Health Check

Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.

World Service,916 episodes

Episodes

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What effect does exercise really have on depression?
New review compares exercise, medication and psychological therapy in treating depression
14 Jan 2026,26 mins
China’s latest bid to boost its birth rate
What impact might taxes on contraceptives have in China?
07 Jan 2026,26 mins
How can we eliminate malaria?
The big ideas and innovations that may help us one day eliminate malaria
31 Dec 2025,26 mins
2025: A big year for tackling malaria
The new drugs, gadgets and vaccines making a difference
24 Dec 2025,26 mins
Behind the Huntington’s disease breakthrough
The world’s first gene therapy to treat Huntington’s disease
17 Dec 2025,26 mins
Shingles vaccine slows the progression of dementia
We unpick further research on the benefits of the shingles vaccine
10 Dec 2025,26 mins
The risky use of skin lightening in children
A new study finds 20% of Nigerian under-5s have been exposed to skin-lightening products
03 Dec 2025,26 mins
Childhood hypertension becomes more common
New study finds the prevalence of high blood pressure in childhood has doubled since 2000
26 Nov 2025,26 mins
The disappearing mid-life crisis
The trend in wellbeing over our lifespans is changing, driven by unhappier young people
19 Nov 2025,26 mins
Canada loses measles elimination status
Why are measles cases continuing to spread in North America and beyond?
12 Nov 2025,26 mins
Cloud seeding to cut air pollution in Delhi
We hear the fallout of a failed attempt at cloud seeding to cut pollution in Delhi
05 Nov 2025,26 mins
What surpassing 1.5°C means for global health
How can we protect global health in a world that will ‘inevitably’ warm past 1.5 degrees?
29 Oct 2025,26 mins
How impostors distort medical research
How to find human and bot impostors amongst real participants in health research
22 Oct 2025,26 mins
How to prioritise aid in Gaza
What impact will aid deliveries have to health in Gaza
15 Oct 2025,26 mins
Immune system researchers win Nobel Prize
We explain the science behind the Nobel winners
08 Oct 2025,26 mins
Creating human eggs from skin cells
How cell reprogramming might help address infertility
01 Oct 2025,26 mins
Trump’s unproven claims on autism and paracetamol
We fact-check Trump’s claims that paracetamol is linked to an increased risk of autism
24 Sep 2025,26 mins
More children are obese than underweight
For the first time there are more overweight than underweight children globally
17 Sep 2025,26 mins
The psychology of curiosity
Astronaut Tim Peake and panel discuss if curiosity is good for us
10 Sep 2025,26 mins
Have we found a better alternative to aspirin?
An alternative blood thinner is showing improvements in warding off heart attack
03 Sep 2025,26 mins
A breakthrough in treating chronic pain
A gene has been identified that is critical for regulating pain signals
27 Aug 2025,26 mins
Using AI to discover new antibiotics
How AI has helped find potential new antibiotics to fight gonorrhoea and MRSA
20 Aug 2025,26 mins
How plastic harms health
As negotiations conclude on a global treaty, we consider how plastic affects our health
13 Aug 2025,26 mins
Malnutrition in Gaza
The impact of malnutrition on health and the aid needed in Gaza
06 Aug 2025,26 mins
Making human blood deadly to mosquitoes
We assess a novel technique to combat malaria
30 Jul 2025,26 mins
Do you really have a penicillin allergy?
How more accurate allergy labels would improve patient outcomes
23 Jul 2025,26 mins
HIV prevention drug Lenacapavir recommended by WHO
What difference could this make in the fight against HIV?
16 Jul 2025,26 mins
First malaria treatment approved for newborns
The new dose strength is the first approved malaria treatment for neonates
09 Jul 2025,26 mins
Can bacteria-eating viruses be used to fight superbugs?
How phage-therapy could tackle antimicrobial resistance.
02 Jul 2025,26 mins
Childhood vaccination coverage stalls worldwide
Childhood vaccination coverage stalls despite huge progress since the 1970s
25 Jun 2025,26 mins