Category: Health

The condition causes the body to absorb too much iron from food. AtlasStudio/ Shutterstock When we think about iron imbalance, most people are familiar with iron deficiency and the health problems it can cause. What many may not realise is that the opposite problem, iron overload, can be just as serious – yet many aren’t […]

A quiet policy change on NHS drug pricing could have big consequences for patients and prevention. Stephen Barnes/Shutterstock For nearly three decades, decisions about which medicines the NHS pays for have not been made by ministers, but by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, known as Nice. Its job has been powerful: to […]

CTatiana/Shutterstock.com “House burping” is the latest thing cluttering people’s feeds: short clips of people flinging open every window and door, announcing they’re “burping” their home to get rid of stale, germ-filled air. Behind the playful name is a serious question: does this actually make a home healthier, or are people just swapping indoor germs for […]

Gym-goers who use IPEDs may not be aware of their heart harms. Andrii Iemelianenko/ Shutterstock Image and performance-enhancing drugs (IPEDs), such as steroids and human growth hormone, can harm the heart – and it isn’t just elite bodybuilders who are at risk. With a growing number of everyday gym-goers taking these drugs to improve their […]

Naegleria fowleri, the brain-eating amoeba. Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com Scientists are calling for urgent action on free-living amoebas – a little-known group of microbes that could pose a growing global health threat. Here’s what you need to know. Free-living amoebas are single-celled organisms that don’t need a host to live. They are found in soil and water, […]

Digital Media Pro/Shutterstock.com Why do some people live to 100 while their sibling dies decades earlier? Is it luck, lifestyle, or something written into their DNA? Relative to many other species, humans are particularly long lived, but there is an ongoing argument about how much of our long lifespan is shaped by our genes and […]

New Africa/Shutterstock Many of us have noisy joints. Knees crack on the stairs, necks pop when we stretch, and knuckles seem to crack almost on demand. These sounds can be startling and are often blamed on ageing, damage or the looming threat of arthritis. As a physiotherapist and researcher of chronic joint pain, I am […]

Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock Joint cracking is one of those habits most of us acquire without thinking about it. A knuckle popped mid-sentence. A back twisted as we stand up. A neck gently crunched while the kettle boils. It is common, oddly satisfying and, for anyone sitting nearby, faintly alarming. It is also surprisingly divisive. Some people wince […]

Floods in Kolkata, West Bengal, India in 2019. ABHISHEK BASAK 90/Shutterstock In Brownsville, Texas, three members of the Galvan family died after a malfunctioning air conditioner left them exposed to extreme heat. Aged between 60 and 82, all three had chronic health conditions, including diabetes and heart disease. This makes it harder for the body […]