Health

US drops Covid vaccine recommendation for healthy kids, pregnant women

US drops Covid vaccine recommendation for healthy kids, pregnant women

Vials labelled “VACCINE Coronavirus COVID-19” and a syringe are seen in front of a displayed U.S. flag in this illustration taken December 11, 2021. — Reuters  The United States Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced in a social media post on Tuesday that the US has stopped recommending routine Covid-19 vaccinations for pregnant women and healthy children, circumventing the …

Read More »

How nitrous oxide became a deadly – but legal – American addiction

How nitrous oxide became a deadly – but legal – American addiction

Nitrous oxide – known colloquially as “laughing gas” – has many uses, from a painkiller during dental procedures to a whipping agent for canned whipped cream. While its euphoric side effects have long been known, the rise of vaping has helped create a perfect delivery vehicle for the gas – and a perfect recipe for an addiction, experts warn. Meg …

Read More »

Israel-Gaza war: IVF clinics destroyed, crushing hopes of motherhood

Israel-Gaza war: IVF clinics destroyed, crushing hopes of motherhood

Ethar Shalaby BBC News Arabic Noura’s family archive Noura and Mohamed at their home in Gaza City before the war began, where they hoped to raise a family “My nerves are shattered,” says Noura, a 26-year-old Palestinian woman, explaining that she has been “left with nothing”. After years of IVF treatment, she became pregnant in July 2023. “I was overjoyed,” …

Read More »

4-year-old girl of cured thalassemia using Chinese gene-editing therapy

4-year-old girl of cured thalassemia using Chinese gene-editing therapy

A representational image shows a medical laboratory technician working in a research lab. — Reuters A 4-year-old Pakistani girl suffering from severe thalassemia has been successfully treated using a Chinese-developed gene-editing drug, marking the first time the technology has been used on a foreign minor, Chinese publication China Daily reported, citing the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai. Nicknamed …

Read More »

Alcohol-related brain damage could affect thousands, warns expert

Alcohol-related brain damage could affect thousands, warns expert

Jenny Rees Health Correspondent BBC Former Royal Navy engineer, Lee, has been through rehabilitation for alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) Thousands of people with alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) could be going undiagnosed, an expert says. Research suggests consuming 35 units of alcohol per week for five years or more can cause ARBD, which affects a person’s ability to carry out basic …

Read More »

Abortion arrest: Leaked recording reveals police had serious concerns

Abortion arrest: Leaked recording reveals police had serious concerns

Anna Meisel BBC File on 4 Investigates BBC Nicola Packer was recently found not guilty of illegally taking a substance with the intent to miscarry A secret recording, leaked to the BBC, reveals a senior police officer had serious concerns over the controversial arrest of a woman who took abortion pills when about 26 weeks pregnant – when she believed …

Read More »

‘My life was saved by a stranger on the other side of the world’

‘My life was saved by a stranger on the other side of the world’

Fi Lamdin & Emma Petrie BBC News Caters Photographic Luke Melling, right, meets Alastair Hawken three years after a life-saving stem cell donation A man with a rare form of blood cancer has travelled 10,000 miles to meet the stranger who saved his life. Luke Melling, 31, from Melbourne, Australia, says he was “staring death in the face” before receiving …

Read More »