University of Zaragoza

The accelerated extraction of critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt is causing water insecurity and health risks, according to a report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), which refers to them as the “oil of the 21st century.” The high water consumption of mining operations limits access to water for other purposes such as agriculture, fishing, and human consumption. Furthermore, data from various regions in South Africa, Bolivia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo reveal “widespread heavy metal contamination and exposure to toxic waste,” the report states. This leads to health problems including fetal malformations and chronic diseases, which disproportionately affect women and children.

Using Ireland as a case study, a new article published in the *Journal of Behavioral Addictions* has analyzed gambling advertisements, taking into account segmentation by gender and age group, as well as the actual reach of the ads. The team included 411 ads from 88 operators that ran between January and February 2025. The data was extracted from the Meta Ad Library, a database of advertising on Meta-owned platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. The total number of ads reached 2.3 times more men than women, and the most exposed age group was 25 to 34 years old. Twenty-two percent of the ads targeted men exclusively; none were aimed solely at women. 

A team from Australia has conducted a review of various types of studies on e-cigarettes from 2017 to 2025. Their conclusion is that e-cigarettes containing nicotine are likely carcinogenic to humans and will cause an as-yet-undetermined number of cases of mouth and lung cancer. In a press release, the authors, who published their findings in the journal Carcinogenesis, state that “the conclusion is unequivocal, although it will take decades for human studies estimating the risk to accumulate.”

Human-induced climate change amplified the intensity and extent of the rainfall that affected Valencia during the October 2024 dana, according to a new attribution study involving several Spanish research centres. Using climate simulations, the study, published in Nature Communications, shows that present-day global warming conditions increased precipitation intensity by 21 %, expanded the area receiving more than 180 millimetres of rain by 56 %, and raised the total rainfall volume in the Júcar River basin by 19 % compared to a pre-industrial scenario. The authors highlight “the urgent need for effective adaptation strategies and improved urban planning to reduce the growing risks associated with extreme hydrometeorological events in a rapidly warming world.”

Moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking at an average speed of 5 km/h for an additional five minutes per day, is associated with a 10% reduction in all-cause mortality among most adults, according to a study published in The Lancet. The research also found that reducing sedentary time by 30 minutes per day was associated with an estimated 7% reduction in all-cause mortality if adopted by most adults. The study analyzed data from more than 135,000 adults from Norway, Sweden, the United States, and the United Kingdom, with an average follow-up of eight years.

Science magazine has chosen “the seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy” as the most notable scientific advance of 2025. The journal highlights that this year was the first in which solar and wind energy surpassed fossil fuel-based energy in certain areas. In this transition, Science highlights the role of China, which now dominates global production of solar panels, wind turbines, and lithium batteries, and has managed to make renewable energy technology cheaper. Among the obstacles, the magazine cites the continued widespread use of coal and political resistance in countries such as the United States.

In 2050, the total volume of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Europe will reach between 12.5 and 19 million tonnes, compared to 10.7 million tonnes – around 20 kilograms per person – in 2022, according to the report 2050 Critical Raw Materials Outlook for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. Of this volume, only 54% was collected and treated correctly in 2022. Furthermore, of the one million metric tonnes of critical raw materials such as copper, aluminium and silicon present in this waste, less than half was successfully recovered, according to the report's estimates.

A team from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine (United States) has successfully treated a baby diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder using personalised CRISPR gene editing therapy. The baby, known only by the initials KJ, was born with a rare metabolic disease known as severe carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency. After spending the first months of his life in hospital on a very restrictive diet, KJ received the first dose of his tailored therapy in February 2025, between six and seven months of age. The treatment, which is being used for the first time for this type of disorder, was administered safely, and the baby is now growing well and improving. The case is detailed in a study published by The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

At this time, it is unknown what caused the massive power outage that left millions of people without electricity on the Iberian Peninsula on Monday. The influence of renewable energy sources is also unknown.