Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
As plans for missions to Mars accelerate, so do questions about how the human body might cope. What would happen to a baby born far from Earth? Microgravity, the near-weightlessness experienced during spaceflight, would make conception more physically awkward but probably wouldn't interfere much with staying pregnant once the embryo has implanted, according to a new research. However, giving birth, and looking after a newborn, would be far more difficult in zero gravity. After all, in space, nothing stays still. Fluids float. So do people. That makes delivering a baby and caring for one a much messier and more complicated process than on Earth, where gravity helps with everything from positioning to feeding. On Earth, pregnancy and childbirth already carry risks. In space, those risks are magnified – but not necessarily prohibitive.
A new study has shown that patients who stop taking anti-obesity medications (AOMs) like Ozempic tend to regain the weight they lost.Notably, the research also revealed a pattern where individuals who lost more weight during treatment tended to regain more weight afterwards, suggesting that the amount of weight lost is a predictor of subsequent weight regain. Ozempic, a drug developed by Novo Nordisk, was approved in 2017 for type 2 diabetes management but has surged in popularity for its weight-loss side effects. Its off-label use for obesity, amplified by social media and celebrity endorsements like Elon Musk and Oprah, transformed it into a cultural phenomenon.
Every few years, the tires on your car wear thin and need to be replaced. But where does that lost tire material go? The answer, unfortunately, is often waterways, where the tiny microplastic particles from the tires' synthetic rubber carry several chemicals that can transfer into fish, crabs and perhaps even the people who eat them. Millions of metric tons of plastic waste enter the world's oceans every year. In recent times, tire wear particles have been found to account for about 45% of all microplastics in both terrestrial and aquatic systems, as per recent findings. Plastic waste is harming the environment, the food people eat and potentially human health. Scientists believe biofilters made from plant waste could be an effective and relatively inexpensive, environmentally friendly solution.
Between 2020 and 2024, COVID-19 vaccines saved 2.5 million lives globally, preventing one death for every 5,400 doses. A groundbreaking worldwide study led by researchers from Università Cattolica and Stanford University reveals that most lives were saved before individuals were exposed to the virus, particularly during the Omicron period and among those aged 60+. The researchers also calculated 14.8 million years of life saved, with the elderly gaining the majority of these benefits. Most of the benefits, in terms of lives and life-years saved, have been secured for a portion of the global population who is typically more fragile, the elderly.
