Category: Health

Lightspring/Shutterstock A team of Romanian scientists drilled a 25-metre ice core from the Scǎrișoara Cave in search of clues for developing new medicines. The 5,000-year-old ice yielded samples of ancient bacteria. Laboratory analysis revealed something remarkable. These bacteria, undisturbed for thousands of years, were able to grow in a variety of harsh environments. They thrived […]

akramalrasny/Shutterstock An explosion does not need to strike the head to injure the brain. When a blast occurs, it generates a sudden pressure wave that can pass through the body and skull in milliseconds, potentially deforming brain tissue and blood vessels along the way. For soldiers exposed to improvised explosive devices or other blasts, and […]

The Enhanced Games, slated to commence in May 2026, has sparked outrage across the sporting world. This new competition is the first in history to openly permit performance-enhancing drugs, and sporting bodies aren’t happy about it. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe called the concept “bollocks”, while World Anti-Doping Agency president Witold Bańka has dismissed it […]

Inside Creative House/Shutterstock Weight-loss injections have rapidly moved from specialist clinics to social media feeds and high-street pharmacies. Known as GLP-1 medications, they were originally developed to support those with type 2 diabetes but are now widely used to support weight loss. These medicines mimic a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1, which helps regulate appetite and […]

New Africa/Shutterstock Research suggests young, active people are increasingly being diagnosed with osteoarthritis at much earlier ages than many expect. I have seen its effects first-hand among my own friends. One, a keen marathon runner, developed stage 2 osteoarthritis in her mid-30s. Several well-known public figures, including Robbie Williams, Tiger Woods and Andy Murray, have […]

Girts Ragelis/Shutterstock The vagus nerve has become the internet’s favourite body part. On social media, it is everywhere. People hum into their phones, gargle with theatrical enthusiasm, dunk their faces into bowls of ice water and poke at their ears in the hope of “activating” it. Influencers describe it as a hidden master switch for […]

The menopause was associated with poorer sleep, increased mental health problems and even changes within the brain itself. Gladskikh Tatiana/ Shutterstock Menopause is a key period in a woman’s life. This transition is often accompanied by wide-ranging physical and psychological symptoms — some of which can be debilitating and affect daily life. Menopause has also […]

Diet can play a key role in preventing heart disease. Marian Weyo/ Shutterstock Cholesterol has long been seen as a key culprit in cardiovascular disease. While it’s true that cholesterol does play a role, not all cholesterol is bad for us. There are two main types of cholesterol. The first type is low-density lipoprotein or […]

Psychoanalysis is having a moment. Instagram accounts dedicated to Freudian theory have amassed nearly 1.5 million followers. Television shows like Orna Guralnik’s Couples Therapy have become compulsive viewing. Think pieces in The New York Times, The London Review of Books, Harper’s, New Statesman, the Guardian and Vulture are declaring psychoanalysis’s resurrection. As Joseph Bernstein of […]

The route a drug takes into the body can matter as much as the drug itself – and rectal use brings risks that are rarely talked about openly. Often called “boofing”, “booty bumping” or “plugging”, the practice involves taking drugs via the rectum rather than swallowing, snorting or injecting. In health settings, this route is […]