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The Conversation

Health

Jeff Goldblum in The Fly.

Is it ever OK for scientists to experiment on themselves?

Jonathan Pugh, University of Oxford; Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford, and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford

Wegovy injecting devices of various formulations.

Eight conditions weight-loss jabs might be beneficial for

Vinood B. Patel, University of Westminster

Mouth cancer cases hit new record in England and Scotland – what you need to know

Justin Stebbing, Anglia Ruskin University

Man with a grey beard holding his face in agony.
Five common drugs you should avoid using while breastfeeding

Dipa Kamdar, Kingston University

A woman looks at a medicine bottle in a pharmacy.
Why celebrity menopause activism can hinder as well as help women

Kate Pleace, Dublin City University

women protestors including Mariella Frostrup Davina Mccall holding signs that say 'join the menopause revolution
Five ways that climate change threatens human health

Michael Head, University of Southampton and Jessica Boxall, University of Southampton

Pregnant Asian woman standing on street wearing mask, hand to her chest, traffic in background

Read more

TikTok and WHO are getting together to help combat widespread health misinformation on social media

Adam Taylor, Lancaster University

Woman wearing white coat and a stethoscope around her neck films herself on an iphone
A new plan aims to fix the UK’s ‘broken’ food system –but here’s what the strategy overlooks

David Benton, Swansea University

Collection of take out and fast foods. Pizza, hamburgers, french fries, chips, hot dogs, sweets.
Mouth-taping to treat sleep apnoea – here are the risks

Adam Taylor, Lancaster University

A person with mouth tape across two of their fingers.
Secondhand clothes can be swimming in germs – what vintage shoppers need to know

Primrose Freestone, University of Leicester

Two young women shop for secondhand clothes.

Microbiomes

Cakes, sweets and chocolate

Artificial sweetener could harm your gut and the microbes that live there – new study

Havovi Chichger, Anglia Ruskin University

The indoor microbiome: mounting research is revealing how the microbes in your home can influence your health

Samuel J. White, York St John University and Philippe B. Wilson, York St John University

A cartoon family sits on a couch inside a small home. They're surrounded by viruses and other microbes outside.
How the health of your lungs is linked to the bacteria in your gut

Samuel J. White, York St John University and Philippe B. Wilson, York St John University

A boy with asthma uses an inhaler.
The human virome: why viruses could be as important for good health as gut bacteria

Samuel J. White, York St John University and Philippe B. Wilson, York St John University

Bacteriophages infecting bacteria.
The bacteria in your mouth play an important role in your health – here are four diseases linked to your oral microbiome

Gary Moran, Trinity College Dublin

A person holds their mouth open, while a magnifying glass illustrates the bacteria found there.

Vitamin Sea

How the state of our oceans is intrinsically linked to human health – new report

Edward H. Allison, Lancaster University

net with fish in foreground, four fishermen in background holding net
From fish to clean water, the ocean matters and here’s how to quantify the benefits

Stefanie Broszeit, Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Drake's Island, aerial shot of rocky outcrop in plymouth sound
From a salty breeze to the stench of sewage, here’s how smell affects our ocean experience and reflects changing seas

Jieling Xiao, Birmingham City University

woman eyes closed smelling, sea in background
The secret to healthy and sustainable fish fingers – an expert explains

Clare Pettinger, University of Plymouth

person with fork in hand and fish finger on paper plate at picnic table

Diet + Nutrition

Two boxes of Mounjaro.

Mounjaro will soon be available as a weight loss treatment on the NHS – here’s what that means for patients

Zoe Edwards, University of Bradford; Jonathan Silcock, University of Bradford, and Liz Breen, University of Bradford

Trying to lose weight? Here’s why your genetics could be just as important as your exercise regime

Henry Chung, University of Essex; Chris McManus, University of Essex, and Sally Waterworth, University of Essex

A man and a woman go for a run in a park.
Want to eat less meat and dairy? Here are your options for getting enough protein

Tony Benson, Queen's University Belfast; Anne Nugent, Queen's University Belfast, and Moira Dean, Queen's University Belfast

golden field of wheat, blue sky in background
Why you should always wash fruit and veg before eating them – and the best technique to use

Primrose Freestone, University of Leicester

A person rinses tomatoes under a tap.
Can the NHS soup and shake diet really reverse diabetes? Here’s what you need to know

Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol

Can the NHS soup and shake diet really reverse diabetes? Here’s what you need to know

Strange health

Head shot of actor Armie Hammer

I research sexual perversions and paraphilias – here’s what we’ve learned about them

Mark Griffiths, Nottingham Trent University

Why breakdancing can give you a cone-shaped head

Adam Taylor, Lancaster University

Man performs a headspin
Operating on the wrong body part – what can be done to prevent it?

