About Arun Kumar N

Arun has been associated with India International Times since 2018 and he has been a key reporter in covering science and space related stories. He can be reached at arunKnn@indiainternationaltimes.com.

The Oil Shock Lesson: Why Energy Diversification Is Back On The Global Agenda

Posted on March 15, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

Energy crises have repeatedly reshaped the global economy, and the latest geopolitical tensions in the Gulf have revived concerns about the fragility of oil supply chains.

Nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow maritime corridor connecting the Persian Gulf with international markets.

Any disruption to shipping through this route can have immediate consequences for energy prices and economic stability.

The International Energy Agency has long warned that global oil markets remain vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. Even brief disruptions in supply can trigger price volatility, inflation and financial uncertainty.

Countries heavily dependent on imported energy are particularly exposed.

China, the world’s largest crude oil importer, relies on overseas supplies for a large share of its consumption. India faces an even greater challenge, importing close to 90 percent of its oil needs.

Both countries have responded by diversifying supply sources and building strategic petroleum reserves.

In the United States, the shale revolution has significantly reduced reliance on foreign oil. Domestic production has surged over the past decade, transforming the country into one of the world’s largest energy producers.

Europe Pursuing Different Strategy

Following the disruption of Russian gas supplies after the invasion of Ukraine, European governments accelerated investments in renewable energy and alternative fuel sources.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has repeatedly argued that the transition toward renewables is also a matter of geopolitical security.

The broader lesson, analysts say, is that energy diversification remains essential.

Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, has described energy security as “one of the central challenges of modern economies.”

Countries are now exploring multiple strategies, from expanding renewable energy capacity and nuclear power to investing in electric vehicles and hydrogen technology.

While oil will remain a crucial energy source for decades, the repeated shocks of the past half century have reinforced a consistent message: dependence on a single region or fuel source carries profound economic risks.

‘We’re Not Alone’ Spielberg’s UFO Remarks At SXSW Reflect Growing Focus on Alien Life

Posted on March 15, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg has reignited debate about extraterrestrial life after suggesting that humanity may not be alone in the universe. His remarks come at a time when discussion about unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and unexplained aerial phenomena is spreading rapidly across the internet and popular culture.

Speaking at the SXSW Film and TV Festival in Austin while promoting his upcoming science-fiction film Disclosure Day, Spielberg told audiences that although he does not have definitive answers about alien life, the possibility cannot be dismissed.

“I don’t know any more than any of you do,” Spielberg said during a live podcast session at the festival. “But I have a very strong suspicion that we are not alone here on Earth right now.”

The comments quickly gained traction online, where speculation about extraterrestrial encounters and government secrecy has grown sharply in recent years.

Spielberg’s upcoming film taps directly into that fascination. Disclosure Day, scheduled for theatrical release in June 2026, imagines the global consequences if governments were suddenly to confirm that alien intelligence had been interacting with Earth for decades. The film stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colin Firth and marks Spielberg’s return to large-scale extraterrestrial storytelling.

During the SXSW discussion, the director suggested that the idea of “disclosure”—a moment when authorities reveal hidden knowledge about alien contact—has increasingly captured the public imagination.

Interest in UFOs has surged globally over the past decade. Reports about unexplained aerial encounters involving U.S. Navy pilots and subsequent discussions in the U.S. Congress have brought the subject into mainstream political and scientific debate. Governments and defence agencies now commonly use the term “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAP) when referring to mysterious objects spotted in the sky.

Triggers Online Debate on Aliens

Online communities discussing UFO sightings and possible alien technology have expanded significantly. Videos of unexplained aerial objects regularly trend on social media platforms, while documentaries and podcasts exploring the subject attract millions of viewers worldwide.

Spielberg has long been associated with extraterrestrial storytelling. His 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind became one of Hollywood’s most influential science-fiction movies, portraying ordinary people encountering mysterious spacecraft. The film helped shape modern pop-culture imagery surrounding UFOs and alien contact.

Despite his long fascination with the subject, Spielberg joked that he has never personally experienced anything resembling a UFO encounter.

“I made Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” he told the SXSW audience. “I haven’t even had a close encounter of the first or second kind.”

The filmmaker also suggested that confirmed contact with extraterrestrial intelligence could challenge deeply held beliefs. According to Spielberg, such a revelation might disrupt “a lot of belief systems,” although he added that the change would not necessarily be destructive.

His comments arrive as curiosity about UFOs moves further into mainstream discourse. Once largely confined to science fiction and conspiracy circles, the question of alien life is now being discussed by scientists, policymakers and filmmakers alike.

For Spielberg, whose films have often explored humanity’s place in the universe, the renewed interest provides a timely backdrop. With Disclosure Day, the veteran director appears to be capturing a moment when speculation about extraterrestrial life has shifted from the fringes of culture to the centre of global conversation.

Race to Lead UN Begins: 5 Candidates, 1 Glass ceiling, 1 Deciding Vote

Posted on March 14, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

The gun has been raised on one of the most far-reaching of international diplomats elections of 2026. There are five applicants to replace Antonio Guterres as the Secretary-General of the United Nations and starting April 20, one candidate will be subjected to the most examined job interview in the universe.
On Friday, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said the interactive selection process, where each candidate will be subjected to a three-hour public session, question-and-answer format, and make his or her case to 193 member states, will commence next month. It is a very transparent, very neutral, and fair procedure, she said, where all candidates will be given equal chances and opportunities.
The meetings will be accessible to civil society groups and will be live-streamed through the internet and this will be a level of openness to the society that has not necessarily been a hallmark of past transitions in the summit of the UN.

