Former scrum-half admits family illnesses made it difficult for him to embrace his achievement of being England’s most-capped player “I found it hard, I really did,” Ben Youngs says as he explains why it was once so difficult to embrace his achievement of playing more times for England than any...
Cheap supplies of HIV-prevention jab for poorer countries hailed as ‘genuine chance to end’ global epidemic
Lenacapavir described as ‘next best thing’ to an HIV vaccine will cost $40 a year for each patient in 120 countries from 2027, funders say Cheap supplies of a groundbreaking twice-yearly HIV prevention jab will be available in many poorer countries within two years, funders have promised. Lenacapavir will cost...
Farage refuses to criticise Trump over paracetamol despite health experts dismissing autism claims
Reform UK leader says he has ‘no idea’ if US president is right to tell women to avoid drug during pregnancy UK politics live – latest updates Nigel Farage has refused to criticise Donald Trump’s claims that paracetamol, sold in the US as Tylenol, could cause autism, saying “science is...
World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life
Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressed The world’s oceans have failed a key planetary health check for the first time, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels, a report has shown. In its latest annual assessment, the...
Huntington’s disease treated successfully for first time in UK gene therapy trial
Surgical procedure to treat devastating illness slowed progress of disease by 75% in patients after three years Huntington’s disease, a devastating degenerative illness that runs in families, has been treated successfully for the first time in a breakthrough gene therapy trial. The disease, caused by a single gene defect, steadily...
Women who miss first breast cancer screening at ‘40% higher risk’ of dying from the disease
Study monitored 500,000 women from Sweden and found 32% did not attend first mammogram appointment Women who miss their first breast cancer screening appointment have a 40% higher risk of dying from the disease, according to a new study. Experts at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden analysed data for about...
Plant that mimics odour of half-eaten ants to attract pollinators discovered
Botanist says new Japanese species of dogbane is first evidence of plants copying ants It’s a stark demonstration of nature at its most devious: researchers have discovered a plant that attracts pollinating flies by mimicking the odour of half-eaten ants. The species of dogbane is the first plant known to...
Fact-checking Trump’s autism announcement – podcast
In a televised press conference on Monday, Donald Trump and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr made a series of unproven claims about autism and its links to paracetamol use in pregnant women, and about childhood vaccinations. The comments were immediately refuted by scientists and health agencies around the world,...
Supercentenarian gives scientists insight on secrets of healthy old age
Tests on Maria Branyas Morera, who was world’s oldest person before she died last year aged 117, gave doctors a trove of discoveries The nonagenarian actor Dame Joan Collins may have been on to something when she declared “age is just a number”. The deepest dive yet into the biology...