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Healthy eating improves memory but sugary diets may cause lasting damage, animal study finds
As concern grows about the long-term health effects of modern diets, new research led by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has examined how changes in what we eat affect memory and brain function.
Op-ed: Peru’s Politics of Instability
As Peru approaches new presidential elections, a cycle of political upheaval has normalized instability, raising urgent questions about whether democracy can function when crisis becomes routine.
Op-ed: Peru’s Politics of Instability
As Peru approaches new presidential elections, a cycle of political upheaval has normalized instability, raising urgent questions about whether democracy can function when crisis becomes routine.
FSU expert available to discuss high-functioning anxiety during Mental Health Awareness Month
Mental Health Awareness Month is recognized each May to provide education and reduce the stigma of several disorders. One lesser-known term gaining
Target RWE and NoviSci Rebrand as Pedestal Health and Headwater Science
DURHAM, N.C., May 18, 2026--Target RWE and NoviSci, two leaders in evidence generation, today announced they will rebrand as Pedestal Health and Headwater Science. These two distinct companies will work to build a modern evidence-generation engine for life sciences organizations, navigating the most complex and consequential research challenges.
Are Vagal Nerve Stimulators a Scam?
This information conduit is crucial to how your body functions. So why are so many people trying to shock it?
Small-Business Banking Has a Segmentation Problem
The term “small business” has traditionally functioned as a sort of economic shorthand. Banks, payment companies, FinTech firms, and even policymakers
Amid dysfunction in Congress, some Republicans hope to ditch DC for governorships
In an exclusive interview with USA TODAY, the nation's top GOP governor urged Republicans to run on affordability. But will Trump get in their way?
Vermont motorcycle ride raises awareness for men’s health
Classic Bike Experience hosts 10th annual Distinguished Gentleman's Ride in Essex Junction.
Scientists think they’ve cracked the mystery of human right-handedness
A new study suggests humans became overwhelmingly right-handed because of two major evolutionary shifts: walking on two legs and developing much larger brains. Researchers found that as human ancestors evolved, their right-hand preference steadily intensified — transforming a mild tendency into one of humanity’s most distinctive traits.
Metabolic health emerges as key to brain and memory problems in bipolar disorder
While they share similar depressive and cognitive symptoms, the biological underpinnings of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder are distinct. A novel study appearing in Biological Psychiatry: ...
Scientists uncover surprising health benefits of watermelon
Studies suggest watermelon could be a hidden powerhouse for better health. Researchers found that people who eat watermelon tend to have higher-quality diets packed with more vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants — while consuming less added sugar and saturated fat. Another study showed watermelon juice may help protect blood vessel function and support heart health.
Scientists uncover surprising health benefits of watermelon
Studies suggest watermelon could be a hidden powerhouse for better health. Researchers found that people who eat watermelon tend to have higher-quality diets packed with more vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants — while consuming less added sugar and saturated fat. Another study showed watermelon juice may help protect blood vessel function and support heart health.
It's Your Business | Perspire Sauna Studio hopes for mid-June opening
Franchise owner Angie Brocato: “We’re not just opening a business; we’re creating a sanctuary for people to take 40 minutes for themselves."
Congolese report constant burials as deaths in new Ebola outbreak reach 80
BUNIA, Congo — At least 80 deaths have been reported in Congo's new Ebola disease outbreak in the eastern Ituri province, authorities said, as health workers raced Saturday to intensify screening an...
Scientists reversed memory loss by recharging the brain’s tiny engines
Researchers have shown for the first time that malfunctioning mitochondria — the cell’s energy generators — may directly cause cognitive decline in neurodegenerative diseases. By creating a new tool that temporarily boosts mitochondrial activity in the brain, scientists restored memory performance in mouse models of dementia. The discovery hints that energy failure inside neurons could happen before brain cells die, potentially offering a new target for future Alzheimer’s treatments.
Scientists find hidden brain nutrient deficit that may fuel anxiety
A major analysis of brain scans found that people with anxiety disorders have noticeably lower levels of choline, a nutrient crucial for healthy brain function. The strongest evidence appeared in the prefrontal cortex, the region tied to emotional control and decision-making. Researchers say the discovery is the first clear chemical brain pattern linked to anxiety and could eventually lead to new nutrition-based treatments.
Scientists find hidden brain nutrient deficit that may fuel anxiety
A major analysis of brain scans found that people with anxiety disorders have noticeably lower levels of choline, a nutrient crucial for healthy brain function. The strongest evidence appeared in the prefrontal cortex, the region tied to emotional control and decision-making. Researchers say the discovery is the first clear chemical brain pattern linked to anxiety and could eventually lead to new nutrition-based treatments.
Former medical director of Ames health spa faces more sanctions
The former medical director of an Ames health spa is facing sanctions from a second state licensing board.
Girls high school flag football: Students push to have growing sport sanctioned in Minnesota
Students are pushing to have high school girls flag football sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League as the sport grows in popularity across the state and the nation.
Jefferson Health had a $252.6 million operating loss in the nine months ended March 31
The loss included $94.6 million in restructuring charges related to layoffs last fall and other moves designed to improve the nonprofit’s future financial performance.
