Post Archive by Year

Sleep problems again. This time in teenagers. The interesting aspect of this new study is that their sleep problems can be improved in just one week. How? Limiting evening exposure to screens, mobile phones, tablets and computers could do the … Read More

These days the gold standard for colon cancer screening is ­optical colonoscopy, where the inside of the large bowel is viewed through a micro-camera. Patients have to complete day-long prep for this, ensuring their bowels are empty. Unsurprisingly this puts a lot … Read More

The many new home apps have come at just the right time as the number of old people living longer increases. ­But as a ­result, diseases of old age, such as ­ dementia, will rise in parallel. Home medical apps are … Read More

At the moment we can only ­detect Alzheimer’s once the destructive protein plaques are already formed in the brain. Too late. Any treatments we have are largely ineffective at this stage. We know, however, the first changes of Alzheimer’s happen … Read More

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You’ll be glad to hear calorie counting is outdated.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