Paging Dr Chimp: the medical secrets we can learn from apes, birds and even butterflies

Primates eat bitter bark to kill parasites, while sparrows use cigarette butts to keep ticks off their chicks. Could the wisdom of wildlife be the next frontier in medicine?

Prostate cancer surgery breakthrough offers hope for erectile function

Neurosafe procedure allows doctors to remove prostate while preserving as much nerve tissue around it as possible

‘It’s back to drug rationing’: the end of HIV was in sight. Then came the cuts

The abrupt halt to US funding threatens to undo decades of advances, dramatically increasing infections and deaths, but some see an opportunity for Africa to lead the response

Breakthrough drugs herald ‘new era’ in battle against dementia, experts predict

Medical advances make pills to treat Alzheimer’s disease viable, though challenges remain in sharing gains globally

‘Wild west’: experts concerned by illegal promotion of weight-loss jabs in UK

Guardian review finds many online pharmacies flouting strict advertising rules that govern prescription-only drugs

More ‘discreet’ Viagra-type drug could soon be available in Britain

US company Viatris has applied for a UK trademark for wafer-like film that dissolves in the mouth

The brain microbiome: could understanding it help prevent dementia?

Long thought to be sterile, our brains are now believed to harbour all sorts of micro-organisms, from bacteria to fungi. How big a part do they play in Alzheimer’s and similar diseases?

Irregular sleep pattern raises risk of stroke and heart attack, study finds

Variations in time a person goes to sleep and wakes up ‘strongly associated’ with higher risk of negative impacts

Australian women to get home self tests for chlamydia and gonorrhoea – but experts urge caution

People with genital or pelvic symptoms may feel a sense of false reassurance with a negative result, sexual health expert warns

Exercise in a pill: have scientists really found a drug that’s as good for you as a 10km run?

Just how excited should we be about LaKe, the substance discovered by researchers at Denmark’s Aarhus University?