The Five in the Frame

To date the sphere is an amalgamation of the familiar and the unobtrusive mighty.
The biggest name is that of the former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet who also is the UN High Commissioner of Human Right and has the support of three Latin American giants Chile, Brazil, and Mexico. Her resume is difficult to rival: elected two times as the president of one of the largest democracies in South America, and having served as the head of UN Women, she comes with political authority, as well as institutional knowledge.
In conjunction with her, Costa Rica has put forward Rebecca Grynspan, who is the present Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development also known as UNCTAD and the former Vice President of Costa Rica. In multilateral circles, Grynspan is a low-profile, consensus-seeking individual who has years of solid experience in the field of development economics, which the battered UN finances and Reform agenda could be desperately in need of.
The third candidate is an Argentine, Virginia Gamba, who has been nominated by Maldives and has even served as Secretary-General Guterres Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict and as the head of the Organisation to Prohibit Chemical Weapons.
The two men contending in the race are Rafael Grossi, an Argentinean member the International Atomic Energy Agency nominated to the organization by Argentina, and Macky Sall, the former president and prime minister of Senegal nominated by Burundi. Grossi comes with nuclear diplomacy qualifications at the time when the world is scurrying over the proliferation crises. Sall adds African political gravitas to a continent that has always felt underrepresented in the top leadership in the UN.
The nominations can be done until April 1, and the sphere may still grow.

Gender Question In Election

Gender is the elephant in the room or rather, in the General Assembly hall. In the call of candidates given by Baerbock and the then-president of the security council last year, he indeed urged women to nominate their names. The mood among many of the membership was simple, it was time, after 80 years of an organisation where there has never been once a woman within its leadership.
In the General Assembly resolution that regulates the election, the even and fair distribution is based on the gender and this is desired. They called out the name, three out of five candidates that have been called are women. However, that two men are also competing is a reminder that resolutions that demand gender parity do not have any enforcement mechanism. When it comes it is the vote that counts.

Process of Chosing the Winner

Its formal procedure is one to be appreciated, since the vote of the General Assembly which formally appoints the Secretary-General is not the entire affair.
The winning candidate has to be confirmed by a bare majority of the 193-member Assembly. However, in the Charter of the UN, the Assembly nominates the Secretary-General, under the recommendation of the Security Council, that is, the actual decision is made in that much smaller, much more controversial room, where the five permanent members have a veto vote. The United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France can each cast a veto of any candidate they consider unacceptable, irrespective of the kind of support such a candidate has by the larger membership.
It is a structural anomaly that has influenced all the elections of the Secretary-General throughout the history of the organisation, and it will influence this one, as well. The process of great-power negotiation behind that transparency of the dialogues in the month of April and the airing sessions is less transparent and significantly quieter.

What the Next Leader Will Inherit

The requirements that Baerbock outlined of the next Secretary-General were less of a job description and rather of a brief to manage a crisis. She said that the individual must possess robust and committed, efficient governmental skills that have experience in governmental structures and the administrative skill, namely the ability to direct the UN through internal reforms, would be equally significant as the diplomatic reputation.
Guterres is a two-term former prime minister of Portugal who retires at the end of this year. During his tenure, the organisation was put to the test due to a global pandemic, two major wars, an ever-growing climate crisis, and a rapid degradation of the international agreement that the UN was established to uphold. Whatever replaces him is not going into a silent office.

Nominations close April 1. Interactive candidate conversations start April 20 and are to be broadcast publicly.

Wolves kill, and ravens recall where: What is the scavenging strategy?

Posted on March 14, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

The legend went that wolves were followed by ravens to fresh kills. Another scavenging strategy is of much interest, as demonstrated by a tracking study.

The raven is usually the first to be on the scene when the wolf pack is running down its prey. The ravens are already waiting in queue to grab hold of the scrap of meat that is an oddity and may arise even before the predators have time to dig. The scavengers are so fast in getting to wolf kills that it is uncanny to people how they got there and the answer is that wolves must have ravens trailing on them.

However, a recent study that followed ravens and wolves in the Yellowstone National Park during two-and-a-half years reveals that the predators adopt a much more advanced approach. Ravens know the locations that wolves will most likely kill and they will fly far back to the location. According to the first author of the study, Matthias Loretto, “they are capable of flying six hours without making a landing, directly to a kill site.”

The findings were published in the journal of science, with suggestions that ravens attempt to locate food scattered in the landscape by the use of spatial memory and navigation. According to Loretto, ravens can travel long distances by flying, and apparently they have a good memory so they do not have to always keep up with wolves in order to make out of the predators.

The research was conducted by the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology of the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (Germany) along with several other institutes across the world including the Yellowstone National Park (USA).

Putting a legend to the test

The research was conducted regarding the Yellowstone National Park where wolves were introduced in the mid 90s after 70 years. The wolves of the park are monitored using tracking collars which are implanted on a quarter of the wolf population in any given year, according to Dan Stahler, a Yellowstone biologist, who has been tracking the wolves of the park since its reintroduction, the ravens seem to prefer the company of the wolves: you find them flying directly overhead or even leaping behind them when they take down prey.

To the ravens, it is a lucrative foraging measure, because the wolves always generate food which the birds can deal with. “The rule of the birds, which we all had supposed, was,” says Stahler, “simply to keep near the wolves.” However, the assumption was not checked. He says he did not know what ravens could do because nobody had ever put them in the middle; nobody had ever put the scavenger into the perspective.

To get a full view of the behavior of the raven, the group fitted the birds with small GPS positioning devices, 69 ravens in all, which is, according to Loretto, simply insane. “The reason is that ravens are so watchful of the scene that they do not easily fall into traps,” he says. Researchers were keen to adjust the traps to the environment in order to trap the birds to tag them. To illustrate, traps placed near the campsites had to be covered with rubbish and fast-food lure, otherwise, the ravens would know that something was not right and would not approach it, according to Loretto who is now a scientist at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.

Besides the tracking ravens, the researchers added the movement data of 20 Yellowstone collared wolves. They followed the animals through the winter when ravens most frequently occur with wolves and recorded GPS positions with intervals up to 30 minutes in the case of ravens and up to one hour in the case of wolves. They also added information as where and when wolves killed their prey which consisted mainly of elk, bison and deer.

The memory of lucrative sceneries

In more than two-and-a-half years of observation, scientists discovered only one unambiguous incidence of a raven trailing a wolf at a distance of over one kilometer or over an hour. “In the beginning we were confused,” says Loretto. “After we discovered that wolves were not being followed by ravens from a great distance, we could not understand why the birds came so fast to wolf killings.”

