University of Granada

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. 

When Neanderthals and modern humans had offspring together, little Neanderthal DNA from the X chromosome entered the human gene pool. A study published in the journal Science traced ancient gene flow and found a relative excess of 62% modern human ancestry on Neanderthal X chromosomes. This suggests that the couples who had children were mostly Neanderthal men and modern human women, although the authors cannot rule out the possibility that demographic processes played a significant role.

High academic pressure during adolescence is linked to increased rates of depressive symptoms and self-harm, which can persist into early adulthood. This finding, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, was observed in a sample of nearly 5,000 young people born in England (UK) in 1991 and 1992. Academic pressure was measured when participants were 15 years old, mental health was assessed repeatedly between ages 16 and 22, and self-harm was tracked up to age 24. While the association with depressive symptoms was observed up to age 22, it was strongest at 16. Regarding self-harm, each one-point increase in academic pressure was associated with an 8 % higher likelihood of engaging in self-injurious behavior.

Various studies have shown that exercise benefits the brain. Now, an international team has studied in mice how physical activity affects the brain and how these changes influence the effects of exercise. The research, published in Neuron, has shown that physical activity causes brain changes in a region of the hypothalamus involved in how the body uses energy and in regulating blood sugar. If these neurons were blocked immediately after exercise, the animals showed no improvement in endurance or metabolism with training. The authors suggest that activating these neurons may help the body recover faster, allowing other parts, such as the muscles, lungs, and heart, to adapt more quickly to more intense workouts.

Measles cases in Europe and Central Asia fell in 2025 compared with 2024, according to preliminary data reported by 53 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. This decline aligns with the preliminary figures published this week by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). According to the WHO, countries in Europe and Central Asia reported 33,998 measles cases in 2025, representing a decrease of nearly 75 % compared with the 127,412 cases recorded in 2024. In Spain, however, the number of cases has increased, as shown by data from the Carlos III Health Institute. A few weeks ago, the WHO announced that Spain had lost its measles-free status.

The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced on Tuesday from Dubai that Spain will ban children under the age of 16 from accessing social media and will adopt other measures to increase control over digital platforms and ensure that their executives are held accountable for violations. Sánchez made this announcement in his speech to the plenary session of the World Government Summit and announced that next week the government will approve a series of measures, including this ban.