Damaged heart genes can be inherited

Here is the latest Health News from the BBC.

‘Confidence to trust’
An HIV-preventative drug is the subject of a legal battle over which organisation should pay for it. As campaigners await the outcome, one man tells how taking the medication has changed his life.

Damaged heart genes can be inherited
A new analysis of congenital heart disease has found affected children often inherit damaging gene variants from their seemingly healthy parents.

Women without appendix ‘more fertile’
Women who have had their appendix or tonsils removed appear to be more fertile, a 15-year study of more than half a million British women suggests.

Court ruling on HIV ‘game-changing’ drug
A High Court judge is set to rule on an NHS England decision not to fund a drug that can prevent HIV – a treatment campaigners call a “game changer”.

Plant proteins link to longer life
People should aim get more protein from vegetable sources rather than meat, to boost life expectancy, a study suggests.

‘Hacking nerves can control disease’
Controlling human nerve cells with electricity could treat a range of disease including type-2 diabetes, a new company says.

Dissecting brains for medical research
Dr Laura Palmer shows us what happens inside a brain bank and and explains why such donations are vital.

‘I had cancer at seven and again at 30’
Greig Trout was diagnosed with cancer at the age of seven, survived a blood clot at 21 and was diagnosed with cancer again at 30.

Banking Britain’s brains: The story of a scientific resource
Researchers and donors tell the story of how your brain tissue can help with medical research.

How Pokemon Go helped an autistic teen
A mobile phone game that has caught the attention of the world also appears to have caused a breakthrough with autism sufferers.

Two-time survivor
A man who has survived cancer twice says the “worst part” of his journey was the fear of the disease returning after his second all-clear.

Poverty costs UK £78bn a year, Joseph Rowntree Foundation says
The effects of poverty in the UK cost the average taxpayer £1,200 a year, and the UK £78bn in total, with the NHS bearing the brunt, a report suggests.

Cancer: Thousands surviving in UK decades after diagnosis
More than 170,000 people in the UK who were diagnosed with cancer up to 40 years ago are still alive, although many face lifelong side-effects, a report says.

Yogurts recalled over rubber fears
Five major UK supermarkets are warned to take thousands of pots of yogurt off their shelves amid concerns they may contain pieces of rubber.

Florida Zika cases prompt UK advice for pregnant travellers
Public Health England advises pregnant women to consider postponing any non-essential trips to Florida amid concerns over the Zika virus.

#WhatIt’sReallyLike
Young women with type 1 diabetes talk about the misunderstanding around the disease.

Sweden to investigate sex lives
Sweden is launching a three-year official study of its citizens’ sex lives – the first for 20 years.

Zika virus: Florida cases ‘highly likely’ to be first US-based infections
Four people suffering from the Zika virus in Florida are probably the first cases contracted within the US, state health officials say.

‘We want women to feel safe’
The UK’s first maternity service for victims of rape and sexual abuse, which opens today at the Royal London Hospital.

Southern Health NHS Trust ‘paid millions’ to Katrina Percy’s associates
Southern Health NHS Trust paid millions of pounds to companies owned by previous associates of its embattled chief executive, the BBC learns.

Cheat’s guide
Scientists say that having just an hour of exercise a day may help undo the damage of sitting at a desk all day. Here are five tips on how to be more active without having to go anywhere near a gym.

Newport woman ‘died from untreated pill side effects’
A woman died from the untreated side effects of the combined contraceptive pill, a coroner concludes.

Cancer found in ancient human ancestor’s foot
The earliest evidence of cancer in the human fossil record has been discovered in South Africa, say researchers.

Exercises you can do at your desk to counter sedentary job
Exercise can counter the dangers of an office job – if you’re short of time, here are some moves you can do at your desk.

Stepping Hill Hospital cuts jobs as it loses £75 a minute
A hospital losing £75 a minute is to close a ward and axe 350 full time posts, an NHS trust reveals.

Hour’s activity ‘offsets sedentary day’
An hour’s “brisk exercise” each day offsets the risks of early death linked to a desk-bound working life, scientists suggest.

Antibiotic resistance: ‘Snot wars’ study heralds new class of drugs
A new class of antibiotics has been discovered by analysing the bacterial warfare taking place up people’s noses, scientists report.

Bore out: Londoners share their views on boredom at work
The BBC’s Laura Westbrook takes to the streets of London to ask people for their thoughts on being bored at work.

Ice Bucket Challenge mum praises ALS ‘breakthrough’
Nancy Frates, whose son Pete has ALS, welcomes a research breakthrough, but says more donations are needed to find a “cure”.

Ice Bucket Challenge funds gene discovery in ALS (MND) research
The Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral in 2014 has funded the discovery of an important gene in the neurodegenerative disease ALS, the ALS Association says.

Owen Smith proposes wealth tax to boost NHS spending
Leadership challenger Owen Smith sets out a series of policies to tackle inequality and says Labour should be “smashing the Conservatives”.

Drug ‘may slow’ Alzheimer’s brain death
A drug appears to slow the death of the brain and preserve mental function in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, a study shows.

Later menopause ‘may increase diabetes risk’
Those undergoing the menopause after the age of 55 have an elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a study suggests.

Bedroom battleground
In our series of letters from African journalists, Ghanaian writer Elizabeth Ohene considers a dilemma over possible malaria prevention.

Height quiz
Test your knowledge of which nations are the tallest and which have grown the most over the past century.

NHS consultant paid £375,000 in overtime
Growing pressures are leading UK hospitals to increasingly rely on premium overtime pay to get consultants to do extra work, with one paid £375,000 last year, the BBC finds.

How have Dolly the Sheep’s ‘siblings’ fared?