Behind the Headlines

Are 'turbocharged' immune cells key to cancer cure?

Friday Jan 4 2013

"Immune system 'booster' may hit cancer," BBC News reports. The headlines follow Japanese research where stem cells were used to clone and produce large numbers of a specialised type of white blood cell...

Dubious claims that crying babies 'self-soothe'

Friday Jan 4 2013

'Want a good night's sleep? Let the baby cry' is the deeply misleading headline in the The Daily Telegraph as they report on a study that presented absolutely no new evidence on whether leaving a baby to cry was either good or bad for the baby…

Is blinking a sign of a 'brain nap?'

Wednesday Jan 2 2013

The Daily Mail suggests that the reason we blink is so our brains can "switch off" and have a "little nap". The story is based on research in only 20 healthy adults in Japan looking at how natural blinking relates to brain activity

Quitting smoking 'reduces anxiety levels'

Wednesday Jan 2 2013

'Smoking does not relieve stress – but quitting does,' the Daily Mail reports. The story is based on research that looked at whether giving up – or trying to give up – smoking...

Overweight people 'live longer' study claims

Wednesday Jan 2 2013

“Being overweight can extend life rather than shorten it,” is the headline in The Independent. This and related headlines come from a large review of previous research...

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Spirituality 'link' to mental illness

Wednesday Jan 2 2013

'Spiritual people are more likely to be mentally ill' is today’s claim in the Daily Mail. They report on research which found that people with a spiritual views, but without conventional religious beliefs, had an increased risk of mental health problems…

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2012 Quiz of the Year

Monday Dec 31 2012

Have you been paying attention to the health news during 2012? If so, why not try our quiz of the year…

Calls for cosmetic surgery shake-up

Monday Dec 31 2012

Public calls for tighter regulation of the cosmetic surgery sector in the wake of the PIP breast implant scandal have been widely reported in the media.

The year in headlines: 2012

Friday Dec 28 2012

Here are our favourite, most popular, most controversial and most diverting stories that we've delved into over the course of 2012...

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The Behind the Headlines' Top Five of Top Fives

Thursday Dec 27 2012

As we move towards the end of the year, like all news sources, we fall back on that classic space filler – the list story. So without further ado, here is the official Behind the Headlines' Top Five of Top Fives stories of the year...