The patient: A 52-year-old woman in The Hague, Netherlands The symptoms: The woman visited an outpatient psychiatric clinic and told the doctors that when she looked at people’s faces, she saw them transform into the faces of dragons. She also saw dragon-like faces appear in front of her spontaneously, even when no people were present. … Read more
A universal cancer vaccine in development could help rev up the immune system against tumors and supercharge the effects of existing cancer therapies, an animal study suggests. Similar to vaccines for viral infections like the flu, many cancer vaccines are designed to help the immune system recognize specific proteins. However, while conventional vaccines aim to … Read more
An experimental, hormone-free male birth control pill has just passed its first safety test in humans. The trial included 16 people and was only intended to test whether the drug reached adequate levels in the body, as well as whether it triggered any serious side effects, such as concerning changes in heart rate, hormone function, … Read more
Scientists have created night-vision contact lenses that they claim can grant people “super-vision.” The lenses — which use nanoparticles to absorb low-frequency light before emitting it in the visible spectrum — enable wearers to see infrared wavelengths that are otherwise invisible to the human eye. And unlike traditional night-vision goggles, these lenses don’t require a … Read more
In summer 2024, several news outlets chronicled the “nightmarish” impacts Texas communities endured due to the din of noise emanating from nearby cryptocurrency mines. Residents of these communities reported that the unrelenting noise caused them to experience a range of ailments, including high blood pressure, chest pain and tinnitus. The noise levels of the cryptocurrency … Read more
Robots smaller than most bacteria could deliver drugs right to the site of a brain aneurysm, preventing a devastating stroke, a new animal study suggests. The new technology has been tested only in rabbits so far. But with further study, it could become an alternative to the stents and coils that are currently used to … Read more
Scientists have invented an injectable “goo” that can regrow cartilage in the body. For now, they’ve only tested it in sheep, but it could someday be used to repair joint damage in humans, the researchers say. In particular, they hope the goo can treat damage caused by degenerative diseases, such as osteoarthritis, and sports-related injuries, … Read more
Cancer can sometimes thwart drugs designed to treat it — but now, scientists have developed a way to turn tumor cells against their neighbors, forcing the cancer to cooperate with treatment. A cancer treatment’s success hinges on its capacity to damage cancer cells enough to kill them or stop them from growing. However, some cancer … Read more
For the first time, scientists have tested a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine in a patient with a deadly form of brain cancer — and it triggered a strong immune response. The vaccine, which was described in a study published on May 1 in the journal Cell, was created by extracting genetic material called RNA from … Read more
Microplastics may hang around in the body longer than scientists previously thought and may contribute to the spread of cancer when inside tumors, a lab-dish study suggests. The research has several limitations, however. For instance, the scientists used cancer cells grown in lab dishes, so it remains to be seen how the results apply to … Read more
