Over a million Aussie households experiencing housing stress 1.3 million Australian households fell under the definition of housing stress in the financial year 2024-2025, spending more than 30% of their income on housing, according to a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing. The report provides an update on Australia's wellbeing across housing, education, life satisfaction, safety and disability. It highlights Australia's aging population and subsequent disability and aged care burden, as well as Australia's high OECD ranking for education and steady increase in employment.
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Australia’s rainforests first to switch from carbon sink to source The trunks and branches of trees in Australia's tropical rainforests – also known as woody biomass – have become a net source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, according to a new international study. According to the authors of the Nature study, the rising temperature, air dryness and droughts caused by human-driven climate change are likely the major culprits.
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First known hand of ancient human relative discovered International researchers have uncovered a fossil believed to be the first hand unambiguously associated with Paranthropus boisei, an ancient relative of humans that lived in eastern Africa about 1-2 million years ago. The researchers say a previous lack of hand bone fossils has made it hard to know what Paranthropus boisei were capable of, but this fossil shows they shared some features with modern humans that indicate they may have been able to use tools, while maintaining a strong gorilla-like grip that could have helped them climb or pull plants apart to find food.
https://www.scimex.org/newsfee....d/first-known-hand-o

mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are safe during early pregnancy It is very unlikely that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines cause birth defects, say international researchers who looked at data from over half a million newborn babies. The team found no association between taking the vaccine in the first trimester of pregnancy and an increased risk of 75 different major birth defects. The authors say their findings align with previous research and further reinforce the safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy.
https://www.scimex.org/newsfee....d/mrna-covid-19-vacc

Which glucose-lowering drugs are best for reducing heart attack and stroke risk? Different types of glucose-lowering drugs for type 2 diabetes have different impacts on your chances of having a heart attack or stroke, according to international research which found GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Ozempic or Mounjaro were generally linked to the highest reduction in risk. The team looked at heart attacks, strokes and heart-related deaths among nearly 300,000 type 2 diabetes patients in the US using one of four classes of diabetes drugs; sulfonylureas, DPP4is, SGLT2is, and GLP-1RAs. The researchers say Sodium-Glucose Transport 2 (SGLT2) Inhibitors such as Forxiga and Jardiance had the second-highest protective effect, with the difference between these drugs and GLP-1RAs mostly relevant for older people and those with heart failure or kidney problems.
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