University of Barcelona

The KATRIN (Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment) team has published the most accurate measurement to date of the upper limit of the neutrino mass in the journal Science, establishing it at 0.45 electronvolts (eV), less than a millionth of the mass of an electron. The KATRIN experiment, launched in 2018 in Germany, will finalise its neutrino mass measurement campaign this year, having reached 1,000 days of data acquisition.

In marathon runners, the myelin content of specific regions of the brain is reversibly reduced, according to a study carried out in the Basque Country. This observation is consistent with animal evidence suggesting that myelin lipids - a substance that surrounds neurons - can act as energy reserves in extreme metabolic conditions, as detailed by the authors in Nature Metabolism. The analysis is based on magnetic resonance imaging of eight men and two women before and after running a marathon. According to the study, the myelin content was fully recovered two months after the race.

The seventh Annual Report of the COSCE Transparency Agreement, prepared by the European Animal Research Association, which analyses transparency in the use of animals for scientific experimentation in Spain in 2023, was presented today. According to the document, transparency is consolidated among the signatory institutions -168 in 2024- and all of them publish a statement on their websites on the use of animals. Public mention of the number and species used stands at 47%, compared to 38% the previous year.

According to a Lancet Public Health commission on commercial gambling, stricter regulations are needed on a global scale to reduce its impact on health and wellbeing worldwide. The authors argue that the harms caused by gambling are a threat to public health, exacerbated by the rapid expansion and digital transformation of the industry. These harms include physical and mental health problems, increased risk of suicide, gender-based violence and financial problems.

The Karolinska Institute has awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for the discovery of microRNAs, small RNA fragments that do not contain instructions for making proteins but instead participate in the regulation of gene expression. Their role is fundamental in processes such as cell differentiation, and their alteration can influence diseases like cancer.

The U.S. FDA has approved a new drug—called Cobenfy—to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. Unlike traditional treatments, which are based on blocking the effects of dopamine, its mechanism of action simulates the effects of another neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. It is the first drug to be approved with a different mechanism of action in over 70 years.

The impact of animal abandonment goes beyond the pets who suffer it, it is a public health, safety and funding issue as well. Although there have been some improvements in recent years, the experts consulted agree that the system continues to fail. In this guide, we analyze what has changed, who does this issue affect, and what must be improved.

Both sex and gender are associated with distinct networks in the brains of boys and girls, according to an analysis of brain images of 4,757 children in the US. Understanding these neurobiological patterns is important for identifying how sex and gender influence health and for developing specific diagnostic tools, the research team writes in Science Advances.

The Lancet Psychiatry publishes the first meta-analysis of the incidence of antidepressant treatment discontinuation symptoms that includes data from more than 20,000 patients collected from 79 randomised controlled trials and observational studies. The study sought to distinguish between symptoms directly caused by medication discontinuation and other ‘non-specific’ symptoms that may be associated with patient or professional expectations (the nocebo effect). The study concludes that one in six to seven patients will experience one or more symptoms directly caused by stopping medication, and one in 35 are likely to experience severe symptoms.  

A South Korean research team has designed an artificial olfactory system capable of distinguishing short-chain fatty acids with 90 % reliability. These molecules serve as diagnostic biomarkers for diseases such as stomach cancer and halitosis, according to the authors, whose research is published in Science Advances. The system - consisting of human olfactory receptors, artificial synapses and an artificial neural network - is able to distinguish combinations of molecules, compared to current techniques that detect single molecules and single compounds.