Health

A jab to protect pregnant women's babies against the Zika virus could be on the horizon. Experiments on mice found a single dose of a new vaccine crossed the placenta and protected unborn pups from contracting the disease. While relatively harmless in most people, causing mild fever and joint pains, the effects on pregnant women can be devastating. Last October mums-to-be in Britain were urged to cancel trips to Florida after two UK tourists caught the bug, which can cause...

New analysis of Google data has revealed searches for anxiety and its symptoms have increased significantly over the past decade - and it could be down to one factor. The research suggests people are turning to the internet and its resources to help deal with this mental health condition in greater numbers, with noticeable spikes around terrorist incidents. The latest NHS Psychiatric Morbidity Survey indicates that around 15 per cent of the UK population (some nine million people) suffer from...

The family of an artist who created paintings inspired by her terminal skin cancer and the way it made her body feel are hosting a posthumous exhibition of her work. Mother-of-three Lori Murdock began making the colourful and uplifting art after being told she had just months to live. Her family said the paintings were inspired by changes she could feel going on inside her body and the Cat scan images which revealed her cancer. File photo of Lori Murdock...

Word puzzles such as a daily crossword can give pensioners some of the the brain functions of people ten years younger, a new study has revealed. The puzzles improve memory, attention and reasoning and regular problem solving, leads to a sharp brain in later life. Puzzling could also help ward off cognitive decline and it has been proven that keeping an active mind reduces a decline in thinking skills. But experts say more studies need to be done to link...

Do you have things bugging you incredibly hard on a daily basis? Maybe your teeth are yellow or stained and you can’t seem to get rid of this problem. Or maybe you have really bad sleeping patterns that are destroying your productivity and making your life a mess.  Here, we will give you some really interesting “life hack” type tips for how you can make your health levels go off the charts. That might be a little bit of an...

THE world’s first scan using twin growth charts has taken place in the UK today at St George’s Hospital in south west London – marking a monumental moment for multiple birth families across the country. The charts mean twins can be accurately measured in the womb so health professionals can instantly recognise whether they are growing appropriately. It means hundreds of tiny lives could be saved when, previously, growth issues were misdiagnosed and inappropriately managed. The £25,000 research project to...

A damning report has described meat consumption as a "major public health concern". The 'Meat the Truth' report unveils how harmful eating meat really is and claims if people knew the facts, they wouldn’t take the risk. It includes ground-breaking scientific evidence that shows meat offers no health benefits and is linked to Britain’s biggest killers – heart disease and cancer. The risk of early death increases rapidly even at low intakes of red and processed meat. An 85g serving (a...

A young girl who lost her voice after brain tumour surgery can now only communicate using her iPad - and SIRI. Millie Garbutt was left unable to speak after having a life-saving tracheotomy after doctors operated on a brain tumour. Now the 12-year-old has to communicate using the text-to-speech function on her tablet computer - that uses the same voice as Apple's 'virtual assistant' Siri. Mum Emma Garbutt said: "She has an iPad and another electronic device which attaches to...

A young mum has become one of youngest to die of an asbestos-related disease at just 34 – but never found out how she contracted it. Tragic Kirsty List was told earlier this year she was unlikely to survive until Christmas but lost her brave battle last month, leaving five year-old daughter Aimee. The origins of her mesothelioma – a disease that more commonly affects older people – remains a mystery. She believed she may have got it either while...