the “fi” out of “cli-fi”

    A DECADE ago, a new genre of speculative fiction began to be featured at writers’ festivals: “cli-fi”, dystopic stories set against a backdrop of catastrophic climate change. More recently, a novelist told me the term was no longer useful: “All fiction is climate fiction now,” they said. The…


  • Issue 20 / 30 May 2022
    Facial dysmorphia: consequences of the “Zoom boom”

    MUCH has been written about the potential long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including potential cardiovascular risks, the impact on mental health and of course long COVID. But an increase in facial dysmorphia, along with the resulting demand for cosmetic procedures, might not be the first…


  • Issue 18 / 16 May 2022
    COVID is the invisible elephant in the election room

    HISTORIANS of the future may find Australia’s 2022 election campaign somewhat puzzling. They’ll see lots of talk about the cost of living – and fair enough – as well as plenty of chest thumping about national security. Climate change is there too, although I’d be prepared to bet our future…


  • Issue 16 / 2 May 2022
    Understanding the brain: beware small samples

    WHEN functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology was developed in the early 1990s, hopes were high: the ability to look inside our working brains, to see how they fired in response to stimuli or when undertaking cognitive tasks would surely be a powerful clinical tool. Potential benefits…