Introduction

I have become hooked on playing online chess during this lockdown and after watching the Queen’s Gambit. So we’ll find out if it is actually doing my brain any good and whether it and similar games can ward off dementia.

Margaret McCartney takes us on a fascinating tour through the history of deliberately infecting people with diseases, as the first “challenge trials” with coronavirus are about to start.

Listeners David and Barbara tell us about a treatable condition called normal pressure hydrocephalus that is often mistaken for dementia.

PRESENTER: James Gallagher PRODUCER: Beth Eastwood

Clip from the Netflix series 'The Queen's Gambit', directed by Scott Frank. Music copyright: ‘Training with Mr Schaibel’ by Carolos Rafael Rivera from the official soundtrack of The Queens Gambit