The pattern was obvious after the thorough analysis of the movement data. Instead of following predators at long distances, the ravens returned to certain locations where they could find wolf kills. Others covered as little as 155 kilometers per day, but in a highly directional way, towards locations where a carcass was likely to be found–although the time a kill will occur is indeterminate.

In regard to location, wolves kills are clumped into specific terrain features, which the wolves hunt more effectively, flat valley bottoms. Ravens were also much more likely to visit frequently wolfridden locations as compared to infrequently wolfrided locations, indicating that they learn and retain the long-term resource landscape that wolves cause.

Loretto says that ravens have already been known to recollect consistent food sources, such as landfills. “What did we find surprising is that they also appear to learn where the wolf killings are more frequent. One kill is random, and with time certain areas of the terrain prove more fruitful than others, but ravens seem to take advantage of this pattern.”

Greater understanding of the intellect of animals

The authors do not eliminate the possibility that wolves continue to be followed by ravens on a short distance. To locate wolf kills in their area, ravens must be able to determine this by short-range signals, probably by watching the movements of the wolves or hearing them howl. However, on a bigger level, the order is quite obvious: memory then, cues then. Spatial memory and navigation enables ravens to make decisions regarding where to start searching, in the first place, sometimes tens or even hundreds of kilometers.

Senior author Prof John M. Marzluff of the University of Washington adds: “What is evident in our work is the fact that ravens are able to be quite flexible in the locations they choose to feed. They do not remain attached to a certain wolf pack. They have the opportunity to select between numerous foraging opportunities since they have a good sense and recollection of the previous feeding places far and wide. This alters our way of thinking about scavenger finding food, and the notion may be that we have long underestimated certain ones.”

‘Plenty of fish in the sea’? Not anymore, say UN experts in Nice

Sound reveals ‘Ocean giants’ dance with wind to find food

What are the conditions suitable for life on distant moons

Posted on March 14, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

Liquid water is said to be a necessity to life. Amazingly, however, there could be conducive conditions of life far away in an area that is not near a sun. A group of researchers working on the Excellence Cluster ORIGINS at LMU and the Max Planck Institute of Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) has demonstrated how moons of free-floating planets can retain their water oceans as liquid to as long as 4.3 billion years through dense hydrogen atmospheres and tidal heating – that is to say, roughly as long as Earth has been around and complex life can evolve.

Planetary systems are usually created when the conditions are not steady. In the event of close approach of young planets they have the ability to launch one another out of orbit. This results in free-floating planets (FFPs) that move around the galaxy with no parent star. A previous paper by LMU physicist Dr. Giulia Roccetti had indicated that gas giants that were thrown out in this manner do not always lose their moons in the process.

Oceans remain in their liquid state because of tidal heating

The ejection however does change the orbits of the moons. They are elongated to a high extent in which their distance to the planet is constantly varying. This leads to the tidal forces rhythmically deforming the lunar body, compressing the body interior, and creating heat due to friction. This tidal heating can be adequate to keep oceans of liquid water on the surface – without the power of a star, and in the coolness of interstellar space.

Hydrogen as stable heat trap

It is the atmosphere that dictates whether this heat remains on the surface or not. Carbon dioxide is a good greenhouse gas on earth. Prior research had shown that carbon dioxide would be able to stabilize life-supportable conditions on exomoons of up to 1.6 billion years. In really low temperatures of free-floating systems, however, carbon dioxide would condense, lose the protective effect on the atmosphere and the heat to escape.

Thus, the scientists of astrophysics, biophysics, and astrochemistry started to research the possibilities of the hydrogen-rich atmospheres being the alternative heat traps. Despite the fact that the molecular hydrogen is mostly transparent to infrared radiation, an important physical phenomenon occurs under high pressures: collision-induced absorption. During this process, hydrogen colliding molecules create temporary complexes, which are able to take up the thermal radiation and store it in the atmosphere. Simultaneously, hydrogen is a stable element even at the lowest temperature.

Parallels to early Earth

The results also provide new insights to the origin of life. The cooperation with the team of Professor Dieter Braun enabled us to understand that the cradle of life does not always need a sun, says David Dahlbudding who is a doctoral researcher at LMU and the lead author of the study. According to the case, there was a distinct relationship between these moons that were far away and the early Earth, which had high levels of hydrogen due to asteroid impact in order to form conditions that supported life.

The tidal force was even capable of providing heat, as well as, chemical development processes. There is deformation periodically, which produces local wet-dry cycles, where water evaporates and condenses. These cycles have been regarded as a significant process of the formation of complex molecules and may make essential steps in the direction to the emergence of life.

Life-friendly moons in interstellar space

The free-floating planets are believed to be common. It has been estimated that these so-called nomadic planets in the Milky Way may be as numerous as the stars. Their moons could also offer long term stable habitats. The new discoveries were therefore able to considerably expand the range of potential habitats in which life might exist – and indicate that life would not only exist but also be able to survive even in the darkest parts of the galaxy.

Watching water droplets merge on the International Space Station

Webb space Telescope Captures Clearest View of Neptune’s Rings, Unusual Moon ‘Triton’

Iran Rejects Claims of Allowing Indian Tankers Through Strait of Hormuz; Talks Still Underway, Says Jaishankar

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

Iran has categorically denied reports suggesting it gave special permission for India-flagged oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing the claims as unfounded amid the ongoing conflict that has choked the vital shipping lane since late February.

The controversy erupted yesterday when several Indian news outlets reported that Tehran had quietly agreed to let Indian vessels transit the strait following a telephone conversation between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

An Indian government source, speaking anonymously to Reuters, stated: “Iran will allow India-flagged tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of India’s crude imports pass.” The source pointed to the recent safe passage of two India-flagged ships, Pushpak and Parimal, as proof of the arrangement, while noting that vessels tied to the United States, Europe or Israel were still being blocked.

