Kombucha, kimchi and yogurt: how fermented foods could be harmful to your health

Fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut, are all popular sources of probiotics. Nina Firsova/ Shutterstock Manal Mohammed, University of Westminster Fermented foods have become very popular, thanks to claims about their nutritional properties and reported health benefits, such as improving digestion, boosting immunity and even helping people lose weight. Some of the most popular fermented foods include kefir, …

Antibiotics could be repurposed as a treatment for depression

People with depression have higher levels of inflammation in their brains – which antibiotics might be able to treat. tadamichi/ Shutterstock Eleftheria Kodosaki, Cardiff Metropolitan University Depression is common, affecting an estimated 264 million people of all ages worldwide. While the causes of depression are varied and complex, genetics, changes in brain chemistry, and environmental factors (such as stress or …

Scientists around the world are already fighting the next pandemic

Riccardo Mayer/Shutterstock.com David W Graham, Newcastle University and Peter Collignon, Australian National University If a two-year-old child living in poverty in India or Bangladesh gets sick with a common bacterial infection, there is more than a 50% chance an antibiotic treatment will fail. Somehow the child has acquired an antibiotic resistant infection – even to drugs to which they may …