Will promote innovative surgical techniques, advanced imaging, and breakthrough research to advance patient care and improve outcomes

Prenatal oxycodone exposure changes how the placenta sends signals to the fetus. A new study revealed how alterations in the protein composition of placental small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) impact fetal heart development. These changes suggest that maternal opioid use may raise the baby’s risk for future heart problems.

People whose sleep apnoea changes dramatically from night to night are 30 per cent more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or heart failure, reveals a new study from Flinders University.The research shows that it is not just how severe sleep apnoea is that matters, but how much it fluctuates, with wide night‑to‑night swings in breathing problems during sleep linked to a higher risk of serious heart disease.

Universal and inevitable, death remains one of the most challenging and enigmatic phenomena of the human condition. Is death a moment or a process? What happens in the brain as life comes to an end? What do people who have undergone near‑death experiences report? And how do different cultures interpret and prepare for this moment? These are some of the questions at the heart of the 15th “Behind and Beyond the Brain” Symposium.