Post Archive by Month

From its early hesitant beginnings in the late 1970s with the first ‘test tube’ baby, Louise Brown, IVF has graduated to an accepted way of conceiving a baby for many couples. But is there any difference in health risks between children born … Read More

You’ll be glad to hear calorie counting is outdated. So why do we continue to use it as a guide to healthy eating? Well, it’s simple. A number is very easy to assess, count and act on. Also, it’s ­entrenched. … Read More

There’s a field of science that’s based on knowledge of how the brain works – focusing on chemical targets within cells themselves, and uses bioengineering to tap into the brain to treat diseases and injuries without using drugs. And it’s … Read More

The idea that you could control, even cure, type 2 diabetes with the way you eat was considered outlandish even just a couple of years ago. But now more and more research convinces us that managing what we eat can prevent and … Read More

Are you someone who’s quick to be self-critical and blame yourself when things go wrong? Do you torture ­yourself by going over and over ­problems until you’re trapped in a web of negative thinking? Once in this downward spiral do … Read More

Before my granddaughter was born, when her embryo was six weeks old, her mum had an ­ultrasound scan. The ­obstetrician offered us a close-up of her embryonic heart. Yes, please, we said. And she focused in on what no one … Read More

It would appear, if mice are anything to go on, that you’re more likely to gain weight if you eat when you’re stressed. Researchers have discovered a high-calorie diet consumed when under stress results in more weight gain than when the … Read More

Most of us are aware that a sperm has to race against millions of rivals to reach the egg, ­penetrate it, ­fertilise it and conceive a baby. The sperm’s journey is fraught with obstacles, meaning the weaklings fall by the … Read More

I was surprised to hear of a woman who was labelled infectious and avoided by everyone because each day her face, lips and eyes swelled up due to a condition that turned out to be chronic idiopathic urticaria, which isn’t … Read More

A friend of mine came home from the US having had a – faecal transplant – which was something of a conversation stopper when talking about her trip. Apparently they’re quite well accepted Stateside, especially in complementary medical circles. She’d had one … Read More