Health Check
Kanavan tiedot
Health Check
Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.
Viimeisimmät jaksot
301 jaksoa
Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo
An Ebola outbreak that started in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is spreading in the region and has been declared a health e...
Why renaming a health condition matters
Global health reporter Dorcas Wangira joins Claudia Hammond to discuss how renaming a common health condition affecting millions of women worldwide ho...
Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship
We bring you the latest on the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise liner MV Hondius with BBC health reporter Smitha Mundasad.
Endometriosis, where...
Psychedelic drugs as treatment
The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just awarded fast track status to three companies developing psychedelic drugs as a treatment for...
Making surgery safer for infants
We learn about a new injectable microgel to help reduce bleeding in infants who require surgical care. In a mice model, it reduced bleeding by at leas...
Risky requests for unvaccinated blood on the rise
A minority of patients requiring blood transfusions are increasingly requesting ‘unvaccinated’ blood in the United States, per a new report published...
How awe can boost your health
As the Artemis II crew return to Earth, we uncover the health benefits of the feeling of awe with world-renowned expert, Dacher Keltner. We also discu...
What next for sunscreen in Australia?
In Australia last year, it was discovered that hardly any sunscreen products actually offered the protection listed on the bottle. Now the Australian...
Antimicrobial resistance in conflict zones
For the last few weeks, the news has been dominated by the situation in the Middle East. Joining Claudia Hammond is BBC Health Correspondent James Gal...
Does your home country impact your cancer risk?
North Korean defectors and lifelong South Korean residents have significantly different cancer rates, despite their genetic similarities; new research...
Using lasers to fight brain cancer
New research from Yale shows that aging doesn’t have to result in mental and physical decline. In fact, they found that nearly half of older adults ac...
Do collagen supplements really do anything?
Collagen supplements have become increasingly popular over recent years. However, a new review has revealed that although taking collagen may rejuvena...
Could a single vaccine block nearly all viruses?
A universal nasal spray vaccine that could block nearly all viruses, and possibly also bacteria and allergens has been successful at early stages of r...
Surviving without lungs for 48 hours
How a patient survived for 48 hours without lungs. Too ill to receive a lung transplant straight away, the man relied on an artificial lung while his...
Are statins safer than we thought?
Statins are one of the most prescribed drugs in the world as they are highly effective at reducing “bad” LDL cholesterol that causes cardiovascular di...
Why do some people hoard?
Many of us can empathise with that feeling of keeping stuff for years and years. We might keep treasured objects with real sentimental value, or we mi...
South African coming-of-age initiations
For some communities in South Africa coming-of-age initiations are a hugely significant moment, but there have been rising concerns over the safety of...
Could the shingles vaccine really slow down the ageing process?
Joined by BBC Brazil reporter Camilla Mota, presenter Claudia Hammond discusses new research from the U.S. that has found that people who have had a v...
What effect does exercise really have on depression?
We are often told exercise is good for boosting your mood, but a new Cochrane review has looked at what the evidence says about how much difference ex...
China’s latest bid to boost its birth rate
China has just brought in taxes on contraception including condoms in a bid to increase the nation’s birth rate. What impact could this have when cons...
How can we eliminate malaria?
In the past decade there has been little progress in lowering malaria cases, with over half a million people still dying from the mosquito-borne disea...
2025: A big year for tackling malaria
Malaria is still the third biggest killer on the planet and despite decades of serious investment it’s a disease that is still very much with us. But...
Behind the Huntington’s disease breakthrough
James Gallagher joins Claudia Hammond to share his pick for health breakthrough of 2025 – the world's first gene therapy to treat Huntington’s disease...
Shingles vaccine slows the progression of dementia
We already knew that the shingles vaccine reduces the risk of developing dementia, but new research has shown that it also slows the progression of th...
The risky use of skin lightening in children
New research shows that 20% of children under five years old in Nigeria have been exposed to skin lightening products, even by parents who know the ri...
Childhood hypertension becomes more common
A recent meta-analysis finds that childhood hypertension rates (commonly known as high blood pressure) are increasing significantly around the world....
The disappearing mid-life crisis
Global health journalist Andrew Green has been looking at the impact of US funding cuts on the global HIV response, and reports his findings from Bots...
Canada loses measles elimination status
This week it was declared that Canada is no longer measles free and as a result The Americas have lost their measles elimination status. Claudia is jo...
Cloud seeding to cut air pollution in Delhi
Last week attempts at cloud seeding to reduce pollution in Delhi failed to produce any rain. We catch up with reporter Chhavi Sachdev to find out more...
What surpassing 1.5°C means for global health
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that global warming will ‘inevitably’ surpass 1.5 degrees. What does this mean for global health? The...
How imposters distort medical research
As Japan declares a flu epidemic we find out more about what’s going on in the country, and the potential implications for the flu season ahead in the...
How to prioritise aid in Gaza
As the fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza, we hear about the health impacts and realities of the aid being let into the territory from Olga Cherevko – sp...
Immune system researchers win Nobel Prize
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for discoveries that explain how the immune system attacks hostile infections, but...
Creating human eggs from skin cells
Functional human eggs have been generated using human skin cells in a breakthrough study. What impact could this have on couples with fertility issues...
Trump’s unproven claims on autism and paracetamol
President Trump has claimed that consuming Tylenol, or paracetamol, whilst pregnant can increase the risk of autism in children; Claudia is joined by...
More children are obese than underweight
In a ‘historical turning point’ there are now more overweight than underweight children and teenagers worldwide according to a new report from UNICEF....
The psychology of curiosity
Is curiosity good for us, or should we learn a lesson from what curiosity did to the cat? And why does curiosity drive some people to explore the ends...
Have we found a better alternative to aspirin?
Millions of us take aspirin daily to ward off heart attack or stroke, but a new study has found an alternative blood thinner, clopidogrel, could be mo...
A breakthrough in treating chronic pain
One in five of us suffer with chronic pain globally and the exact cause of it is often unknown making it very hard to treat. However, in what has been...
Using AI to discover new antibiotics
AI models have helped to discover new potential antibiotics to treat drug resistant infections of gonorrhoea and MRSA. We speak to Professor Jim Colli...