Exercising with friends is one way of protecting your health as you age. Jenny Sturm/ Shutterstock No one is immune to developing chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer or arthritis as they get older. But research shows social activities, like joining clubs, interest groups or volunteering, are linked toContinue Reading
In March, 10,000 NHS staff signed a letter to UK prime minister Boris Johnson demanding better protection against COVID-19. Nurses and doctors wanted to treat patients without fear of infecting them and to minimise their own risk of falling ill. But they lacked the proper protective equipment. The problem theyContinue Reading
Raffi Kojian/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA Since the beginning of the pandemic, much work has been done to test whether antimalarial drugs can treat COVID-19. Hydroxychloroquine, the most well known, has been found to be ineffective. But in Africa, another drug has been attracting attention: artemisinin. Obtained from the sweet wormwoodContinue Reading
People going to work during the blitz. Imperial War Museum/Wikimedia Commons As COVID-19 spread in Britain, journalists and politicians took to comparing the pandemic to the blitz. From the “blitz spirit” to the death toll, the German bombing campaign in the second world war has become a go-to for evaluatingContinue Reading
Our method could someday potentially detect the disease before it starts developing in a person's brain. Robert Kneschke/ Shutterstock Every three seconds, someone in the world develops dementia. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. While researchers have identified a number of risk factors that are linked toContinue Reading
PhotobyTawat/Shutterstock SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – belongs to the family of betacoronaviruses that cause everything from the common cold to Mers (which kills about one in three people infected). Despite causing a wide range of symptoms, these viruses all share similarities. If they’re similar enough, could oneContinue Reading
Shutterstock/LightField Studios Working from home is challenging. Apart from reduced social interaction and the domestic juggling involved, homes are not usually designed to replicate a workplace environment when it comes to employees’ health. Instead, improvised work stations have become the norm for many people, whether it’s a dining table, aContinue Reading
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
