Wearables measure a range of useful data – but are they missing the full picture?
Will Hicks and Louise Thomas We've entered an age of personal physiology. Wearables track our heart rate, sleep and VO2...
Analysis
What the world can learn from the Middle East’s wellness vision
Across the region, countries are aligning national visions with real investment in health, longevity, and quality of life.
Opinion
Saudi king treated for lung infection: statement
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's King Salman has a lung infection and is undergoing a treatment programme involving antibiotics, the...
- Earlier in the day, the Royal Court said King Salman was suffering from "high temperature" and would undergo medical tests at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah
- It was the second time in less than a month that the Saudi government had commented publicly about the 88-year-old king's health
Business
Iraq father begins legal action against BP over son’s cancer death
Rumaylah, Iraq - Hussein Julood is taking legal action against British energy giant BP after he lost his son to...
- The bereaved father, who lives near the Rumaila field in the southern province of Basra, is demanding that the firm compensate him for his son Ali's medical expenses
- He said no amount of money would make up for his son's death. But "what I am claiming is my right", added the 55-year-old father of seven, from his modest home
Geostrategy
From polar bears to groundwater, nature is riddled with ‘forever chemicals’
Paris, France - They didn't exist a century ago but today PFAS "forever chemicals" contaminate the environment from groundwater to Antarctic...
- On Thursday, a French legislator will introduce a bill to address what he calls the health "emergency" posed by exposure to PFAS in the environment
- Widely used in everyday items, highly durable, and very slow to break down, PFAS have been detected in water, air, fish and soil in the remotest corners of the globe
Geostrategy
Newborn mortality and malnutrition surges in Gaza, says WHO
"From different doctors, particularly in the maternity hospitals, they're reporting that they're seeing a big rise in children born with...
- WHO said that at Kamal Adwan, the only pediatric hospital in northern Gaza, at least 15 malnourished children are coming in per day.
- The organization is unable to establish precise statistics on child mortality because of the devastation in the Palestinian territory after six months of war.
Geostrategy
WHO says 9,000 patients need emergency evacuation from Gaza
"Around 9,000 patients urgently need to be evacuated abroad for lifesaving health services, including treatment for cancer, injuries from bombardments,...
- The WHO chief Ghebreyesus said that "Around 9,000 patients urgently need to be evacuated abroad for lifesaving health services".
- "With only 10 hospitals minimally functional across the whole of #Gaza, thousands of patients continue to be deprived of health care," WHO chief said.
Geostrategy
Poorer countries need money before raising climate targets, says COP29 head
Copenhagen, Denmark - Developing countries should not have to set stricter targets for cutting their carbon emissions before funds are available...
- Addressing the meeting, Azerbaijan's Mukhtar Babayev said "there is a growing gap between the needs of developing countries and what's available.
- This year, "finance will lie at the heart of climate diplomacy", said Babayev, the ecology and natural resources minister of Azerbaijan, host of COP29 climate summit.
Geostrategy
UN warns record e-waste in 2022 a catastrophe for environment
On average, every person on earth generates roughly 7.8 kilograms (17 pounds 3 ounces) of e-waste each year, said the...
- Less than one quarter of the 62 million tons of e-waste produced in 2022 was recycled, resulting in heavy metals, plastics and toxic chemicals leaking from junked devices
- The scourge is only going to worsen as demand for new technologies, including solar panels and electric vehicles, outpaces the ability to recycle, the report by UN says
Middle East poised to lead global crypto surge as Bitcoin eyes $100,000
Geneva, Switzerland - A major new study released by The Lancet Neurology shows that, in 2021, more than 3 billion people worldwide...
- Neurological conditions are now the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide
- The overall amount of illness and premature death caused by neurological conditions has risen by 18% since 1990
Science
Nervous system disorders surpass heart ailments as top cause of illness
Paris, France - Conditions affecting the nervous system -- such as strokes, migraines and dementia -- have surged past heart disease...
- More than 3.4 billion people -- 43 percent of the global population -- experienced a neurological condition in 2021, far more than had previously been thought, the analysis found.
- The researchers looked at how 37 different neurological conditions affected ill health, disability and premature death across 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2021.
Global child deaths reach historic low in 2022: UN report
Geneva, Switzerland – The number of children who died before their fifth birthday has reached a historic low, dropping to...
- The report reveals that more children are surviving today than ever before, with the global under-5 mortality rate declining by 51 percent since 2000
- The loss of life is primarily due to preventable or treatable causes, such as preterm birth, complications around the time of birth, pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria
Wearables measure a range of useful data – but are they missing the full picture?
Will Hicks and Louise Thomas We've entered an age of personal physiology. Wearables track our heart rate, sleep and VO2...
Analysis
Company News
Latest News
AI tool selfies predict biological age, cancer survival
FaceAge, a deep learning algorithm described Thursday in The  Lancet Digital Health, converts a simple headshot into a number that...
Science
Experts seek to legitimize AI mental health care
Researchers at Dartmouth College believe artificial intelligence can deliver reliable psychotherapy, distinguishing their work from the unproven and sometimes dubious...
Science
Cat sole survivor of 115-meter fall at Bryce Canyon National Park
Los Angeles, United States - A cat that fell alongside a couple into a 115-meter-high canyon was the only survivor...
Science
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Geostrategy
Abu Dhabi launches $500mn maternal health fund for Africa
Nairobi, Kenya -- A $500-million fund aimed at improving maternal and neonatal health in sub-Saharan Africa was launched Tuesday in...
- The Beginnings Fund brings together philanthropists including the Gates Foundation and the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, run by the UAE president.
- It set a deadline of 2030 to reach the $500-million target and has already reached $450 million in pledges, organizers said in a statement.
Geostrategy
WHO countries strike landmark agreement on tackling future pandemics
Geneva, Switzerland -- Years of negotiations culminated early Wednesday with countries agreeing the text of a landmark accord on how...
- Negotiators stumbled over the agreement's Article 11, which deals with transferring technology for pandemic health products towards developing nations.
- During the Covid-19 pandemic, poorer states accused rich nations of hoarding vaccines and tests.
Science
Accord reached ‘in principle’ over tackling future pandemics: negotiating body
WHO members on Saturday reached agreement over how to tackle future pandemics after three years of discussions, the co-chair of...
- The approval came after a marathon discussion session stretching for almost 24 hours after which delegates broke into enthusiastic applause lasting several minutes
- The United States were absent from the negotiations, after Trump said on his return to the White House that his country will leave the WHO