When science hits the headlines, we seek the views of expert sources who assess the news rigorously and quickly, according to the available evidence.
A 'quantum internet' would allow, among other things, the flow of inviolable secret messages. Building such a network involves teleporting information between non-interacting elements of the system, something researchers in the Netherlands claim to have achieved. They publish it in Nature.
A study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases analyses the response of seven monkeypox patients diagnosed in the UK between 2018-2021, treated with the antivirals brincidofovir and tecovirimat.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) was responsible for more than 100,000 deaths in children under the age of five worldwide in 2019, a study published in The Lancet estimates. The authors highlight the "urgent need" for vaccines.
On 18 May, the Ministry of Health confirmed to SMC Spain that eight suspected cases "clinically compatible" with monkeypox had been detected. The same afternoon, the Consejería de Sanidad de la Comunidad de Madrid reported that it had detected 23 possible cases of infection. These cases need to be confirmed after testing. At least 7 cases have been confirmed in the UK and Portugal. This is a rare zoonotic viral disease and there is no vaccine or specific treatment available. Treatment is symptomatic and supportive. Most cases are resolved favourably.
An international team of researchers has captured the first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. The results are published today in a special issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Cerebrospinal fluid provides nutrients and other elements to brain cells. Scientists now show that by obtaining it from young mice and injecting it into the brains of old mice, the latter recover their memory. The effect is attributed to a protein, Fgf17, presented today in Nature as a possible brain rejuvenation factor.
A study published today in the journal Nature Communications analyses the genomic variability of the influenza virus responsible for the 1918 pandemic and how it gave rise to the subsequent seasonal H1N1 influenza.
Caloric restriction (substantially reducing food intake in a controlled way) prolongs longevity in many animal species. A new result in mice, published in Science, finds that this effect is greater if the animals only eat during the body's natural active phase.
A review of studies in rodents and humans examines the relationship between exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and liver damage.
Climate change will lead to at least 15,000 new cross-species virus transmissions by 2070, as habitat shifts on a 2°C warmer planet will bring previously distant animals closer together. This result, published in Nature, points to increased exposure of humans to pathogens from wild animals.