Tehran moved quickly to shoot down the story. An Iranian source told Reuters the matter was “sensitive” and no such deal had been reached. Another contact in Tehran, quoted by NDTV, was blunt: “No, it’s not true.” Iranian state-affiliated media echoed the denial, insisting no exemptions had been granted for Indian-flagged crude carriers.

Oil tankers bombed by Iran

The Strait of Hormuz has seen traffic plummet since the escalation began. Satellite data shows only a handful of commercial vessels crossing in recent weeks, with several tankers coming under drone and projectile attacks. While one Liberia-flagged tanker carrying Saudi crude did reach Mumbai recently (with an Indian captain on board), that does not confirm any broader policy change for India-flagged ships.

India remains heavily exposed. Roughly 40 percent of its crude and 90 percent of its LPG imports normally flow through the strait. At present, about 28 Indian vessels with 778 crew members are stuck in the Persian Gulf, and three Indian sailors have already lost their lives in related incidents, according to shipping sources.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs described early reports of a breakthrough as “premature,” stressing that talks on safe passage and energy security are continuing but no agreement has been finalized.

The closure has slashed global oil flows by an estimated 10–20 million barrels per day, sending prices soaring and unexpectedly boosting revenues for exporters like Russia. For now, the diplomatic back-and-forth has only added to the uncertainty hanging over one of the world’s most critical energy arteries.

Trump Revokes Oil Sanctions on Russia for 30 days; Moscow to Mint $5 Billion by Month-End

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

Thursday night the Trump administration issued a temporary general license authorizing the delivery, sale and offloading of Russian crude and petroleum products loaded onto vessels on or before March 12, 2026, to stabilize global energy markets following the soaring of crude oil prices by the 13 years war between the U.S. and Israel, who war with Iran.

The license, called General License 134, takes effect through the middle of the Washington time on April 11, giving a 30-day period to such transactions, even involving authorized entities or vessels.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the move on X, saying: “US is granting a provisional sanction to allow nations to buy Russian oil already at sea.”

Bessent further highlighted that the action will be a short-term, narrowly focused action that is only applicable in the oil already under transit but it would not give great financial relief to the Russian government, which gets most of its energy revenue as taxes levied at the point of extraction.

The move comes after the recent spike in oil prices due to the strikes by the U.S and Israel on Iran that started February 28, 2026, including the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and strikes on Iranian nuclear, missile, and military facilities.

Congestion of the Strait of Hormuz and less output of the Middle East have propelled prices upwards, with the Brent crude futures already trading past $100 a barrel on Thursday, although prices have soared to a high of 110-119 a barrel in recent trading.

Goldman Sachs predicts that in March Brent will exceed the $100-mark because of the volatility, which also marks the middle of a loss of supply that will result in a potential addition of supply to oil-starved markets.

Experts predict that the waiver will release up to 100-128 million barrels of Russian oil that is currently at sea and will likely add to affected markets. The presidential envoy of Russia Kirill Dmitriev advocated the move stating that the move concerns approximately 100 million barrels of it and it shows the involvement of Russian energy in global stability.

The license is a follow-up on a waiver of a prior March waiver specifically to India which is criticized. It has now allowed sales across the globe and this has given Russia a financial boost. The move has led to a rise in oil income in Moscow where certain reports reveal that there has been an increment of about $150 million per day more oil sales due to the rise in prices.

In February, Russia earned about $9.5 billion from oil and product exports, or roughly $339 million per day (based on 28 days). January revenues were $11.1 billion. Annual projections under normal conditions (pre-escalation) ranged from $113-129 billion for 2026, depending on sanctions enforcement.

India’s shift to Russian oil

Earlier March projections had India’s Russian crude imports dropping sharply to low levels (~129,000 bpd or less in some forecasts) due to intensified U.S. sanctions pressure and tariffs. However, with Middle Eastern supplies choked by the Iran conflict and Hormuz effectively closed, India has dramatically ramped up purchases. Indian refiners snapped up around 30 million barrels of Russian crude in recent days following a temporary U.S. waiver allowing deals on in-transit (already-loaded) sanctioned cargoes. March volumes are now tracking toward 1.5-1.6 million bpd so far, with projections for the full month potentially reaching 40 million barrels (pre-sanctions levels), as buyers like India and China seek alternatives to offset the ~10-20 million bpd global shortfall.

With U.S. temporary sanctions relief by Washington for 30 days Russia is likely to reap an estimated up to $150 million per day in extra budget revenues from surging oil prices and renewed demand, which means a ~14% jump over February averages, driven by higher export taxes. Cumulative early gains from oil export duties alone are pegged at $1.3-1.9 billion since the conflict escalated, with potential for $3.3-4.9 billion more by month-end if trends hold.

Mineral extraction tax surge

Russia’s key oil production levy (mineral extraction tax) is projected to nearly double in March to around 590 billion rubles (~$7.43 billion), thanks to the global price rally pushing taxable Urals prices well above the budget’s $59/bbl assumption (recently hitting $70-90+ levels in various reports, sometimes at premiums in India).

With Urals now trading much closer to (or occasionally above) Brent amid the crisis, and exports potentially stabilizing or rising on Asian demand, Russia’s full-year oil revenues could significantly exceed pre-conflict forecasts. Sustained high prices and volumes might push totals toward the higher end of prior estimates ($200-250 billion or more), offering major fiscal breathing room despite sanctions.

These developments highlight Russia’s unexpected position as a prime beneficiary of the energy crunch, flipping prior sanction dynamics in its favor, at least short-term.

Democrats Oppose Trump’s Move

The step has received criticism by congressional democrats and European leaders. The decision was condemned by senate democrats like Elizabeth Warren, Jeanne Shaheen, Chuck Schumer and others as giving Putin a huge financial hit during his war in Ukraine and the Iran conflict was deemed reckless and ill-conceived, and is claimed to have strengthened the argument that the administration is enriching Russia at the cost of Middle East shocks.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reacted to the decision saying it was wrong and the Iran fighting was inadvisable and windfall profits were enriching Russia. The administration has positioned the step as a logistical one, ensuring the stranded cargoes do not disrupt shipping instead of the relief of broad sanctions, but critics say that this is a way of undercutting long-term effort to stop Russian revenue.

