The impact of animal abandonment goes beyond the pets who suffer it, it is a public health, safety and funding issue as well. Although there have been some improvements in recent years, the experts consulted agree that the system continues to fail. In this guide, we analyze what has changed, who does this issue affect, and what must be improved.

International health organisations are warning about the spread in Europe of mosquito species that transmit diseases such as dengue fever. In Spain, where they are already widespread across much of the country, the Centro de Coordinación de Alertas y Emergencias Sanitarias (CCAES) warns of the risk of West Nile virus, and says that the summer is expected to be complicated. In this guide, we bring together information to understand this public health issue. 

Ticks are parasitic mites that cause serious illnesses. Among them, the two that cause the most concern in Spain are Lyme disease and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever. Cases are expected to increase and, since last year, they have been monitored by the Ministry of Health.

Since 2024, the Ministry of Health will begin using a new, more rigorous alert system based on 182 meteosalud zones instead of 52 provinces. The aim is to make the plan more effective, inform the population when necessary, and ultimately save lives.

E-cigarettes, vapes, pods, mods... The popularity of these devices continues to grow, especially among young people. According to a Spanish survey, more than half of the adolescents aged 14 to 18 have used them at some point. Vaping control varies from country to country: in Spain, vaping products have been regulated since 2017 and the new anti-smoking plan aims to equate their legislation to that of tobacco, while the United States imposes fewer restrictions. In this brief guide, we explain what is known and not known on controversial issues such as the safety of electronic cigarettes, their risks or whether they are useful to quit tobacco.

This week, Spain’s Ministry of Health launched a process to develop a Royal Decree on the medical use of cannabis, assuring that it will be "a rigorous measure based on the best scientific evidence available.” The goverment is conducting a public consultation until 4 March to gather the opinions of citizens, civil society organisations, professional associations and scientific societies. In this explainer, we attempt to answer the main questions that arise regarding the medical use of cannabis. 

According to a survey conducted in Spain, with 403 respondents from the biomedical research field, four out of ten admit to having committed some type of misconduct in their work. The press regularly reports on scandals in science. Among the most recent cases, El País reported that the CSIC has opened a disciplinary proceeding against five individuals suspected of receiving money in exchange of false affiliations. These cases of misconduct may seem isolated, but they reflect broader dysfunction of the research system. In this guide, we provide keys to better understand how these cases arise and evolve, and to cover their nuances. 

With just days to go before COP28 kicks off in Dubai -a major city in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates- climate experts are torn between mistrust and hope that world leaders will reach ambitious agreements to combat the climate crisis.

Biosimilars work in a similar way to biologics - which are made from living cells and are very complex and expensive - such as insulin, growth hormone, vaccines and monoclonal cancer antibodies. We explain what savings biosimilars bring to the healthcare system and what the process is to ensure that their quality, efficacy and safety are equivalent to those of the reference medicine.