It sounds bizarre, but the length of time you are able to stand on one leg is a powerful predictor of how long you will live and how healthy you will be. When I mentioned this in a column last year, many of you wrote in to say how you had done – and you also … Read more
How do the newly eased lockdown rules apply to people who are vulnerable and shielding? While restrictions continue to be loosened for the majority, people with health problems are currently being advised to continue shielding – adhering to the strictest stay-at-home measures. Parents caring for children or other vulnerable family members who need to shield will … Read more
Ever since Louise Brown, the world’s first ‘test-tube baby’, was born in 1978, medical science has made incredible progress in developing techniques to help couples who are struggling to conceive. These advances have bred a perception that conception is a right rather than a blessing — as well as throwing up a raft of increasingly … Read more
A four-year-old with cystic fibrosis has received the Christmas gift of her dreams – a wonder drug for her crippling condition. Ayda Louden’s family, from Carlisle, Cumbria, spent years calling for NHS access to Orkambi. It was finally approved in October. The schoolgirl got her first delivery of the life-changing drug, which should extend her life … Read more
A heartwarming video of a chemotherapy patient and his nurse singing a Christmas carol has gone viral. Penn Pennington, 67, a veteran musician, is currently battling non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the white blood cells, for the second time. Earlier this month, he was admitted to the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at TriStar Centennial in … Read more
Children’s eyes twinkle as they impatiently wait their turn to climb onto Santa’s lap and tell him a precious secret: what they’d like for Christmas. But, for more than a decade, all one Utah Santa Claus was keeping a secret of his own. ‘Every kid wanted the same thing, and that was a mumble,’ Mark … Read more
Healthy lifestyle may protect against dementia: Not smoking, avoiding alcohol and exercising more ‘cuts the risk of the memory-robbing disorder by a THIRD’ The study by Dutch academics followed 6,000 people for an average of 14 years They found having unhealthy habits raises the risk of dementia by around 29% But an unhealthy lifestyle ‘made … Read more
Putting folic acid in flour in Britain will save 400 babies each year, scientists say after move was introduced in 80 other countries If woman lacks folic acid when she conceives it increases risk of brain deformity The deficiency also hugely raises the risk of a baby being born with spina bifida Leading experts have … Read more
Until a few weeks ago, I had assumed hip fractures happen only to elderly women. That was until it happened to me. In late November, I was hurrying to the British Library when I slipped on wet leaves, falling on my hip. A man driving past saw me, stopped his car and gallantly helped me … Read more
Hey, it’s paw-ty time! Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me! Dilyn the Dog here, the nation’s Numero Uno hound, Downing Street top dog, celebrating being one year old this week. What can I tell you about my life so far, fans? I was born in Merthyr Tydfil, in a faraway land called Wales; … Read more