SC Gov. Henry McMaster defends state’s redistricting debate as a path to ‘functioning Congress’
McMaster defended reopening the debate over South Carolina’s congressional map. “Can we represent our state better with different districts? I think the answer is yes,” the governor said.
Justice Department challenges efforts to sanction Trump administration lawyers in new lawsuit
The Justice Department is challenging efforts to sanction attorneys from the first and second Trump administrations, asserting in a lawsuit that the District of Columbia Bar is unfairly playing politics with the legal disciplinary process.
14 Cool Mini Gadgets You Can Find On Amazon
From portable projectors to pocket-sized tools and speakers, these budget gadgets pack surprising functionality into their diminutive designs.
Mercer Health earns Numerous National Awards for Excellence in Care
Mercer Health continues to earn national recognition for delivering exceptional healthcare. Multiple prestigious organizations have honored Mercer Health for its outstanding patient experience, clinical excellence, and commitment to quality care. Newsweek Best-In-State Mercer Health has been named one of Newsweek’s Best‑In‑State Hospitals for 2026, a distinction awarded to hospitals that demonstrate superior performance across patient […]
Notre Dame says jump. ACC asks how high. Inside college football's most dysfunctional relationship
The Fighting Irish can insult, blame and posture — safe in the knowledge the ACC will never push back.
HAPPENING NOW: May 2026 West Seattle Art Walk, including new Junction business Oona
We're out right now on the West Seattle Art Walk - tonight, featuring the new business that a longtime Junction fashion entrepreneur is opening: That's Linda Walsh, who - as we reported here - proprietor of Carmilia's, and now also taking over the 4536 California SW space a few doors down where Willow recently closed. Tonight she's introd...
Is Trump about to launch a war with Cuba?
Washington is ramping up surveillance flights and sanctions on Havana
Scientists identify ‘ghost’ of a long-extinct relative in humans today
Scientists retrieved proteins from six teeth unearthed in China that reveal a potential link between Homo erectus and later human species, including Homo sapiens.
In Thailand, Buddhism Is Twinned With Political Power
In Thailand, where it’s the state-sanctioned religion, practices have proved to be surprisingly mutable.
Precinct committee races could reshape Kootenai County politics
When Lisa Whitehead was appointed to an open seat on the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee about six years ago, she didn’t know much about the role of a precinct committeeman. But as a staunch conservative, she believed she could help the local arm of the GOP.
The 2026 Science Division Distinguished Alumni Award recipients
Gregory Reyes (Kresge ’76, biology), Larry de Ghetaldi (Merrill ’76, biology and chemistry), and Nicholas Suntzeff (Ph.D. ’80, astronomy) are recognized for careers of exceptional distinction in biomedical research, healthcare policy, and observational cosmology.
Scripps strikes local broadcast deal with Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are taking their local broadcasts over-the-air. The franchise, which was one of 13 NBA teams under contract with Main Street Sports Group, owner of the now-defunct FanDuel Sports Networks, has officially inked a deal with Scripps Sports to broadcast games on local over-the-air affiliate WMYD TV20 Detroit in the Detroit market. Scripps…
GOP centrists defy Trump and force future House vote on major Russian sanctions bill
A small bloc of GOP lawmakers defied their leadership — and President Donald Trump — by forcing the House to soon take up a major bill to deliver US military support to Ukraine while imposing steep sanctions on Russia.
NEW: 8 Doctors Sanctioned by the RI Department of Health
Eight licensed physicians face a sweeping array of discipline actions by the Rhode Island Department of Health.
Neanderthal ‘dentists’ treated cavities 59,000 years ago
A molar points to some sophisticated dental work performed by our extinct cousins.
WNMU School of Business Earns Flawless Global Quality Review - Western New Mexico University
On March 2, the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) accepted the Western New Mexico University 2026 Quality Assurance Report without notes or conditions. This rare distinction confirms that the business curriculum meets global standards for excellence. With this filing, the university stays on track for its next reaffirmation cycle in 2028. The… Continue reading WNMU School of Business Earns Flawless Global Quality Review
Champions League would make Villa's breakthrough 'sustainable'
The long, lumpy third act of Aston Villa's season, encapsulated in the past week by two entirely contrasting games, has been crawling towards this point. It is understandable that any nerves at Villa's failure to nail down Champions League qualification already have obscured just what an achievement it would be, especially after they were stuck in the starting blocks for a month. The past two games illustrate the junction Villa have now reached.
How does diet impact brain health? Alzheimer's Association shares nutrition tips with cognitive function in mind.
Scientists make old blood stem cells young again in major anti-aging breakthrough
As blood stem cells age, their lysosomes become overactive and damaged, triggering inflammation and weakening the body’s ability to regenerate healthy blood and immune cells. By calming this cellular “overdrive,” researchers restored the stem cells’ youthful function, dramatically boosting their ability to regenerate and produce balanced blood cells.
Integrating Mental Health Into Medical Care
The question is no longer whether mental health belongs in health care settings. It is whether health care systems can function effectively without it.
