Hello and welcome to Health Check from the BBC.
I'm Claudia Hammond and we have scoured the globe for the latest medical stories that we think you should know about.
In a moment,
could new genetic discoveries about the causes of chronic pain be a game changer when it comes to finding new non-addictive pain medication in the future?
And to help me today, I have BBC Africa's health correspondent, Dorcas Wangira.
How are you, Dorcas?
I'm fine.
Hi, Claudia.
And what do you have for us today?
We have a surprising study about wildfires and what the US decision to incinerate contraceptives means.
And from India, controversy over plans to round up stray dogs to prevent the spread of rabies.
First to a breakthrough which feels significant in the world of chronic pain.
It is estimated that one in five adults is trying to live their lives despite being hounded by pain.
And sometimes it's not clear from physical examinations why they're in such agony.
The causes have remained a mystery until now,
when scientists at the University of Oxford have identified a genetic cause which they hope could,
in the long run, lead to brand new drugs to treat chronic pain.
Now, this is a very new way of looking at this kind of pain.
I spoke to the head of the team, David Bennett,
who's professor of neurology and neurobiology at the University of Oxford.