There is still no treatment that can reverse the effects of Parkinson’s disease , a condition estimated to affect  10 million people  worldwide.

Since the World Health Organisation declared  COVID-19 a pandemic , progress has been made on testing, tracing and treating people infected with the virus, and industries have developed  several vaccines in a record time.

The spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body, known as metastasis , is the main cause of cancer-related deaths. According to the US National Cancer Institute, in 2018 there were 9.

Many of the prototypes that have made the history of biorobotics worldwide are visible in a showcase set up at The BioRobotics Institute of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pontedera, near Pisa, Italy.

Urban green spaces provide several benefits beyond aesthetics. They offer shade, help to reduce pollution, offer habitat for birds and insects, a space to meet and socialise or for kids to play.

Identifying healthy from diseased tissue poses a unique problem for cancer surgeons. Even the smallest bits of a tumour left behind during surgery can regrow and spread to other organs, a deadly phenomenon called metastasising.

Home sweet home. Houses are supposed to be our nest, a shelter from the world outside. But how healthy are European homes? Nowadays most of our time is spent indoors, often at home, one reason being the current shift to “desk jobs”.

Researchers in the US have developed bio-based air filters that they claim can capture toxic chemicals that current filters can’t.

As air pollution is largely considered to be an outdoor problem, people are little aware of indoor contaminants . The World Health Organisation estimated that each year 4.3 million people die of exposure to household pollutants.

Hospitals generate huge amounts of rubbish. According to the World Health Organization , high-income countries produce up to 0.5 kg of hazardous waste per hospital bed per day.

How would you like a fancy Christmas garment embedded with sensors to measure your body movements? Or a reindeer hat that moves its horns when your heart beats faster? Don’t worry if you’re not a fan of winter festivities, because the technology behind the next generation of smart clothes is for everyone and can be woven into anything we wear.

Neurological disorders and traumas disrupt the connections between brain and body, causing paralysis for millions of people worldwide.

Darwin would be puzzled. He described natural selection as a slow process, selecting for the most suited organisms to a given environment.

Around 700,000 people are killed by antibiotic resistant infections in the world every year, estimates say. Antimicrobials are increasingly overused and misused, while some organisms are becoming more resistant to antibiotics.

“Let’s start from the end. Our project will not really end in our lifetime”. Puzzling as it may sound, the statement comes from Sarah Goldberg, researcher at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, one of the leading scientific institutions in Israel.

The importance of healthy eating for our well-being is scientifically proven and having a varied diet goes without saying.

Industrial food treatment processes need to tackle bacteria that can spoil food . These microorganisms, although non-pathogenic, can make food products unpalatable and affect how long they can be stored for.

Usually associated with humid and sordid slums, mould is a frequent finding in wealthy homes too. Even the fanciest buildings may harbour hot spots where fungi and other microorganisms subtly proliferate , triggering problems that range from unpleasant smells to severe sickness.

Food borne botulism is a rare, but potentially fatal disease. According to the World Health Organisation the toxins that cause the illness are some of the most lethal substances known.

Indoor air pollution kills 4.3 million people globally every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) . The main causes are heating and cooking practices that produce high levels of toxic substances, such as fine particles and carbon monoxide.