The more fruit and vegetables consumed, the lower the risk. Anna Shkuratova/ Shutterstock Eating about five servings of fruit and vegetables a day is widely promoted as a key part of a healthy diet. This is because consuming fruit and vegetables is linked to lowering the risk of health problemsContinue Reading
Vector Mine/Shutterstock The UK has one of the highest rates of asthma in the world – around 9% of the population – with 60,000 emergency hospital admissions every year. This translates on average to three people dying from asthma in Britain every day. Asthma is a condition characterised by difficultyContinue Reading
People with depression have higher levels of inflammation in their brains – which antibiotics might be able to treat. tadamichi/ Shutterstock Depression is common, affecting an estimated 264 million people of all ages worldwide. While the causes of depression are varied and complex, genetics, changes in brain chemistry, and environmentalContinue Reading
Before COVID-19, there were around 10,000 deaths in care homes in England and Wales every month. Then, between March 27 and April 24 2020, the number more than doubled to 23,113. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) later reported 17,422 deaths of care home residents from COVID-19 between the endContinue Reading
Mindmo/Shutterstock The coronavirus pandemic has meant sudden changes to our daily lives, with restrictions on free movement, imposed lockdowns and social distancing. Many of these measures will have taken a toll on people’s mental health. These changes have increased our exposure to known risk factors for developing depression, such asContinue Reading
Around one in three people over 65 is affected by hearing loss. Vova Shevchuk/ Shutterstock Hearing loss is a common age-related ailment, affecting nearly one in every three people over the age of 65. The World Health Organization expects that by 2050, more than 900 million people will suffer fromContinue Reading
goodbishop/Shutterstock The weeks and months after a baby is born are a critical time for the growth of the heart of premature babies. This is largely because they are faced with major blood flow changes and increased oxygen demands as they transition to the outside environment during a time whereContinue Reading
Cricket is now back on in England, despite Boris Johnson declaring cricket balls a “natural vector of disease”. His statement has frustrated cricket fans and players, but has also raised the wider question of which activities spread COVID-19. After all, unlike other activities that the UK government is actively encouraging,Continue Reading
It’s not known exactly how many NHS workers have died from COVID-19, but in England the death toll has passed 300. That so many NHS staff have tragically died as a result of caring for people with COVID-19, shows the risks healthcare workers face as part of their job. ButContinue Reading
An important milestone in the fight against COVID-19 came in early January 2020, when the entire viral genome of the novel coronavirus that causes the disease was sequenced for the first time. Since then, the full coronavirus genome, taken from thousands of infected patients around the globe, has been sequenced.Continue Reading