Polis meets with Mesa County business leaders on economic development
Governor discusses federal opportunity zone program during Grand Junction visit
DeepAFM: A deep learning method to decode protein motion
Proteins change shape as they function, and these changes are essential for processes such as drug interactions and cellular activity. Researchers from the Tokyo University of Science developed an AI-based method called DeepAFM that is trained on millions of simulated images representing different protein states, accurately identifying transitions between closed and open states in a protein called SecA. This approach highlights the growing potential of AI to solve complex challenges in biology and medicine.
Latest Google Home update speeds up Gemini, ‘Ask Home’ now works with voice commands
Yet another Google Home update rolling out this week speeds up Gemini while adding “Ask Home” functionality to voice commands...
A Small Business Owner Saved This World War II-Era Chocolate Brand From Extinction
Legacy brands, especially food ones, provide sensory links to the past. That's why this entrepreneur is keeping alive a NECCO chocolate brand from the 1930s.
11 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 18 Pro
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a two-phase rollout starting with the iPhone 18 series.
‘Directive 8020’ Review – Supermassive’s Derivative But Effective Sci-Fi Horror Evolution
Since 2015’s Until Dawn, Supermassive has made a name for themselves by transforming the B-movie thrills into choice-based gameplay. Their games were never the deepest experiences narratively or mechanically, but there’s a distinct charm to them, capturing the feel of a late night movie marathon, especially when played alongside friends. There’s a very unique thrill […]
A new $250,000 prize aims to spotlight those bringing American history to life
The New York Historical has launched a $250,000 prize to honor those who help the public better understand the past.
Prepare to fight in a Battle from Beyond the Stars
A StarCraft crossover invades Sanctuary with Zerg-infested gameplay, new bosses, and faction warfare alongside powerful rewards.
Suicide Reenters Top 10 Causes of Death as More Americans Are Experiencing Mental Health Conditions
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to elevate the needs of the millions of Americans who have a mental health condition. The term refers to a wide range of conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior, which can cause distress and problems functioning in social, work, and family activities. This year, the awareness month arrives with sobering news: The U.S. mortality data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that suicide has replaced COVID-19 as the country’s 10th leading cause of death.
‘Population autopsy’ finds the US with more avoidable deaths than other wealthy countries
The United States appears to be leading all high-income countries in an unfortunate, distinctly undesirable statistical category.
Academy of Sciences secures grant to help endangered sea stars, Bay Area's coastal ecosystem
There's an update on a Bay Area project -- spearheaded by the Academy of Sciences -- to help bring a struggling sea star species back from the brink of extinction, which would help put our coastal ecosystem back in balance. Here's a look at the latest breakthrough as researchers try to determine how to safely reintroduce the sea stars back into the ocean.
Opinion: How Alaska’s small businesses are redefining ‘local’ in the digital frontier
National Small Business Week is a time to celebrate the grit and ingenuity of entrepreneurs here in Alaska and across the country.
Iranian politician’s Australian links revealed; how One Nation won in Farrer; the mystery of ‘gaping’ whales
Australia’s handling of Iran sanctions in spotlight; voter shifts to One Nation seen across Farrer; research sheds new light on whale behaviour
Chiefs' campaign leads to Kansas sanctioning girls' flag football
Kansas City Chiefs' campaign leads to Kansas sanctioning girls' flag football | @EdEastonJr
Pope Leo’s American roots give him unique political power
Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, is caught in an unprecedented political clash with a U.S. president. But his inherent understanding of the country’s politics and ability speak to Americans give him a distinctive political standing.
Letter: Science corrects itself, but doesn’t issue an apology
For 20 years, climate scientists fed the public a steady diet of apocalyptic projections — flooded cities, mass extinctions, a planet on the verge of collapse. What they didn’t prominently disclose was that most of those projections w…
Magic Mini Golf closes in Delmar Loop; Joe Edwards teases new business
Magic Mini Golf opened in October 2023 and had 18 holes of indoor miniature golf, 2 shuffleboard courts and a fully-functioning 5-car indoor Ferris wheel.
How to Manage Accounting for Multiple Companies
Multi-entity accounting involves maintaining distinct boundaries while still being able to centralize the data. ERP systems like Intuit Enterprise Suite can help.
French bulldogs top U.S. popularity list, but vet warns of serious health risks
French bulldogs have surged to become the most popular dog breed in the U.S., winning over owners with their small size and distinctive looks.But veterinarians
Discord is back after a major outage.
For more than an hour on Friday, many people were having trouble connecting to Discord, with the platform showing a message saying that there were “increased API errors.” Discord confirmed it was investigating issues at 3:08PM ET, and by 6:38PM ET, it reported that all “critical functionalities have recovered for all users.” Updates: Discord says the issues are resolved. [Image: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/slack-upload-1778269131728.png?quality=90&strip=all]
How X Is Driving the Politics of Mutually Assured Dysfunction
Americans seem none too impressed with their polarized politics. Big majorities disapprove of the way Congress is working — or to be more precise, not working. Yet the system shows remarkably little capacity to heal itself. Why is this?
MARY BRUNKOW
A chance discovery made around 80 years ago paved the way for Mary Brunkow’s painstaking work, which contributed to redefining how the immune system functions. From investigating an obscure gene dismissed as ‘junk’ by other scientists, to choosing to opt out of academia and conduct her research at a biotech startup, Brunkow has embraced the unexpected throughout her career.
I used AI to code a scheduling app in 10 minutes
I wanted to see how many minutes it would take to build a cute app on Lovable, with functions my friends and I could use to solve scheduling problems.
Mount Healthy businesses in limbo over 100+ alleged fire code violations
Small business owners at Hilltop Plaza say they are fearing for their future after court filings obtained by WLWT show the City of Mt. Healthy is seeking an injunction over alleged fire code violations at the property.
The Universe’s biggest black holes may be forged in violent mergers
The Universe’s biggest black holes may not be born giants after all. Scientists analyzing gravitational-wave signals from dozens of black hole collisions found evidence that the heaviest black holes are likely “cosmic recyclers” — formed through repeated smashups inside incredibly crowded star clusters. These violent chain reactions appear to create a distinct class of rapidly spinning black holes that stand apart from ordinary ones formed by dying stars.
How Disneyland Remade American Politics
America is turning 250, and The Free Press is marking the occasion with a yearlong series of events, conversations, and stories celebrating our country’s history. Today, we’re taking a journey with historian Beverly Gage to Southern California. Beverly traded the archives for the open road for her new book, This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History. We’re proud to publish an excerpt, on the theme park that shaped American politics—and the presidents who loved it. —The Editors On July 17, 1955, Ronald Reagan stood near a mocked-up wood-plank town in Anaheim, California, where a 13-star flag flew incongruously over an “Old West” landscape, and introduced the world to Disneyland. He had been invited by Walt Disney himself to co-host the park’s live ABC broadcast, alongside Art Linkletter and Bob Cummings—three Hollywood actors who seemed to embody a wholesome, all-American ethos. From the imagined past of Frontierland, the show leaped ahead to Tomorrowland, set in the far-off year of 1986, emphasizing the technical marvels yet to come: nuclear energy harnessed for civilian purposes, human beings riding rocket ships into space. Disney foretold great things for a 1980s in which the United States would serve as “a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” But even he could not predict the most important political fact of the age: that his genial co-host would become president. Southern California was a strange place to build a park about the past, because the region at the time was all about newness and abundance and growth. For a lot of its history, Orange County had been Southern California’s version of flyover country: a vast agricultural expanse between two desirable places, Los Angeles and San Diego. But Disneyland was changing that. Before long, 50 miles south of deep-blue Hollywood, Orange County would become a region famed for its right-wing politics—but also for its mythmaking skills. Those two things, it turned out, went naturally together. ADVERTISEMENT The two presidents Southern California gave America both understood this instinctively. Richard Nixon and Reagan each built a national career on invoking a version of the American past in which the specificities of historical context mattered less than the big picture. For Nixon, progress meant proclaiming a “New American Revolution” on the eve of America’s bicentennial while dismantling the federal programs that had built the postwar middle class. For Reagan, it meant recapturing a lost optimism and an old-fashioned faith in America as an exceptional nation. Both men were less interested in history as it actually happened than in history as it felt—and Orange County, a place that had built itself almost entirely from scratch, turned out to be exactly where the myth of America’s future was getting made. I’m a historian—and historians tend to be myth-busters. With the country’s 250th birthday on the horizon, I figured it was a good time to step out of the ivory tower and check in with the past as it exists here and now, at the museums and monuments and roadside attractions where Americans go to learn about their history. After all my travels—to Davy Crockett’s Tennessee and Texas, to the real Erie Canal, to the birthplace of the American automobile and the actual Old West—I couldn’t miss out on Disneyland, the single most influential historic attraction in U.S. history.
Colorado Senate honors journalism icon Fred Brown
The Colorado Senate on Thursday honored longtime Denver Post bureau chief Fred Brown with a ceremony as distinctive as the journalist himself, donning masks bearing his likeness and celebrating his five decades of shaping political reporting and ethical standards in the state. The tribute, offered by Sen. Mark Baisley, R-Woodland Park, noted Brown’s 50 years […]
The National Academy of Sciences Elects Two Berkeley Lab Researchers
Two Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) scientists have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. They are part of a cohort of 120 new members and 25 international members. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and — alongside the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine — provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations. The 2026 electees bring the total number of active members to 2,705 with 557 international members. Gary Karpen is a biologist senior faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Biological Systems and Engineering Division and a Professor of Cell and Developmental Physiology in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. Karpen studies how the structure, organization, and maintenance of genetic material impact inheritance and cell function. His lab focuses on chromatin — a packaged form of DNA strands wrapped around proteins that comprises our chromosomes — with a particular emphasis on centromeres, rarely expressed sequences called heterochromatin, DNA repair, and regulatory RNAs. His research reveals insights into fundamental aspects of nuclear organization and genome regulation that are shared across the tree of life, broadening our understanding of cancer and other diseases, birth defects, and aging. Kam-Biu Luk is a Professor Emeritus of physics at UC Berkeley and a retired senior faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Physics Division. He is an experimental particle physicist whose research has focused on neutrinos: nearly massless, electrically neutral elementary particles that can pass through matter virtually undetected. Neutrinos are created during radioactive decay processes, including the fusion process occurring in stars and the fission process that powers nuclear reactors. Luk initiated and co-led the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment, a project based in China with more than 200 international collaborators. In 2012, the Daya Bay experiment discovered a new form of a phenomenon called “neutrino oscillation” in which neutrinos change from one type to another. For this discovery, Luk and his collaborator Yifan Wang received the 2014 American Physical Society Division of Particles and Fields W.K.H. Panofsky Prize for outstanding work in experimental particle physics, and he was also the co-recipient of the 2016 Breakthrough Prize. Luk is currently participating in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which will investigate any potential difference in behavior between neutrinos and antineutrinos that may shed light on the evolution of the universe, especially why antimatter is absent in the present universe. ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
What healthcare AI cannot be allowed to become, according to one CIO
If the most powerful technology of the era simply squeezes margin from a system that already prioritizes throughput over healing, that's not innovation, says Dr. Ash Goel – it's automating the dysfunction.
German Business Leader Criticizes Merz for Poor Reform Record
The head of Germany’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry sharply criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his poor reform record, calling the conservative leader’s ruling coalition dysfunctional and unreliable.
Science diplomacy lessons from a North Korean volcano
Mount Paektu, a mythic, active volcano on the border between North Korea and China, is almost the epitome of a scientific challenge that crosses political lines. In 946 CE, it erupted in one of the five biggest volcanic events of the past 10,000 years, kicking up huge quantities of ash and sending destructive mud flows down river channels for hundreds of kilometres. Should this happen again, the entire region, including easternmost Russia, South Korea and even Japan could be hit. “It’s definitely got the potential to be big,” said James Hammond, a professor of geophysics at Birkbeck, University of London. An eruption on the scale of 946 would have “huge regional impact.” For the past 15 years, Hammond has helped lead a groundbreaking collaboration with North Korean scientists to study the volcano, navigating scientific sanctions, tough export controls on scientific equipment and a long, pandemic-enforced exodus from the country. Although he seems more at home on far-flung research expeditions – before speaking to Science|Business, Hammond was camping out on a Greenland ice sheet – he has also advised the European Commission on its changing science diplomacy strategy. His long experience with North Korea has made Hammond sceptical of blanket bans on science collaboration, no matter the country.This is a live question in Europe, where in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, institutional ties with Russian universities were almost entirely severed, although some scientists fear this could undermine our understanding of climate change’s impact on the Arctic. Here, Hammond tells the story of the Mount Paektu mission and the policy lessons he takes from it. Ominous rumblingsThe genesis of Hammond’s collaboration came in 2002, when Mount Paektu began to rumble ominously. Earthquake activity picked up and the volcano began to emit unusual gases. North Korean scientists took notice. “People felt we need to know more about this volcano,” said Hammond. In 2011, North Korean vulcanologists put out a request for international expertise to help them learn more. At the time, Hammond and his collaborator, Clive Oppenheimer, were working on a vulcanology project in another sanctioned country, Eritrea, and so decided to answer the call. Within a month, they had flown into Pyongyang. “It was pretty incredible,” recalls Hammond (left). “We were made to feel like honoured guests, and invited to official celebrations.” The scientific opportunity was huge. Paektu is unusually positioned, a thousand kilometres from where tectonic plates rub against each other in the Pacific. “It was an incredibly interesting volcano, but not much research had been done, at least not in the international community,” he said. “There was so much we felt we could do. And we had these partners that were super keen to engage.”The mission received an unusual visitor in the form of volcano-obsessed filmmaker Werner Herzog, who accompanied Hammond and Oppenheimer while directing his 2016 film Into the Inferno about volcanos across the world. Four days into the trip, the German director delivered a long speech about reunification to his North Korean hosts, recalls Hammond. “He got to the heart of the Koreans and how they felt, and how they thought, in a way that I'm not sure I ever will,” he said. UN sanctionsHowever, Hammond realised he’d been “naïve” about how difficult it would be to collaborate with North Korea, which was sanctioned far more heavily than Eritrea. “We didn’t fully appreciate the all-encompassing nature of restrictions,” he said. In 2016, as tensions escalated over Pyongyang’s nuclear tests, a United Nations resolution banned all joint scientific work with North Korea. However, the UN sanctions did allow countries to request carve outs, and the UK successfully requested an exemption for Hammond’s work. Related articlesEU pushes for joint science diplomacy, but care needed to avoid gridlock, experts sayRussia severs its last ties with German scienceAnchor Greenlanders in Arctic climate research, experts tell EU ahead of policy updateExport controls have also delayed Hammond’s work. In one case, it took 18 months to get approval from the UK government to take seismometers, which measure earthquakes, to North Korea. “It was frustrating,” he said. “But they didn’t just say no.” However, one instrument, called an induction coil, used to measure how the earth conducts electricity, was blocked entirely because it can in theory be used to detect submarines. Karaoke bondingSince the collaboration started in 2011, Hammond has visited the country around 15 times, although the pandemic closed off North Korea for more than five years. A trip last November was Hammond’s first since the outbreak. Despite this lengthy interlude, Hammond has deep bonds in the country. The North Korean scientists Hammond works with are somewhat isolated, as they struggle to access the latest research papers and travel to international conferences. That said, they are “excellent geophysicists” and are “very well trained in the field,” he said. Over karaoke and chats about their families, “we’ve made friendships, for sure,” he said. The authorities have to sign-off things like the placement of seismometers, for example, but Hammond said these requests have been approved. “Everything that we've asked for within a scientific context has been delivered.”Scientific backchannels? These kind of personal links between scientists across political lines are one purported benefit of science diplomacy. During the Cold War, some historians argue, scientific contact between the US and Soviet Union laid a groundwork of trust for other cooperation, such as on arms control. Hammond agrees that backchannel contacts to North Korean geophysicists are hardly likely to defuse a military crisis on the Korean peninsula, but the simple fact of the scientific collaboration makes contacts between diplomats that little bit easier. “It creates opportunities to understand each other a little bit better,” he said. “When maybe you have those more difficult discussions as diplomats, it's coming from a slightly better place.” Cutting tiesDrawing lessons from the Mount Paektu mission for today’s links with Russian science isn’t simple. The analogy is far from exact, Hammond said, “because one is essentially a Cold War, versus a pretty hot war in the case of Russia.” But Hammond’s broader argument is that the challenges we face, such as climate change, pandemics, biodiversity loss, pollution and so on, have globalised in an unprecedented way, making blanket shutdowns in collaboration with any country unwise.He’s somewhat critical of the UN scientific sanctions imposed on North Korea in 2016, even though they did allow for exceptions. “I think a blanket halt to some of these things, when we face big global challenges [. . .] that’s quite a risky thing to do,” he said.Institutional endorsement?European academics are still by and large free to work individually with Russian counterparts. However, official, institutional partnerships have largely ended. Shortly following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian university rectors wrote a public letter endorsing the war, meaning European universities fear official collaboration could also be seen as a kind of endorsement. Hammond acknowledges there is a risk of legitimising regimes, and state-controlled universities, through scientific cooperation. “That’s the trade off you have to make,” he said. Strategic projectsWith Russia, instead of giving a green light to restart all Arctic science, a middle ground might be firing up a few carefully selected “strategic” projects, said Hammond. After all, European countries are still collaborating with Russia on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, an experimental nuclear fusion plant in the south of France. However, even if Europe did try to revive Arctic science with Russia, there’s no guarantee Russian scientists would play ball. A series of high-profile arrests of physicists in Russia accused of sharing their findings with the outside world has made collaboration fraught. Even before the invasion of 2022, “the Russian regime made it increasingly difficult, and this sort of discouraged people,” Dag Rune Olsen, rector of the Arctic University of Norway, told Science|Business last year.
An extinct human species made surprisingly creative butchery tools
Our cousins ‘Homo juluensis’ knew how to adapt in the face of an ice age.
Samsung’s Finder and Now Brief are improving in One UI 9
Samsung’s Android 17-based One UI 9 may expand the Finder functionality and add the Driving Insights to Now Brief. These changes will follow the expansive list of design tweaks and features in the next major Galaxy update testing. More Finder flexibility One UI 8.5 dropped the legacy S Finder identity for a simpler Finder term. […]
Science: A novel gene-therapy approach to ‘functionally cure’ HIV succeeds in some monkeys
Six animals suppressed AIDS virus after one shot of treatment that makes cell-receptor antibody
Scientists Say That Time Itself Can Be in Two States at Once
If gravity’s the reason that quantum wave functions collapse, then time must be “fuzzy.”
Remarkable’s next E Ink digital notepad skips the color screen
Remarkable’s latest attempt to make paper notebooks extinct.
SM Entertainment’s revenue surges 21% YoY in Q1 to $192M on strong concert, merch sales
SM’s revenue from concerts surged 56% YoY to KRW 60.8 billion ($42m), driven by tours from SUPER JUNIOR, NCT DREAM, aespa, RIIE and NCT WISH.
AMD Profit, Revenue Jump on Growth of Data Center Business
The chip maker’s data center segment sales surged 57% year-over-year, driven by strong demand for its EPYC processors and the ramp-up of its Instinct GPU shipments.
UN resolution proposal would hit Iran with sanctions for halting freedom of navigation
The draft resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Gulf nations and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, also demands that Iran “immediately participate in and enable” United Nations efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor in the strait to enable the delivery of vital aid, fertilizer and other goods.
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Global Health & WASH: May 2026 Funding Opportunities (14 new opportunities!)
