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Have we got the science of obesity back to front?

5 January 2022

Putting on weight is often blamed on overeating, but new evidence is emerging that it is actually the other way round, says David S. Ludwig

HANOI, VIETNAM - SEPTEMBER 10: People wait in a queue to receive their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at a public COVID-19 vaccination centre on September 10, 2021 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Hanoi is aiming to mass test the entire city and vaccinate all its adult population with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot by September 15. Vaccinations in Vietnam are picking up pace as increased supplies arrive in the country, which is the EU's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. (Photo by Linh Pham/Getty Images)

The future course of the covid-19 pandemic is in all our hands

5 January 2022

We should expect more twists and turns with the coronavirus pandemic in 2022, but people's behaviour will make a big difference to how things play out

The Woebot Labs Inc. application is demonstrated for a photograph in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Friday, July 7, 2017. Woebot Labs develops health care software which offers a platform that makes therapy accessible and stigma-free for patient suffering from anxiety, depression, and mental health issues. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

I bonded with a quirky robot after chatting to it about my fears

5 January 2022

My new artificial friend, Woebot, helps me feel a little brighter – and evidence is mounting that it could lift your mood too, says Annalee Newitz

Empty bottles in green container; Shutterstock ID 145222138; purchase_order: 08 Jan 2021 issue; job: 08 Jan 2021 - Feature; client: Photo; other:

What the no-alcohol boom means for our drinking habits and health

5 January 2022

Low and no-alcohol drinks taste better than ever – but do they really help you cut down on boozing, and are they healthier than the real thing?

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is director general of the World Health Organization

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: How to alter the course of the pandemic

4 January 2022

What will it take to bring the pandemic under control? Vaccine equality, social measures and supporting the health workforce, says the head of the World Health Organization

Theme park visitors show their covid passes in France, July 2021

Covid-19: What can we expect from the pandemic in 2022?

4 January 2022

In the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, expect more variants, lower death rates and some continuing restrictions

A new hospital was rapidly built in Wuhan, China, in early 2020

Two years of covid-19: What we’ve learned during the pandemic so far

31 December 2021

It's now been two years since Chinese authorities first informed the World Health Organization about an unknown virus in Wuhan. How has our understanding of the virus changed since then and where does that leave us?