Inside Health

James Gallagher stands by four lanes of traffic and inhales exhaust fumes all to see if he can see air pollution in his body. He looks at an intriguing finding that an mRNA vaccine might benefit people being treated with immunotherapy for some cancers and could we be on the cusp of a holy grail in dentistry? A breakthrough could mean we will soon be able to replace the enamel on our teeth.

Saunas are popping up all over the country, with many people claiming they relax muscles and help ease stress. But what does the science say? This week, James Gallagher travels to Môr A Sawna in Jackson’s Bay, Barry, where he treats himself to a sauna session and undergoes a number of physical tests to find out what benefits the sweaty heat could offer.

Next up, James visits The Advanced Neuropathies Centre in Cardiff to speak with Professor Liam Gray, a surgeon who is leading a pioneering treatment for Huntington’s disease.

Presenter: James Gallagher

This episode was produced in partnership with The Open University.

In 1964, the future for children born with Cystic Fibrosis was grim - most faced a life cut tragically short. Today, the majority of people living with CF in the UK are adults, a testament to extraordinary medical progress.

We meet Annabelle who lives with Cystic Fibrosis, and once believed she might not see her 18th birthday. And we hear from Dr Imogen Felton, a respiratory consultant at Royal Brompton Hospital, with expertise in cystic fibrosis, who tells us about the therapies crucial to this extended prognosis.

The EDITH trial (Early Detection using Information Technology in Health) is testing how AI can help radiologists identify breast cancer at an earlier stage, transforming the future of diagnosis. We speak to Professor Sian Taylor-Philips, Professor of Population Health at the University of Warwick and co-leader of the trial.

In 2024, participation in Run Clubs across the UK surged by 64%. But does running in a group lead to better performance? To find out, James laces up for a jog around Hyde Park with the Monday Mood Booster Run Club and speaks with Arran Davis, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, who’s exploring the links between social interaction and physical activity.

Presenter: James Gallagher

Dementia is now the UK’s leading cause of death - but could a vaccine one day help prevent it? New data from Wales suggests the shingles vaccine is linked to a 20% lower risk of developing dementia in later life, adding to evidence that viral infections can influence brain health.

Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer, Assistant Prof of Medicine at Stanford University discusses his findings and the further evidence required to prove this link, along with Prof Tara Spires-Jones, Group Leader in the UK Dementia Research Institute.

The UK has begun using the world’s first gonorrhoea vaccine - though it was originally developed for meningitis. With antibiotic-resistant strains increasing, we speak to Dr Suneeta Soni about why gonorrhoea has been so hard to target with vaccines.

At the Bristol Robotics Lab, engineers are creating devices to support mobility in older age. James meets Jonathan Rossner and tries out “The Right Trousers” - an inflatable exoskeleton designed to help people walk and to strengthen their muscles.

Presenter: James Gallagher

More and more parents are using melatonin to help their children sleep - but there is little research on the long-term effects.

So, what do we know about the risks and is it ok to give it to children as an aid to help sleep?

James chats to Paul Gringras, professor of children’s sleep medicine and neurodisability at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Vicki Beevers, chief executive of The Sleep Charity.

Also this week, resident GP Margaret McCartney on the potential promise - and peril - of doctors using AI in the NHS, and should you eat your placenta? We hear from a dietician on whether there’s any evidence it’s good for you.

Presenter: James Gallagher

This episode was produced in partnership with The Open University.

Drug-related deaths are at their highest levels in England and Wales since records began 30 years ago.

Scotland has had the highest number of drug deaths in Europe for at least seven years. And the UK has even seen opioid-related deaths surpass the number of people dying in road traffic accidents.

So today on Inside Health we’re asking, what's the real story behind these numbers? Who is dying of a drug overdose and why - and how can we tackle this issue?

James Gallagher is joined by an expert panel, including:

- Professor Catriona Matheson, Professor in Substance Use at the University of Stirling and former chair of Scotland’s drug deaths taskforce

We also visit Professor Sir John Strang at the National Institute for Health and Care Research King’s Clinical Research Facility to see how he is experimenting with new ways of tackling rising deaths.

