PODCAST

Health Check

BBC World Service

Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.

health & fitness

All Episodes

26:28

What surpassing 1.5°C means for global health

Health Check ·

2025/10/29

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. Also on the program, could how we walk affect our health more than the distance we’ve travelled? Health

26:28

How impostors distort medical research

Health Check ·

2025/10/22

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 excluding real participants. A new adrenaline nasal spray has been licenced for those with severe

26:27

How to prioritise aid in Gaza

Health Check ·

2025/10/15

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 answer? We found out what’s in the new recommendations from Dr Eirini Dimidi.The World Health Summit

26:30

Immune system researchers win Nobel Prize

Health Check ·

2025/10/08

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 Chicago who led this research explains.A new targeted antibiotic has been found that treats Inflammatory Bowel

26:29

Creating human eggs from skin cells

Health Check ·

2025/10/01

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 findings.With a rising trend of parents using unprescribed melatonin to help their children sleep, we

26:29

Trump’s unproven claims on autism and paracetamol

Health Check ·

2025/09/24

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 therapy to slow the progression of this fatal genetic disorder where a patient’s movement, thinking, and mood

26:31

More children are obese than underweight

Health Check ·

2025/09/17

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 concerns. Journalist Sen Nguyen explores the potential health impacts of the durians and whether new regulations

26:28

The psychology of curiosity

Health Check ·

2025/09/10

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 Science Festival in the UK. They are... Tim Peake – astronaut, test pilot and author. His lifelong curiosity

26:28

Have we found a better alternative to aspirin?

Health Check ·

2025/09/03

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 Wanyonyi-Kay Research Programme Leader at The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute at the University of

26:30

A breakthrough in treating chronic pain

Health Check ·

2025/08/27

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 Wangira joins Claudia to delve into a decade-long research programme that found child mortality rates almost

26:28

Using AI to discover new antibiotics

Health Check ·

2025/08/20

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 Indian ICUs. Family doctor Ann Robinson joins Claudia to understand the risks posed to already vulnerable

26:29

How plastic harms health

Health Check ·

2025/08/13

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 the scientific evidence about how plastic harms health with Dr Stephanie Wright, Associate Professor in

26:30

Malnutrition in Gaza

Health Check ·

2025/08/06

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 health impacts of malnutrition and what interventions are urgently needed.In a world-first the UK have

26:30

Making human blood deadly to mosquitoes

Health Check ·

2025/07/30

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 one HIV clinic in Thailand and Devex correspondent Andrew Green unpacks the bigger picture.Could a

26:30

Do you really have a penicillin allergy?

Health Check ·

2025/07/23

Penicillin is the go-to antibiotic for many common infections - but in the UK more than 1-in-15 adults have a penicillin allergy label on their medical record. New research suggests that many with these labels are not actually allergic. Professor Sue Pavitt explains how more accurate allergy labelling might help fight the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Both Burundi and Senegal announced last week that they had eliminated trachoma. Dr Graham Easton walks us through the long road to this

26:30

HIV prevention drug Lenacapavir recommended by WHO

Health Check ·

2025/07/16

Lenacapavir has been incredibly promising in trials and now the World Health Organisation have officially recommended the drug for HIV prevention. Smitha Mundasad explains the difference this bi-annual injection could make in the fight against HIV.We hear how Malawi is trying to stop mpox from entering its borders. Reporter Carrim Mpaweni investigates the measures in place to keep the disease at bay.A skin swab test could detect Parkinson’s disease 7 years ahead of symptoms developing. We find out

26:31

First malaria treatment approved for newborns

Health Check ·

2025/07/09

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 cramps.Gastric cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths

26:28

Can bacteria-eating viruses be used to fight superbugs?

Health Check ·

2025/07/02

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 University of Dundee explain all. Also on the show, EntangleCam is

26:28

Childhood vaccination coverage stalls worldwide

Health Check ·

2025/06/25

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 intergenerational trauma in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Being diagnosed

26:29

Future thinking

Health Check ·

2025/06/18

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 fundamental to shaping our identity. Daryl O’Connor, professor of

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