The carcinogenic consequences of the plastic pollution crisis.
This Viewpoint by Jason A. Somarelli, Jason W. Arnold & Andrew B. West discusses the health impacts of micro-and nanoplastic ingestion: microplastics.
Address correspondence to: Jason A. Somarelli, 3,044 Genome Sciences Research Building I, 905 S. Lasalle St., Duke University Medical School, Durham, North Carolina 27,710, USA. Email: [email protected].
“Working in strict secrecy, a government scientist in Norway built a machine capable of emitting powerful pulses of microwave energy and, in an effort to prove such devices are harmless to humans, in 2024 tested it on himself. He suffered neurological symptoms similar to those of ”Havana syndrome,” the unexplained malady that has struck hundreds of U.S. spies and diplomats around the world.
The bizarre story, described by four people familiar with the events, is the latest wrinkle in the decade-long quest to find the causes of Havana syndrome, whose sufferers experience long-lasting effects including cognitive challenges, dizziness and nausea. The U.S. government calls the events Anomalous Health Incidents (AHIs).
The secret test in Norway has not been previously reported. The Norwegian government told the CIA about the results, two of the people said, prompting at least two visits in 2024 to Norway by Pentagon and White House officials.
The CIA investigated a Norwegian government experiment with a pulsed-energy machine in which a researcher built and tested a ”Havana syndrome” device on himself.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a method to predict when someone is likely to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease using a single blood test. In a study published in Nature Medicine, the researchers demonstrated that their models predicted the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms within a margin of three to four years.
This method could have implications both for clinical trials developing preventive Alzheimer’s treatments and for eventually identifying individuals likely to benefit from these treatments.
More than seven million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease, with health and long-term care costs for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia projected to reach nearly $400 billion in 2025, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. This massive public health burden currently has no cure, but predictive models could help efforts to develop treatments that prevent or slow the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms.
Researchers at UC San Francisco have discovered a mechanism that could explain how exercise improves cognition by shoring up the brain’s protective barrier. With age, the network of blood vessels—called the blood–brain barrier—gets leaky, letting harmful compounds enter the brain. This causes inflammation, which is associated with cognitive decline and is seen in conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. The research is published in the journal Cell.
Six years ago, the team identified a brain-rejuvenating enzyme called GPLD1 that mice produced in their livers when they exercised. But they couldn’t understand how it worked, because it cannot get into the brain.
The new study answers that question. Researchers discovered that GPLD1 was working through another protein called TNAP. As the mice age, the cells that form the blood-brain barrier accumulate TNAP, which makes it leaky. But when mice exercise, their livers produce GPLD1. It travels to the vessels that surround the brain and trims TNAP off the cells.
A research team led by the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) has published a foundational inventory of emissions produced by structures destroyed by fires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Previously, researchers suspected that fires in WUI areas—spaces where human development and undeveloped wildland meet—produce emissions that are likely more harmful than those produced by forest or grass fires. However, the amount of emissions had not been quantified.
This new study, published in Nature Communications, provides the first inventory of emissions from structure fires in WUI areas. The results definitively reveal structure fires as a major source of air pollution.
WUI fires are becoming increasingly more common in the U.S. and have destroyed more than 100,000 homes since 2005. Because these events are intensely concentrated both in time and space, they can produce exceptionally high local pollution, which has important implications for the air quality and public health of nearby urban areas.
Chikungunya virus, a debilitating tropical disease caused by infected mosquito bites, poses a greater health threat in Europe than previously thought because it can be spread when air temperatures are as low as 13°C. Researchers at the UK Center for Ecology & Hydrology investigated the ability of the Asian tiger mosquito to spread the virus, which is rarely fatal but can cause long-term chronic joint pain.
They drew up a map showing the extent of the risk of chikungunya for 10 km-square areas across Europe including the U.K. The risk map shows the threat of virus transmission may last several months of the year in warmer parts of the continent where the tiger mosquito is already established. The research is published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
There were record numbers of local outbreaks of chikungunya in France and Italy in 2025, and the tiger mosquito has also been responsible for increasing numbers of cases of dengue fever in these countries in recent years. This mosquito species is only occasionally detected in south-east England and is not yet established, so the current risk of local transmission in the U.K. remains very low.
A traditional Chinese mind-body practice that combines slow, structured movement, deep breathing and meditative focus lowered blood pressure as effectively as brisk walking in a large randomized clinical trial published in JACC. Blood pressure reductions were seen after three months and sustained for one year.
High blood pressure is one of the leading preventable risk factors for heart disease. Clinical guidelines recommend regular physical activity, yet long-term adherence to exercise programs is challenging for many people, particularly when routines require equipment, dedicated space, gym memberships or ongoing supervision.
Baduanjin is a widely practiced, standardized eight-movement sequence that integrates aerobic, isometric, flexibility and mind–body components. Practiced for centuries and commonly performed in community settings across China, the routine typically takes 10–15 minutes and requires no equipment and only minimal initial instruction, allowing it to be performed in a wide range of settings. Because it is low-to moderate-intensity, it is considered safe and accessible for many adults.