University of Castilla-La Mancha

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 to researchers John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton for discovering the foundations that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks. Hinton for discovering the foundational basis that enables machine learning with artificial neural networks. This technology, inspired by the structure of the brain, is behind what we now call ‘artificial intelligence’. 

The radiation exposure from mobile phone use does not increase the risk of brain cancer, with evidence of “moderate” certainty, according to a systematic review, funded in part by the WHO and published in Environmental International. Exposure from fixed-site transmitters (like broadcast antennas) is also not associated with childhood leukaemia.

The H5N1 avian influenza virus can be transmitted between mammals, according to a study published in Nature. The research team isolated the virus from the milk of an infected cow in New Mexico (USA) and found that it spreads in mice and ferrets, reaching the mammary glands of both animals. In addition, the virus was also transmitted from infected lactating mice to their offspring. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has issued a press release on Monday recommending increased surveillance for these viruses.

Research involving more than 3,000 adolescents and children from all Spanish autonomous communities concludes that those living in less walkable neighbourhoods with lower socioeconomic status walk less and engage in less physical activity at weekends than those living in more walkable areas with higher socioeconomic status. The paper, published in the journal PLOS ONE and part of the PASOS study, was presented by two of its authors at a briefing organised by SMC Spain. 

Research led by ISGlobal and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) shows that air pollution in 35 European countries - including Spain - has decreased in terms of levels of suspended particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). However, ozone (O₃) pollution increased in southern Europe, as shown by daily data collected between 2003 and 2019 and published in the journal Nature Communications. The study also looked at the number of days on which limits for two or more pollutants were exceeded simultaneously: despite improvements, 86.3% of the European population experienced at least one day with compound pollution per year. 

France has temporarily halted the sale of the iPhone 12 phone because it does not comply with European radiation regulations. In a press release, French regulator ANFR (the National Frequency Agency) has asked Apple to withdraw the iPhone 12 from the French market from 12 September 2023, after its tests showed that the device exceeded EU limits for a measure known as the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR). The SAR measure looks at the levels of electromagnetic radiation that could be received by the body if the phone were held in the hand or trouser pocket, and should be below 4W/kg. The ANFR says the test measured the SAR at 5.74 W/kg.

Although outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza have reached record numbers in recent years, human infections remain anecdotal. A study published today in Nature identifies a protein responsible for inhibiting the replication of this virus in humans, while 'human' flus are able to evade it. The authors propose that this protein with antiviral activity evolved in primates and consider that resistance or sensitivity to it should be taken into account when assessing the zoonotic potential of avian influenza viruses.

Almost a decade after the previous edition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has presented the synthesis report of its sixth assessment cycle (AR6) on Monday in Switzerland. "This synthesis report underlines the urgency of taking more ambitious action and demonstrates that, if we act now, we can still secure a sustainable and liveable future for all," said IPCC chair Hoesung Lee. 

The document includes the main findings of the three Working Group reports of 2021 and 2022 (Physical basis, Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability and Mitigation of climate change) and the three special reports of 2018 and 2019 (Global warming of 1.5°C, Climate change and land, Ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate). With this document, which is primarily addressed to policy makers, the IPCC closes its sixth assessment cycle.

Analysis of the two asymptomatic cases of H5N1 avian influenza detected in Spain in autumn 2022 in workers at a poultry farm in Guadalajara has confirmed the theory that no actual infections occurred, but that both were in contact with genetic material of the virus found in the environment. Spain has recently modified its protocols, according to the analysis published in Eurosurveillance.

22% of children worldwide have signs of disordered eating behaviours, a figure that rises to 30% for girls alone, according to an analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics led by researchers from the University of Castilla-La Mancha. The research brings together 32 previous studies that used the same diagnostic tool (the SCOFF questionnaire). It includes in total more than 60,000 children aged 6 to 18 in 16 countries. The article also states that the risk of disordered eating behaviour increases with age and Body Mass Index (BMI).  Disordered eating behaviours include behaviours such as ‘weight loss dieting, binge eating, self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, and the use of laxatives or diuretics (although not to the level to warrant a clinical diagnosis of an eating disorder)’.