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Michael Head

Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton
Dr Michael Head is a Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, based in the Clinical Informatics Research Unit at the University of Southampton, UK. He has a background in public health research and infectious disease epidemiology, with research links in Ghana, Togo, Ethiopia and Brazil. His main research interests are pneumonia and also Neglected Tropical Diseases, including scabies and onchocerciasis. Michael also analyses portfolios of research, to review levels of funding for different diseases and to provide insight into research strength, knowledge gaps, and future priorities. He has communicated extensively with the written and TV media throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Europe faces worst measles outbreak since 1997 – new data

Mar 18, 2025 15:08 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

Europe has had the highest number of measles cases since 1997, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). There were 127,350 cases in 2024 about double the number from 2023. Measles is back, and...

Why is whooping cough surging in the UK? Falling vaccination rates may be answer

May 15, 2024 07:27 am UTC| Health

A large outbreak of pertussis (more commonly known as whooping cough) has been ongoing in the UK since the beginning of 2024. There have been 2,793 confirmed cases so far this year. Sadly, five infant deaths due to...

AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine withdrawn – right to the end it was the victim of misinformation

May 09, 2024 07:10 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was a critical part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. However, on May 7 2024, the European Commission announced the vaccine is no longer authorised for use. This EU announcement was...

Food prices will climb everywhere as temperatures rise due to climate change – new research

Mar 25, 2024 05:09 am UTC| Insights & Views Life Economy

Climate change, and specifically rising temperatures, may cause food prices to increase by 3.2% per year, according to a new study by researchers in Germany. As climate change continues to worsen, this price inflation will...

Scabies: UK facing unusually large outbreaks – and treatment shortages appear mostly to blame

Jan 08, 2024 22:24 pm UTC| Health

Scabies is an unpleasant skin infection thats common all around the world. Outbreaks happen regularly with an estimated 450 million cases occurring globally each year. But since the start of winter, outbreaks in the UK...

Billions is spent on cancer research globally – but is it money well spent?

Jun 03, 2023 03:27 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

In 2020, 19 million people around the world received a cancer diagnosis. By 2040, that number is expected to reach 28 million. Poorer countries will be especially hard hit, with an increasing number of cases and more...

Leprosy, scabies and yaws - Togo's neglected tropical skin diseases need attention

Mar 28, 2023 14:17 pm UTC| Health

Neglected tropical diseases are a group of 20 diseases found mostly in tropical regions that are strongly associated with poverty. Among them are skin diseases like scabies, leprosy and yaws. They are caused by some...

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Economy

Hungary Industrial Output Beats Forecasts With 4.7% July Growth

Hungarys industrial output increased 4.7% year-on-year in July, beating market expectations and signaling continued growth in the countrys manufacturing sector, preliminary data showed on Monday. According to Hungarys...

Iran Plans New Gulf Restricted Zone as Hormuz Tensions Push Oil Higher

Iran plans to establish a new restricted zone in the Gulf and introduce shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions after renewed U.S.-Iran strikes disrupted maritime traffic and pushed oil prices...

UK House Prices Fall for First Time Since 2023

UK house prices recorded their first annual decline in nearly three years in August as higher borrowing costs and economic uncertainty weighed on buyer demand, according to new data from Lloyds. House prices fell 0.4%...

Asian Currencies Mixed as Yen Rallies on BOJ Bets

Asian currencies traded mixed on Monday as the U.S. dollar hovered near recent lows, while the Japanese yen strengthened further on expectations of a Bank of Japan rate hike and potential currency intervention. The U.S....

US Stock Futures Mixed as Strong Jobs Data Boosts Fed Rate Hike Bets

U.S. stock futures traded mixed Sunday evening as investors digested a stronger-than-expected August jobs report that increased expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in September. Trading activity was...

Politics

Kyiv Mothers Give Birth Amid Russian Drone Attacks

Women in Kyiv are giving birth under the constant threat of Russian drone attacks, highlighting how Ukraines escalating air war is reshaping everyday life and deepening the countrys demographic crisis. Alyona Bohatyrenko,...

Iran Vows Tougher Response as U.S. Sanctions Squeeze Economy

Iran pledged to intensify efforts to counter mounting U.S. sanctions and economic pressure, while a senior official warned Washington that any further attacks would trigger a faster and more severe Iranian response. Six...

EU to Boost Greenland Investment Amid Trump Pressure

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to announce a major increase in EU investment in Greenland on Monday, strengthening economic and political ties as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to...

Netanyahu Orders West Bank Settler Outposts Dismantled

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank to be dismantled amid growing U.S. pressure on Israel to curb violence against Palestinians, according to two people...

Putin Meets US Envoys in Moscow as Ukraine Peace Push Intensifies

Russian President Vladimir Putin held more than three hours of talks with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Saturday as Washington stepped up efforts to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war. Kremlin aide Yuri...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Huawei Launches Mate XT2 Foldable Phone in China

Huawei unveiled its latest flagship foldable smartphone, the Mate XT2, on Monday as the Chinese technology giant looks to maintain its dominance in the countrys premium smartphone market amid growing competition from Apple...

Nvidia CEO Says AGI Has Arrived With OpenAI GPT-6 Astra

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang has declared that artificial general intelligence, or AGI, has arrived, pointing to OpenAIs newly launched GPT-6 Astra as a major milestone in the accelerating development of...

SpaceX Turbine Push Unlikely to Threaten Howmet, Bernstein Says

SpaceXs plan to manufacture industrial gas turbine blades and vanes is unlikely to significantly threaten Howmet Aerospace, according to Bernstein analysts, who see recent weakness in Howmet shares as a potential buying...

Anthropic IPO Marketing Expected to Start in Mid-October

Anthropic is expected to begin marketing its initial public offering in mid-October at the earliest, as the artificial intelligence company adjusts the timeline for what could become one of the largest IPOs in history. The...

Japan, US Target AI and Chips in $550 Billion Investment Push

Japan and the United States are advancing a $550 billion investment initiative, with artificial intelligence and semiconductor projects expected to become major priorities in the next phase of the economic partnership,...