The May update for Global Health & WASH brings new calls that cluster around three distinct shifts: LMIC research leadership moving from funder encouragement into a hard eligibility constraint, pharmaceutical and corporate-linked funders running structurally independent education and use-inspired research portfolios at substantial scale, and AI adoption shifting decisively from speculative tool to operational capability across health and WASH systems alike. In LMIC Research Leadership as Eligibility, Not Encouragement, Wellcome anchors the dominant signal of the month with three separate major calls that all require or strongly center LMIC leadership in their basic eligibility architecture. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs (£1.5-£1.9M per hub over 3-5 years) explicitly requires an LMIC-based lead applicant, treating Global South leadership as a design constraint rather than a participation goal. Wellcome’s Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award funds transdisciplinary teams whose lead must be a mid-career or established researcher based at an organization in Africa, South Asia, or Southeast Asia. Wellcome’s larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1M-£8M for optimizing licensed interventions) requires the administering organization to be in eligible LMIC regions and at least 50% of applicants based there. Around Wellcome, the same pattern shows up at smaller scale and across funders: CHINNOVA channels $1M into West and Central African research institutions for climate-health work; IBRO’s Neuroscience Training Grants explicitly tier ceilings by region of residence with Africa receiving the highest amount ($5,000); IHME’s GBD Emerging Researcher Award reserves at least one of its two annual awards for an LMIC researcher; Sidaction’s HIV Cure call funds research teams across France, the Netherlands, and eligible African countries with a minimum two-country collaboration requirement. Taken together, these calls signal a meaningful shift in how research equity is being operationalized — not as encouragement language at the bottom of a call, but as a structural feature of who can lead, where the work must be administered, and what proportion of the team must be regionally rooted. In Pharma-Funded Independent Medical Education and Use-Inspired Research, the lineup this month is unusually deep. Pfizer alone runs four parallel calls under independent education and quality improvement frameworks: a Migraine and Women’s Health RFP (200K x 2-year, $500K pool), Migraine IME ($200K, $1M pool), JAK Inhibitor evidence-based education ($100K), and Maternal Vaccination HCP Education in Saudi Arabia ($75K), plus a separate Pediatric Pneumococcal Surveillance research call in Saudi Arabia ($400K per project). Novo Nordisk Foundation runs four parallel calls of its own at substantial scale: Infectious Diseases Catalyst Grants (DKK 60M pool, up to DKK 7M collaborative), Non-Diabetic Endocrinology Collaborative Grants (DKK 53M pool, DKK 5-10M per project), Pioneer Innovator Grant Health (DKK 1.1M), and Distinguished Innovator Grant Health (DKK 6.8M). LEO Foundation deploys DKK 2-4M per project for dermatology research excellence. Pfizer’s framing across calls deliberately separates the funding from product promotion, emphasizing measurable practice-relevant change and structural distance between scientific outputs and commercial activity. Novo Nordisk’s “use-inspired” hard filter pushes researchers toward a credible translation pathway from mechanism to deployable tool. The pattern: industry-aligned funders are running structurally independent portfolios at meaningful $ that fund implementation evidence, not promotion. In AI as Operational Capability, Not Speculation, several calls this month explicitly treat AI adoption as a near-term operational question with real evidence and governance requirements, rather than a speculative trend to be watched. Wellcome’s ESIC Hubs frames AI as “the accelerator” for evidence synthesis, asking hubs to translate technical innovation into adoption-ready workflows that can match real-world policy timelines. UNICEF Venture Fund’s new Climate Tech for Children’s Health call funds for-profit startups deploying AI, machine learning, and blockchain in low-resource environments, with a strict requirement that solutions must already have a working prototype with promising pilot results. The Water Research Foundation has launched two simultaneous AI calls treating reproducibility, cybersecurity guardrails, and human-in-the-loop deployments as core design constraints rather than nice-to-haves: one on GenAI and Agentic AI in water utilities ($200K), one on alternatives to water shutoffs that explicitly screens for implementation economics evidence. Nordic Innovation’s quantum technology call (NOK 4.5M) extends the same logic into life science and healthcare, demanding consortium-stage projects mature enough to test with real users. TEF-Health offers €300K in subsidized testing infrastructure for European healthcare AI and robotics SMEs. The pattern: funders are converting AI pilots into playbooks, requiring transfer evidence and risk controls before AI can move from experimentation to sector-wide operational practice. For LMIC-based researchers in infectious disease or evidence synthesis, the three Wellcome calls together represent the deepest concentration of LMIC-led research capital in recent memory — pair the Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Development Award (£200K, deadline May 19) as a strategic pipeline feeder into the larger Infectious Disease Clinical Trial Award (£1-£8M, deadline June 2), since the development award functions explicitly as a track into the larger trial scheme. For Nordic researchers, the four Novo Nordisk Foundation calls plus LEO Foundation and Nordic Innovation Quantum represent ~$30M in regional research capital this cycle, all with deadlines clustered in May-August. For WASH practitioners, the three Water Research Foundation calls together (each up to $200K) are a cluster worth reading across — one on AI deployment, one on shutoff alternatives, one rewarding applied innovation — and the strongest applicants will articulate how their work bridges utility operations to policy-relevant evidence. For US-based clinical researchers and educators, the four Pfizer calls plus the APF Portfolio’s 80+ programs form an unusually accessible recurring pipeline; APF’s prohibition on indirect costs is a meaningful structural feature for early-career applicants whose institutions might otherwise absorb significant overhead. Snapshot of New Opportunities Total Estimated Funding Pool: $100 Million+ USD The grants are organized into three categories: Open Calls: Current grant and opportunities with a deadline. Grants are listed by closing date. 39 open opportunities- 14 new! Rolling Applications: current grant and opportunities with rolling applications (but it’s still best to submit as early as possible). 