Let’s start with the good news: global mortality rates are trending downward. Deaths in children under five have plummeted since 2011 thanks to benefits of vaccines, improved sanitation and better nutrition. In older adults, deaths from cardiovascular disease have improved substantially as a result of better treatments and screening programmes. But for adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24, mortality rates have hardly changed. In some regions, mortality has actually risen in this group in the past decade.

Manuel Corpas, an expert in health data sciences at the University of Westminster, breaks down the preventable factors that underlie this bleak trend — arguing that nothing will change until health systems worldwide do more to directly address the needs of adolescents.

Regular readers of The Conversation might have heard about the gut microbiome and the importance to our health of the bacteria living inside our digestive system. But you’re probably less familiar with the fungal community that also calls your intestines home. We dive into the secrets of this “mycobiome”, exploring the role these hundreds of fungal species play in keeping us healthy.

If you’re looking for a scary movie to set the Halloween mood for your family in the next couple of weeks, an animated film about rabbits might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But Watership Down has the power to enchant and terrify. The first article in our new series, Scary Stories for Kids, explains why it’s so spellbinding.

And be sure to check out the trailer for our upcoming six-episode podcast series, Jane Austen’s Paper Trail, which promises to uncover the life, career and mystery that was the beloved author.