Adam Taylor, Lancaster University

Man in scrubs slapping his forehead in disbelief
Waking up with a bang? It could be ‘exploding head syndrome’

Dan Denis, University of York

Waking up with a bang? It could be ‘exploding head syndrome’
Black hairy, strawberry and geographic – what the state of your tongue can say about your health

Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol

Black hairy, strawberry and geographic – what the state of your tongue can say about your health

Drugs

A person pours cocaine from a plastic packet onto a table.

Drug-related deaths have risen by record numbers in England and Wales – latest data

Ian Hamilton, University of York and Harry Sumnall, Liverpool John Moores University

High-potency cannabis use leaves a distinct mark on DNA – new research

Marta Di Forti, King's College London and Emma Dempster, University of Exeter

A girl lights a joint with a lighter.
Pink cocaine: the party drug cocktail putting a growing number of lives at risk

Joseph Janes, Swansea University

A small pile of pink powder.
A new fentanyl vaccine looks promising – but treating drug addiction needs a more complex approach

Colin Davidson, University of Central Lancashire

A new fentanyl vaccine looks promising – but treating drug addiction needs a more complex approach
We now know what a brain looks like on psilocybin – but what does that tell us?

Michiel van Elk, Leiden University

A trippy picture of a young woman

Dementia

Three elderly people wearing headphones smile while listening to music outdoors.

Music and dementia: researchers are still making discoveries about how songs can help sufferers

Rebecca Atkinson, Anglia Ruskin University and Ming-Hung Hsu, Anglia Ruskin University

When mice with Alzheimer’s inhaled menthol, their cognitive abilities improved

Emily Spencer, Edinburgh Napier University

A mint plant
Is it really possible to have Alzheimer’s yet no symptoms?

Michael Hornberger, University of East Anglia

A person in a white lab coat holding a model of a brain
Can Alzheimer’s really be reversed, as a new documentary claims?

Rahul Sidhu, University of Sheffield

Elderly man doing a jigsaw puzzle in the shape of a human head
An active brain can protect you from dementia, but stress might eat up your ‘cognitive reserve’ – new study

Manasa Shanta Yerramalla, Karolinska Institutet and Shireen Sindi, Karolinska Institutet

Older adults playing bridge

Live forever

An older woman exercising on a bicycle while an older man looks on from the safety of his chair.

Dietary restriction or good genes: new study tries to unpick which has a greater impact on lifespan

Bradley Elliott, University of Westminster

How to improve your flexibility – the body’s secret weapon for staying healthy and active

Athalie Redwood-Brown, Nottingham Trent University and Jen Wilson, Nottingham Trent University

Two older women stretch their legs outdoors while sitting on yoga mats.
How to start weightlifting after 60

Julie Broderick, Trinity College Dublin and Fiona Kennedy, Trinity College Dublin

An older woman performs a bicep curl.
People in the world’s ‘blue zones’ live longer – their diet could hold the key to why

Justin Roberts, Anglia Ruskin University; Joseph Lillis, Anglia Ruskin University, and Mark Cortnage, Anglia Ruskin University

An elderly couple chop fresh vegetables for a salad.
Does exercise really do nothing for longevity, as a Finnish twins study suggests?

George M. Savva, Quadram Institute

Woman exercising outdoors

Cancer

Man with a grey beard holding his face in agony.

Mouth cancer cases hit new record in England and Scotland – what you need to know

Justin Stebbing, Anglia Ruskin University

Immunotherapy was meant to defeat cancer – what happened to the great promise?

Jonathan Fisher, UCL

A woman with cancer carrying her daughter in a wheat field.
Chris Hoy reveals that he has terminal cancer – here’s how to spot early signs of prostate cancer

Justin Stebbing, Anglia Ruskin University

Sir Chris Hoy at Trafalgar Square in London wearing three gold medals.
Chemotherapy can be a challenging treatment – here’s how to deal with some of the side-effects

Justin Stebbing, Anglia Ruskin University

Front view at two people sitting in chairs with IV drip tubes and getting chemotherapy treatment in clinic
Gen X and millennials at greater risk of 17 types of cancer compared to previous generations – here’s what you need to know

Sarah Allinson, Lancaster University

A woman has a mammogram.

Most read this week

1.
Is it ever OK for scientists to experiment on themselves?

Jonathan Pugh, University of Oxford; Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford, and Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford

Is it ever OK for scientists to experiment on themselves?