Health Check

For some communities in South Africa coming-of-age initiations are a hugely significant moment, but there have been rising concerns over the safety of the circumcisions at the heart of this ritual. 48 young men died last year and the government are now introducing measures to tackle the issue. BBC’s Southern Africa correspondent Pumza Fihlani reports on the latest.
Research suggests our hair does not grow by pushing up and out but by being pulled by a coordinated network of moving cells. Our studio guest Graham Easton, Professor of Clinical Communication Skills and former family doctor discusses the significance.
What’s the best way to encourage more people to give blood? New research from China evaluates system where donors were offered incentives such as free access to public bus services. Professor of Health Psychology Eamonn Ferguson puts this in the context of different approaches used worldwide.
And should doctors use emojis in communications with patients? A new paper analyses how many are used and which ones by clinicians and patients in Michigan, USA. We discuss the pros and cons of their use.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Hannah Robins
Assistant Producers: Jonathan Blackwell
Researcher: Anna Charalambou

Joined by BBC Brazil reporter Camilla Mota, presenter Claudia Hammond discusses new research from the U.S. that has found that people who have had a vaccine against shingles seem to be aging more slowly.
We hear from James Tibenderana, Chief Executive of Malaria Consortium about research from Brazil that shows that as deforestation expands, mosquitoes are increasingly using humans as a blood source instead of wildlife. What does this mean for the spread of mosquito-borne diseases?
Plus, why does Brazil have a particularly high number of supercentenarians? And could swearing make you stronger?
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Hannah Robins
Assistant Producers: Jonathan Blackwell and Anna Charalambou

We are often told exercise is good for boosting your mood, but a new Cochrane review has looked at what the evidence says about how much difference exercise can really make when treating depression.
Many patients with chronic conditions fail to take medications as prescribed. We discuss a novel pill casing that can send a signal once it has been broken down in the stomach. Prof Giovanni Traverso, gastroenterologist and director of the Laboratory for Translational Engineering at MIT, explains how it works.
A year on from the USAID freeze, global health journalist Andrew Green unpicks America’s radically different influence on world health today.
In Malawi’s townships, many families can no longer afford charcoal or gas. Instead, they turn to burning plastic waste as cooking fuel. This keeps food on the table but fills kitchens and markets with toxic smoke, contributing to respiratory illness, pregnancy complications, and environmental damage. We hear from our reporter, Carrim Mpaweni.
And we look at auto-brewery syndrome as researchers search for why some people’s gut microbes produce high alcohol levels.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Hannah Robins
Assistant producers: Jonathan Blackwell and Anna Charalambou

China has just brought in taxes on contraception including condoms in a bid to increase the nation’s birth rate. What impact could this have when considered alongside other “fertility-friendly” policies? Global Health reporter Dorcas Wangira gives her verdict.
Could RSV vaccination dramatically reduce childhood asthma? Professor Bart Lambrecht from Ghent University shares his latest research suggesting just that.
How school-based vaccination programmes for HPV may provide cancer protection through herd immunity.
Plus, BBC reporter Erika Benke takes us to a Finnish sauna to understand what we do, and don’t know about the impact the ancient practice has on our health and wellbeing.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Hannah Robins
Assistant Producer: Katie Tomsett

In the past decade there has been little progress in lowering malaria cases, with over half a million people still dying from the mosquito-borne disease every year. We look at the big ideas and innovations of the future that could help us eliminate malaria once and for all.
What would happen if we got rid of the insect responsible for spreading the malaria parasite? Claudia heads to Imperial College London where she is joined by Dr Federica Bernardini and their 120 colonies of mosquitos to find out how revolutionary genetic technologies are aiming to do just that.
Picking up on Imperial’s work in the field is Principal Investigator at Target Malaria in Uganda, Dr Jonathan Kayondo. His job is to understand what it would mean to release these modified mosquitos into the wild.
Looking at the existing tools that need levelling up is Dr Rob Moon, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Dr James Tibenderana, Chief Executive at the Malaria Consortium. Alongside Claudia they look at the next generation of vaccines and the importance of accessible rapid diagnostic tests.
But is all this going to be enough to eliminate malaria?
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Katie Tomsett