Better brain health is linked with the enhancement of your biological age gap

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

The narrower the difference between your biological age and actual age the lower the risk of a stroke and the health of your brain.
The study involved 250,000 people. The scientists measured the level of 18 biomarkers in their blood to obtain their biological age. Brain scans were also done to a section of individuals.
Individuals that bridged the difference between their biological and chronological ages during the intervention were 23% less likely than the rest to experience a stroke in the future.
The research does not demonstrate that the reduction of the age gap is the reason of the reduced stroke risk and positive brain health changes. It only shows an association.
According to researchers, a healthy diet, regular exercise, proper sleep and blood pressure management can contribute to the age gap in the biology of the body, although this study has not assessed any lifestyle program.
The article is a preliminary study published in March of 2026 will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 78th Annual Meeting in April 18-22, 2026 in Chicago. It found that the closer your biological age is to your chronological age, the lower the risk of stroke and the better the signs of damage in the brain.

Betterment of age gap

The research does not demonstrate that betterment of the age gap is the reason behind better brain health; it only presents a correlation.

The researcher Cyprien Rivier of Yale University and an American Academy of Neurology member, said that efforts to “change our biological age may be one of the ways to help our brains stay healthy. Lifestyle habit, such as healthy diet, physical activity, sleep and good blood pressure management, which can help to prevent cardiovascular and metabolic disease, might help reduce the biological age difference, but we did not assess lifestyle interventions in the study.”

In the study, the biological age of 258,169 individuals of a health care research database was analyzed. They quantified 18 biomarkers in the blood, including cholesterol, average red blood cell volume and white blood cell count, to assess biological age at the beginning of the study and six years later in a sub-group of the participants. Researchers then found the participants who had a stroke after an average of 10 years. A group of the participants also administered tests on memory and thinking ability and brain scans to examine indications of brain damage.

In the beginning of the study, the biological age of the participants was 54 on average and their real age was 56. Their actual age was 62 years but on average, they were 58 years biologically six years on.

Individuals whose biological age was more than their chronological age at the conclusion of the study exhibited poorer brain scans and also poorer scores in the cognitive tests. They were also at a higher risk of stroke by 41 percent.

Those who lengthened the distance between their biological and chronological ages between the beginning of the study and the repeat measure had their risks of developing a stroke in the follow-up phase reduced by 23%.

Individuals who had some improvement also contained a smaller amount of white matter hyperintensities, an indicator of tissue damage to the white matter, by the conclusion of the study compared to those who had no amelioration in their biological age gaps. The overall amount of damage that they could do was 13 per cent less with each standard deviation of progress.

These outcomes factored in other factors that might influence the risk of stroke and damage to the brain including high blood pressure and other blood vessels conditions and socioeconomic outcomes.

Study’s Insufficiency

One of the weaknesses of the research was that although it identified correlations, it was not a causal study. In addition, only a smaller number underwent repeat blood tests and this does not allow the researcher to draw conclusions of change over time especially on cognitive tests.

The Cannabis compounds are promising in the battle against fatty liver disease

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

Scientists have found out that non-psychoactive cannabis substances, CBD and CBG, can help to reduce liver fat significantly and improve metabolic health. The researchers have found out that these compounds act by establishing a buffer of energy in the liver and by the re-activation of the cleaning crews inside the cells to clear undesirable waste products. These results point to the existence of a novel, plant-based direction of treating the most frequent chronic liver disease of the world.

According to a study by Prof. Joseph (Yossi) Tam, Dr. Liad Hinden, a PhD student, Radka Kocvarova, and the team of researchers led by Tam, at the School of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, two compounds of the cannabis plant are useful in the treatment of fatty liver disease. The study indicates that the non-psychoactive and non-high-inducing Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabigerol (CBG) can help people live healthier lives due to its ability to alter how the liver processes energy and purifies itself.

The prevalent chronic liver disorder in the world is currently known as Maatotic asymptomatic liver disease (MASLD) which is associated with metabolic dysfunction. It is prevalent among about 1 in 3 adults, and strongly associated with obesity, hypertension and insulin resistance. Although lifestyle change such as diet and exercise is significant, it is not always easier to sustain it and known medicines approved to treat this condition are very limited. This renders the discovery of new medicines a top priority to the scientists.

The researchers demonstrated that CBD and CBG are not only fat-reducing tools with the help of sophisticated tools. In fact, they assist the liver to work more efficiently internally in a special mechanism of metabolic remodeling. The effect on the energy stores of the liver was identified as one of the most crucial findings. The compounds cause a rise in phosphocreatine levels which serve as a backup battery to keep the liver healthy despite the stress which is posed by high-fat diet. It is a novel finding because the liver is not normally dependent on such a system of energy in a heavy way.

Reinstate functions of cathepsins

Also, the experiment revealed that CBD and CBG reinstate the functions of cathepsins. They are enzymes that serve as the cleaning crew in the recycling centers of the cell and they are called lysosomes. With the help of getting this cleaning crew back at work the liver is able to better process and eliminate the harmful fats and waste. Another finding by the researchers was that the two treatments had significant lowering effects on the harmful lipids, including triglycerides and ceramides. Ceramides are those that are especially harmful since they have been identified to cause insulin resistance and liver inflammation.

The research found out that both compounds were useful but they had a slight difference in terms of benefit to metabolic health. CBD and CBG could all normalise blood sugar levels and enhance the glucose clearance in the body. Nevertheless, CBG seemed to influence some measures more strongly. It was much more effective in fat mass reduction in the body and insulin sensitivity than CBD. The CBG was also especially useful in reducing the total cholesterol and the bad LDL cholesterol levels.

Prof. Joseph Tam ssaid, “the findings of the research point to a new mechanism through which CBD and CBG improve the hepatic energy and lysosomal activity. Such dual metabolic remodelling results in a better process of lipids in liver and singling out such compounds as likely treatment options in MASLD.”

