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A US team has analyzed the evolution of the global population exposed to forest fires between 2002 and 2021. The study indicates that the number of people exposed has increased by 40%, despite a 26% reduction in the area burned. This is mainly due to the increase in the population living in urban-forest interfaces. 85% of exposures occurred in Africa, even though forest fire disasters in North America, Europe, and Oceania have received most of the attention, notes the study, which is published in the journal Science.  

Space-based solar power could provide electricity to support Europe's net-zero emissions target if its cost of supply is reduced sufficiently. This is one of the conclusions of an article published in the journal Joule, by the Cell Press group. Space solar panels would allow continuous capture of solar energy, rather than only when light reaches Earth, reducing the need for wind and solar energy on Earth by 80% in Europe. The researchers estimate that by 2050, space-based solar power could reduce the costs of the European electricity system, although this depends on the development of two NASA space-based solar power designs they have used for their research: the Innovative Heliostat Swarm and the Mature Planar Array.

Various studies claimed that the loss of a limb caused a reorganisation of the “body map” integrated in the brain: neighbouring regions invaded and reused the brain area that previously represented the amputated limb. But a new study refutes this theory. Cortical representation remains stable even when the body suffers the loss of a limb. The team, which published its study in Nature Neuroscience, analysed three people who were about to undergo amputation of one of their hands, studying for the first time the maps of the hand and face before and after amputation, with follow-up for up to five years. Even without the hand, the corresponding brain region was activated in an almost identical way.

Between 2019 and 2021, five major fires burned nearly 500,000 hectares in Sierra Nevada (California). Now, a team from the United States has analysed the relationship between the structure and type of ownership of these forests and the development of a severe fire. Their conclusions are that this probability is 45% higher on private land used for the timber industry than in public forests. The results are published in the journal Global Change Biology.

A team from the United Kingdom has conducted an umbrella review, or review of reviews, on the risks of vaping among young people. After analysing 56 reviews including 384 studies, their conclusions are that vaping is subsequently associated with increased consumption of tobacco, marijuana and alcohol. It is also associated with an increased risk of asthma, coughing, injuries and mental health problems. The results are published in the journal Tobacco Control.

A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, found mainly in fish oils, may help prevent the development of myopia in children, while high consumption of saturated fats, found in foods such as butter, palm oil and red meat, may increase the risk of developing this condition, according to research published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. The study was conducted on a thousand children in Hong Kong aged between six and eight.

The Pan American Health Organisation has maintained its epidemiological alert for Oropouche fever since it was first issued in February 2024. Although the virus only circulates endemically in the Americas, the importation of cases to Europe following international travel is keeping health agencies and authorities on alert.

After 10 days of meetings and beyond the deadline, representatives from more than 180 countries gathered at the UN headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland) have failed to agree on a global treaty against plastic pollution, the first legally binding one. This negotiation was, in principle, the last chance to reach an agreement, after the last meeting in Busan (South Korea) also ended without a treaty in December, two and a half years after negotiations began.

Over the past 20 years, a class of cancer drugs known as CD40 agonist antibodies has shown great potential, but also limited impact in patients and adverse reactions. In 2018, it was demonstrated that they could be improved to boost their effectiveness and limit serious side effects. A study published in Cancer Cell reports the results of using one of these drugs in a small phase 1 clinical trial: out of 12 patients, all with different types of metastatic cancer, six saw their tumors shrink, including two in whom they disappeared completely.

The fire in Yeres (León) has burned the Las Médulas natural area, included in UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1997. Yesterday, the president of the Regional Government of Castile and León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, announced a specific plan for the recovery and improvement of this area. At a press conference, he assured that all the vegetation cover in the area will be restored and a forest restoration plan will be carried out.