Health Check

Until now there has been no approved treatment for malaria in newborns and infants weighing less than 4.5kg. We hear from families and clinicians firsthand what this new formulation, due to be approved across eight African countries, means for them.

We are joined by Professor Damian Bailey as we become pickle juice detectives to find out why it is becoming more common for athletes to drink the briny solution in a bid to tackle cramp...

Phages are viruses that only infect bacteria. How might they help us tackle antimicrobial resistance? Franklin Nobrega and Esme Brinsden from the University of Southampton explain how their citizen science project that collects samples from around the globe is building a library of these bacteria-fighting viruses.

How can ultrasound find new targets to treat apathy in Parkinson’s disease? Tom Gilbertson and Isla Barnard from the Un...

There has been immense progress on childhood vaccination since 1974, with over four billion children vaccinated worldwide. So why now are we seeing vaccination rates stall, and decline? We look at what is driving this stagnation that is putting millions of children at risk.

The psychological impacts of war can persist for long after the events themselves. Reporter Stephanie Tam talks to the therapists aiming to break cycles of inte...

Thinking about the future comes so naturally to most people that we do not realise what a complicated and essential skill it is. Claudia Hammond and an expert panel of psychologists look into our ability to mentally travel to the future.

Catherine Loveday, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Westminster, explains how our ability to mentally time travel into the future is useful for everyday tasks as well as fun...

As mpox cases rise in Sierra Leone, we check-in with Professor Trudie Lang to understand the implications of the continuing spread of the disease and what progress is being made in responding to the outbreak.

In a breakthrough for HIV research, scientists have used mRNA to reveal the virus hiding in white blood cells. For now, it is only in a laboratory setting, but they hope this could lead to future treatment pathways that clear...

A new immunotherapy regime has shown significant improvements in treatment for head and neck cancer. Meanwhile, exercise is boosting outcomes for colon cancer patients. BBC journalist Philippa Roxby explains what’s been shown in these studies.

Aflatoxins are a toxin produced by a fungi which can be found in crops. They’re having a severe impact on harvests and health including immune suppression, growth stunting and damage to the li...

Women with dense breasts are four times more likely to develop breast cancer than women with low breast density and it’s also harder for cancer to be detected with existing screening methods. But now, the findings in a new study could dramatically improve the chances of having the disease spotted early on. We speak to the study’s lead author is Professor Fiona Gilbert to find out more.

The 2025 World Health Assembly has just conclud...

A new anti-malarial compound has been designed to target disease-causing parasites responsible for up to 90% of malaria cases in humans.

Stephanie Tam reports on a new online training programme designed to help address the mental health care gap in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq that is heavily impacted by conflict.

Donald Trump has signed a new executive order aimed at lowering the price the US pays for medicines. We look at what is...

Claudia is joined by Caroline Williams to learn about the cutting-edge science of interoception – that’s how the brain interprets signals that come from inside our body. We find out how honing this skill can sometimes be helpful and why at other times it can have a negative impact on us.

Tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide but in Malawi a stage 3 trial is under way to develop a new vaccine. Our r...

Receiving a specific type of shingles vaccine may provide a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular events like stroke or heart failure for up to 8 years. With reports of other shingles vaccines protecting against the risk of dementia, scientists are trying to understand the mechanism underlying these unintended benefits.

The WHO aim to eliminate the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis from endemic countries by 2030, we investigate ...

Amidst conflict in Sudan, the world-leading Mycetoma Research Centre in Khartoum has been destroyed. We talk to the centre’s founder to find out what this means for research into the neglected disease and the struggle to proving ongoing support for patients.

As the Pan American Health Organization put into action lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic they share with us new telehealth services designed to reach the most remote communit...

After 3 years of discussions, 194 member countries of the World Health Organisation have agreed to the text of a pandemic treaty designed to make the world safer from a future pandemic – but what could it mean in practice and how are countries held to account?

Also on the show, how treating high blood pressure can reduce the risk of dementia. Researchers have suggested it takes more than just medication; lifestyle changes are also ...

Has the long-standing mystery of which wild animals form a reservoir of mpox in the wild finally been solved? Some scientists think they have cracked the case, pinpointing the fire-footed rope squirrel as the culprit, but questions remain before we can definitively say this species is to blame.

Reporter Chhavi Sachdev in Mumbai has some good news – an indigenous antibiotic breakthrough has been found to be effective at treating ant...

What would you do if you have always considered yourself healthy and one day you find out that not only is this not the case, but you in fact need a new organ? We follow BBC journalist Mike Powell on his journey to receive a life-changing kidney transplant and talk to his donor who made it all possible.

With a growing global need for kidneys, we hear from others around the world that are on long transplant waiting lists and from Pro...

‘Friendship benches’, a mental health intervention first piloted in Zimbabwe, are now being handed over to the government in that country. It is hoped that this will allow the program to become more widespread.

Also on the show, a new device can convert brain signals to speach in nearly real time for those who have been paralysed, a medicine for rare genetic disorders could also make human blood deadly to mosquitos, and the US Food ...

What does it feel like to be part of a study which might have its funding cut? Marty Reiswig has a rare genetic mutation that means he will get Alzheimer’s disease in his forties or fifties. For fifteen years he’s been part of medical studies into his condition, but now, with the NIH announcing funding cuts, he’s worried the studies will stop.

Also on the program, would you do CPR on another bystander? A new study finds that speed ...

A federal judge has said the shuttering of USAID is ‘likely unconstitutional’, while the Trump administration has been ordered to pay back bills for USAID. But what difference is this making on the ground? Global health journalist Andrew Green is in Uganda finding out. Also on the show, a new safety trial shows yearly injections of the drug lenacapivir may be able to prevent HIV transmission, and PCOS and endometriosis are two fair...

The Americas are in danger of losing their measles elimination status as the disease spreads due to under vaccination. Also on the show, a study finds that continuous glucose monitors may be overestimating blood sugar levels in healthy adults. And it’s been ten years since Brazil experienced and epidemic of microcephaly due to the Zika virus. What have we learned in that time?

Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Haw...

As the Trump administration cuts 90% of programs funded by the US Agency for International Development, we look at the effect on global health.

Also on the program, violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo is hindering the country’s ongoing MPox response – just as a new, more transmissible strain is discovered. And, a look at an initiative trying to improve women’s mental health in Guatemala.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer...