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Can we harness the brain’s deep-cleaning system to prevent Alzheimer’s?
The glymphatic system is the brain’s recently discovered network for flushing out toxins. Now, we’re uncovering surprising ways to boost it to protect brain health
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Nearly 200 people isolated after lab worker in Russia dies of plague
Plague is studied in labs, where workers usually wear protective clothing
Associated Press/Alamy
A lab accident in the Irkutsk region of Siberia led to the death of a 28-year-old woman from pneumonic plague last week, according to reports from independent news outlets. Nearly 200 people who might have come into contact with her are said to have been put under observation and several hospitals in the area have been quarantined.
There is no reason to think this is the start of a large outbreak. Plague cases are relatively common worldwide but they do not spread widely because the infection is now easily treated and prevented.
“Plague is not a historical disease,” Zania Stamataki at the University of Birmingham in the UK said in a statement. “Human cases occur every year, including outbreaks of the pneumonic form.”
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The term “plague” usually refers to ill health caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis, although there is no official confirmation the woman’s death was due to this pathogen. Y. pestis circulates in non-human animals in many parts of the world and infects more than 1000 people every year.
The most common form of plague is bubonic plague, which is caused by flea bites and characterised by swollen lymph glands, or buboes. The bacterium can also infect blood, called septicaemic plague, or the lungs, known as pneumonic plague.
The woman in Irkutsk is said to have died of pneumonic plague two days after being hospitalised. This is the deadliest form of the condition and can spread via the air when infected people cough, for instance. However, measures such as wearing masks and avoiding close contact prevent its spread.
“This can be controlled and stopped with appropriate surveillance and control measures,” Simon Clarke at the University of Reading in the UK said in a statement. Cases are also usually treatable with antibiotics.
The circumstances of the lab accident remain unclear. It is being reported that it was caused by a broken test tube, but if proper procedures for handling dangerous microbes were being followed, this should not have led to an infection. Workers should have been wearing protective equipment, for instance.
There has also been speculation that the woman’s death was caused by a modified form of the plague created for biowarfare, but there is no evidence this is the case. Pneumonic plague is nearly always fatal if not treated promptly, so there’s no reason to think this strain is especially dangerous. What’s more, Y. pestis frequently infects animals and people, so there are legitimate reasons for studying it in labs.
The former Soviet Union did have a large bioweapons programme, which included modifying Y. pestis to make it resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic-resistant strains have also evolved naturally, and were first detected in Madagascar in the 1990s.
There is a long history of lab accidents leading to infections, deaths and even outbreaks. For instance, in 2007, an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK was traced to labs. In 1979, at least 68 people died of anthrax in Sverdlovsk, Russia, after what the US claimed was the accidental release of anthrax spore from a military facility. There is, however, no evidence the covid-19 pandemic was a result of a lab accident.
While lab-acquired infections with Y. pestis are rare, they are not impossible, Stamataki said. “This incident warrants a full account of what happened. That account matters beyond Russia.”
Russia has repeatedly claimed that Ukraine is developing bioweapons with the help of the US, but there is no evidence for this. In 2024, it was reported that new buildings were being built at a former bioweapons site in Russia called Sergiev Posad-6.
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Compressing bones releases molecules that ease traumatic brain injuries
Pressing down on shin bones improved cognitive and motor symptoms in mice and pigs with traumatic brain injuries
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Nobel prize for medicine goes to trio who developed optogenetics
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are announced as the winners of the 2026 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine by Nobel committee secretary general Thomas Perlmann
Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images
The 2026 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for the development of techniques for controlling genes with light, known as optogenetics.
“It’s a really new era in neuroscience thanks to this methodology,” said Thomas Perlmann, secretary general of the Nobel committee.
In the 1990s, Peter Hegemann, then at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany, wondered how a single-celled alga, Chlamydomonas, can swim towards light.
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In the 2000s, he and Georg Nagel, then at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics in Frankfurt, Germany, discovered that the key to this is a light-sensitive protein that acts as a switch, opening a channel that lets ions flow through the protein when exposed to light. The protein was called channel-rhodopsin.
Karl Deisseroth, at Stanford University, then genetically engineered rats to produce channel-rhodopsin in their nerve cells, meaning specific nerves could be activated by shining light on them. This work, published in 2005, enabled researchers to study the function of specific groups of neurons and is now widely used worldwide.
More light-sensitive proteins have since been discovered, which respond to different colours, enabling even more precise control of engineered nerve cells. Therapies based on optogenetics are also being developed. For instance, it is being explored as a way to restore some sight to people who are blind.
The downside of optogenetics is that light cannot penetrate far into the body. So several groups around the world are trying to develop equivalent methods based on ultrasound or magnetism.
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Should we keep children away from sugar for their first 1000 days?
The list of age-related conditions we can avoid by limiting sugar is shockingly long. But does that mean we should stop our children eating any sugar at all? Columnist Alice Klein takes a look at the evidence for cutting out sugar from conception to age 2
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First week of life seems crucial for future allergy and eczema risk
The mainstream view is that there are no particularly critical phases in the development of the immune system, but a study of hundreds of infants suggests otherwise
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Brain area discovered that may be critical for viable pregnancies
A newly discovered part of the brain is essential for successful embryo implantation in mice. It may help to explain why some pregnancies and IVF attempts fail
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Placenta wrap hastens erection recovery after prostate surgery
Dried amniotic membranes from donated placentas can be wrapped around delicate nerves during prostate cancer surgery to hasten the time to a first erection after the procedure
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Why a modern approach to healthcare must consider more than illness
Mladen Mitrinovic/Alamy
When antidepressants were created nearly 40 years ago, they were expected to be a breakthrough in treating mental illness. Instead, rates of depression have kept rising. Why? Perhaps because we are missing the bigger picture.
There is tremendous evidence that lifestyle changes can treat depression. Exercise is effective, and dietary changes can be just as valuable as the most evidence-backed therapy. As psychologist Kimberley Wilson shows, proper nutrition makes it easier for people to control their emotions, and eating omega-3 is linked with a reduced risk of depression and suicidal ideation.
The antidepressant-backed mental health model was intended to be rigorous, mimicking methods in physical healthcare. But it was also political, with US mental health researchers receiving less funding to explore the social factors around mental health under President Richard Nixon. Decades on, practitioners like Wilson are finally challenging this approach and, this time, physical health can learn from holistic mental healthcare.
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We need to engage with our whole body and mind to be well, not just rely on drugs
Indeed, nearly every aspect of health benefits hugely from engaging with lifestyle and community. Instead of seeing health problems as something to be fixed with drugs, we need to engage with our whole body and mind to be well.
That isn’t to say medication can’t play a role. GLP-1s are just a recent example of a medication that has had a dramatic impact in helping people grapple with diabetes and cardiovascular health, as well as depression and low self-esteem. Children are also increasingly being prescribed GLP-1s. But even cutting-edge medical research now recognises that our understanding of health needs to be less fragmented. Researchers are increasingly aware of the gut-brain axis, the heart-brain axis and other interconnected systems that affect our health.
No one cell, organ or person becomes ill in isolation. The more we start to understand our health as a reflection of our whole being, community and society, the healthier we will be.
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The overlooked power of diet for improving your mental health
Therapy and drugs are the go-to options for improving mental health. But psychologist Kimberley Wilson argues that what we eat also has a crucial role to play
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