14 rolling opportunities- 1 new opportunity! Long term planning: Grants that have closed their current rounds, but are expected to open new windows. 4 long term opportunities! A quick tip for returning readers: if you want to jump straight to the newest additions, use CTRL F to search for “New!” and navigate quickly to the latest funding opportunities This post is for paid subscribers. This helps support the time and effort it takes to curate and organize these opportunities. Subscribe To keep this accessible to everyone who needs it, we’re happy to offer pay what you can rates. You can find more details here. Open Calls: Migraine Competitive Grant Program: Migraine and Women’s Health (Quality Improvement and/or Research RFP), Pfizer.*Closing soon!* Pfizer, in collaboration with the American Headache Society, is seeking independent quality improvement and research projects that close persistent gaps in migraine care for women across the United States. The funding logic centers on measurable, practice-relevant change: proposals should generate actionable evidence, tools, or system improvements that can be shared and used widely, not just within a single site. Priority areas span menstrual migraine and screening in women’s health settings, the role of hormonal fluctuations across the lifespan, sex-specific risk factors, comorbidities and quality-of-life burden, and disparities in outcomes by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The call is structured as a two-step competitive process with an initial Letter of Intent, with the strongest concepts expected to translate scientific insight into implementable improvements in diagnosis, management, and equity. Geographies: United States. Who can apply: U.S.-based organizations (not individuals), including professional schools, healthcare institutions, professional organizations, and other entities focused on healthcare improvement. Funding amount: Up to USD $200,000 total over 2 years; total pool USD $500,000. Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: migraine, women’s health, quality improvement, clinical research, menstrual migraine, health disparities. Deadline: LOI: May 5, 2026; Full proposal (by invitation): August 28, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This RFP rewards “shareable impact”: the most competitive submissions will pair rigorous methods with a clear plan for system uptake and dissemination beyond the originating institution. ReSSARC: Strengthening the Health Sector and Food Security in the Central African Republic (AID 013381/01/0) Call for Proposals, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). *Closing soon!* AICS is seeking a limited set of high-capacity humanitarian partners to deliver an integrated package that stabilizes essential health services while reducing acute malnutrition and strengthening food security resilience in priority areas of the Central African Republic. The funder’s logic is explicitly nexus-based: proposals should meet urgent, life-saving needs while reinforcing local systems, coordination mechanisms, and community-level capacity so results persist beyond the emergency window. AICS emphasizes inclusion and protection outcomes, expecting gender-sensitive design and explicit measures for groups facing compounded vulnerability, including women, children under five, internally displaced people, and people with disabilities. The call also signals a localization pathway, encouraging stronger collaboration with national NGOs and balanced partnerships, alongside clear coordination with existing cluster and humanitarian actors to minimize duplication and improve coverage. Geographies: Central African Republic (Bangui, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Lim-Pende, Lobaye). Who can apply: Non-profit organizations registered with AICS, plus eligible non-profits without an office in Italy that have a pre-existing collaboration agreement with an AICS-listed organization. Funding amount: Total pool EUR €1,800,000; max EUR €800,000 (single applicant) or EUR €1,000,000 (ATS). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: malnutrition prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, community health services, food security and resilience, localization partnerships Deadline: May 5, 2026. Learn more and apply here. This call is structured to reward partners who can link frontline service delivery to system durability and localization, not just short-term coverage gains. Contracts for Innovation in drug and alcohol addiction healthcare, Innovate UK. *Closing soon!* Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences Addiction Healthcare Goals program, is procuring R&D to accelerate innovations that can improve treatment outcomes, strengthen recovery, and reduce harm and deaths linked to drug and alcohol addiction. The competition is positioned as a market-facing readiness push: selected projects are expected to advance solutions toward later-stage validation, generate evidence of user acceptability and UK market fit, and map credible routes through regulatory and certification requirements. Innovate UK signals a preference for innovations that can be field-tested in relevant UK settings and progressed to TRL 6 or 7, with practical plans for commercialization after contract completion. This structure favors applicants that can execute most work in-house, co-develop with service providers and people with lived experience, and translate technical progress into deployable tools for addiction healthcare delivery. Geographies: United Kingdom. Who can apply: Single organizations of any size (including EU, EEA, or international) leading delivery, with most work and key deliverables carried out in the UK; subcontractors for specialist skills only. Funding amount: GBP £200,000–1.5 million per project (inclusive of VAT); Total pool: GBP £20 million (across two strands). Targeted Sectors / SDGs: Health; Focus areas: Mental Health, Health Systems Strengthening, Research & Development, Technology Access. Deadline: May 6, 2026 (11:00am). Learn more and apply here. This call uses procurement to pull near-market addiction innovations toward operational proof and adoption pathways in UK services.
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China blocks US sanctions against five ‘teapot’ refineries
Ministry of Commerce says sanctions against refineries accused of importing Iranian oil violate international law.