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We believe that science is more than just a subject to study; it is a way of thinking, exploring, and understanding our world. We are passionate about bringing you the latest breakthroughs, innovations, and discoveries in medical science, astronomy, and technology. From mind-bending physics to cutting-edge biotech, we strive to make science accessible, engaging, and exciting for everyone. So whether you're a scientist, student, or simply curious about the world around you, join us on this journey of discovery, and let's explore the wonders of science together!

29/10/2026

🫁 Some people with long COVID feel breathless for months, even when their lung scans look normal. A special MRI scan revealed hidden problems in how their lungs move oxygen into the blood.

Breathlessness is one of the most common long COVID symptoms. But standard tests, like CT scans, often show nothing wrong.

Researchers at the University of Oxford and the University of Sheffield in the UK used a different type of scan.

Patients breathed in xenon, a harmless gas, while having an MRI. The gas behaves much like oxygen, so the scan can show how well it passes from the lungs into the blood.

The study included 11 people with long COVID who had not been hospitalized, scanned 8 to 11 months after infection.

It also included 12 people who had been hospitalized with COVID, and a group of healthy volunteers. All the patients felt breathless.

Their CT scans were normal or nearly normal.

But the xenon scans showed that gas did not pass from the lungs into the blood as well as in healthy people. This was seen in both patient groups.

The problem was larger in the long COVID patients who had never been hospitalized.

"These abnormalities are not apparent on conventional imaging," said senior researcher Fergus Gleeson.

The researchers think the issue may lie in the lining of the air sacs or in the tiny blood vessels around them.

This matters because it may help explain why some people feel breathless when other tests look normal.

There are big caveats. The study was very small, with only 23 patients.

It does not prove the lung changes cause breathlessness, or show whether they get better over time.

The team said larger studies were needed. The xenon scan is also only available in a few specialist centers.

📃 RESEARCH PAPER
📌 James T. Grist et al., "Lung Abnormalities Depicted with Hyperpolarized Xenon MRI in Patients with Long COVID," Radiology.

29/10/2026

🦠 A daily probiotic may help protect the brain in people with early memory problems. In a six month trial, it lowered a blood marker linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists are increasingly interested in the gut brain connection, the idea that gut bacteria can affect the brain.

Researchers in South Korea, led by Chosun University, tested this in older adults with early memory and thinking problems.

They recruited 100 people aged 60 or over. Some only noticed memory problems themselves, while others had mild cognitive impairment.

For 24 weeks, half took a daily powder with three strains of probiotic bacteria. The rest took a placebo. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who got which.

In the end, 87 people were analyzed.

In the probiotic group, blood levels of pTau181 fell. This protein is a marker of Alzheimer's related changes in the brain. In the placebo group, it rose slightly.

Two other markers of brain cell damage stayed stable with probiotics but rose with the placebo.

The probiotic group also improved on a dementia rating scale, mainly in memory, and did better on a task involving copying a complex drawing.

However, there was no clear benefit over placebo on several other memory and thinking tests.

The probiotics also lowered one inflammation marker, which may help explain the results.

There are important caveats. The trial was small and lasted only six months.

Blood markers do not prove that the probiotic changed the brain itself, or that it slows Alzheimer's.

The benefits were limited to some tests, and larger, longer trials with brain scans are needed.

Probiotics sold in shops may contain different strains. Talk to a doctor about memory concerns rather than relying on supplements.

📃 RESEARCH PAPER
📌 Eun Hyun Seo et al., "Multistrain probiotics modulate tau pathology and preserve visuospatial cognition in early cognitive impairment: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial," Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2026).

29/10/2026

👟 People who walk more each day may have sharper attention. A study using 14 years of Fitbit data found that more active adults did slightly better on several brain tests.

Exercise is good for the heart and body. Scientists are still working out how daily movement relates to thinking skills.

Researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in the US used data from 3,093 adults in the NIH's All of Us Research Program.

Participants were aged 18 to 93. Their daily steps were tracked with Fitbit devices between 2009 and 2023.

In 2023, they took four short online tests. These measured focus, ignoring distractions, choosing between quick and delayed rewards, and reading emotions in faces.

People were split into three groups, averaging about 5,100, 8,900 and 14,200 steps a day.

The two more active groups did better than the least active group on focus, ignoring distractions and reward choices.

For example, every extra 1,000 daily steps was linked to slightly better attention scores. The differences were small.

Steps were not linked to how well people read emotions in faces.

People with higher blood pressure did slightly worse on the reward choice test. This explained only a small part of the link with steps.

"Our study was observational and was not designed to determine an optimal number of daily steps for cognitive health," said lead author Olaoluwa Okusaga.

There are important caveats. The study shows a link, not proof that walking improves attention.

Brain skills were tested only once, so the team could not track changes over time. People with better thinking skills may simply be more active.

Smoking and obesity were not accounted for, and most participants were white, women and college educated.

Still, walking is free and good for overall health, so moving more is a safe bet.

📃 RESEARCH PAPER
📌 Olaoluwa O. Okusaga et al., "Physical activity and blood pressure as predictors of cognitive function in the all of us research program," Scientific Reports (2026).

29/10/2026

🌬️ Intense breathing exercises can trigger powerful changes in how people feel and think. Now a brain scan study shows what may be happening inside the brain.

Breathwork involves breathing in special patterns, often fast and deep, for long periods. Many say it brings on dream like or deeply emotional states.

Researchers at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Germany set out to measure these effects.

They studied 30 healthy adults, average age 45, who were experienced in breathwork.

Each person did a type called circular breathing, breathing in and out continuously with no pause, while lying in an MRI brain scanner.

At the peak of the session, blood flow to the brain's gray matter dropped by about 45 percent on average.

Fast breathing lowers carbon dioxide in the blood, narrowing brain blood vessels.

Participants rated their altered states as very strong, with feelings of unity, changes in perception and a reduced sense of self.

The researchers compared the strength of these feelings to a moderate to high dose of psychedelics, but with fewer visual effects.

People with the strongest experiences also tended to show more changes in a brain network linked to self reflection, called the default mode network.

The team thinks reduced blood flow may set the stage, while changes in brain networks shape how intense the experience feels.

There are important caveats. The study was small, and all participants were experienced practitioners.

There was no comparison group, and the brain network findings depended on how the data were analyzed.

The researchers say the findings are preliminary.

Intense breathwork is not safe for everyone. If you have heart, lung or brain conditions, or are pregnant, talk to a doctor first.

📃 RESEARCH PAPER
📌 Christian Schmitz et al., "How high ventilation breathwork alters consciousness: Hypoperfusion, network dynamics, and subjective experience," Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry (2026).

28/10/2026

🦟 Florida is facing its biggest dengue outbreak in decades. The CDC has now activated an emergency response to help fight it.

Dengue is a virus spread by mosquito bites. Many people have mild or no symptoms, but it can cause high fever, severe body aches and, in some cases, dangerous bleeding.

It is common in tropical regions. In the US, most cases have been in travelers returning from abroad.

This year is different. Florida has reported more than 700 dengue cases in 2026, and over 400 were caught locally, from mosquitoes in the state.

Most local cases are around Tampa. Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties declared states of emergency in September, and cases have nearly doubled since.

Cases have also appeared in Orange, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

The CDC has activated a Level 3 emergency response for dengue, its eighth emergency activation this year.

Reports describe it as the largest outbreak in the continental US since the 1930s.

Nationwide, about 43 percent of people who caught dengue locally this year needed hospital care.

The mosquitoes that spread dengue are found across much of the southern US. In August, Virginia reported its first ever locally acquired case.

Experts say warmer weather and longer mosquito seasons are helping these insects spread to new places.

Cooler, drier weather may slow the outbreak, but it could return when it gets warm and wet again.

You can protect yourself by using insect repellent, wearing long sleeves and emptying standing water around your home, where mosquitoes breed.

If you develop a fever after mosquito bites or travel, see a doctor. Seek urgent care for belly pain, repeated vomiting, bleeding gums or extreme tiredness, especially as the fever goes down.

