Scientists

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. 

Pain does not increase linearly with age; rather, the most pronounced increases occur before the age of 55. This is the main conclusion of a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, which included Spanish participation and analyzed data from more than six million people aged five to over 100 in 118 countries. Across all areas of the body, the prevalence of pain increased most sharply before age 55. Headaches and abdominal pain peaked at an earlier age, while back, hip, and knee pain continued to increase with age.

The Karolinska Institute has awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel for their discoveries regarding light-activated ion channels and optogenetics. This method, which makes it possible to activate or deactivate individual neurons in a living brain, “is currently used in laboratories around the world to unravel the mysteries of the brain,” the institute announced. 

The latest data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show that this summer in Europe has been characterised by unprecedented heat stress and very low river flows. In fact, in Western Europe, this has been the warmest summer on record and the third warmest across the continent as a whole. The European summer has been characterised by extreme heatwaves and drought conditions, with a record 52 per cent of the continent exposed to very intense heat stress by the end of the season. Furthermore, the exceptional heat persisted well beyond the peak summer months, with daily temperature records also being set in May and September.
 

Women, particularly younger women, are disproportionately affected by painful conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, endometriosis, menstrual migraines, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and neuropathic pain. A review published in Science summarises the latest advances in visceral and somatic pain, highlighting the impact of sex hormones, immunoneural interaction, the gut microbiota and endogenous analgesic circuits. These studies are beginning to explain why women experience more intense pain than men, paving the way for mechanism-based precision therapies. “Women are desperately hoping for concrete answers that can help dispel the common notion that ‘it’s all in your head’ when it comes to their conditions,” the authors note. The research forms part of a Science special issue on women’s health, which includes four further articles.

A study published in PLOS One has analysed poverty in the European Union (EU) between 2015 and 2023. Although an overall decline has been observed, significant regional disparities have been identified amongst EU Member States. To this end, the research team carried out an analysis incorporating three main indicators: income and material deprivation, housing conditions, and the economic and digital context. Spain —along with Italy, Portugal, Lithuania and Estonia— showed a stable multidimensional poverty profile with high levels of at-risk-of-poverty, in-work poverty and housing deprivation, placing it between the most vulnerable and the most prosperous group of countries. Furthermore, between 2021 and 2023, it was among the group of countries with the second-highest rate of working people at risk of poverty.

The tenth edition of the Copernicus State of the Ocean Report warns that the oceans are warming at an alarming rate, with consequences for marine life, coastlines and communities around the world. Produced by Mercator Ocean International with contributions from 125 specialists from various countries, the report uses satellite, in situ and modelling data to show that global ocean warming has been accelerating since 1960 and reached its highest level in 2025. With regard to Spain, the report highlights the impact of Storm Louis in late February 2024, which brought waves exceeding eight metres in some places, widespread power cuts, serious disruption at two ports and one fatality. As for the Mediterranean, although sea levels are rising at a similar rate in both the western and eastern Mediterranean, the rate of acceleration in the eastern part is much more pronounced, according to the report.

The Atmosphere Watch analysis, published by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, shows how, in 2026, air pollution has crossed borders and caused nearly 40 per cent of the world’s population to be exposed to high levels of tropospheric ozone. This pollutant is produced when other harmful compounds react with sunlight and high temperatures. The report highlights the massive wildfires in France, Spain and Belgium this summer, which generated significant smoke transport, affecting air quality thousands of kilometres away. Furthermore, across Europe as a whole, successive heatwaves between June and August led to an increase in ozone emissions from local sources, resulting in the health protection limit values being exceeded.  

In 2024, some 2.3 million new cases of cancer worldwide were linked to infections — 12 per cent of all cases diagnosed that year — according to a study published in the journal The Lancet Oncology. Almost all of these cases are linked to five pathogens: the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori, the human papillomavirus (HPV), the hepatitis B and C viruses, and the Epstein-Barr virus. Low- and middle-income countries account for 77 per cent of all infection-related cancer cases.

A global review, which analysed 23 meta-analyses containing data on nearly three million children across 64 countries, identified associations between screen use and various aspects of children’s mental health and development. According to the authors, these findings may help to inform and refine guidelines and policies on screen use. The results are published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.