University of Granada

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics to Francis Halzen, the driving force behind the idea of using ice at the South Pole to detect particularly elusive particles known as neutrinos. According to the Academy, his “decisive contributions” have been fundamental to the development of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory: a cubic kilometer of ice equipped with light sensors that allows the scientific community to detect neutrinos originating from extremely high-energy processes in the distant universe, laying the groundwork for an entirely new field of astronomy. 

A study published in the journal JAMA Network Open assessed the attitudes of Australian teenagers in the context of the implementation of minimum age restrictions on social media use in their country. The research team found that the majority of respondents expressed their intention to continue using social media after the regulations came into force, despite the fact that, in this sample, symptoms of anxiety and depression were associated with a history of social media use and with a younger age at the time of first use.

On Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved the draft bill amending the current Tobacco Act, which was passed in 2005. The bill now begins its passage through Parliament and includes new measures to tackle smoking and regulate tobacco-related products. The text prohibits the consumption of tobacco by minors — in addition to its sale —, extends smoke-free zones to outdoor seating areas and other spaces, and restricts the advertising of tobacco-related products. It also treats e-cigarettes and other devices in the same way as traditional tobacco cigarettes, amongst other measures.

A team of researchers analyzed data on mental health consultations among people aged 10 to 46 in Norway’s primary care system from 2010 to 2024. They observed significant increases in consultations for symptoms of anxiety and depression, particularly among young people and especially among women. However, the proportion of consultations coded as disorders increased only slightly or remained stable. The authors suggest that this discrepancy may be due to changes in help-seeking behavior when experiencing psychological distress and in diagnostic practices, rather than an increase in mental health problems. Furthermore, they note that the growing volume of consultations for symptoms poses a challenge for primary care physicians, one that could be addressed through psychoeducation or digital interventions. The article is published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, part of the BMJ Group.

An international team led by the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) and the University of Toronto (Canada) has discovered that Homo erectus were already using fire on a regular basis 1.07 million years ago and 1.79 million years ago at the Wonderwerk Cave (South Africa). Previous evidence had placed more regular and controlled use of fire one million years ago in Africa at that same site. The team, whose study is published in PLoS ONE, used a novel non-invasive technique based on luminescence.

A team from the University of California (USA) has published an article questioning the scientific evidence supporting bans on social media for teenagers. Among other reasons, they argue that studies conducted to date on restricting social media use have focused on adults. Furthermore, as one of the authors points out in a press release, these restriction experiments "show weak, negligible, and mixed effects, with 40% of experimental studies reporting harmful effects (e.g., lower life satisfaction and increased loneliness) or no effect from social media restrictions." Some of the authors, whose article is published in Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, declare having ties to companies in the social media industry.

The eyes are connected to the brain via the retina, which makes it a potential pathway for brain stimulation. A study published in Cell Reports Physical Science has used contact lenses equipped with a system for transcorneal electrical stimulation to treat depression in animal models of the disorder. Mice fitted with the device showed behavioural improvements, including increased sociability, as well as physiological changes, such as the restoration of altered neural connections. The results were comparable to those obtained with fluoxetine —known commercially as Prozac— administered for three weeks in one of the mouse groups.

A global analysis of data from more than 232 million people shows that the rise in obesity has slowed or stabilised in some high-income countries since the 1990s among children and adolescents, and, a decade later, among adults. In Spain, this stabilisation or even a slight decline is also observed. In most low- and middle-income regions, the prevalence of obesity continues to increase and, in some cases, has already surpassed that of more developed economies. The study, published in Nature, included 4,050 studies covering the period from 1980 to 2024 across 200 countries.

Between 2010 and 2020, nearly 2.6 million sudden deaths were recorded in Europe. This finding shows an upward trend in sudden death–attributable mortality of 2.9 % per year, with a significantly greater increase in women—although the majority of sudden deaths occurred in men—and clear geographic differences, with higher increases observed in Eastern and Southern Europe. Spain showed the greatest increase among the countries analysed, with an average annual rise of 3.3 %. The results were based on mortality data from the World Health Organization (WHO), covering 26 European countries and more than 53 million deaths. The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health, did not investigate the underlying causes, but the authors hypothesise that differences in cardiovascular risk profiles, access to healthcare, and emergency response systems may contribute to the observed trends.

Premature births, babies born with birth defects, bad luck, satellite and telecommunications failures… Eclipses are attributed with a wide variety of consequences that have no scientific basis and are largely rooted in cultural traditions and deep-seated misconceptions. With the help of expert sources, in this article we explain why some people believe in them, what the main risks are and how to counter them.