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Today:
New Breakthrough Could Help Prevent The Devastating Impact of Glaucoma
NEWS | 18 November 2025
There's fresh hope for early detection and new treatments of glaucoma, a group of eye diseases that have devastating effects on vision – and for which there is currently no cure. The scientists suggest that agmatine and thiamine could be used as biomarkers for earlier detection of glaucoma, allowing doctors to put preventative measures in place at an earlier stage. Of those, agmatine and thiamine were found to be especially reduced in people with glaucoma. "Agmatine and thiamine could be potential immunomodulatory or neuroprotective drugs to treat or prevent neuroinflammatory damage to the retina during glaucoma," write the researchers in their published paper. Glaucoma slowly leads to irreversible blindness, caused by damage to the nerves at the back of the eye.

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Researchers May Have Discovered a Natural Alternative to Ozempic
NEWS | 18 November 2025
Scientists may have identified a way to naturally regulate blood sugar levels and sugar cravings in a similar fashion to drugs like Ozempic. By increasing the abundance of this one gut microbe in diabetic mice, researchers led by a team at Jiangnan University in China showed they can "orchestrate the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1". In experiments, if mice could not produce a gut protein, called Ffar4, the researchers found the gut colonies of B. vulgatus shrank. This, in turn, led to a decrease in the release of a hormone known as FGF21, which is associated with sugar cravings. Together, this meant more blood sugar control and fewer sugar cravings in mice.

World:
Voids Detected Inside Giza Pyramid May Be Signs of a Hidden Entrance
NEWS | 18 November 2025
Scans of the third-largest pyramid at Giza, the Menkaure pyramid, have revealed two anomalous pockets of nothing but air hiding behind its sloping stone walls. The discovery follows earlier findings inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu, including a huge internal void and a corridor near its northern entrance. But the Menkaure cavities are dramatically different in shape, size, and layout – hinting at a very different construction history and purpose. Using all three techniques to 'see' inside the Menkaure Pyramid, the researchers discovered two small anomalies on the eastern face that did not behave like the surrounding limestone. However, as Helal and his colleagues note, the configuration of the granite blocks covering the Menkaure voids is very similar to that of the blocks around the pyramid's north entrance.

Current Events:
Mounjaro's Effect on Brain's 'Cravings' Measured For The First Time
NEWS | 18 November 2025
When participants were dealing with intense thoughts of food or cravings, researchers found a part of their brains, called the nucleus accumbens, produced stronger delta-theta signals. Brain activity was measured in all three participants using electrodes that had been inserted into their nucleus accumbens. For the next four months, not counting the first, the patient experienced a "profoundly" low number of 'severe food preoccupation' episodes. During this time, when she did have food cravings, the delta–theta activity in her nucleus accumbens was indistinguishable from times when 'food noise' wasn't experienced. It was during this time that the delta-theta waves in her nucleus accumbens picked up steam again.

News Flash:
A Common Diabetes Drug Is Linked to 'Exceptional Longevity' in Women
NEWS | 18 November 2025
Scientists in the US and Germany used data from a long-term US study of postmenopausal women. Records on a total of 438 people were picked out – half of whom took metformin to treat diabetes, and half who took a different diabetes drug, called sulfonylurea. Related: After 60 Years, Diabetes Drug Found to Unexpectedly Impact The Brain"Metformin has been shown to target multiple pathways of aging and therefore has been postulated as a drug that may extend human longevity," write the researchers in their published paper. "We found that metformin initiation increased exceptional longevity compared with sulfonylurea initiation among women with type 2 diabetes." Metformin has been around for decades and is considered a gerotherapeutic: a drug able to slow down various aging processes in the body.

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Remote Monitoring App
SPONSORED | 18 November 2025
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Latest:
Ancient Indian Health Practice Really Can Help Fight Colds And Allergies
NEWS | 18 November 2025
In recent years, research has emerged demonstrating the effectiveness of the ancient practice of nasal saline irrigation in fighting the common cold in both adults and children. What is nasal saline irrigation? Nasal saline irrigation is a process by which the nasal cavity is bathed in a saltwater solution. How does nasal saline irrigation work? However, this benefit can be better achieved with anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen or naproxen, which can be taken in conjunction with nasal saline irrigation.

Breaking:
We May Now Know Why Alzheimer's Erases Memories of Our Loved Ones
NEWS | 18 November 2025
The early stages of Alzheimer's disease often involve an insidious decline in short-term memory, along with mounting challenges such as mood swings, disorientation, and difficulty concentrating. Related: Alzheimer's Breakthrough: Lithium Reverses Memory Loss in Mice"Finding a structural change that explains a specific memory loss in Alzheimer's is very exciting," says University of Virginia neuroscientist Harald Sontheimer. "In Alzheimer's disease, people have trouble remembering their family and friends due to the loss of a memory known as social memory. These block the activity of MMPs, enzymes that can dissolve extracellular matrix proteins like those in perineuronal nets. Mice that received MMP inhibitors suffered less degradation of their perineuronal nets, the study found, and retained more social memory function despite having Alzheimer's.

