Category: Health

Being diagnosed with a serious mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder often brings an overlooked challenge: rapid and sustained weight gain. This side-effect can raise the risk of diabetes, heart disease and early death – widening an already stark life expectancy gap. A new study my colleagues and I conducted, published in The Lancet […]

We’re making these changes to make it easier for researchers to apply for Medical Research Council (MRC) applicant-led responsive funding through our research boards. This ensures we continue to take the best approach to fund research that makes a difference. Our research boards are: Infections and Immunity Molecular and Cellular Medicine Neurosciences and Mental Health […]

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking at the start of a meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement, taking place in Geneva through Friday. It comes four months after countries adopted the world’s first pandemic treaty, which he called “a generational accomplishment”. Tedros said the next step “is to bring this historic […]

From artificial intelligence transforming workplaces to climate protests reshaping politics, social scientists are uncovering the forces that define modern Britain. Now everyone in the UK can discover these insights first-hand. Forty-one universities and research organisations will open their doors from 18 October to 8 November to reveal how social science research influences everything from government […]

Rabat, 15 September 2025 – The World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), together with the Kingdom of Morocco, today opened a landmark meeting in Rabat to launch the Health Emergency Leaders Network for Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. This network is the first of its kind, bringing […]

It might seem like a harmless habit to linger on the loo with your phone while “taking care of business”, but research shows that prolonged toilet time can increase the risk of several health problems. Here are the main ones. 1. Haemorrhoids A recent study found that smartphone use while doing a number two is […]

Every so often, a completely random advert stops me in my tracks and makes me wonder what on earth went on in the room where it was created. For me, that moment came this past weekend, courtesy of a bubblegum-pink, cheerfully surreal advert for Pepto-Bismol. Pepto-Bismol has been around since 1901, when it was first […]

Each day, we’re confronted with headlines about death: millions lost to disease, disasters, overwork or unhealthy lifestyles. But much of this reporting doesn’t reflect reality – and it may be doing more harm than good. Journalism is meant to help the public make sense of health risks. But the way media outlets report death often […]

GENEVA, 12 September 2025 — The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a sharp rise in global cholera deaths for the second consecutive year, with fatalities increasing by 50% in 2024 compared to 2023. Over 6,000 people died from the disease last year, despite cholera being both preventable and treatable. Cholera cases rose by 5%, […]

The £42.8 million Generation New Era birth cohort study will create a comprehensive picture of early childhood in all four nations of the UK. The study is funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Infrastructure Fund and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It is the first new UK-wide longitudinal birth cohort study […]