Inside Health

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 Production: Tom Bonnett with Debbie Kilbride and Minnie Harrop Made in collaboration with the Open University

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: - Calli Hauger-Thackery, a distance runner who has represented Team GB in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games; - Kirsty Elliott-Sale, Professor of Female Endocrinology and Exercise Physiology at Manchester Metropolitan University; - Dr Thomas Dos'Santos, Senior Lecturer in Strength and Conditioning and Sports Biomechanics at Manchester Metropolitan University; - Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, Professor of Biomechanics and Head of the Research Group in Breast Health at the University of Portsmouth; - Katy Daley-McLean, former England rugby captain and leading England point scorer of all time, now Women's Performance Lead at Sale Sharks Women Presenter: James Gallagher Producer Gerry Holt Editor: Glyn Tansley and Martin Smith Production coordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth 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 Producer: Tom Bonnett Additional production: Ella Hubber Editors: Glyn Tansley and Martin Smith

When the sun shines, out come the warnings that we all need to be careful in the sun to avoid burning and the risk of skin cancer. There are, though, those who believe that sort of public health messaging isn't positive enough about the benefits of the sun. As James Gallagher hears on the streets of Brighton, many of us know about the health benefits of vitamin d but new research suggests other benefits could be important for our health too. Should we working harder to get a balance of taking care in the sun but making sure we get enough exposure to it? James Gallagher looks at the evidence with Dr Richard Weller, Personal Chair of Medical Dermatology and Honorary Consultant Dermatologist at the University of Edinburgh, Dr Zoe Venables, a dermatologist with an interest in skin cancer epidemiology at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals, and Dr Margaret McCartney, GP, expert in evidence-based medicine. This episode is produced in partnership with The Open University. Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett Assistant Producer: Katie Tomsett Editor: Glyn Tansley

In their new BBC Radio 4 podcast, Drs Chris and Xand are on a mission to help us take better care of ourselves.

What's the science behind a sweet tooth? James Gallagher explores whether sugar really can be addicted and what happens in our bodies when we want it and when we eat it. He's joined by Professor Susanne Dickson, who specialises in the neurobiology of appetite at the University of Gothenburg, and Professor James Brown from the School of Biosciences at Aston University. With Easter coming up, James meets dental hygienist and researcher Dr Claire McCarthy from King's College London in the BBC loos to get some top tips on keeping our teeth clean and gets a few pointers on where he could do with brushing up on his technique. Presenter: James Gallagher Producers: Tom Bonnett and Hannah Robins Assistant Producer: Anna Charalambou

We continue our exploration of some of the issues that could crop up if assisted dying becomes law under The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill that is currently working its way through Parliament. Today we consider what those final moments might be like and if the ideal of a peaceful death is a reality with the drug options currently available. To discuss we're joined by: Katherine Sleeman - Professor of Palliative Care at King's College London David Nicholl - Consultant Neurologist at University Hospital Birmingham Mark Taubert - Consultant Palliative Medicine at NHS Wales Erica Borgstrom - Professor of Medical Anthropology at The Open University It's claimed that within each of us there is a credit card's worth of microplastics. We dig into the figures underlying that with Kit Yates, Professor of Mathematical Biology at the University of Bath. And, we answer your questions after our programme on hearing loss with audiologist Dr Hannah Cooper, Kevin Munro, Professor of Audiology at the University of Manchester and Nish Mehta, an Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon at Royal National ENT Hospital. Presenter: James Gallagher Producers: Hannah Robins and Tom Bonnett Editor: Holly Squire

We continue our exploration of some of the issues that could crop up if assisted dying becomes law under The Terminally Ill Adults End of Life Bill that is currently working its way through Parliament. Today we tackle safeguarding. How can we be certain an assisted death is what the person wants? And who should even bring up the conversation? To discuss we're joined by: Katherine Sleeman - Professor of Palliative Care at King's College London David Nicholl - Consultant Neurologist at University Hospital Birmingham Mark Taubert - Consultant Palliative Medicine at NHS Wales Erica Borgstrom - Professor of Medical Anthropology at The Open University Presenter: James Gallahgher Producers: Hannah Robins Assistant Production: Tom Bonnett and Siobhan

