Catching the flu or suffering from allergies during pregnancy can trigger the mother's immune system, which can in turn influence the child's susceptibility to psychiatric disorders in later life, such as autism, schizophrenia and ADHD, write Adam Guastella, Russell Dale and Shrujna Patel.

As comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister in 1993 describing the LGBTIQ community as "sordid" and "unnatural" emerge, the Q&A panel debates whether the Nationals made the right decision promoting Michael McCormack and whether he should be forgiven.

Fraudulent brokers and loan applications at National Australia Bank and the Commonwealth Bank-owned Aussie Home Loans are top of the agenda for examination when the royal commission into the banking industry kicks off in a fortnight.

The two countries negotiate a treaty on their disputed maritime border in the Timor Sea, a territory that contains large amounts of gas and condensates which analysts previously estimated could be worth up to $50 billion.

It has been revealed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week ordered a high-level review of whether Barnaby Joyce's breached any ministerial rules or standards but it has been called off because he resigned from Cabinet.

The office of the Federal Government's chief whip confirms it has fired a staffer over an email mocking the former prime minister and deputy prime minister as naughty schoolboys.

Labor senator Katy Gallagher is fighting to hold onto her spot in Federal Parliament, but the solicitor-general says she cannot claim she did everything she could to renounce her British citizenship.

For more than 40 years Sean Dorney covered the big stories as the ABC's Papua New Guinea and Pacific correspondent, becoming a household name in parts of the region. But now the 66-year-old is facing the challenge of living with motor neurone disease.

The boss of the public service has had a report into the Australian Border Force Commissioner's personal conduct for at least five months, while the senior uniformed officer remains on paid leave earning hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Telco company Vocus is searching for a new chief executive just days after downgrading its earnings guidance.