Intermittingly inhaling a high dose of carbon dioxide seems to remove the proteins amyloid and tau, which are implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, from the brain by boosting its glymphatic system
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How the most widespread parasite on Earth reads its genome
A parasite carried by billions of people worldwide often causes harmful infections during pregnancy and in immunocompromised individuals and is a leading infectious cause of blindness in South America. Once it enters the body, it can rapidly multiply, spreading from one cell to the next.
This single-celled organism, Toxoplasma gondii, belongs to the same group of microbes as the parasite that causes malaria and many other parasites of humans and animals. Cats are Toxoplasma’s main host, but it can infect most warm-blooded mammals, including humans, who typically become infected through contact with cat feces or by consuming undercooked meat or contaminated produce.
The parasite’s ability to survive and spread inside a host depends on its capacity to precisely control which proteins it makes and when. Proteins are the molecular machinery that carries out all of the parasite’s functions, from invading and manipulating host cells to making new copies of the pathogen that spread to other cells and hosts.
The disturbing rise of ‘gooner’ assaults at Dollar Tree stores: ‘They find it funny to degrade women’
Hours later, on the advice of a sister who worked in law enforcement, she fished her soiled leggings out of the garbage and took them back to the store to report what had happened. A clerk listened to her account and, not seeming to realize that MR understood Spanish, shouted to a colleague in a backroom: “Tenemos otra.”
“We’ve got another one.”
Over the next several weeks and months, MR would learn not only that there had been reports of similar incidents at the same store in the same timeframe – one that had been shared on social media and at least one other she heard about anecdotally from shopping center employees – but that masturbating in front of female customers at branches of Dollar Tree was fast becoming a national phenomenon, a disturbing new form of sexual assault that men were documenting and bragging about in dark corners of the internet.
IRI Institute for Climate and Society Quick Look
A monthly summary of the status of El Niño, La Niña, and the Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, based on the NINO3.4 index (120-170W, 5S-5N)
El Niño conditions are strengthening across the tropical Pacific, with sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the Niño 3.4 region showing a steady upward trend. The observed SST anomaly averaged +0.98 °C during April–June 2026 and increased to +1.55 °C in June 2026. The latest weekly Niño 3.4 index, centered on July 15, 2026, climbed further to +2.1 °C. Together, these Pacific Ocean SST observations indicate that El Niño conditions continue to intensify, suggesting the event is evolving toward a very strong El Niño.
Figures 1 ((the official CPC ENSO probability forecast) and 3 (the objective model-based CCSR/IRI ENSO probability forecast) are often quite similar. However, occasionally they may differ noticeably. There can be several possible reasons for differences. One is the human forecasters, using their experience and judgment, may disagree to some degree with the models, which may have known biases. Another reason is the models are not run at the same time that the forecasters make their assessment, so that the starting ENSO conditions may be slightly different between the two times. The charts on this Quick Look page are updated at two different times of the month, typically about a week apart, with the CCSR/IRI forecast run later. Also note that the CPC forecast starts on the previous season while the CCSR/IRI forecast starts on the season.
Acid-resistant nanocage shows promise for targeted gastric cancer therapy
Researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), have developed a swallowable nanoscale delivery platform designed to transport therapeutic enzymes through the stomach’s acidic environment and activate a cancer-killing reaction at tumor sites. Early preclinical findings suggest that the approach may offer a new strategy for treating gastric cancer more precisely while reducing damage to healthy tissue.
The preclinical study, published in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology, was led by associate professor Chester Lee Drum, Department of Medicine and the Cardiovascular-Metabolic Disease Translational Research Program (TRP), NUS Medicine, together with co-first authors Dr. Muthu Kumaraswamy Shanmugam and Dr. Girish Vallerinteavide Mavelli, both senior research fellows at the Department of Medicine, NUS Medicine.
Astronomers Find Escaping Helium on Rocky World LHS 1140 b
By detecting helium escaping into space, astronomers have found the first direct evidence of an atmosphere on LHS 1,140 b, a rocky exoplanet located in its star’s habitable zone.
A collaborative team of researchers recently announced the discovery of an atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of its star. While this finding is intriguing for the search for life beyond Earth, the atmosphere is not only comprised of helium, but it was found to be escaping the exoplanet. The researchers discuss these findings in a recent study published in the journal Science and it holds the potential to help scientists better understand the formation and evolution of rocky exoplanets while narrowing the search for life beyond Earth.
For the study, the researchers analyzed data about LHS 1,140 b, which orbits a red dwarf star about 50 light-years from Earth and has a radius and mass about 1.7 and 5.6 of Earth, respectively, designating LHS 1,140 b as a super-Earth. While the researchers note this is the first time an atmosphere has been detected around a rocky exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of its star, LHS 1,140 b’s atmosphere is primarily comprised of helium and was also found to be escaping the exoplanet or being stripped away.
This is because red dwarf stars have been found to be significantly more active than Sun-like stars, meaning its intense radiation is potentially stripping LHS 1,140 b’s upper atmosphere where the helium is found. Despite this, the team noted other types of gases could be present in the lower altitudes of the atmosphere.