Category: Health

Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com Millions of women go through pregnancy every year, yet science has only just begun to look at what it does to the brain – the organ undergoing perhaps the most remarkable transformation. Over the past decade, a small group of scientists in Spain and the Netherlands has been mapping those changes in unprecedented detail. […]

Bricolage/Shutterstock Experiencing abuse at any age can have devastating consequences for physical and mental health. But our new report suggests that what may happen to people in later life – including abuse, poverty and social isolation – plays a far bigger role in shaping health and wellbeing than is often recognised. Understanding what can affect […]

BLKstudio/Shutterstock.com A new kind of blood test promises to find cancer early – sometimes even before symptoms appear. The pitch is compelling: a single sample of blood could scan the body for dozens of different cancers at once, catching disease at a stage when it is easier to treat and more likely to be curable. […]

Dragana Gordic/Shutterstock Joint pain is often dismissed as ageing, overuse or a minor injury. But for some people it is the first sign of inflammatory arthritis, a group of immune-driven conditions that can damage joints and other organs if not treated promptly. Inflammatory arthritis can take years to diagnose and receive treatment, with some forms […]

Doro Guzenda/Shutterstock Social media has a habit of turning health topics into viral trends. The latest example is “period scooping”, a term circulating widely on TikTok that promises a way to manage or even shorten menstruation. The idea sounds intriguing, even empowering. In reality, it reveals how much confusion still surrounds periods. The term “period […]

3D model of paraxanthine's molecular structure SergeiShimanovich/Shutterstock Kim Kardashian has launched an energy drink. Instead of containing caffeine, Update includes paraxanthine, a compound the body naturally produces when it breaks down caffeine. According to the brand’s promotional material, using paraxanthine directly “eliminates the crash, jitters and overstimulation” often associated with traditional energy drinks. Energy drinks […]

shutterstock Nicoleta Ionescu/Shutterstock When six-year-old Seren was prescribed antibiotics, taking them four times a day quickly became a battle. The orange liquid tasted revolting, and much of it ended up on kitchen surfaces rather than in her mouth. Her mother was never sure how much she had actually swallowed, but was afraid to give her […]

Halfpoint/Shutterstock Period scooping sounds like something you would only hear in a biology lab, not while doom-scrolling TikTok. Yet earlier this year, videos claiming you can “scoop out” your period to avoid the mess and shorten the whole thing racked up millions of views. Some people were pushing in the shower using pelvic floor muscles. […]

Jonathan McG/Shutterstock.com COVID vaccines saved millions of lives, but months into the rollout, a small number of people began developing dangerous blood clots in unusual parts of the body. These only happened after vaccines that used a modified adenovirus to deliver its payload – such as the AstraZeneca vaccine. Why these blood clots formed was […]

24Novembers/Shutterstock Our health is shaped long before we get to see a doctor. It is shaped by the health of our parents, the air we breathe, the homes we live in, the work we do, the food we can afford and the strength of our communities. For millions, these conditions are defined by poverty, inequality […]