Henrietta Lacks was only 31 years old when she died from cervical cancer in 1951. While she was in hospital in the USA, her cells were harvested without her knowledge which, since being replicated infinitely, have gone on to enable research into cancer, dementia and Parkinson’s. As well as contributing to the development of vaccines for polio and COVID-19. Her family have fought for decades to get justice for the “stolen” cells, and this week reached a settlement with Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

The United Nations says we now live in the era of "global boiling". As temperatures continue to soar across the southern USA, the BBC’s Health and Science Correspondent James Gallagher heads to a high-tech heated chamber in the UK, on a mission to find out how hot is too hot for our bodies to cope with.

In Sweden, dentist Dr Nivetha Natarajan Gavriilidou tells Claudia Hammond about her work using the bone structure of the jaw to predict how we might get shorter as we age. Could it lead to dentists working closer with GPs? It’s a question we also put to our studio guest family doctor Ann Robinson. Who brings us new research from the USA that could lead to better treatment for children’s runny noses. And potentially some good news if you’re struggling to shave seconds off your 5KM PB. Could beating your time be down to your genes?

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

The World Health Organisation and UNICEF say global immunisation services reached 4 million more children in 2022 compared to the previous year, after a huge backslide during the Covid 19 pandemic. But the progress in countries like India and Indonesia masks continued decline in many lower income countries. Global health expert Tabitha Mwangi and Claudia Hammond discuss how immunisation numbers can bounce back.

They also look at new research from Sub-Saharan Africa that suggests as many as one in 10 teenagers might have high blood pressure, and what might be the most effective way of lowering it?

While you may be gripped by the action from the Women’s football World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Dr Kerry Peek is keeping a careful eye on the games for health reasons. She’s one of a team of ‘concussion spotters’ deployed this year for the first time at the tournament. Claudia asks her why professional sports women are more at risk from head injuries than men.

And are you a perfectionist? Psychologist Dr Thom Curran says striving to be perfect could put our mental health at risk.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

(Photo: A child gets administered the polio vaccine from a health worker in Kabul, Afghanistan, 15 May 2023. Credit: SAMIULLAH POPAL Samiullah Popal/EPA)

Just months after the ‘momentous’ announcement of the first drug shown to slow the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, the results of a global trial into another have been published. The antibody medicine donanemab helped people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s by slowing the pace of the brain’s decline by about a third. Dr Graham Easton joins Claudia Hammond to look at what another ‘breakthrough’ means in practice.

They also look at new evidence from the USA that giving hearing aids to older people at risk from dementia could be another way to slow cognitive decline in some people.

While caring for women in childbirth, midwives are expected to be compassionate. Claudia hears from Dr Halima Musa Abdul, Senior Lecturer in Nursing Science at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, and to Dr Kaveri Mayra, who trained in India and is now a researcher at the University of British Columbia. They say that particularly in lower and middle income countries, midwives aren’t being shown enough compassion at work themselves.

And we hear from Germany where a portable brain scanner could provide a solution for people in hard-to-reach health clinics.

Image Credit: Andrew Brookes

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

“Sickle cell is not all that we are – Sickle Cell is solvable.” Lea Kilenga Bey from Kenya founded the non-profit Africa Sickle Cell Organisation to campaign on behalf of people like her who live with an inherited blood condition known as sickle cell disease. Now a group of experts from around the world are calling on Governments to provide better care for people with conditions like Lea’s. It comes just weeks after a study published in academic journal The Lancet Haematology showed that the number of people around the world who die with sickle cell disease could be as much as 11 times higher than previously estimated. Claudia Hammond speaks to Lea and hears from Professor Jennifer Knight-Madden in Jamaica where pioneering research has led to a newborn screening programme that helps to diagnose and treat Sickle Cell Disease in babies.

Side by Side is a pilot initiative led by the Alzheimer’s Society in the UK, pairing up volunteers with people living with dementia based on their common interests. It’s how David met Simon, who learnt he had Alzheimer’s disease during the Covid 19 lockdown. We hear from David, Simon, and Simon’s wife Ruth about the pair’s weekly walks and how they have helped Simon come to terms with his diagnosis.

And Claudia is joined by Consultant in public health Dr Ike Anya. They discuss new research on living with dementia including a study that suggests resistance training might delay the onset of symptoms in people with Alzheimer’s. There’s an early breakthrough in finding a treatment for parasitic born African Trypanosomiasis or Sleeping Sickness. And the researchers combining health education with street theatre in Malawi. How an interactive performance involving “infectious” beach balls transmitted by a giant Tsetse fly is teaching people about catching Sleeping Sickness.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

Image credit: Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library

Since early times, the drum has been part of human society. But have you ever considered how drumming might actually improve our physical and mental health? Researchers from the University of Essex are at this year’s annual Royal Society’s Summer Exhibition in London to talk to the public about their work which shows drumming during a rock concert might give you a similar workout as playing football.

Along with the BBC’s health and science correspondent, James Gallagher, Claudia Hammond gets a drumming lesson.