📌 Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Florida Department of Health (2026).

28/10/2026

🐭 Why do we feel drawn to other people? A study in mice suggests the brain's reward chemical, dopamine, helps us learn to seek out social contact.

Dopamine is often linked to rewards like food. Brain cells that release it help us learn what feels good and what to seek again.

Researchers at the University of Geneva in Switzerland wanted to know if the same cells respond to social contact.

They focused on dopamine cells in a deep brain area called the ventral tegmental area, or VTA.

The team placed two mice in separate rooms divided by a door. When one mouse pressed a lever, the door briefly opened so it could interact with the other mouse through a grid.

Electrodes recorded the activity of the dopamine cells as the mice moved freely.

Meeting an unfamiliar mouse switched on these cells, much like other natural rewards do.

Over time, the mice learned that pressing the lever led to social contact. The cells then began firing before the meeting, as if predicting the reward.

When the lever was pressed but the door stayed shut, activity in these cells dropped sharply. The researchers compare this to a sign of disappointment.

This kind of signal helps the brain learn from the gap between what we expect and what we get.

The team says it reveals how the brain may learn to value social interactions.

The researchers think problems in this system may play a role in conditions that affect social behavior, such as autism, schizophrenia or depression.

There are important caveats. This study was done in mice, and human social life is far more complex.

The links to mental health conditions are ideas to be tested, not findings of this study.

More research is needed to see whether the same brain signals guide social behavior in people.

📃 RESEARCH PAPER
📌 Clément Solié et al., "VTA dopamine neuron activity encodes social interaction and promotes reinforcement learning through social prediction error," Nature Neuroscience (2021).

28/10/2026

💉 A personalized cancer vaccine could reach patients as soon as 2027. Moderna and Merck are now preparing to seek approval after a successful large trial in melanoma.

The vaccine is called intismeran autogene. It is made for each patient using the DNA of their own tumor.

Doctors read the tumor's unique mutations. An mRNA vaccine then teaches the immune system to spot and attack cancer cells carrying them.

The phase 3 trial included 1,137 people with high risk melanoma, the most dangerous skin cancer, who had their tumors removed by surgery.

Some got the vaccine plus the immunotherapy drug Keytruda. Others got Keytruda alone.

The combination lowered the risk of the cancer returning or death by 42 percent. The risk of cancer spreading to distant organs or death fell by 38 percent.

It is the first personalized cancer vaccine to succeed in a phase 3 trial.

The companies say they are already talking with regulators. Moderna's chief executive expects a US approval decision in 2027.

Common side effects were similar to other vaccines, such as fever, tiredness and swelling where the shot was given.

But there are questions. Some analysts had hoped for even stronger results, and it is not yet known if the vaccine helps people live longer overall.

Others question how it compares with giving immunotherapy before surgery, which may work well at lower cost.

Each vaccine must be custom made, which takes time and may be expensive.

Similar vaccines have recently failed in bowel cancer and head and neck cancer, so success in melanoma may not carry over to other cancers.

The full results have not yet been published in a peer reviewed journal. The trial was funded by Moderna and Merck.

📃 RESEARCH PAPER
📌 Georgina V. Long et al., "INTerpath-001: phase 3 study of the mRNA-based individualized neoantigen therapy (INT) intismeran autogene plus pembrolizumab vs pembrolizumab alone for adjuvant treatment of resected stage IIB-IV melanoma," ESMO Congress (2026).

28/10/2026

⚠️ Pennsylvania is facing its worst measles outbreak in decades. Health officials are now warning about a rare danger: babies being born with measles.

The state has confirmed more than 1,280 measles cases this year. Six deaths have been reported, including at least two babies.

In August, two newborns died in Lancaster County. The county coroner said measles caused the death of one, a 6 week old baby who also had a serious genetic condition.

In the other baby, measles was listed as a contributing factor, though it did not cause the fatal injury.

Neither baby was old enough to be vaccinated. The first measles shot is usually given at around 1 year of age.

Now the state health department has issued an alert to doctors about measles during pregnancy.

So far this year, 66 pregnant women in Pennsylvania have caught measles. At least six babies have been born with the infection, something the state had not seen in decades.

