Health & Medicine

from www.shutterstock.com Luise Kazda, University of Sydney During my daughter’s challenging first year of school, we discovered how much effort it took her to sit and learn. She was the youngest in her class, placing her at higher risk of being diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). While she struggled with attention and hyperactivity, her problems were always more …

Vanessa Apea, Queen Mary University of London and Yize Wan, Queen Mary University of London The release of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report has generated a groundswell of negative reaction, specifically of disappointment and frustration. The report minimises structural racism, a reality for so many that negatively impacts on their opportunities to achieve their full potential. It …

The common cold is usually caused by a rhinovirus. Shutterstock/fizkes Matthew James, Queen’s University Belfast We often assume that viral infections are caused by individual virus types. But in reality, we’re exposed to many viruses on a day to day basis, and co-infection – where someone is simultaneously infected by two or more virus types – is quite common. The …

To stop antibiotic resistance, scientists need to know how bacteria become resistant. Jarun Ontakrai/ Shutterstock Celia Souque, University of Oxford Antibiotic resistance – the ability of harmful bacteria to survive treatment by antibiotics – is a growing threat. It is making it harder to treat life-threatening infections, including tuberculosis, MRSA, and gonorrhoea – and increasing the risks of even minor …

maybealice/Shutterstock Jessica Williams, Cardiff Metropolitan University As COVID-19 has swept across the globe, it seems that high transmission rates have partly been driven by a large number of people catching the virus, not experiencing symptoms and then unknowingly passing it on. Despite this, the screening of asymptomatic people for signs of infection hasn’t been widespread, due to costs and limits …

Shutterstock Anthony Zulli, Victoria University; Maja Husaric, Victoria University; Maximilian de Courten, Victoria University, and Vasso Apostolopoulos, Victoria University The federal government has asked Australia’s medical and vaccine regulators to urgently consider the European Medicines Agency’s finding of a possible link between the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine and rare blood clots. This follows reports over recent weeks of blood clots in …

Agnes Arnold-Forster, University of Bristol “After the pandemic is over” must be one of the most frequently uttered phrases of 2021. I am certainly guilty of this kind of optimism, longing for the day when I can get on a plane, have dinner with my friends, and cuddle all the new babies I know who have been born under the …

Participants consumed the equivalent of a tall brewed filter coffee 30 minutes before exercise. Pavel3d/ Shutterstock Neil Clarke, Coventry University Coffee, green tea and other caffeinated drinks are a popular way to start the morning. Not only does it give many people a much-needed boost, but caffeine can also help when it comes to fitness. Studies show it can help …

Liam Wignall, Bournemouth University and Mark McCormack, University of Roehampton Lockdown significantly affected our health (for good and bad), our work and how we socialise. These consequences have been widely discussed, but far less attention has been given to the effect on our sex lives. When lockdown came into force in the UK in March 2020, people from outside the …

David Whyte, University of Liverpool Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, reportedly attributed the success of the COVID-19 vaccines to “capitalism” and “greed”. But he is wrong – the idea that private ingenuity and naked competition produced the vaccines is a complete fantasy. Before COVID-19, the vaccine market was notoriously sluggish, taking between five and 15 years to develop a …