They also hear how specially designed audio is being used in virtual reality gaming to train the brains of people with hearing impairments. How micro-robots may provide the future of intricate eye surgery. And how laser technology currently being deployed by the Mars Rover could revolutionise the way we screen our bodies for diseases.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

(Photo: Drumming workshop plus drumming teacher Richard Davis)

African HIV research now makes up almost a third of total research being conducted into the virus. A new study highlights how it has increased from just 5 per cent in 1986. But there’s still a way to go until the quantity of research reflects the burden of HIV infections on the African continent. Claudia Hammond speaks to Professor Thumbi Ndung’u and Dr Omolara Baiyegunhi from the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa about the future of research being conducted in Africa by Africans and why it matters.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is now the fastest growing liver disease in Europe. It already affects 38 per cent of people around the world. We hear from Vienna in Austria where a mobile clinic is offering people liver scans, and specialists have been teaching school children about liver health.

Dr Ann Robinson joins Claudia in the studio to discuss the latest health research including a US study with good news for people diagnosed early with a skin cancer known as melanoma. And a simple reason why staying up late might mean you won’t live as long as someone who enjoys an early start to the day.

And who better to crunch the data on siestas than the President of the Spanish Federation of Sleep Medicine Societies. Dr Carlos Egea explains how the modern siesta is more about taking a short time to relax, rather than a long afternoon sleep.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

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When the Myanmar military staged a coup d’état in February 2021, many healthcare workers became the first government employees to react, announcing a boycott of state-run hospitals. Today, there are doctors, nurses and other health workers providing services across the country, outside of state hospitals and often in secret. Claudia Hammond hears how they are struggling to provide clinics with dwindling resources and equipment and about the impact it’s having on people’s health.

We hear from Salvador in Brazil where a joint effort between local people, the Federal University of Bahia and the University of Liverpool is aiming to track rats to try to control the spread of the bacterial disease Leptospirosis.

And Professor of Integrated Community Child Health at University College London, Monica Lakhanpaul brings us new research to discuss on the effects of polluted water on babies, why taking a short nap might be good for brain health. And an early study that suggests the painful condition Endometriosis, where tissue from the lining of the uterus moves to other organs in the body, might be caused by bacteria. If the link exists, could it provide hope for new treatments?

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

Image Credit: Visoot Uthairam | GETTY IMAGES | Creative #:862142692

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease which spreads to humans and can cause fever and severe joint pain, sometimes felt long term. It’s most common in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. But just like better known diseases Dengue and Zika, outbreaks look set to become more widespread as the world warms. We hear from Josie Shillito who caught Chikungunya while working on the island of Réunion. And Reader in Virus Evolution at Imperial College London, Dr Nuno R. Faria gives his reaction to news of the first phase three vaccination trial for the disease.

In the first of a new series where we try to answer your health questions, we hear from Steve from New Zealand who wants to know about the connection between migraines and vertigo. Dr Michael Strupp, Professor of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology at the University of Munich sheds some light.

BBC health reporter Philippa Roxby joins Claudia Hammond to discuss the latest health research. This week we hear about a shortage of blood available for transfusions across Sub-Saharan Africa. A study from the US estimating how many lives of people with covid would have been saved if the vaccines had been shared evenly around the world; How a drug more commonly used to treat diabetes might lower the risk of developing long covid. And a study from Taiwan where subterranean robots have been used to destroy mosquito breeding sites in sewers.

Image Credit: Reuters

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

When China abruptly ended its tough lockdown policy in December 2022, Covid cases in the country rose rapidly. The Government’s official death toll was 121,000, but medical epidemiologist Ray Yip is one of several experts estimating it could have been much higher. Now China is experiencing another wave of Covid-19 fuelled by the Omicron variant, but this time the nation seems determined to continue with normal life. Claudia Hammond speaks to journalist Cindy Sui who has interviewed Chinese people about how authorities are handling the virus.

Claudia investigates the rise of medical journals and events, which might not be what they first appear. So called ‘pseudo-journals' have even been known to accept complete fiction.

She is also joined by professor of Epidemiology at Boston University Matt Fox to discuss recent trials of a new low cost meningitis vaccine in Mali and The Gambia. If rolled out it could protect against the five main meningococcal strains found in Africa. And a new way of detecting dangerous blood loss after birth. A randomised trial shows a plastic drape, costing between 1 and 2 US dollars might significantly lower the number of deaths by post-partum haemorrhage.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

As Uganda approves some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ legislation in the world, we hear from Dr Chloe Orkin, Professor of infection and inequities at Queen Mary University in London about the impact the new laws are already having on HIV health services.

Strict abortion laws in some US states are causing women to travel hundreds of miles to terminate their pregnancies across state lines. In the latest in our series on the health impacts of the US Supreme Court ruling on abortion, Claudia Hammond discusses the mental health consequences that these abortion restrictions can have. She speaks to Nancy Davis from Louisiana who had to travel over 1,300 miles to New York for a medically advised abortion after being told her unborn baby would not live to term. We also hear from Dr. Katherine Wisner, Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Northwestern University in Chicago, who has researched the mental health ramifications of abortion restrictions.

BBC health and science correspondent James Gallagher discusses the reaction to a new UK study which claims that including certain foods and drinks can prevent age related memory loss. And how researchers in Canada and the USA have discovered a new superbug killing antibiotic using AI.

Image Credit: Jadwiga Figula

Presenter: Claudia Hammond