How science works: researching health and disease
Newspapers and TV reports are full of the latest findings about how our diet can affect our chances of developing a particular disease or about new discoveries linking genetic mutations to certain conditions.
But what kinds of studies do researchers undertake to investigate how our genes and lifestyle can influence our health? We've looked at four different types of research below.
Biobanks are large databases of health-related information and clinical samples. We look at how researchers can use them to tease apart the interactions of lifestyle and genes in the development of common diseases.
Explore some examples of international cohort studies, which involve tracking the health of a given group of people over time.
Getting definitive answers about food can be difficult for research scientists. Diet is one of the most complex environmental factors to investigate in relation to chronic disease and estimating what people eat, and in what amounts, is an ongoing challenge.