Health Check

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 exercise can really make when treating depression. Many patients with chronic conditions fail to take medications as prescribed. We discuss a novel pill casing that can send a signal once it has been broken down in the stomach. Prof Giovanni Traverso,...

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 considered alongside other “fertility-friendly” policies? Global Health reporter Dorcas Wangira gives her verdict. Could RSV vaccination dramatically reduce childhood asthma? Professor Bart Lambrecht from Ghent University shares his latest research sugge...

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 disease every year. We look at the big ideas and innovations of the future that could help us eliminate malaria once and for all. What would happen if we got rid of the insect responsible for spreading the malaria parasite? Claudia heads to Imperial Colle...

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 that investment is starting to pay off - 2025 has been a big year for new ways of tackling the disease. This week we’re reflecting on the progress made in 2025 – but also asking what impact unprecedented cuts to global health funding might have on wh...

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. Popular science author Mary Roach joins Claudia to discuss the future of prosthetics. Also on the show, James shares his latest reporting on how sperm from a donor with a cancer-causing gene was used to conceive almost 200 children. We hear from Mo...

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 the disease. BBC journalist Laura Foster discusses why this might be happening. Can a negative mindset reduce the effectiveness of medical treatments? Claudia speaks with Dr Katharina Schmidt in Essen, Germany to find out about her new research on the...

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 risks associated with the products. Claudia speaks to Aisha, a mother, to understand why skin lightening can seem appealing, and to dermatologist Atinuke Ajani from Ile-Ife, Nigeria, who explains the growing prevalence of this trend. Epidemiologist Mat...

A recent meta-analysis finds that childhood hypertension rates (commonly known as high blood pressure) are increasing significantly around the world. Professor of cardiovascular medicine and population health at the University of Oxford, Kazem Rahimi, explains what is driving this trend. Recent changes in hormone therapy labels in the US come after years of lobbying by physicians and activists. Pr...

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 Botswana about the impact is it having on HIV and AIDS services there, and what new agreements may be reached on healthcare funding. New research shows that the trend in human happiness is changing, with young people now experiencing more unhappiness tha...

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 joined by Vanessa Apea to understand why this vaccine-preventable disease is continuing to spread in North America. COP30 is underway in Belém, Brazil, and ahead of the conference’s Health Day we hear from BBC’s Climate and Science reporter Esme Stalla...

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 about official’s latest and controversial attempt at tacking hazardous levels of air pollution in the city. The Maldives have become the first country to ban smoking for younger generations with no one born on or after 1 January 2007 being able to b...

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 ninth annual Lancet report on health and climate could hold some answers. Also on the program, could contaminated meat be a source for some urinary tract infections? Professor Lance Price speaks about his new study finding a link between the two. Al...

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 Northern Hemisphere. Human and bot imposters are rising in medical research, and they risk undermining results, but why do they do it? Eileen Morrow from the University of Oxford explains the tricky balance of safeguarding against them whilst not ex...

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 – spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Gaza. The first ever evidence-based and outcome-specific dietary guidelines to treat chronic constipation in adults has been published. Could kiwi fruit hold the a...

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for discoveries that explain how the immune system attacks hostile infections, but not the body's own cells. We explain the science that won Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and US researchers Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell the prestigious award. How robots can help children with reading anxiety. Lauren Wright from the University of Chicag...

Functional human eggs have been generated using human skin cells in a breakthrough study. What impact could this have on couples with fertility issues? BBC Health Correspondent James Gallagher explains. How long covid is affecting menstrual cycles. Dr Jackie Maybin, Reader and Consultant Gynaecologist at the Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian explains her...

President Trump has claimed that consuming Tylenol, or paracetamol, whilst pregnant can increase the risk of autism in children; Claudia is joined by Professor of Clinical Epidemiology Laurie Tomlinson to fact-check this unproven statement. Also on the show, BBC’s Philippa Roxby joins Claudia to share a breakthrough in treating Huntington’s disease. In a medical first doctors have used gene therap...

In a ‘historical turning point’ there are now more overweight than underweight children and teenagers worldwide according to a new report from UNICEF. Claudia Hammond is joined by BBC’s Laura Foster to understand what changes to our food environments may be driving this shift. An international row has erupted over durian fruit, with China limiting imports of Vietnamese fruits due to health concern...

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 of the earth and beyond, while others just really aren’t very curious at all? We invite a panel of people for whom curiosity is also at the centre of what they do to discuss the psychology of curiosity in front of an audience at the Cheltenham Scien...

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 more effective. We find out how it compares. An oral health check-up at least two weeks before surgery has shown to reduce the risk of post-operative infections such as pneumonia as well as reduce the length of a patients' hospital stay. Dr Kristina Wa...

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 hailed as a remarkable breakthrough, a gene has been identified that is critical for regulating pain signals. Professor David Bennett, head of Clinical Neurology at Oxford, who led the research explains. BBC Africa’s health correspondent Dorcas Wang...

AI models have helped to discover new potential antibiotics to treat drug resistant infections of gonorrhoea and MRSA. We speak to Professor Jim Collins from MIT to understand what’s next for his machine-generated medicines and the role AI could play in the future of drug discovery. A new report has found high rates of bloodstream infections and antibiotic resistance in central lines used in India...

As negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty are due to conclude at the United Nations, we check in on whether health is on the agenda with Dr Cressida Bowyer, Associate Professor in Arts and Sustainability from the University of Portsmouth in the UK who is at the conference. We also hear from John Chweya, a Kenyan waste picker, who has seen the impacts of plastic waste firsthand and delve into th...

UN-backed experts – the IPC - say the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" in Gaza and that there is mounting evidence that widespread malnutrition is driving a rapid rise in hunger-related deaths among the 2.1 million Palestinians there. Aid worker Olga Cherevko shares what she’s witnessed on the ground and Claudia is also joined by specialist Dr Marko Kerac to understand the...

Antiparasitic drug Ivermectin has been shown to reduce malaria transmission by making the blood of treated persons deadly to the mosquitoes that carry the disease. Journalist Layal Liverpool explores the impact this new approach could have. Six months on from President Trump’s dramatic cuts to US foreign aid, the HIV/AIDS relief fund PEPFAR hangs in the balance. We hear how the cuts have impacts o...