News imageHealth Check, Health Check, Behind the Huntington’s disease breakthrough

Health Check

Health Check

Behind the Huntington’s disease breakthrough

17 December 2025

27 minutes

Available for over a year

James Gallagher joins Claudia Hammond to share his pick for health breakthrough of 2025 – the world's first gene therapy to treat Huntington’s disease.

Popular science author Mary Roach joins Claudia to discuss the future of prosthetics.

Also on the show, James shares his latest reporting on how sperm from a donor with a cancer-causing gene was used to conceive almost 200 children.

We hear from Mohsen Rajabi how teachers in Iran are providing first-line mental health support to refugee students as they cope with settlement traumas.

Plus, how an electronic nose could help detect mould in the home.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

Producer: Hannah Robins

Assistant Producer: Katie Tomsett