Vital Signs, hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent, is a half-hour monthly program that educates and enlightens viewers around the world about the latest topics, trends and discoveries in health, wellness and medicine. Engage with medical pioneers and leaders of the health profession, on the cutting edge of their field. Be informed about your own health and global medical breakthroughs - and how they could impact your life. The health and medical field affects us all -- no matter what country you live in or what language you speak. CNN's Vital Signs with Dr. Gupta is a truly global look at the world of medicine.
It is one of the things we love about sports: on fields, tracks, and courts around the world, you'll find some of the most inspiring people, often fighting incredible odds.
At the age of 79, Rosemary Smith became the oldest person to drive a Formula 1 race car. She is exceptional, but in recent years, she has become part of a growing tred.
Inhaling, perspiring, blinking - these actions are all on autopilot. But behind these simple functions is a complex network made up of billions of cells telling our lungs to breathe, our skin to sweat, and our eyes to blink.
26-year-old Lalite Kunwar is hours from home. She walked to this place with her young son, Sandesh, on one arm and a bag of their belongings on the other. In Burtibang, Nepal, she waits.
Teaching our kids about their senses is one of the first things we do as parents. It's how we take in the world around us -- how we figure out what we like, and what we don't.
You've probably heard the expression, "you are what you eat." There's a lot more truth to that than you might think. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines our gut, and the 100 trillion microbes that live in us and on us, making up the microbiome.
Do you ever wonder how good your memory is? CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the world of memory and the mind. Learn from champion memory athletes about challenging your brain to improve your own memory.
From spinal cord injuries to autism, our own cells could shape medicine’s next frontier. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the experimental yet encouraging world of stem cells.
The human body is capable of extraordinary feats, but what's the limit? Dr. Sanjay Gupta meets the team working to reach the next level: breaking the two-hour marathon.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta travels to Iceland to explore the intersection of genealogy and genetics, and how that could shape science and medicine for the globe.
At a monastery in a remote part of southern India, a unique partnership is taking shape between scientists and Tibetan Buddhist monks. It is a convergence between science and spirituality, forming insights into mindfulness, meditation, even happiness.
Ep 36 - Science and Spirituality with the Dalai Lama
It is the universal feeling of parenthood: incredible joy when your little one is born. And when something goes wrong, you'll do whatever you can to protect your child.
It is the time of year for reflection and appreciation, so Vital Signs is highlighting some true heroes in the medical field. In the central African nation of Cameroon, there are only two doctors for every 10,000 people.
The weakness began to spread, first from his arm muscles to his legs. Mike McDuff knew something was wrong, but he never expected to hear the three letters that would change his life - ALS.
What if you have to live somewhere and could never leave, go outside, or experience weather changes like a rainstorm? Could you live that way for six months?
It is a slow and cumbersome descent, deep into the Grootboom Cave, hindered by head-to-toe protective suits, but those suits are the only things standing between safety and exposure.
By land, air or sea, travelling can be a gift or a curse. From crowded airports to hectic business trips, travel can lead to stress, which is detrimental to the body.
From robotic heart surgery in Abu Dhabi, to a transplant system that keeps the heart warm and beating outside the body, technology is changing the way we save hearts around the world.
How many times have you said "this is the year..." - the year you lose weight and keep it off, or resolve to quit smoking? How many New Year's resolutions have you broken? It is not just a question of willpower, but science.
At 6:15am, Casper is up and ready for work. He eats some breakfast, and puts on his uniform and badge. Then he gets in the car and heads off to the hospital, where he joins countless doctors and nurses tending to sick children. But Casper is not your ordinary employee. He happens to have four legs and a fluffy tail.
Marko Hingi was certain of one thing: his hometown of Mwanza, Tanzania, needed help. In this city along Lake Victoria, traffic accidents were frequent, and often fatal. With no emergency response infrastructure in place, Marko continued to see trauma patients coming to the hospital. When he heard about "Beacon" and Trek Medics, he knew they could help.
John Thurman thought he'd be safe there. After all, he was stationed at the Pentagon, in Washington D.C., not overseas in a war zone. Then, 9/11 happened. John survived the attack on the Pentagon, and spent a week in the hospital recovering. But his fight didn't end there. He suffered from PTSD long after the attack -- until a friend suggested yoga...
Total loss of all control. Obsessive cravings. Whether it is from a substance or a behavior, addiction is a disease that threatens relationships, school, work, and lives. We explore the world of behavioral addiction.
CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the theory of nature vs. nurture when it comes to genius and creativity in the brain. How much of our smarts and our creative tendencies are innate, and how much can we learn?
Join Dr. Sanjay Gupta as he journeys to the farthest reaches of northern Nigeria with a team of health care workers searching for the last remaining children in need polio vaccinations.
From revolutionary research about the brain's relationship with sign language, to the next generation of hearing implants for children, see how people around the world are breaking down the sound barrier.
With more than 700 medical personnel, the ability to store 5,000 units of blood, and 12 operating rooms, it is one of the United States' largest trauma facilities. But this is not your average hospital -- in fact, it is the world's largest floating hospital.
James Harrison seems like an average man. He loves his daughter and grandchildren, collects stamps, and goes for long walks near his home on Australia's central coast. But it's what's under the surface that makes James extraordinary. He's been nicknamed "the man with the golden arm" for the life-saving blood he's donated nearly every week for the last 60 years.
We all want it, we all need it, and most of us don't get enough of it. It's the one thing that impacts everyone, no matter where you live or what you do. This month, we're talking about sleep. The way we sleep affects our health, well-being, and our every waking hour.
Shahzad Ahmed was overweight, hypertensive, and diabetic, and realized he needed to turn his life around if he wanted to see his daughter grow up. As obesity and diabetes continue to rise, we focus in on the part of the world where it has reached epidemic levels - the Middle East.
What if you could actually slow the aging process and live longer? Would you be willing to change your lifestyle today if you knew it could add years on to your life? And how important is where we live compared to how we live when it comes to aging well?
For Brandon Noble, it began as a small red spot about the size of a quarter. Within two days, the pain and redness had spread up his leg. If he had waited even another 24 hours later before seeking treatment, he would have lost his leg -- or worse. But the diagnosis was only the beginning. Brandon had MRSA, an antibiotic resistant staph infection.
Addison and Cassidy Hempel were three years old when their parents realized they were slipping away. Up to then, parents Hugh and Chris had been living a charmed life. Their plans were derailed when Addi and Cassi were diagnosed with a condition known as Niemann-Pick Type C, sometimes referred to as Childhood Alzheimer's for the tangled plaques it leaves in the brain.
Deep brain stimulation has been around for decades, but now two doctors at the University of Florida are pushing the boundaries of this procedure by placing electrodes inside the brain to treat disorders like Parkinson's disease, dystonia and tremors.
It could happen to anyone at any time. Maybe it was from an accident, or through disease. Maybe it was from birth, or perhaps it occurred over a long period of time.
When Simon and Gemma Potter were told it would be impossible for them to get pregnant on their own, they thought their dreams of having a child were over.
It covers 71 percent of the Earth, and makes up more than 60 percent of the human body. Water is one of the most vital and precious resources, necessary to sustain life.
