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AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine withdrawn – right to the end it was the victim of misinformation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

Greenland Tourism Booms After Trump Comments and New Airport Openings

Greenland is seeing a surge in tourism following U.S. President Donald Trumps renewed interest in the island and the opening of a new international airport in Nuuk. Boat tour operator Ivik Knudsen-Ostermann of Greenland...

China’s Copper Smelters Slash Output Amid Severe Concentrate Shortage and Record Losses

Chinas major copper smelters have begun widespread maintenance shutdowns in Marchan unusual move during peak demand seasondue to an escalating copper concentrate shortage and plunging treatment fees. The maintenance,...

Gold Glitters Near Record Highs Amid Fed Cuts and Global Tensions.

Gold prices hovered near record levels on Friday, poised for a third consecutive weekly gain, fueled by U.S. rate cut expectations and heightened geopolitical risks. Spot gold dipped 0.3% to $3,034.09 an ounce by 0235 GMT,...

India Ends $23B Manufacturing Push as Payout Delays and Red Tape Stall Progress

India is shutting down its ambitious $23 billion Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing, just four years after launch. The plan, designed to shift global supply chains away from...

Dollar Strengthens as Fed Holds Rates and Market Eyes Trump Tariff Moves

The U.S. dollar stayed firm on Friday, extending gains after its strongest daily performance in three weeks. Markets reacted to the Federal Reserves steady interest rate stance and cautious outlook on future cuts. Fed...

Politics

E3 Nations Urge Immediate Gaza Ceasefire, Call for Humanitarian Access and Hostage Release

Germany, France, and Britain jointly called for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Gaza, urging Israel to restore full humanitarian access and comply with international humanitarian law. In a statement released Friday,...

Columbia Bows to Trump Demands Amid Antisemitism Probe, Sparking Academic Freedom Debate

Columbia University has agreed to a series of demands from the Trump administration to begin negotiations on restoring federal funding suspended over claims the school tolerated antisemitism. The Ivy League universitys...

East Asia’s Top Diplomats Seek Unity Amid Global Uncertainty

Top diplomats from Japan, China, and South Korea met in Tokyo on Saturday, aiming to strengthen cooperation on regional security and economic challenges amid rising global tensions. The foreign ministers meetingJapans...

Costa Rica’s Presidential YouTube Hacked with Bitcoin Content in Cyberattack

Costa Ricas official presidential YouTube account was restored late Friday after suffering a cyberattack that disrupted the platform for several hours. According to a statement from President Rodrigo Chaves office,...

Trump Taps Ex-Newmont Exec to Lead U.S. Critical Minerals Strategy Amid China Concerns

David Copley, a former executive at Newmont, has been appointed to oversee the mining portfolio for the newly established U.S. National Energy Dominance Council, according to sources familiar with the decision. This makes...

Science

What are the chances an asteroid will impact Earth in 2032?

For a few days in mid-February, headlines around the world buzzed about the potential for an asteroid to hit the Earth in 2032 specifically, asteroid 2024 YR4. The chance of this impact rose to a high of 3.1 per cent on...

A new study reveals the structure of violent winds 1,300 light years away

The planet WASP-121b is extreme. Its a gas giant almost twice as big as Jupiter orbiting extremely close to its star50 times closer than the Earth does around the Sun. WASP-121b is so close to its star that tidal forces...

What’s the shape of the universe? Mathematicians use topology to study the shape of the world and everything in it

When you look at your surrounding environment, it might seem like youre living on a flat plane. After all, this is why you can navigate a new city using a map: a flat piece of paper that represents all the places around...

Asteroid has a very small chance of hitting Earth in 2032, but a collision could devastate a city

In December 2024, astronomers in Chile spotted a new asteroid streaking through the sky, which they named 2024 YR4. Whats significant about this 100m-wide space rock is that it has a small chance of hitting Earth in 2023....

Leonardo da Vinci’s incredible studies of human anatomy still don’t get the recognition they deserve

Wikimedia, CC BY-SA The mere mention of Leonardo da Vinci evokes genius. We know him as a polymath whose interests spanned astronomy, geology, hydrology, engineering and physics. As a painter, his Mona Lisa and Last Supper...

Technology

China Backs Viral AI Startup Manus Amid Global Buzz and Domestic Rollout

Chinese AI startup Manus is gaining momentum after registering its AI assistant Monica for domestic release and receiving its first feature on state broadcaster CCTV. This signals growing support from Beijing as it looks...

Tesla to Produce 5,000 Optimus Robots in 2024 Amid EV Market Challenges

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) plans to manufacture 5,000 units of its Optimus humanoid robot this year, CEO Elon Musk revealed during a recent all-hands meeting. Despite Tesla shares plunging 41.5% year-to-date, Musk encouraged...

Instagram Experiences Widespread Outage, Thousands Affected in the U.S.

Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), suffered a major outage on Thursday evening, leaving thousands of users in the U.S. unable to access the platform. According to Downdetector, a site that tracks service...

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Reconsiders Quantum Computing at GTC 2025

At NVIDIAs GTC 2025 conference, CEO Jensen Huang took a surprising turn on his earlier skepticism toward quantum computing. Hosting two panels with leaders from 12 top quantum companies, including IonQ and D-Wave Quantum...

Nvidia to Invest Hundreds of Billions in U.S. Chip Supply Chain

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on U.S.-made chips and electronics over the next four years, CEO Jensen Huang revealed in an interview with the Financial Times. The company expects to...