Scientists

A research team presents a wireless polygraph – colloquially known as a “lie detector” – that attaches to the chest to diagnose stress in adults and sleep disorders in children. According to the study, published in Science Advances, the device is able to identify episodes of waking, hypopnoea and apnoea in children.

A team has proposed an indicator known as the plastic particle footprint (PPF) to measure the environmental impact of microplastics and nanoplastics in products. In an article published in Science Advances, the authors apply this calculation to four everyday items and claim that calculating this footprint could “radically change the best material option”. For example, a polyester T-shirt and a cotton one have a similar carbon footprint, but the PPF of the former is higher than that of the cotton garment.

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.

A study conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), in collaboration with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), has analyzed short-term mortality associated with the combined effects of multiple air pollutants in 31 European countries. According to their estimates, this exposure is associated with 146,500 premature deaths per year and affects people differently depending on age, sex, and cause of death: young men are more vulnerable than young women, but the pattern reverses with age. The authors, who published the study in Nature Health, propose creating a new generation of impact-based early warning systems specifically targeting vulnerable groups.

In the treatment of obesity, maintaining weight loss is the most difficult phase. Two independent clinical trials published in Nature Medicine have adopted two different strategies to achieve this. The first is a phase 3b trial involving the GLP-1 drug orforglipron, administered orally on a daily basis for 52 weeks. This trial included 376 adults in the United States who had already completed 72 weeks of injectable treatment with tirzepatide or semaglutide. Almost 75% and 80% respectively of patients on each injectable drug maintained their weight loss. The second trial involved 90 obese adults from the Netherlands who followed a low-calorie diet for eight weeks and then received a daily supplement of the bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila for 24 weeks, alongside a healthy diet. Although those who received the supplement regained more than 13% of the weight initially lost, those who took the placebo regained almost 33%.

Why do eclipses occur? Is the Earth’s shadow responsible for the phases of the Moon? Is the Moon full during a solar eclipse? These are by no means obvious questions, yet they are extremely useful in teaching astronomy for identifying the obstacles we encounter when thinking about celestial mechanics, regardless of age or educational background. Here are several suggestions for untangling the most common misconceptions and understanding the cosmic dance of the stars as seen from Earth.

Amid an unprecedented international security and coordination operation, the MV Hondius has arrived at the port of Granadilla, in Tenerife, where epidemiologists and members of the Foreign Health Service will examine the passengers and crew, who have not shown any symptoms of hantavirus so far. Once assessed, they will leave the ship, which is moored in a dock, in small boats to the port, grouped by nationality – they come from 23 different countries. From there, they will board military vehicles to reach Tenerife South Airport, from where they will be repatriated on various flights. The 14 Spaniards and a member of the WHO from Africa are bound for Gómez Ulla Hospital (Madrid) to undergo quarantine. Once the process is complete, the cruise ship will refuel and sail to the Netherlands with part of the crew on board and the body of one of the three fatalities.

European regions with the greatest economic inequalities face a higher risk of mortality from both cold and heat, while wealthier regions face a higher risk during heat waves and a lower risk from cold. These findings come from a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and published in Nature Health. According to the authors, the greater vulnerability to heat in regions with higher GDP could be due to a greater presence of heat islands and urbanization in those areas, while the lower risk from cold could be explained by better-insulated homes and lower energy poverty. The results are based on an analysis of a mortality database covering the years 2000 to 2019 and including the urban and rural populations of 32 European countries.

More than 60,000 ships cross the Strait of Gibraltar each year, making it one of the busiest shipping lanes on the planet and generating noise pollution that can affect communication between animals. An international team, including Spanish researchers, has studied more than a thousand calls between 18 long-finned pilot whales, an endangered cetacean, and observed that these animals increase the volume of their calls as ambient noise increases, comparable to "that of a noisy restaurant or being next to a vacuum cleaner," as noted in a press release. However, this attempt at compensation is not always enough, which could hinder the reunion of members of the same group. The results are published in Journal of Experimental Biology. 

Single and repeated intravenous ketamine infusions are effective in reducing suicidal and depressive symptoms in patients with an acute episode of major depression. These are the main conclusions of a systematic review and meta-analysis published today in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, which also notes that long-term outcomes are not well established.