This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for discoveries that explain how the immune system attacks hostile infections, but not the body's own cells. We explain the science that won Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and US researchers Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell the prestigious award.

How robots can help children with reading anxiety. Lauren Wright from the University of Chicago who led this research explains.

A new targeted antibiotic has been found that treats Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Dr Graham Easton who is Professor of Clinical Communication Skills at Queen Mary University of London describes how it works.

Missing your first mammogram appointment has as much impact on breast cancer outcomes than an inherited genetic risk according to new research. Ziyan Ma from the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Karolinska Institute tells us more.

And should we reconsider how we treat blood pressure?

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

Functional human eggs have been generated using human skin cells in a breakthrough study. What impact could this have on couples with fertility issues? BBC Health Correspondent James Gallagher explains.

How long covid is affecting menstrual cycles. Dr Jackie Maybin, Reader and Consultant Gynaecologist at the Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian explains her findings.

With a rising trend of parents using unprescribed melatonin to help their children sleep, we examine the risks.

G6PD deficiency affects more than 400 million people worldwide, but new research led by the University of Exeter in the UK reveals that it distorts the standard diagnostic test for diabetes. As a result, potential cases are missed. We ask what can be done to address this issue.

And a new eye drop that’s been improving presbyopia, an ocular condition that often occurs as we age, causing long-sightedness.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

President Trump has claimed that consuming Tylenol, or paracetamol, whilst pregnant can increase the risk of autism in children; Claudia is joined by Professor of Clinical Epidemiology Laurie Tomlinson to fact-check this unproven statement.

Also on the show, BBC’s Philippa Roxby joins Claudia to share a breakthrough in treating Huntington’s disease. In a medical first doctors have used gene therapy to slow the progression of this fatal genetic disorder where a patient’s movement, thinking, and mood deteriorates over time.

Reporter Carrim Mpaweni explores how Malawi is currently dealing with Cholera, and the role climate change is playing in exacerbating outbreaks of the disease.

Plus, how South Korean researchers are exploring the use of glue guns as a way to repair broken bones.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

Image Credit: Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In a ‘historical turning point’ there are now more overweight than underweight children and teenagers worldwide according to a new report from UNICEF. Claudia Hammond is joined by BBC’s Laura Foster to understand what changes to our food environments may be driving this shift.

An international row has erupted over durian fruit, with China limiting imports of Vietnamese fruits due to health concerns. Journalist Sen Nguyen explores the potential health impacts of the durians and whether new regulations will put China’s concerns to rest.

Also on the show, how the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is progressing and the rapid response from health services.

Claudia is joined by Paula Prist from the International Union for Conservation of Nature to share her latest findings that Indigenous Amazon Territories may safeguard human health against certain fire-related and zoonotic diseases.

Plus, the latest AI tool in healthcare, Delphi-2M, has been announced. Likened to a weather forecast but for health, how might this tool help us predict the occurrence of over 1000 diseases in the future?

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

Is curiosity good for us, or should we learn a lesson from what curiosity did to the cat? And why does curiosity drive some people to explore the ends of the earth and beyond, while others just really aren’t very curious at all?

We invite a panel of people for whom curiosity is also at the centre of what they do to discuss the psychology of curiosity in front of an audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK.

They are...

Tim Peake – astronaut, test pilot and author. His lifelong curiosity took him to live for six months on the International Space station. While he was there he famously ran the London Marathon on a treadmill and he was the first British astronaut to walk in space.

Gosia Goclowska - a lecturer in the department of psychology at the University of Bath. She researches some of the more unusual emotions we experience such as curiosity, awe and surprise.

And Matthias Gruber - an associate professor of psychology at the University of Cardiff. His research focuses on the neuroscience of curiosity and learning.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

Millions of us take aspirin daily to ward off heart attack or stroke, but a new study has found an alternative blood thinner, clopidogrel, could be more effective. We find out how it compares.

An oral health check-up at least two weeks before surgery has shown to reduce the risk of post-operative infections such as pneumonia as well as reduce the length of a patients' hospital stay. Dr Kristina Wanyonyi-Kay Research Programme Leader at The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute at the University of Cambridge assesses what this Japanese study tells is about the connection between oral health and the rest of our bodies.

The Africa CDC and WHO have just launched ambitious targets to cut Cholera by 90% across Africa. Global health journalist Andrew Green assesses if this target is likely to be met with the measures proposed.

We meet a Chilean football team who’ve all had organ transplants. They’re trying to raise awareness and improve the number of donors in the country. Our reporter Jane Chambers went to Santiago to find out more.

Could music help or worsen travel sickness? A study in China found happy music improved symptoms whilst sad music made them worse.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

One in five of us suffer with chronic pain globally and the exact cause of it is often unknown making it very hard to treat. However, in what has been hailed as a remarkable breakthrough, a gene has been identified that is critical for regulating pain signals. Professor David Bennett, head of Clinical Neurology at Oxford, who led the research explains.

BBC Africa’s health correspondent Dorcas Wangira joins Claudia to delve into a decade-long research programme that found child mortality rates almost halved when poorer families in Kenya were given $1000 unconditionally.

Chhavi Sachdev reports from India where government efforts to curtail rising rabies infections from stray dog bites has caused mass uproar.

We explore the drivers behind a global wildfire paradox where scientists have observed a decline in the total area burned by fires but found the number of people exposed to wildfires has increased.

Plus, Dorcas brings us the latest on the $9.7 million worth of contraceptives due to be destroyed after the scaling back of USAID.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

AI models have helped to discover new potential antibiotics to treat drug resistant infections of gonorrhoea and MRSA. We speak to Professor Jim Collins from MIT to understand what’s next for his machine-generated medicines and the role AI could play in the future of drug discovery.

We consider a new review that found no evidence ketamine is effective at helping those with chronic pain, despite it being prescribed off-label for this use in some countries.

As negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty are due to conclude at the United Nations, we check in on whether health is on the agenda with Dr Cressida Bowyer, Associate Professor in Arts and Sustainability from the University of Portsmouth in the UK who is at the conference.

We also hear from John Chweya, a Kenyan waste picker, who has seen the impacts of plastic waste firsthand and delve into the scientific evidence about how plastic harms health with Dr Stephanie Wright, Associate Professor in Environmental Toxicology at Imperial College London.

25 years on from the SuperAgers research project being established, we catch up with lead investigator Sandra Weintraub who is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg Mesulam Institute to find out what factors link these age-defying brains.

Claudia and BBC Health Reporter Philippa Roxby have a go at conch blowing as there is new research saying it might help the breathing disorder obstructive sleep apnoea.

Plus, research into the relationship between a covid-19 infection and RSV in children.

UN-backed experts – the IPC - say the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" in Gaza and that there is mounting evidence that widespread malnutrition is driving a rapid rise in hunger-related deaths among the 2.1 million Palestinians there. Aid worker Olga Cherevko shares what she’s witnessed on the ground and Claudia is also joined by specialist Dr Marko Kerac to understand the health impacts of malnutrition and what interventions are urgently needed.

The WHO has issued an urgent call for action to tackle mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus that has seen increasing cases since the beginning of the year. Professor Trudie Lang explains how the hardest hit countries are responding.

Using virtual reality, scientists have discovered that our immune system kicks into action at just the sight of a sick person. Matt and Claudia look at the unusual methods used to understand how our brains prepare for contact with a pathogen.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond