‘One Earth, One Health’: Yoga Day provides respite in a tumultuous world

‘One Earth, One Health’: Yoga Day provides respite in a tumultuous world

This powerful message of International Yoga Day, observed annually on 21 June, reverberated through UN Headquarters in New York on Friday as hundreds gathered to embrace the ancient, holistic practice. A familiar tradition now each year, the North Lawn once again transformed into an open-air yoga studio overlooking the East River.  Following a stretch of […]

WHO warns of a health financing emergency

WHO warns of a health financing emergency

Speaking at the regular Friday press briefing in Geneva for humanitarian agencies, she warned that as wealthier nations make deep spending cuts, both international aid and national health systems are facing serious disruption. Dr. Chalkidou highlighted recent decisions by the United States, several European governments, and EU bodies to freeze or scale down health aid. WHO […]

Climate emergency is a health crisis ‘that is already killing us,’ says WHO

Climate emergency is a health crisis ‘that is already killing us,’ says WHO

Europe is warming faster than any other WHO region, and the impact on people’s health is growing more severe. From rising death rates to increasing climate-related anxiety, nearly every health indicator linked to climate has worsened in recent years.  In response, WHO/Europe on Wednesday launched a new initiative – the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health (PECCH) […]

Pandemics to pollution: WHO Assembly delivers landmark health decisions

Pandemics to pollution: WHO Assembly delivers landmark health decisions

In addition, the Assembly endorsed a wide range of measures to promote health equity, reduce air pollution, and strengthen protections for vulnerable populations. “The words ‘historic’ and ‘landmark’ are overused, but they are perfectly apt to describe this year’s World Health Assembly,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the Assembly’s closing, ending nine days […]

Sudan conflict triggers regional health crisis, warns WHO

Sudan conflict triggers regional health crisis, warns WHO

“The ongoing conflict and displacement, in addition to fragile health infrastructure and limited access to affected populations, pose a risk of mass disease transmission,” the UN health agency said in a report issued Tuesday, urging immediate support to sustain surveillance, bolster outbreak response and preserve lifesaving health services. Since civil war erupted in April 2023, 14.5 […]

‘The world is failing its health checkup,’ says WHO

‘The world is failing its health checkup,’ says WHO

“Behind every data point is a person – a child who didn’t reach their fifth birthday, a mother lost in childbirth, a life cut short by a preventable disease,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as the organization’s latest statistics report revealed the pandemic’s deeper health impacts. Warning that overall progress is under threat today, […]

WHO chief laments most disruptive cuts to global health funding ‘in living memory’

WHO chief laments most disruptive cuts to global health funding ‘in living memory’

“We are living through the greatest disruption to global health financing in memory,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He cautioned that abrupt withdrawals of funding are jeopardising hard-won medical progress, including efforts to combat tropical diseases, which are now re-emerging in some regions. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he told […]

Health, education, opportunity at stake, amid stubborn digital gender divide

Health, education, opportunity at stake, amid stubborn digital gender divide

Closing this gap is not optional. There were189 million fewer women than men online in 2024.   The disparity is about more than access, it reflects deeper systemic barriers, according to ​Doreen Bogdan-Martin who heads the UN telecommunications agency, ITU. “That’s too many missed opportunities to learn, to earn and to shape our shared digital […]

What are Forever Chemicals? Study Reveals They’re Linked to Sleep Disruptions

What are Forever Chemicals? Study Reveals They’re Linked to Sleep Disruptions

A groundbreaking study led by the University of South California (USC) has unveiled a concerning link between high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as ‘forever chemicals’, and sleep disruptions. This research, published in the journal Environmental Advances, has shed light on the potential health risks associated with these pervasive chemicals. PFAS […]

Snoring Linked to High Blood Pressure, Australian Study Finds

Snoring Linked to High Blood Pressure, Australian Study Finds

A new Australian study has revealed that regular snoring may lead to higher blood pressure. Researchers from Flinders University in South Australia found that people who snore often are more likely to suffer from elevated blood pressure and uncontrolled hypertension. The study monitored 12,287 participants over six months, using home-based sleep tracking technology. It showed […]

London Underground polluted with metallic particles small enough to enter human bloodstream

London Underground polluted with metallic particles small enough to enter human bloodstream

The London Underground is polluted with ultrafine metallic particles small enough to end up in the human bloodstream, according to University of Cambridge researchers. These particles are so small that they are likely being underestimated in surveys of pollution in the world’s oldest metro system. The researchers carried out a new type of pollution analysis, […]

“Walnuts” the new brain food for stressed university students

“Walnuts” the new brain food for stressed university students

Stressed university students might want to add walnuts to their daily diet in the weeks leading up to their next exam. A new  clinical trial of undergraduate students during their university studies has shown positive effects of walnut consumption on self-reported measures of mental health and biomarkers of general health. The University of South Australia study, published in the […]

Researchers uncover factors linked to optimal aging

Researchers uncover factors linked to optimal aging

What are the keys to “successful” or optimal aging? A new study followed more than 7000 middle aged and older Canadians for approximately three years to identify the factors linked to well-being as we age. They found that those who were female, married, physically active and not obese and those who had never smoked, had […]

No more blood tests, now life-saving light beam to detect malaria

No more blood tests, now life-saving light beam to detect malaria

A fast, needle-free malaria detection tool developed by a University of Queensland-led team could help save hundreds of thousands of lives annually. Malaria is usually detected by a blood test, but scientists have devised a method using a device that shines a beam of harmless infrared light on a person’s ear or finger for five-to-10 […]

Detecting Alzheimer’s disease in the blood using Digital ICA

Detecting Alzheimer’s disease in the blood using Digital ICA

Researchers from Hokkaido University and Toppan have developed a method to detect build-up of amyloid β in the brain, a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, from biomarkers in blood samples. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease, characterised by a gradual loss of neurons and synapses in the brain. One of the primary causes of Alzheimer’s disease […]