If there were something you could take after experiencing a painful or traumatic event that would permanently weaken your memory of what had just happened, would you take it? As correspondent Lesley Stahl reports, it`s an idea that may not … Continue reading →

As a result, physicists, neuroscientists and computer scientists have joined the heirs of Plato and Aristotle in arguing about what free will is, whether we have it, and if not, why we ever thought we did in the first place. … Continue reading →

Scientists studying stroke patients are reporting that an injury to a specific part of the brain, near the ear, can instantly and permanently break a smoking habit, effectively erasing the most stubborn of addictions. The new finding, which is to … Continue reading →

Damage to an area of the brain behind the forehead, inches behind the eyes, transforms the way people make moral judgments in life-or-death situations, scientists reported yesterday. In a new study, people with this rare injury expressed increased willingness to … Continue reading →

A CONTROVERSIAL treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has been added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, despite potential to cause suicidal thoughts and stunt growth. The move comes after a Therapeutic Goods Administration assessment of Strattera last year, which identified … Continue reading →

Teenage anorexics will win greater rights to refuse treatment for their eating disorders under controversial new mental health laws to be debated by MPs this week. Parents have until now been able to override automatically a child’s wish not to … Continue reading →

The government is assessing the impact of a new generation of drugs that are claimed to make people more intelligent. If, in the future, there are cognition tablets for exams and I wasn’t happy for my children to take them, … Continue reading →

If you had the nerve-degenerating disease multiple sclerosis, would you want to know, even if the symptoms weren’t going to appear for years? The research raises medical and ethical questions that genetic researchers and patients have bandied about for years: … Continue reading →

Students should be allowed to take “smart drugs”, such as Ritalin, to help boost their academic performance, a leading academic has suggested. John Harris, professor of bioethics and director of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the University … Continue reading →

Students could one day face dope tests to prove they have not boosted their academic performance with so called “smart drugs”, a psychologist suggests. Any attempt to prohibit the use of [smart drugs] will probably be difficult or inordinately expensive … Continue reading →