More than three decades on from its first outbreak, HIV/AIDS remains a prevalent killer, even in the developed world, and a pressing scientific challenge to understand and treat. The rate of infection, especially among young people, is increasing, and in parts of Africa in particular, it remains an epidemic-scale killer. Yet a cure could be just around the corner, and scientists are optimistic that the virus’ days might be numbered. Is HIV here to stay, or will it be consigned to history like Smallpox? Produced by ABC Australia - Ref-6621 Journeyman Pictures brings you highlights from the cutting-edge science series, ‘Catalyst’, produced by our long-term content partners at ABC Australia. Every day we’ll upload a new episode that takes you to the heart of the most intriguing and relevant science-related stories of the day, transforming your perspective of the issues shaping our world.

A torn meniscus is one of the most common knee injuries. Any activity that causes you to forcefully twist or rotate your knee, especially when putting the pressure of your full weight on it, can lead to a torn meniscus. Each of your knees has two menisci — C-shaped pieces of cartilage that act like a cushion between your shinbone and your thighbone. A torn meniscus causes pain, swelling and stiffness. You also might have trouble extending your knee fully. Conservative treatment — such as rest, ice and medication — is sometimes enough to relieve the pain of a torn meniscus and give the injury time to heal on its own. In other cases, however, a torn meniscus requires surgical repair.

Emphysema gradually damages the air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs, making you progressively more short of breath. Emphysema is one of several diseases known collectively as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Smoking is the leading cause of emphysema. Your lungs' alveoli are clustered like bunches of grapes. In emphysema, the inner walls of the air sacs weaken and eventually rupture — creating one larger air space instead of many small ones. This reduces the surface area of the lungs and, in turn, the amount of oxygen that reaches your bloodstream. When you exhale, the damaged alveoli don't work properly and old air becomes trapped, leaving no room for fresh, oxygen-rich air to enter. Treatment may slow the progression of emphysema, but it can't reverse the damage.

Retinoblastoma is an eye cancer that begins in the retina — the sensitive lining on the inside of your eye. Retinoblastoma most commonly affects young children, but can rarely occur in adults. Your retina is made up of nerve tissue that senses light as it comes through the front of your eye. The retina sends signals through your optic nerve to your brain, where these signals are interpreted as images. A rare form of eye cancer, retinoblastoma is the most common form of cancer affecting the eye in children. Retinoblastoma may occur in one or both eyes.

Ventricular fibrillation is a heart rhythm problem that occurs when the heart beats with rapid, erratic electrical impulses. This causes pumping chambers in your heart (the ventricles) to quiver uselessly, instead of pumping blood. Sometimes triggered by a heart attack, ventricular fibrillation causes your blood pressure to plummet, cutting off blood supply to your vital organs. Ventricular fibrillation, an emergency that requires immediate medical attention, causes the person to collapse within seconds. It's the most frequent cause of sudden cardiac death. Emergency treatment includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and shocks to the heart with a device called a defibrillator. Treatments for those at risk of ventricular fibrillation include medications and implantable devices that can restore a normal heart rhythm.

Amazing Health Uses of HONEY

Thoracic outlet syndrome is a disorders that occur when blood vessels or nerves in the space between your collarbone and your first rib (thoracic outlet) are compressed. This can cause pain in your shoulders and neck and numbness in your fingers. Common causes of thoracic outlet syndrome include physical trauma from a car accident, repetitive injuries from job- or sports-related activities, certain anatomical defects (such as having an extra rib), and pregnancy. Sometimes doctors can't determine the cause of thoracic outlet syndrome. Treatment for thoracic outlet syndrome usually involves physical therapy and pain relief measures. Most people improve with these approaches. In some cases, however, your doctor may recommend surgery.

Acute kidney failure occurs when your kidneys suddenly become unable to filter waste products from your blood. When your kidneys lose their filtering ability, dangerous levels of wastes may accumulate, and your blood's chemical makeup may get out of balance. Acute kidney failure — also called acute renal failure or acute kidney injury — develops rapidly over a few hours or a few days. Acute kidney failure is most common in people who are already hospitalized, particularly in critically ill people who need intensive care. Acute kidney failure can be fatal and requires intensive treatment. However, acute kidney failure may be reversible. If you're otherwise in good health, you may recover normal or nearly normal kidney function.

