Felicity Nelson

Australia

Freelance Science and Medical Journalist at Freelance

Freelance science & medical journalist | @Nature @cenmag @Veritasium @ScienceAlert @guardian @abcnews @newscomauHQ | https://t.co/2rGquYNPeP

Articles

Your Blood Type Affects Your Risk of an Early Stroke, Study Finds

2 days ago | sciencealert.com | Felicity Nelson

Research suggests a surprising link between blood type and stroke risk, with people carrying one specific group A blood type facing a higher likelihood of stroke before age 60. This finding, published in 2022, deepens our understanding of how our unique biological makeup can impact our health. You've probably heard of the A, B, AB, and O groups, which refer to the various chemical markers, known as antigens, found on the surface of our red blood cells.
Psychiatrist Walkout Disrupts Mental Healthcare in Australia

1 week ago | medscape.com | Felicity Nelson

Five months after psychiatrists resigned en masse in New South Wales (NSW), the pay dispute is still wending through the courts, further destabilizing a fraught mental health system. “The resignations have weakened an already stressed, understaffed system,” psychiatrist Louise Nash, MD, PhD, told Medscape Medical News.
Australian Government Doubles Down on Urgent Care Clinics

1 month ago | medscape.com | Felicity Nelson

The Australian government has bet big on Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) and is now winning over some previously skeptical general practitioners (GPs). Still, not everyone is convinced that these clinics will relieve the pressure on emergency departments. Since 2022, the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars establishing 87 Medicare UCCs around the country. It is now doubling down on this investment, with 50 more clinics planned.
How volunteering to become a lab rat paid off

1 month ago | thesicktimes.org | Felicity Nelson

I was a healthy 30-year-old when I was hit with Long COVID in December 2021. I lost about 60% of my physical and cognitive stamina overnight – and could not work full-time. I tried several therapies, but nothing put the slightest dent in the debilitating fatigue. I was also caring for a partner with severe Long COVID – an experience that brought to mind the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, lovers from Greek mythology who ventured into the underworld together.
Can peer-reviewed podcasts fast-track science?

2 months ago | nature.com | Felicity Nelson

Kate Murray, a communications specialist in Melbourne, Australia, wants to see peer-reviewed research published as podcasts. It’s a “fairly fledgling concept”, says Murray, who helps to produce Walking the city with…, a podcast series that follows scholars as they visit locations that are important to their research and discuss topics such as urban policy, planning and culture.
Strong, flexible ‘nylon’ made by engineered bacteria for the first time

Mar 17, 2025 | nature.com | Felicity Nelson

Researchers have genetically engineered microbes to produce a strong, flexible plastic similar to nylon for the first time. Bacteria have been used to generate polyesters such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) in the past but, nylon-like plastics such as those used in clothing and shoe manufacturing have been difficult to create, the authors report in Nature Chemical Biology today1.
Your Blood Type Can Affect Risk of an Early Stroke, Scientists Discover

Mar 7, 2025 | yahoo.com | Felicity Nelson

People with one of the type A blood groups are more likely to have a stroke before the age of 60 compared with people with other blood types, research shows. Blood types describe the rich variety of chemicals displayed on the surface of our red blood cells. Among the most familiar are those named A and B, which can be present together as AB, individually as A or B, or not present at all, as O. Blood type is partly determined by the ABO blood group antigens present on red blood cells.
Your Blood Type Can Affect Risk of an Early Stroke, Scientists Discover

Mar 7, 2025 | sciencealert.com | Felicity Nelson

People with one of the type A blood groups are more likely to have a stroke before the age of 60 compared with people with other blood types, research shows. Blood types describe the rich variety of chemicals displayed on the surface of our red blood cells. Among the most familiar are those named A and B, which can be present together as AB, individually as A or B, or not present at all, as O.
How the brain decides whether to persist - and when to give up

Mar 5, 2025 | nature.com | Felicity Nelson

Whether mice persist with a task, explore new options or give up comes down to the activity of three types of neuron in the brain. In experiments, researchers at University College London (UCL) were able to control the three behaviours by switching the neurons on and off in a part of the animals’ brainstem called the median raphe nucleus. The findings are reported in Nature today1.
How the brain suppresses fear: mouse study offers path to anxiety treatments

Feb 6, 2025 | nature.com | Felicity Nelson

Mice immediately bolt for shelter when they see the looming shadow of a bird, just as humans jump when they see a spider. But these instinctive reactions, which are controlled by the brainstem, can be suppressed if animals learn that a scary stimulus is harmless.