Though these findings are highly encouraging, the staff remarks that additional studies are required in order to comprehend how these findings can be optimally applied to human patients. The research provides a novel avenue in the use of plant-derived compounds to treat metabolic diseases because it is based on the energy and waste management in cells.

What are Zombie cells? Mayo Clinic researchers minimize cells in diabetic kidney disease

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

The results of these researchers in Jacksonville, Fla., are that a drug-and-supplement combination therapy can be used to lessen the harmful effects of senescent cells, or, to be more exact, zombie cells, in diabetic kidney disease.

In an article published by the Lancet, the team has found that the combination of the cancer drug dasatanib and a naturally occurring substance quercetin reduced inflammation and enhanced protective factors in the kidney.

Diabetic kidney disease is the number one cause of renal failure and goes over 12 million individuals in the U.S. Whereas there is a partial cure in newer treatments to slow the loss of kidney function, it has no cure at all.

According to LaTonya Hickson, a nephrologist with Mayo Clinic in Florida and the main researcher of the study, the combination therapy, administered on a short term basis, decreased the amount of senescent cells within a preclinical diabetes kidney disease model and also led to the enhancement of kidney functioning. In order to prolong the health of the kidney, researchers have been keen on the solution to the existence of senescent cells, which do not get to pass through the natural process of death and instead hang around in tissues leading to aging and disease.

Therapy to Attack Senescent Cells

The therapeutic strategy is senolytics, natural and synthetic substances that in combination selectively attack senescent cells.

In a clinical trial that was previously carried out and was a pilot study, researchers at the Mayo Clinic led by Hickson discovered that dasatanib combination with quercetin diminished senescent cells of skin and fat tissues in diabetic kidney disease patients. The impact of the combination therapy on senescence and protective factors on the diabetic kidney, however, had not been described yet.

“The need to demonstrate that this single, momentary, treatment has an outcome on the kidneys was informed by the necessity to do so without the use of invasive procedures in the patients,” says Xiaohui Bian, a nephrologist who did the work as a post-doctoral fellow at Mayo Clinic and leads the study.

The group identified that the combination therapy enhanced kidney performance and protective mechanisms and minimized injury, senescent cells, and inflammation in a preclinical model of diabetic kidney disease. The combination therapy also lowered the number of senescent cells and the inflammatory response caused by them in cultured human kidney cells.

According to Hickson, the results indicate that this combination treatment has a potential to assist in reducing and stopping the damage of kidneys caused by diabetes. These two studies are now promising and indicate that larger scale research in patients with senolytics is warranted to enhance the health of the kidneys.

IEA Release of Emergency Reserves to Ease Oil Flow in 120 Days, Impact Seen in India Already

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

The International Energy Agency’s 32 member countries have unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves, the largest such action in the agency’s history, following the US-Israel war on Iran that resulted in the latter choking Strait of Hormuz shipment flows to less than 10% of pre-conflict levels.

Under the IEA measure, the US alone will contribute 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but the full release will take at least 120 days to complete.

The escalating war involving Iran, the US, and Israel has triggered the biggest oil supply shock. Tanker traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz has plummeted from ~20 million barrels per day to almost nothing, as ships avoid the danger zone.

Gulf producers like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar have slashed output by at least 10 million barrels daily because storage is full and exports can’t leave.

The IEA warns global supply could drop ~8 million bpd this month, with some refineries shut and refined fuels stalled too.

Demand is dipping too

Meanwhile, fewer flights and LPG issues could cut it by ~1 million bpd. To ease the crisis, the IEA coordinated a record release of 400 million barrels from emergency stocks. Global inventories are still high, offering a short-term buffer, but without quick resumption of Hormuz flows, things could worsen fast.

Despite the announcement, oil prices climbed back above $90 a barrel, with markets warning that the reserves offer no structural fix unless safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is restored completely.

India imports around 85–90% of its crude oil requirement, which means domestic fuel prices are highly sensitive to global benchmarks such as Brent Crude Oil and West Texas Intermediate (WTI).

gas price

When crude rises sharply—as it has this week due to Middle East tensions and supply fears—oil marketing companies typically face higher input costs. If prices remain elevated for long, those costs eventually feed into retail petrol and diesel prices.

What may happen in the next few weeks

1. Short-term: Prices may stay unchanged for now: State-run retailers such as Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum often absorb temporary spikes. If crude volatility lasts only a few days, pump prices may remain stable.

2. If crude stays near or above $100: Sustained levels above $100 per barrel could start putting pressure on fuel retailers. Historically, prolonged rallies at such levels have led to gradual price revisions.

3. Government intervention is possible: Before major elections or during inflation spikes, the government has sometimes cut excise duty or asked oil companies to delay hikes to cushion consumers.

4. Inflation risk: Higher fuel costs also raise transportation expenses, which can push up prices of food and other essentials—an issue closely monitored by the Reserve Bank of India.

If crude stays near $100–110 per barrel for several weeks, analysts typically estimate petrol and diesel prices could rise by roughly ₹2–₹6 per litre, depending on taxes and exchange rate movements.

For now, the oil spike is a warning signal rather than an immediate price hike. The key factor will be whether geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to disrupt supply routes like the Strait of Hormuz.

Young people who have AI meal plans might be consuming less calories, but missing a meal

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

A large number of teenagers who have some weight problem are resorting to AI models as they seek to design meal plans in a bid to lose weight. A new study, however, indicates that the plans that are a result of this could not, at least in all cases, cover the required nutrients and calorie consumption.

In Turkey, five different AI models were compared in regard to their meal planning capabilities, which led researchers to develop meal plans to help teenagers lose weight and evaluated their findings against the recommendations of a registered dietician. They described their results in Frontiers in Nutrition.

According to Dr Ayse Betul Bilen, an assistant professor of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Istanbul Atlas University, there is a significant underestimation of total energy and the main nutrient intake of diet plans generated by AI models compared to plans prepared by a dietitian based on guidelines. It is known that adherence to this type of imbalanced or excessively restrictive meal plans in the teenage years can have a detrimental influence on growth, metabolic health, and eating habits.

