An updated Cochrane review has found that calcium supplementation has no effect on pre-eclampsia, challenging long-held assumptions about the role of calcium in preventing hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.

New research  finds that a combination of extreme climate events, sea-level rise and land subsidence could create larger and deeper floods in coastal cities in future. 

The study focused on Shanghai in China, which is threatened with flooding by large and strong typhoons, or tropical storms, producing storm surges and waves. To avoid disaster a major adaptation effort is required - which will almost certainly include raising defences and constructing mobile flood barriers, like those seen at the Thames Barrier in London. However, the team warn there is also the risk of “catastrophic failure” of defences due to rising water levels, especially due to the combination of subsidence, sea-level rise and higher surges during typhoons, as occurred in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  

A nation-wide study on computer-based writing instruction in Australian classrooms, led by researchers from Edith Cowan University (ECU) in collaboration with colleagues from the Writing for All research group, has shined a spotlight on how little time and attention primary schools are giving to teaching students how to write using a computer.

The new study shows sharp increases in hospitalizations, bed days, and costs for children with complex chronic conditions. This care is increasingly concentrated in urban teaching children’s hospitals, raising significant challenges for staffing, training, and Medicaid reimbursement.