The Terminally Ill Adults End of Life Bill is working its way through Parliament. If it became law in England and Wales it would be one of those moments in history that profoundly changes society. There are similar discussions taking place in Scotland, the Isle of Man and Jersey too. To be clear about what we’re doing on Inside Health. We’re not going to debate the rights or wrongs of assisted dying. Or go through the politics of the Bill. Instead, over the next few episodes we’re going to explore some of the issues that will come up if assisted dying goes ahead. We’re going to start with eligibility and who could get an assisted death under the proposed rules? To discuss we're joined by: Katherine Sleeman - Professor of Palliative Care at King's College London David Nicholl - Consultant Neurologist at University Hospital Birmingham Mark Taubert - Consultant Palliative Medicine at NHS Wales Erica Borgstrom - Professor of Medical Anthropology at The Open University Also in the programme we have exclusive research on the differences between men and women’s immune systems and why that affects the risks of infection and even autoimmune disease. James speaks Professor Lucy Wedderburn from the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Director of the Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology at University College London, and Associate Professor Dr Lizzy Rosser also from the Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology at University College London. Presenter: James Gallagher Producers: Hannah Robins & Tom Bonnett

John is registered blind, and relies on his hearing to get around in his everyday life. But as he has got older, he’s started to notice his hearing deteriorate. He wants to know – is there anything available in between the initial solution of wax removal, and the final destination of hearing aids? He emailed Inside Health to ask James Gallagher to investigate. James speaks to Nish Mehta, an Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon at Royal National ENT Hospital, to find out how we hear, and learn about the different causes of hearing loss. He then visits UCL Ear Institute to undergo a hearing test with audiologist Dr Hannah Cooper, and see the potential future of hearing tests with Professor Maria Chait, an auditory cognitive neuroscientist. But hearing in day to day life is not as simple as in a science laboratory. James meets Kevin Munro, Professor of Audiology at the University of Manchester, in a noisy café to discuss hearing aid technologies and learn about their latest advancements. Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Hannah Fisher Editor: Holly Squire and Colin Paterson

Five years on from the first Covid lockdown in the UK, we consider how the pandemic changed medicine. We're joined by Dr Emma Wall, academic consultant in Infectious Diseases at University College London Hospital who also runs a long covid clinic, Professor Katrina Pollock, Associate Professor in Vaccinology at the Oxford Vaccine Group and Jon Otter Director for Infection Prevention and Control at Guy’s Hospital London. Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Hannah Robins

Fitness trackers at the ready! Join James Gallagher at Cardiff Science Festival as he runs through the ways wearable tech is making an impact on health and how it might shape the future of medicines and care. With him are Dr Sanne Lugthart, Haematology consultant at the University Hospital of Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. She's pioneering using wearables and an app to track pain in people who suffer from sickle cell disease. Also on the panel is Professor Kathryn Peall who is Personal Chair, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University. Kathryn tells James all about working with data from the UK Biobank to test if wearables could predict Parkinson's disease. She's also developing 80s-style headbands that could help take hospital grade sleep monitoring to the comfort of the bedroom. And, running experiments with the audience and on his skydiving assistant Danni, James is also joined by Damian Bailey, Professor of Physiology and Biochemistry from the University of South Wales. Presenter: James Gallagher Producers: Tom Bonnett and Hannah Robins Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano Editor: Colin Paterson

When we hit our teens it's often a time when everything starts to change. We meet new friends through work or studies, we start going out more at night and we're often in new situations independent from our parents. For people with severe allergies it can be a risky time because they have all this change in their life, on top of what Priya Matharu calls the 'full time job' of managing your condition. Presenter James Gallagher talks to Priya about her experience of having severe allergies from a young age and how she has coped with reactions that mean just touching her face after chopping a carrot has put her in hospital. For Priya, when she reached adolescence and moved out of her family it was a scary time and she had to grow up quickly to take responsibility for her allergies. In a recent debate in the House of Lords it was discussed that moving young people out of the paediatric allergy services they have grown up with the support of and into adult services, just as everything else in their life is changing too can be really difficult for patients, and potentially dangerous. Dr Claudia Gore from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust shared her experience of working in a children's allergy clinic in London for that debate and she joins James along with Dr Paul Turner from Imperial College London to discuss how this transition from children's to adult services could be made safer and smoother for patients. Also in the programme, James is joined again by Dr Vanessa Apea, Consultant in Genito-Urinary and HIV medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust to answer more of your questions on genital herpes, UTIs and urinary incontinence. Presenter; James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett Assistant Producer: Anna Charalambou Editor: Colin Paterson

Has James been buying shoes that are bad his feet? He meets podiatrist Dao Tunprasert to find out how healthy his shoes are. Also, returning to our theme of health conditions you find embarrassing, we get the lowdown on genital herpes from Dr Vanessa Apea. She's consultant physician in Genito-urinary and HIV medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and answers some of your questions. Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett Assistant Producer: Siobhan Maguire