Missing a meal

The researchers were prompted to generate meal plans using five AI models, which were ChatGPT 4, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Bing Chat-5GPT, Claude 4.1 and Perplexity, using free versions of these models. Some of the prompts were age, height and weight of the individual the plan would be based on, and the directive to develop a 3 days plan that included three meals and two snacks a day. Four teenagers aged 15 years, one boy and one girl, who were in the overweight percentile and one boy and one girl who fell in the obese percentile were put on meal plans.

Comparing the results of AIs to generate meal plans to those of a dietician who specializes in adolescent diseases, it was found that the energy requirement that was estimated by the AI models was on average nearly 700 calories lower than the dietitian. This is a full meal worth of difference that has severe clinical implications. The intake of some macronutrients had been overcalculated whereas the intake of some caloric nutrients was grossly undercalculated.

The AI-generated diet plans never adhered to the recommended mix of macronutrients, which is quite dangerous among adolescents, as Bilen indicated.

In comparison, AI models suggested more protein intake (20g higher than the dietician), and this scheme led to about 21-24% of the energy intake as protein. Recommendations of lipid provided by AI were also significantly more than in the plans developed by dieticians, and lipids constituted 41-45% of energy intake.

The quantity of carbohydrates, however, was much inferior in AI plans and the difference was about 115g on average, that is, only about 32-36 percent of the energy intake would be derived as carbs. In comparison, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and medicine in the US advise that the proportion of lipids, proteins and carbs should be 30-35, 15-20 and 45-50 percent respectively.

Favoring plans to balanced diets

Although numerous pieces of information about healthy diet guidelines are found on national and international health organizations websites, such as the Turkish Nutritional Guidelines or WHO Adolescent Nutritional Guidelines, AI tools do not necessarily use evidence-based nutritional guidelines in their production. Bilen stated that AI models are mostly trained to produce answers that are most plausible and user-friendly, and not necessarily accurate, clinically. According to their findings, they might be dependent on generalized or popular diet patterns rather than incorporating the nutritional requirements of age.

Since not every teenager can hire the service of a dietician to help them plan their meals, the team recommended that a person using AI tools to create a diet plan should be cautious. The teenagers are also to remember that the diets that are too restrictive or that are constructed on the basis of extreme diets that are based on the dominance of either protein or fat.

The researchers claimed that they hope that their findings will contribute to the increased awareness of the narrow capability of AI tools to create well-balanced meal plans and assist in developing safer tools that are more consistent with the guidelines created by professionals. Although AI models are fast developing and models might be better now than they were at the time of analysis, AI models are not an alternative to professional dietary counseling especially to the vulnerable groups.

Bilen concluded that adolescence is a critical period with regard to physical development, bone development and cognitive maturation. The risks of a lower energy and carbohydrate intake and higher ratios of protein and fat could be dangerous at the adolescent growth stage.

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Oval orbit casts new light on black hole, neutron star mergers

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

Scientists have uncovered the first robust evidence of a black hole and neutron star crashing together but orbiting in an oval path rather than a perfect circle just before they merged. This discovery challenges long-standing assumptions about how these cosmic pairs form and evolve.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics published their findings today (11 Mar) in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Most neutron star-black hole pairs are expected to adopt circular orbits long before merging. But the analysis of the gravitational-wave event GW200105 shows that this system travelled on an oval orbit long before merging to form a black hole 13 times more massive than the Sun. An oval orbit is something never seen before in this kind of collision.

Dr Patricia Schmidt, from the University of Birmingham, said: “This discovery gives us vital new clues about how these extreme objects come together. It tells us that our theoretical models are incomplete and raises fresh questions about where in the Universe such systems are born.”

The researchers analysed data from LIGO and Virgo detectors using a new gravitational‑wave model developed at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Gravitational Wave Astronomy. This allowed them to measure both how ‘oval’ the orbit was (eccentricity) and any spin‑induced wobbling (precession). This is the first time these two effects have been measured together in a neutron star–black hole event.

Geraint Pratten, a Royal Society University Research Fellow from the University of Birmingham, said: “The orbit gives the game away. Its elliptical shape just before merger shows this system did not evolve quietly in isolation but was almost certainly shaped by gravitational interactions with other stars, or perhaps a third companion.”

A Bayesian analysis comparing thousands of theoretical predictions to the real data, showed that a circular orbit is extremely unlikely, ruling it out with 99.5% confidence.

Past analyses of GW200105, which assumed a circular orbit, underestimated the black hole mass and overestimated the neutron star mass. The new study corrects these values and finds no compelling evidence of precession, indicating that the eccentricity was imprinted by its formation rather than by spins.

Gonzalo Morras, from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, said: “This is convincing proof that not all neutron star–black hole pairs share the same origin. The eccentric orbit suggests a birthplace in an environment where many stars interact gravitationally.”

This discovery challenges the prevailing view that all neutron star–black hole mergers arise from a single dominant formation channel and highlights the need for more advanced waveform models capable of capturing the full complexity of these systems.

The study helps to explain the growing diversity seen in compact-binary mergers and opens the door to identifying even more unusual pathways as the number of gravitational-wave detections continues to grow.

How being squeezed contributes to risk of breast cancer cells

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

A recent study conducted by scientists working in Adelaide University and published in the journal Science Advances has shown the reason as to why certain cancers may grow and survive the body, whereas others do not. It happens that the hard mechanical stress to which the early cancer cells undergo as they are squeezed into a narrow area, causes some of the cancer cells to grow quicker, not to grow, as would otherwise be supposed.

This squeeze worked to the favor of the early breast cancer cells as scientists discovered.

The key point that was explained by the lead researcher, Professor Michael Samuel, of the Centre of Cancer Biology at Adelaide University and the Basil Hetzel Institute is that these breast cancer cells steal a particular sensor – one that our bodies rely on to sense touch – and use it to divide quickly and aid them in making their escape off the major tumour.

The process creates an indefinitely lasting mechanical memory in the breast cancer cells and it still contributes towards aggressive behaviour even after the pressure itself has been removed, Professor Samuel said.

