Category: Health

DUBLIN — Marking World Alzheimer’s Day on Sunday, Minister for Older People Kieran O’Donnell underscored the importance of dementia inclusion and community support as part of Ireland’s broader commitment to brain health and ageing with dignity. This year’s theme, “Ask About Dementia, Ask About Alzheimer’s,” encourages public engagement, education, and empathy for those affected by […]

At the end of our conversation, Nathan (a pseudonym) kept repeating, almost to himself: “Perhaps we should have done more. Perhaps we could have done more. Perhaps there was something we could have done about the camp itself. About the dogs. We kept on hearing the dogs. Every night.” Nathan, a senior surgeon in one […]

Being slightly overweight might not shorten your life, but being very thin might. A large Danish study tracking more than 85,000 adults has found that people with a BMI below 18.5 were nearly three times more likely to die early than those in the middle to upper end of the so-called “healthy” range. The link […]

Two-thirds of people who underwent psilocybin-assisted therapy remained free from depression five years later, according to recent research that offers the first long-term glimpse into the lasting power of psychedelic treatment. The findings, published by researchers at Ohio State University and Johns Hopkins University, followed up participants from a study published in 2021 to track […]

Staring at the ceiling while the clock blinks 3am doesn’t only sap energy for the next day. A large, long-running US study of older adults has now linked chronic insomnia to changes inside the brain that set the stage for dementia. The researchers, from the Mayo Clinic in the US, followed 2,750 people aged 50 […]

Imagine a world where dangerous conditions in unborn babies can be treated with diamonds smaller than a virus, where gold can find and destroy cancer cells with laser-like precision, and where platinum can change the genetic code of tumours. This isn’t science fiction – it’s happening in modern medicine. For example, scientists are developing a […]

18 September 2025 — Marking World Patient Safety Day, global health leaders turned attention to the unique vulnerabilities of children in medical settings. With an estimated 1 in 10 patients harmed during care and over 3 million deaths annually linked to unsafe practices, the call for reform is urgent. This year’s theme—patient safety for children—underscores […]

Ricky Hatton’s death has reignited an all-too-familiar conversation about mental health in sport. Hatton had spoken openly about his long battle with depression, as well as the drug and alcohol addiction that began after his 2007 defeat to Floyd Mayweather. Research shows that how a boxer thinks – their beliefs about success, identity and failure […]

A UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) investment has published new evidence and a synthesis of 27 action areas that will help make the nation’s food healthier, fairer and greener. The actions, grouped under five themes, appear alongside 12 peer-reviewed papers in a ‘Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B’ special issue published on 18 September […]

Lower back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, yet most treatments offer limited relief. One of the most divisive is acupuncture – recommended in US guidelines for lower back pain but not in the UK. A new study has now examined whether it truly helps. The study found that acupuncture does provide some […]