You sent in your questions on dementia and now we're tackling them. Professor Tara Spires-Jones, Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, joins James Gallagher to go through the insidehealth@bbc.co.uk mailbag. James also visits mushroom grower the Bristol Fungarium which has teamed up with the University of the West of England to examine a mushroom called lion's mane. Lion's mane has a lot of hype about it online as well as a long history in traditional medicine and neuroscientist Dr Tim Craig and his team are taking it into their to lab to investigate whether it might harbour properties that could benefit people with dementia. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions after listening to our episode 'What next for Alzheimer's treatment' which is available on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024ng7 Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett Editor: Holly Squire

James Gallagher discusses the risk from H5N1 bird flu in the UK as a poultry worker in the West Midlands is infected and looks to the US where the disease is spreading in cattle. He's joined by virologist Dr Ed Hutchinson from the University of Glasgow to discuss how the virus is evolving, whether we are edging closer to bird flu becoming a pandemic and how it's being handled in the US as President Trump's government takes office. Also, you've been sending in your questions on embarrassing health problems and lots of you have asked about the problem of leaking urine, known as urinary incontinence. James puts your questions to Dr Vanessa Apea, a consultant physician in Genito-urinary and HIV medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London. Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett

Pasteurising milk makes it safer, but are there any benefits to drinking it “raw”? James heads to a dairy farm to investigate the evidence and see if anything is lost in pasteurising milk. Guests: Professor Marion Nestle, food policy expert, New York University Dr Ellen Evans, food safety expert at Cardiff Metropolitan University Jonny Crickmore, Fen Farm Dairy and chairman of the Raw Milk Producers Association Professor Markus Ege, researcher, University of Munich Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett

From kombucha to cold water swims, sleep to supplements, so many things are claimed to help enhance your immune system. We investigate the evidence, and ask if it's possible to avoid catching a virus this winter (and still leave the house). Plus, James braves 3.9 degree water to see for himself if cold water swimming has any affect on our immune systems. Guests: Margaret McCartney - Resident GP and expert in evidence-based medicine John Tregoning - Professor in Vaccine Immunology at Imperial College London Eleanor Riley - Professor of Immunology and Infectious Disease at University of Edinburgh Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Hannah Robins Content Editor: Holly Squire The programme was produced in partnership with the Open University.

It has been a cold start to the year and for many that means the heating's on, windows are shut and we're drying clothes inside the house. For many people, mould becomes a major concern in winter and the health problems mould can cause have been under more scrutiny since the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died in 2020 from long-term exposure to mould at his home in Rochdale. At Imperial College London a study called WellHome is underway to monitor levels of mould and other indoor pollutants in homes across the west of the capital. Presenter James Gallagher meets Mum of four Roxanne who had monitoring equipment installed in her house to collect data that could lead to guidance on housing quality and inform how healthcare professionals look for and treat conditions affected by mould. Joining James at Roxanne's is WellHome's Dr Athena Trachalaki, a Respiratory Registrar with Imperial College NHS trust. With her, to go through all the pollutants that pose a risk to our health indoors is WellHome lead and Professor of Community Health and Policy at Imperial College, Frank Kelly. Dr Jonathan Grigg, Professor of Paediatric Respiratory and Environmental Medicine at Queen Mary University, London, tells James it could be the end of the line for the gas cooker, and Professor Alastair Lewis who is Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of York takes a virtual tour of James's home to discuss all the ways James could be cleaning up the air he breathes. Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett Editor: Holly Squire

In the UK, around a third of British children have tooth decay. Just among the under-fives, it's a quarter - a figure that rises significantly in the most deprived areas. Tooth decay can cause speech development issues, embarrassment for children and in 2023, 15 million school days were missed due to tooth pain or treatment. There’s a financial cost too – in 2023 in England alone tooth extractions under a general anaesthetic cost the NHS £41 million. And it's totally preventable. So, how can we stop teeth rotting in the first place? One way initiative announced by the new Labour government is to expand supervised toothbrushing sessions to more children. We find out how these work with Oral Health Team Lead Helen Bullingham who supports nurseries and schools in East Sussex to deliver these programmes. But what about the evidence to support this intervention? Zoe Marshman, Professor of Dental Public Health at University of Sheffield, explains her findings and dental hygienist and researcher at King's College London Dr Claire McCarthy describes what parents should be doing, in an ideal world, at home. And finally, what role does sugar play and how can we get consumption down? Dr Nina Rogers from the Population Health Innovation Lab at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine explains her findings into the impact of the Sugar Drinks Industry Levy introduced in 2018. Presenter: James Gallagher Producers: Hannah Robins Content Editor: Holly Squire Inside Health is a BBC Wales & West production for Radio 4, produced in partnership with The Open University.