How to Get Rid of Mucus in Lungs

Uterine rupture is usually when the scar from your previous caesarean section tears open. Though it's uncommon, you should be aware of this risk, particularly if you're thinking about giving birth vaginally next time. It's possible for your scar to gape slightly while you're pregnant (scar dehiscence).

Bacterial abscess of the liver is relatively rare; however, it has been described since the time of Hippocrates (400 BCE), with the first published review by Bright appearing in 1936. In 1938, Ochsner's classic review heralded surgical drainage as the definitive therapy; however, despite the more aggressive approach to treatment, the mortality remained at 60-80%.[1] The development of new radiologic techniques, the improvement in microbiologic identification, and the advancement of drainage techniques, as well as improved supportive care, have reduced mortality to 5-30%; yet, the prevalence of liver abscess has remained relatively unchanged. Untreated, this infection remains uniformly fatal. The three major forms of liver abscess, classified by etiology, are as follows: Pyogenic abscess, which is most often polymicrobial, accounts for 80% of hepatic abscess cases in the United States Amebic abscess due to Entamoeba histolytica accounts for 10% of cases [2] Fungal abscess, most often due to Candida species, accounts for fewer than 10% of cases

Here are 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and keep it down. Lose extra pounds and watch your waistline. Blood pressure often increases as weight increases. ... Exercise regularly. ... Eat a healthy diet. ... Reduce sodium in your diet. ... Limit the amount of alcohol you drink.

Sperm Meets Egg: Weeks 1 to 3 of Pregnancy. Something magical is about to happen! Watch as the ovulation process occurs, and then millions of sperm swim upstream on a quest to fertilize an egg. ... The egg travels down the fallopian tube, pushed by tiny hairs and awaits the arrival or sperm.

Tampon for The First Time

Menstruation is a woman's monthly bleeding. When you menstruate, your body sheds the lining of the uterus (womb). Menstrual blood flows from the uterus through the small opening in the cervix and passes out of the body through the vagina. Most menstrual periods last from 3 to 5 days.

Lumbar puncture is a common emergency department procedure used to obtain information about the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for diagnostic and, less commonly, therapeutic reasons. Please refer to the full article on Lumbar Puncture for more details on the lumbar puncture procedure. Lumbar puncture is typically performed via “blind” surface landmark guidance. The surface landmark technique is reported to be successful in a high percentage of attempted lumbar punctures; however, surface landmark identification of underlying structures has been shown to be accurate only 30% of the time. [1] Unsuccessful identification of proper landmarks often leads to increased difficulty in obtaining CSF, if the procedure is performed, and a higher rate of complications. Few alternatives are available in these cases. If available, fluoroscopic-guided lumbar puncture may be performed. If not, treatment is sometimes initiated empirically without obtaining CSF. Disadvantages of using fluoroscopy include limited availability or necessary transport of the patient outside of the emergency department, inability to directly visualize the spinal canal, and inherent radiation exposure

Do you need to do a parasite cleanse? Probably... I hear from so many people suffering from symptoms of parasites - severe bloating, cramps, constipation, diarrhoea. A big problem in getting to the bottom of this (pun intended) is that the mainstream medical system really doesn’t have a way to detect, or even find most forms of parasites. They give you drugs for the symptoms, but essentially the parasites aren’t removed during that process.

Take your left leg and place your ankle against the knee. Hold the position for a moment before changing legs. This helps stretch the tiny piriformis muscle, which sometimes becomes inflamed and presses against the sciatic nerve causing pain. Repeat by switching sides and doing the same exercise with the other leg.

How do you know if you have pneumonia? They may include: Cough. You will likely cough up mucus (sputum) from your lungs. ... Fever. Fast breathing and feeling short of breath. Shaking and "teeth-chattering" chills. Chest pain that often feels worse when you cough or breathe in. Fast heartbeat. Feeling very tired or very weak. Nausea and vomiting.

White stretch marks are unsightly marks that are found along the thighs, abdomen and upper arms. These are marks that could be due to a recent weight loss, trauma or pregnancy. Stretch marks can affect your confidence if you wear revealing outfits and so you should do all you can to remove them.