Category: Health

Over 200 people from Birmingham will be invited to participate in a research project to consider the benefits and harms of vaping for long term respiratory health. Studies before it considered effects on lung health at a single timepoint, but this study will examine the effect of long-term vaping on the respiratory system over the […]

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine celebrates a discovery that answers one of medicine’s most profound questions: how does the immune system know when to attack, and when to stand down? Most of the time, our defences target dangerous infections and even cancers while leaving the body’s own tissues unharmed. But when that […]

That’s according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest report on tobacco use published on Monday which analyses smoking trends from 2010 to 2024 and concludes the epidemic is far from over. Tobacco use has fallen from 26.2 per cent in 2010 to 19.5 per cent last year – and the UN health agency predicts that […]

When the daytime air feels like an oven and night brings no relief, people in Karachi, Pakistan, say the heat “goes straight to the head”. They mean more than dizziness or sweat. It’s the creeping panic of a body that cannot cool down: restless nights, frayed tempers, a household on edge. Here, a heatwave is […]

Last July, in the remote locality of Butête, in southern Haiti, nine-year-old Jonas* lost his life to rabies. When a stray dog bit the boy on the leg, the wound seemed minor. Like many families living far from any health facilities, his mother was unaware that immediate care was critical. Within a week, the child […]

Numbers are all around us. In the morning, we wake up to an alarm that tells us it’s time to get out of bed. When deciding what to wear, we often check the temperature outside. We count out the vitamins or prescription pills we need to take while eating our breakfast, we estimate how long […]

The phrases “autism spectrum” or “on the spectrum” have become part of everyday language. They are often used as different ways of referring to someone who is “neurodivergent”. The term was coined in the 1980s by psychiatrist Dr Lorna Wing, whose work transformed how autism was understood in the UK. At the time, her “autism […]

Digestive discomfort – whether it’s bloating after a heavy meal or the occasional bout of indigestion – can make anyone miserable. While modern medicine offers effective treatments, there’s renewed interest in natural ways to support gut health. For centuries, herbs and spices have been used in traditional medicine for their digestive benefits, and modern science […]

In a magical scene towards the end of 2007 film Ratatouille, notoriously harsh food critic Anton Ego is instantly transported back in time, his childhood memories revived by a spoonful of the film’s eponymous dish. No pictures were needed – just the taste and scent of the food. Smell is the quietest of our senses, […]

When Donald Trump gave a press conference in late September urging pregnant women to avoid taking paracetamol unless medically necessary because of a possible link to autism, the reaction from the scientific community was swift and loud. There is no scientific evidence that paracetamol – commonly sold as Tylenol in the US – causes autism. […]