Is it true that … muscle turns into fat if you stop working out?

If you take a break from the gym you may lose muscle and gain fat, but it isn’t as simple as one turning into the other

‘I want to do everything I can to head off dementia’: why demand for the shingles vaccine is soaring

Could a drug intended to prevent painful rashes also protect our brains as we get older? The signs are promising – but not conclusive. Yet that’s enough to be driving a boom in shingles jabs

The generation raised on sugar rations – and what their health reveals 70 years later

From blood pressure to ageing, research suggests the first 1,000 days of sugar exposure could leave a decades-long mark on health

Thursday briefing: The long, long wait for a male contraceptive pill may soon be over

In today’s newsletter: Reversible male hormonal contraception could reach the market within five to 10 years. But why has this development been so slow?

There’s a long history of athletes pooing themselves mid-race – why, and how can you avoid it?

Since the ancient Olympics, athletes like Hyrox competitor Joanna Wietrzyk have experienced runner’s diarrhoea. What does the science say about extreme exercise’s ‘mechanical jostling of the intestines’?

Take good care of your tailbone. I didn’t – and my derriere has never been the same since

My coccyx still hurts from an extreme cycling challenge almost two decades ago. Is there anything it’s good for, asks Adrian Chiles

Living with tinnitus can be distressing. So what can you do about it?

Tinnitus affects millions of people and it can take many different forms. But there are therapies that can help make it more bearable

A scientist said bananas ‘kill’ the benefit of blueberries. Is that true?

Can blending these popular fruits in a smoothie adversely affect the berries’ nutritional benefits? Experts weigh in

Want to start lazymaxxing? Here are some low-effort ways to improve your life

CEOs may like to get up at the crack of dawn and go for a run, but I prefer optimising my life with lie-ins, trashy films, swearing and coffee, writes Arwa Mahdawi

Let your mind wander, don’t retire and stop worrying: surprising ways to help save your brain from the cognitive cliff

In his new book The Brain Cliff, Dr Norman Swan outlines the science of brain ageing and strategies for staving off cognitive decline