Stem cells are often portrayed in the media as a miracle cure for many serious conditions and disabilities. Hugely positive headlines have led significant and understandable public interest in this fascinating cutting-edge science.

But are all the claims for stem cells justified? Can stem cell treatments pose dangers to unwary patients? And who has control over this often controversial, pioneering branch of medicine?

In this special report, Behind the Headlines analyses media coverage of stem cell research, gives an easy-to-understand insight into the science and checks the claims made against what researchers have found to date.

Hope and hype: An analysis of stem cells in the media (PDF, 2.7Mb) will help you sort the spectacular results from the speculative headlines.

Is Britain beset by binge boozers? Will wine help you lose weight? Could six cans of lager help you live longer? The media pose questions like these on an almost daily basis, often using and abusing the findings of medical research to back up their headlines.

In this special report, Behind the Headlines analyses the media's relationship with research on alcohol, the science behind it, and what all this means for us when we consider raising a glass.

What's your poison: A sober analysis of alcohol and health in the media (PDF, 3Mb) is a must-read for anyone who wants the facts on whether the headlines are true.

Alzheimer's disease is a major topic in health news, covering everything from potential cures to possible ways of preventing the disease in the first place.

With an estimated 465,000 cases of Alzheimer's in the UK this news coverage is keenly read, not just by those whose lives have been affected by the disease, but also people worried that they might develop the disease in their later years.

Since 2007, Behind the Headlines has examined dozens of news stories on dementia and Alzheimer’s. This report, Alzheimer's in the news (PDF, 5Mb: opens in new window) looks back over this coverage to identify some of the more important stories and to examine those that were wide of the mark.

The report also identifies key themes and common problems in the news and aims to help readers judge future reports for themselves. Finally, we ask leading experts what research and experimental treatments they predict will be making headlines in the months and years to come.

Millions of us take vitamins and dietary supplements hoping to achieve good health, ease our illnesses and defy ageing. In 2009 the market for dietary supplements and vitamins was worth more than £670 million in the UK alone.

However, the huge range of dietary supplements available and the conflicting messages from the media may leave some people confused about whether they need supplements or not.

Our special report on supplements (PDF, 4Mb: opens in new window) aims to make sense of some of the issues surrounding them, and looks at a selection of the evidence on some of the most popular supplements in use today, including:

• vitamin and multivitamin pills
• weight-loss supplements
• supplements for preventing and treating colds
• glucosamine, ginkgo and ginseng for ageing
• fish oils
• body-building supplements

So if you want to know whether the marketing matches the evidence, download a copy today.

“Curry could save your life.” “Beetroot can fight dementia.” “Asthma risk linked to burgers.” Every day there’s a new crop of seemingly life-changing headlines about how the food we eat affects our health.

Food stories are one of the most common topics that Behind the Headlines covers, accounting for about one in five of our appraisals. Often, news stories have claimed that foods can offer remarkable health benefits, such as fighting disease or slowing ageing.

Our special report: Miracle foods: myths and the media (PDF, 2Mb: opens in new window) looks at some of the foods that regularly appear in the news and examines whether the reports match the scientific evidence behind them.