Category: Health

Delivering his first message of the new year, Dr. Hans Kluge stressed that without vaccines, the death toll on the continent “could have been around four million, possibly even higher.” More than 2.5 million COVID-19 deaths, and 277 million confirmed cases, were reported in the vast WHO European Region, which comprises 53 countries stretching from […]

Placebos have been studied more than any treatment in the history of medicine, yet they remain mysterious. I’ve been studying placebos for 20 years and I’ve done some of the key studies that have advanced the scientific knowledge in this area. Here are six facts about this strange effect that still fascinate me. 1. Placebos […]

Reiterating urgent international calls for a ceasefire, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that there have been nearly 20,000 births since the start of widespread Israeli bombardment, in response to Hamas-led attacks in Israel that left some 1,200 dead and approximately 250 taken hostage. Chronic aid access problems have meant that Caesarean sections have been […]

Body image issues are sometimes thought to mainly affect women. But some surveys estimate around 28% of men aged 18 and over regularly struggle with their body image. Yet, despite evidence showing body image issues are on the rise in men, there’s a distinct lack of awareness about the problem – alongside a dearth of […]

Eastern and southern African nations are among the worst affected, accounting for about 75 per cent of the fatalities and a third of the cases, as of 15 January, according to UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). With the regions also suffering from lack of adequate clean water and sanitation, and poor case management, children are particularly […]

The Wall Street Journal has revealed on Wednesday that scientists in a Beijing lab had mapped out the sequence of the virus SARS-CoV-2, on December 28, 2019, two weeks before the Chinese government announced its existence. In December, the findings were uploaded by Dr. Lili Ren to a database named GenBank operated by the US […]

As countries in the northern hemisphere face a bitterly cold snap, there is serious risk of injury – and even death – from freezing weather. Thankfully, with the right preventative and protective measures, the human body can survive these icy temperatures. Here’s what you need to know about identifying and treating the most common cold […]

Trends in 2022 showed that roughly one in five adults worldwide uses tobacco, compared to one in three in the year 2000. While cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide, other products include cigars, waterpipe tobacco also known as hookah, and smokeless tobacco products, all of which are harmful. The “tobacco […]