Health
Health and medicine — from public-health threats to the latest research. We cover disease outbreaks and the response to them, healthcare systems under strain, mental health, and the medical and pharmaceutical advances changing how illness is treated.
Latest in Health
241 stories
‘Mistreatment became normality,’ inquiry into Muckamore Abbey hospital abuse finds
Vulnerable adults suffered broken bones and severe neglect in Northern Irish hospital at centre of major police investigationA major inquiry into the …
Driver hailed for saving tourists from rip current at Louisiana beach: ‘I just locked in’
Jordan Matthew, who has no lifeguard training, rescued a young boy and two women from the dangerous currentA shuttle driver recently used his bare han…
Cambridge experts recreate 336-year-old garden to commemorate ‘father of natural history’
John Ray, 17th-century botanist who coined words petal and pollen, was a tutor at Cambridge when he created his first gardenHe coined the terms petal …
Inquest into Melbourne influencer’s death following freebirth halted after new phone evidence discovered
Coroner tells freebirth inquest new material ‘of such significance’ any findings must be postponed so information can be analysedThe closing submissio…
NHS patients face worst drug shortages on record, say pharmacists and GPs
Supply problems pose risk to health, with common painkillers, epilepsy medication and HRT affectedBritons are facing some of the “most severe” shortag…
Cannabis commercialisation not decriminalisation drives up usage, study finds
Review reveals rise in users and rates of psychosis in countries where cannabis is sold commercially Decriminalising the possession of cannabis or str…
LA leaders back investigation into police killing of two-year-old dog
Officers responding to call about ‘screaming woman’, who was celebrating Knicks win, shot dog named JamesonAs the Los Angeles police department faces …
Two California students swept out to sea and drowned while napping on beach
Friends Harshita Nair, 21, and Mahial Sran, 20, were pulled out of water by rescue crews but died later at local hospitalsSign up for the Breaking New…
Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann sentenced to life in prison without parole
Victims’ families spoke in court as Heuermann, 63, was imprisoned for killing spree that spanned decadesRex Heuermann, the Manhattan architect who met…
New homeowner finds skeletal remains of three people in auction-bought Connecticut home
Attorney asks court to return $82,000 deposit to buyer if 2025 foreclosure is invalidated due to discoveryA person who bought a foreclosed home, as is…
Ancient DNA provides evidence of earliest known plague outbreak
Discovery in Siberia suggests bacterium from raw marmots devastated hunter-gatherer tribes about 5,500 years agoThe earliest evidence for an outbreak …
Luigi Mangione in New York state court after missing appearance this week
Mangione, who faces nine counts including second-degree murder in state case, missed court due to paperwork errorLuigi Mangione has appeared in Manhat…
Florida couple given wrong embryo will retain permanent custody of their child
Steven Mills and Tiffany Score reached an agreement with the biological parents of their child after fertility clinic’s mix-upA Florida couple who lea…
Clinician reported birthkeeper to police the day Melbourne wellness influencer died following freebirth
Inquest hears clinician wasn’t legally required to report to police but was concerned about public health and safety A senior clinician reported a bir…
Lack of learning-disability nurses in UK is an ‘absolute crisis’, says union
Exclusive: Royal College of Nursing says 1.5m vulnerable people not getting the right care, as specialism is ‘consistently undermined’The specialist l…
US screwworm cases rise as outbreak spreads beyond initial contamination zones
Twelve animal cases have been confirmed so far among cattle, goats, sheep and a dog in Texas and New MexicoScrewworm cases are rising in the US as the…
From camel coats to guochao: Max Mara woos China’s luxury brand consumers
Fashion house pays tribute to Chinese style with its 75th anniversary catwalk show in Shanghai“New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Shangha…
A teacher, a cancer survivor and a new dad: victims of Missouri skydiving plane crash identified
A group of 12 people – nine skydivers, two tandem jumpers and a pilot – were killed in the weekend crash in ButlerA high school music teacher, a cance…
Bristol court hears how mother found her baby floppy and grey in murder trial of father
Prosecution alleges Tony Bartlett shook four-week-old Atticus Bartlett so violently he suffered fatal brain damageA mother has described in court the …
One-year-old killed and another person injured after Mississippi police shot at car
Child was fatally shot and his mother’s friend is wounded after Senatobia police responded to shoplifting callA one-year-old boy is dead and another p…
Judi Dench to have London’s Shaftesbury theatre renamed after her
James Bond actor, who is only the second non-royal woman to be celebrated in this way, called the honour ‘truly overwhelming’Dame Judi Dench is to hav…
Sean Penn to direct January 6 drama with Bradley Cooper set to star
Oscar-winning actor to write and direct fact-based movie that will follow a police officer mixed up in 2021 Capitol riotSean Penn will direct a new fi…
More US states push to ban kratom drink deemed ‘gas-station heroin’
At least eight states have banned the plant-derived product as more people use it and some claim it’s addictiveIn 2024, Maizie Hepner, 24, started vis…
Leading OB-GYN group breaks from CDC on maternal vaccination schedule
Medical societies endorse ACOG’s schedule, saying maternal vaccines are ‘key element’ of protectionThe leading professional organization for obstetric…
Witnessing joy amid the death: BBC travels to epicentre of Ebola outbreak
There are glimpses of happiness in the Democratic Republic of Congo's fight against the virus that has killed more than 170.…
RFK Jr under fire for ‘bullying’ letter to scientific journal
Health advocates criticized Kennedy’s move demanding answers from journal that removed ‘flawed’ vaccine studyRobert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secret…
Bonnie Tyler now out of coma but remains in intensive care in Portugal
Welsh singer, best known for 1983 hit Total Eclipse of the Heart, had emergency intestinal surgery in MayWelsh pop star Bonnie Tyler is no longer in a…
Italian police dismantle illicit bank used by drug traffickers as global broker
Clandestine operation run by Chinese national in Prato moved €80-100m a year through intermediariesItalian police have dismantled an underground bank …
Cheltenham hospital admits failing man who died after using contaminated shower
Chris Elliot was exposed to ‘lethal dose’ of bacteria while receiving chemotherapy from Gloucestershire NHS trustAn NHS trust has admitted to failing …
Court of appeal to review sentence for man who murdered Henry Nowak
Solicitor general asks for Vickrum Digwa’s 21-year minimum jail term to be reviewed under ‘unduly lenient sentence’ schemeThe 21-year minimum jail ter…