Category: Health

Halfpoint/Shutterstock Continuous glucose monitors have transformed life for many people with type 1 diabetes. Instead of relying on finger-prick blood tests throughout the day, users can track their blood sugar levels almost continuously. This allows them to receive alerts via a smartphone when levels become too high or too low and spot patterns that help […]

Jo Panuwat D/Shutterstock Picture a driver approaching a sharp bend on a country road. As the car turns, they move their foot to slow down. But instead of pressing the brake, they hit the accelerator. The car surges forward. For some drivers with diabetes-related nerve damage in their feet, a situation like this may begin […]

Competitors in the Tour de France Femmes raised eyebrows recently after it was alleged that some riders were stuffing their bras to go faster during the time trials. Race organisers started checking riders’ clothes more closely before the race. While this story sounds like a joke, there is a real reason that competitors would do […]

In this fourth part in our series on how the UK has changed in the past 25 years, we look at health. Life expectancy and illness Michael Murphy, Emeritus Professor of Demography, London School of Economics A good way to follow the health of a nation is to glance at what is known as period […]

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended prioritising the Ervebo vaccine for testing in a clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The vaccine was originally developed to protect against Zaire ebolavirus, the species responsible for the devastating west African epidemic just over a decade ago. It was not designed for the Bundibugyo […]

Tetiana_Kryvous/Shutterstock.com When Mark Hughes, the former Manchester United and Wales manager, lost his 38-year-old son, an inquest found the cause was sudden adult death syndrome, or Sads. He had appeared healthy. There was no obvious disease. For a family, that combination is almost impossible to make sense of. How can someone die from a heart […]

Enrique Micaelo/Shutterstock.com Before breakfast, you may already have checked your sleep score, resting heart rate or blood oxygen level. By bedtime, you might look at your step count, stress score or even an estimate of your biological age. For millions of people, keeping tabs on health and wellbeing has become almost as routine as checking […]

Sylvie Pabion Martin/Shutterstock If your child suddenly starts picking at meals during a spell of hot weather, it can be unsettling. But a smaller appetite for a few days can be a normal response to heat, particularly if your child is drinking well, has their usual energy and seems otherwise healthy. Research directly examining heat […]

Chizhevskaya Ekaterina/Shutterstock With temperatures forecast to reach around 37°C in places, reaching for an ice cream or an icy drink might seem like an excellent idea. There is, however, one small hazard to eating your frozen treat with too much enthusiasm: brain freeze. That sudden, stabbing pain is officially classified as a cold-stimulus headache. The […]