Professor Strang is based at the National Addictions Centre, King's College London, and monitors heroin users in the lab to see if this could in future bring about a wearable overdose detection device to save lives.

Presenter: James Gallagher

If you’ve been affected by addiction, details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

This episode was produced in partnership with The Open University.

Exosomes are tiny balls of fat that allow cells to communicate with each other in our bodies. They're being actively researched as an experimental new type of medicine, and they're also being used in the cosmetics industry in serums, as well as being injected into people's skin. Researchers have raised concerns about the safety of this hot new trend in beauty.

Presenter James Gallagher meets Dr James Edgar from the University of Cambridge who studies exosomes in his lab, he's also joined by consultant Kamal Kaur who advises the cosmetics industry on regulation around products containing exosomes, and we head to one of the UK's hot spots for beauty clinics and dermatology - the Marlyebone area of London - to meet consultant dermatologist in the NHS and One Wellbeck, Dr Ellie Rashid.

Also in the programme, a new physio app is being trialled by the NHS. It's been rolled out to patients in Lothian in Scotland and we meet the people who have been using it, the real-life physio behind it and hear whether apps could be the way many people access physio in the future.

Producer: Tom Bonnett with Debbie Kilbride

With bin strikes in Birmingham having gone on for months, James Gallagher heads to the Small Heath area of the city to ask what the health risks could be from rubbish left on the streets. He meets campaigners Shafaq, Ashid and Danni from End the Bin Strikes who tell him what residents are worried about. To discuss what diseases could be brewing and how they might spread, he's also joined by Professor Malcolm Bennett from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham and Martin Goldberg, Lecturer in Microbiology from Birmingham City University.

Following news that a child who contracted measles has died at a hospital in Liverpool, James also talks to Professor of Children's Health Helen Bedford from University College London about the risk of measles in the UK. And, over the past week James has been reporting on the news that children have born using a technique which uses two women’s eggs and a man’s sperm to prevent mitochondrial disease being passed from mother to child. The babies inherit around 0.1% of their overall genetic code from the donor woman. The UK became the first country in the world to make it legal back in 2015 after a big ethical debate about what should and shouldn’t be allowed. These kinds of ethical issues are becoming more and more pressing as technology is revolutionising fertility science. To discuss what questions we could be asking next, James speaks to Dr John Appleby, Co-Director for Medical Ethics and Law at Lancaster University.

Presenter: James Gallagher

As an era-defining summer of women’s sport kicks off, Inside Health looks at the science of sport and the female body.

What do we know about how female physiology affects sporting performance?

James visits Manchester to meet elite athletes and the scientists who are at the forefront of investigating the impact of periods on athletic performance and why women are more prone to certain injuries than men. He also hears about breast movement and why the right sports bra really matters.

You'll hear from:

Presenter: James Gallagher

This episode is produced in partnership with The Open University. Curious to know more? Try The Open University’s ‘Menstruation Myths’ quiz by following the links to The Open University.

The Prime Minister has launched a 'new era' for the NHS that aims to move away from reactive care in hospitals to preventing illness through community services. It's an ambitious plan and one with a lot of ambition and a lot of unknowns. James Gallagher discusses the plans with Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King's Fund, an independent think tank working to improve health and care across England, and Sally Gainsbury, Senior Policy Analyst at the Nuffield Trust, specialising in evidence-based research on health and social care provision in the UK.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being touted as a way to improve efficiency and save money in the 10 Year Plan and every day in healthcare there are headlines about new AI-driven tools that could revolutionise medicine. In a new mini-series, James hears about different ways AI is being used starting with heart scans that use AI to analyse large amounts of data to predict health outcomes in a way that would be near impossible for a human to achieve. He talks to Dr Arunashis Sau from the National Heart & Lung Institute at Imperial College, London.

Also, with a 200-year-old condom made from a sheep's insides attracting crowds to the Rijksmuseum in The Netherlands, James finds out about the history of condoms with cultural historian Dr Kate Stephenson.

Presenter: James Gallagher