Trending:
Anti-Aging Injections Hide Environmental Costs We May Not Want to Pay
NEWS | 18 November 2025
Over 14 million stainless steel hypodermic needles are used and discarded annually for cosmetic treatments around the world. Stainless steel is an iron and chromium alloy with nickel added to most of it. The rapidly increasing demand for stainless steel for cosmetic purposes is tangled up with urgent demands from other sectors. Do we have to choose between cosmetic procedures or the green transition? Our increasing demand for injectable cosmetic procedures isn't responsible for making chromium, nickel, and iron ore critical.

This Just In:
Strange Structures Found Lurking in The Blood of People With Long COVID
NEWS | 18 November 2025
Analyzing blood samples from patients with long COVID, a team of medical researchers has identified unusual microscopic structures that may contribute to symptoms such as brain fog and fatigue. An increase in NETs also correlated with the rise in microclots in long COVID patients. However, the effect was much more pronounced in the long COVID group. This is still early research; more work needs to be done to establish a causal relationship between microclots, NETs, and long COVID. But if researchers can figure out how these blood components affect long COVID, it may be a step towards relief for those living with the condition.

Today:
World's Largest 'Modern' Crater Found Hiding in Plain Sight in China
NEWS | 18 November 2025
Nestled on a hillside in Guangdong Province near Zhaoqing City, the Jinlin crater managed to hide in plain sight until researchers identified it as an impact structure. Only about 200 confirmed impact craters exist worldwide, making each discovery scientifically valuable. The crater formed during the Holocene epoch when the last ice age ended roughly 11,700 years ago. Yet the Jinlin crater remains remarkably intact, preserved within thick layers of weathered granite that protected its structure from the elements. Earth's surface theoretically faces equal bombardment odds everywhere, yet geological differences mean impact evidence erodes at varying rates.

Top Stories:
Your Vision Can Predict Dementia 12 Years Before a Diagnosis, Research Suggests
NEWS | 18 November 2025
The eyes are a window to the brain – and this outward extension of the central nervous system may reveal early signs of cognitive decline. Just because an older individual is suffering from hearing or vision loss doesn't mean they are doomed to develop dementia. The authors suggest that tests like these could, however, be "integrated into the screening process for dementia risk and early diagnoses alongside other cognitive tests." In The Lancet's latest Commission on dementia, the authors recommend making screening and treatment for vision loss accessible for all. "A clear opportunity for dementia prevention exists with treatment of visual loss," the large cohort of experts concludes.

World:
Shock Discovery Reveals Sea Urchins Are Basically 'All Brain'
NEWS | 18 November 2025
Sea urchins may just look like a ball of spikes waiting to be stepped on at the tide pool, but there's much more to these barbed beasts than just roe and teeth. New research reveals sea urchin nervous systems are far more complex than we knew. The researchers created a cell atlas of the newly matured sea urchin by mapping out which genes were switched on in which cells. The diversity of neurons in a young adult sea urchin fundamentally upends the idea that echinoderm central nervous systems are 'simple' just because they lack a centralized brain. This, the researchers say, suggests purple sea urchins have a nervous system far more sophisticated than a decentralized nerve net, a mere network of interconnected neurons and ganglia.

Current Events:
A Crucial Genetic Mutation Behind Crohn's Disease Has Finally Been Revealed
NEWS | 18 November 2025
Mutations in a gene associated with Crohn's disease have been found to rob critical immune cells of their ability to switch modes, causing them to overreact and trigger inflammation. Variations in the NOD2 gene have been linked to Crohn's in previous studies, yet their exact role in the disease's pathology has long been a mystery. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego used machine learning techniques to identify patterns in gene activity of immune cells in the gut. "When bound to girdin, it detects invading pathogens and maintains gut immune balance by swiftly neutralizing them." This gives us a much better understanding of the imbalance that helps to drive IBD and the role that NOD2 plays in Crohn's disease in particular.

News Flash:
There's One Super Predator in Africa That Instills More Fear Than Lions
NEWS | 18 November 2025
Related: Human DNA Found in Lions' Teeth Confirms a Tragic Legend of HistoryWe're the monsters lurking under other mammals' beds. "The fear of humans is ingrained and pervasive," said Clinchy. "There's this idea that the animals are going to habituate to humans if they're not hunted. frameborder="0″ allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen>But conservation biologists may be able to harness this knowledge to help these species, too. But just having us out there on that landscape is enough of a danger signal that they respond really strongly.