GoKawiilA jolt of new research could help scientists finally understand static electricity. Plus, how head knocks from contact sports could cause long-term cognitive decline and new species of magic mushroom.
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Repeated blows to the head over years of contact sports can lead to chronic brain damage.Credit: Blake Little/Getty
Repeated blows to the head from playing a contact sport can cause damage to the blood–brain barrier — a dense layer of cells that keeps harmful substances out of the brain — that can be observed decades after an athlete retires. The damage makes the barrier leaky, which seems to trigger a long-lasting immune response that is closely tied to cognitive decline. The findings could explain why athletes who play sports such as rugby often experience severe memory loss and dementia later in life.
Nature | 4 min read
Reference: Science Translational Medicine paper
Using the CRISPR–Cas9 gene-editing tool, researchers have developed a method to safely engineer cancer-fighting immune cells — called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells — inside a mouse’s body. The method uses a combination of virus-like particles to carry RNA and CRISPR–Cas9 machinery to T cells, and an engineered virus to deliver DNA that contains the CAR-encoding gene. A T cell had to receive both payloads to become a CAR T cell, lowering the risk of off-target effects. Reprogramming T cells inside the body would be quicker than removing and re-injecting them, which is how CAR-T-cell therapies are currently made.
Nature | 5 min read
Reference: Nature paper
Number theorist Gerd Faltings has won the 2026 Abel Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in mathematics. Faltings was awarded the prize for work that proved central results in the theory of algebraic equations that link whole numbers together. His proof confirmed a 1922 conjecture that states that equations called Diophantine equations can have at most a finite set of solutions, except in special cases. “It’s a nice sign of appreciation to get this prize,” Faltings says. “In mathematics, it’s clear what’s true and what is wrong. And I like this.”
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