Free trade in human organs may solve shortage problem

The prospect of being able to sell your kidneys, blood, or other body parts may sound like science fiction, but if Dr Jeremy Shearmur has his way, it would not be science fiction but science fact.
Creating a free market of body parts is one of the best ways to ensure adequate supply to those who [...]

Aucklanders tighten their belts – in more ways than one

Thousands of New Zealanders may have lost their jobs but at least they won’t be becoming overweight.

Several Auckland gyms have reported an increase in their membership, despite, or perhaps because of, the recession.

Just Workout general manager Jay Hill says the hard economic times have affected the business in a number of ways, with the most [...]

Students can afford to eat organic

I’ve made dozens of New Year resolutions and, of the few I’ve managed to keep, my promise to switch to an organic diet this year has been one of the most satisfying.
I made the decision over the holidays when I read an article called Chemical Reaction in the Listener about the dangerous pesticide sprays that [...]

Euthanasia reporting rates rise after Dutch law changes

Euthanasia was the topic of an address by a visiting Dutch professor at Auckland University’s lecture theatre on March 31.
Professor Hans van Delden is a nursing home physician and teaches medical ethics at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
He talked about the nation-wide studies that have been conducted in the Netherlands since the Euthanasia Law [...]

Children’s health worsens as hard times hit New Zealand

Children’s health is suffering because parents are losing their jobs.
Leading medical professionals and the Salvation Army agree that the groups that will suffer most during the recession are families and their children.
Diane Vau, a social worker at the Salvation Army’s South Auckland branch in Manukau, says that while the charity has always struggled with child [...]

Government needs a wake up call

Swimming in the sea of sleep, as psychatrist Dr Tony Fernando describes it, is a luxury experienced by fewer New Zealanders as insomnia reaches epidemic levels.
But the fact that Kiwis are spending their nights anxiously tossing and turning as they struggle to drift off seems to be of little concern to those in Government.
Although the [...]