Measles in pregnancy raises the risk of pneumonia and hospital stays for the mother.

It also raises the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, early birth and low birth weight. In newborns, congenital measles can range from mild to deadly.

The MMR vaccine cannot be given during pregnancy, because it contains a weakened live virus. That is why officials urge women to get vaccinated before becoming pregnant.

Pregnant women who are not immune and are exposed to measles can get a protective antibody treatment, ideally within six days.

Two doses of MMR given in childhood offer strong, long lasting protection.

Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000. Experts say falling vaccination rates are the main reason it is spreading again.

If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, ask your doctor to check whether you are protected against measles.

📌 Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health, Health Advisory 842, "Guidance for measles in pregnancy and congenital measles" (2026); Lancaster County Coroner's Office (2026).

28/10/2026

🧠 Children with one of the deadliest brain cancers saw their tumors shrink, and some regained lost abilities, after an experimental CAR T cell therapy in an early trial.

Diffuse midline gliomas, including a type called DIPG, grow in the brainstem and spinal cord. They mostly strike children and young adults.

These tumors cannot be removed by surgery. Most patients survive only about a year after diagnosis, and fewer than 1 percent of children with DIPG live five years.

Researchers at Stanford Medicine in the US tested CAR T therapy, which uses a patient's own immune cells engineered to recognize cancer.

The cells were built to target a molecule called GD2, found in large amounts on these tumor cells.

The trial enrolled 13 patients with a median age of 15. Eleven received the treatment, first through a vein and then directly into the fluid around the brain.

Nine of the 11 benefited. Their tumors shrank, their symptoms improved, or both.

Four patients saw their tumors shrink by more than half. In one boy, the tumor disappeared from scans entirely, and he is still healthy four years after diagnosis.

Nine showed better brain and nerve function. In two of them, symptoms eased even though the tumors did not shrink.

The median survival after diagnosis was 20.6 months, longer than usual for this disease. Two patients lived more than 30 months.

All patients had some side effects from immune activation, and some had temporary swelling in the brain. Doses into the brain fluid caused fewer side effects.

There are important caveats. This was a small, early trial designed mainly to test safety, and there was no comparison group.

Doctors say it is too soon to call anyone cured. Larger trials are needed.

📃 RESEARCH PAPER
📌 Michelle Monje et al., "Intravenous and intracranial GD2-CAR T cells for H3K27M+ diffuse midline gliomas," Nature (2025).

28/10/2026

🔥 A common blood pressure drug may switch on brown fat, a type of fat that burns energy to make heat. In mice, it boosted metabolism, and in people, more brown fat was linked to better health.

Most body fat stores energy. Brown fat does the opposite. It burns calories to keep us warm.

Adults have small amounts of brown fat, mainly around the neck, collarbone and armpits.

Researchers at Rockefeller University, Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering in the US studied it on a large scale.

They used artificial intelligence to spot brown fat on PET scans from over 100,000 people, and linked it to their medical records. Nearly 8,900 had detectable brown fat.

People with brown fat were less likely to have type 2 diabetes and heart disease. More active brown fat was linked to greater benefits.

For the first time, brown fat was also linked to lower rates of anxiety and depression.

The team noticed that people taking certain blood pressure drugs, including losartan, tended to have more active brown fat.

When they gave losartan to mice, the animals burned more energy, without losing weight.

The drug acted on brown fat through a different pathway from the one that lowers blood pressure.

"The fact that its different effects are mediated by different molecular pathways is advantageous," said researcher Nicolás Gómez-Banoy. This could help scientists develop drugs that target brown fat alone.

There are important caveats. The human findings show links, not cause and effect.

All the patients had scans for cancer, and most were women, so the results may not apply to everyone.

The effects of losartan on brown fat were shown in mice, which rely on brown fat more than humans do.

Losartan is a prescription drug. Do not take it to burn fat or lose weight.

📃 RESEARCH PAPER
📌 Nicolás Gómez-Banoy et al., "Artificial intelligence-enabled clinical phenotyping of human brown fat," Nature (2026).

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