The tumours which are solid are exposed to a lot of physical pressure when the disease is at its early stage of development, as the cancer cells grow in tissues that are limited in space, e.g. the milk ducts of the breast. Up to this day, the mechanism by which these cancer cells detect this pressure and whether or not it impacts the progression of the disease is unknown.

We have a tendency to believe that cancer is a genetic disease, but through this work we know that there is the same importance of physical forces within the tumours as the cause of cancer as there are genetic changes that cause cancer.

The researchers discovered that cancer cells respond to pressure via a molecule named PIEZO1, which is a hole in the cell that relates the interior of a cell to the exterior environment. Upon pressure stimulation, PIEZO1 enables the movement of calcium ions into the cell and subsequent signal transduction containing the Rho-ROCK pathway – a central regulator of cell movement, shape and growth.

The team demonstrated that mechanical pressure of a short duration that is obtained through compressing cancer tissue was sufficient to cause tumour growth to increase significantly. Mechanically compressed tumours in laboratory models of breast cancer became larger and the cancer cells in them fragmented faster than control groups.

In addition to promoting growth, compression was also identified to drive cancer cells into a more aggressive, invasive, state in a process known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition. When either of the PIEZO1 or the Rho-ROCK pathway had, however, been inhibited with the help of suitable drugs, compression did not propel cancer aggressiveness, making their role in this process definite.

Co-lead author Dr Sarah Boyle mentioned that one of the most significant findings was that the cancer aggressiveness effects of compression remained even after removal of the force itself.

According to Dr Boyle, even relatively short durations of pressure can lead to a mechanical memory by altering the way the DNA is packed into the cell, by chemically modifying the histone proteins.

These changes, which are called epigenetic changes, are modifications of the interpretation of the DNA code by the cell, which enables the process of switching on some genes that promote tumour growth and aggressiveness.

This type of epigenetic mechanical memory offers a molecular basis to the long term effects of short term mechanical forces on the cell level of the behaviour of tumours.

Notably, the research established that PIEZO1 is over-expressed in human breast cancers compared to normal breast tissue, and that the level of PIEZO1 differs among the patients. The high PIEZO1 levels have been linked to low patient survival implying that the identical pressure-detecting system found in test animals would probably be applicable in human cancer.

The results indicate a little-known role of mechanical pressure in the development of cancer aggressiveness and represent the PIEZO1 -Rho-ROCK pathway as a possible new therapeutic objective that can be used as an early intervention.

According to the researchers, future therapies can restrict tumour growth and invasiveness by interfering with the sensory and response of cancer cells to mechanical pressure. The results can also be applied in diagnosing the patients who are susceptible to aggressive breast cancers due to excessively high concentrations of PIEZO1.

That work has opened up a whole new field of so-called mechanotherapy – the use of treatments that disrupt the mechanical signals that tumours are dependent on to develop and spread out, as cancers grow to be mechanically responsive diseases, said Professor Samuel.

Iran Players at AFC Women’s Cup in Australia Defect, Seek Asylum Citing Repercussions Back Home

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

Amid war flares at home front, seven members of Iran’s women’s national football team have been granted humanitarian visas by Australia, allowing them to remain in the country following their participation in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. The players, who had refused to sing their national anthem before a match against South Korea, an act that drew sharp criticism from Iranian state media labeling them “wartime traitors,” feared severe repercussions if they returned home.

Iranian women soccer players remove their hijabs as soon as they are granted asylum in Australia.

It was never a choice. 99% of women in Iran will also take off their hijabs once the Islamic regime falls. pic.twitter.com/hZ6zVDOYeO

— Dr. Maalouf ‏ (@realMaalouf) March 9, 2026

Captain Zahra Ghanbari and teammates Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramezanizadeh, and Mona Hamoudi were among the initial five to seek protection, slipping away from their team hotel with assistance from Australian authorities. Two more team members later joined them, though one individual ultimately changed their mind and requested to return to Iran. Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed the grants, noting that officials had individually approached the players at Sydney airport, offering support without Iranian officials present.

He described the women’s relief upon receiving the visas, emphasizing that they are now safe and welcome in Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added that the nation had been touched by the players’ courage, stating help was readily available. The situation even prompted a late-night call between Albanese and former U.S. President Donald Trump, who had publicly offered American asylum as an alternative and criticized any potential forced return.

Iranian officials have remained largely silent on specifics but accused Australia of essentially holding the players “hostage,” while the football federation suggested coercion was involved. The rest of the squad departed for home amid emotional scenes at the airport, with some diaspora supporters attempting to intervene in solidarity.

The latest episode fits into a longer pattern where international sporting events provide rare opportunities for athletes from repressive or unstable environments to seek asylum.

Here’s a short chronology of notable sports defections:

1948 London Olympics: Czechoslovakian gymnastics coach Marie Provazníková became the first known Olympic defector, refusing to return home after the communist takeover in her country, citing a lack of freedom.
1956 Melbourne Olympics: Following the Soviet invasion of Hungary, dozens of Hungarian athletes, about a quarter of their team, defected en masse, many eventually settling in the West, including the United States.
1972 Munich Olympics: Over 100 athletes, primarily from Eastern Bloc nations, sought asylum amid Cold War tensions.
2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games: At least 26 athletes, including from Sierra Leone and Cameroon, claimed asylum in Australia due to political instability and personal safety concerns.
2012 London Olympics: Seven Cameroonian athletes (boxers, a swimmer, and others) vanished from the village and later sought protection in the UK; three Sudanese runners also applied for asylum.
2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games: More than 200 athletes and officials, mostly from African nations like Cameroon, Rwanda, and Uganda, went missing and requested refugee status in Australia.
2021 Tokyo Olympics: Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya sought police protection at the airport to avoid forced repatriation after criticizing her coaches; she ultimately received asylum in Poland.

These moments highlight the dual role of global competitions on stages for athletic achievement and, sometimes, desperate escapes. For the Iranian players now starting anew in Australia, the path ahead involves uncertainty but also the promise of safety, a bittersweet trade-off familiar to many who have walked away from their teams and homelands in fear of persecution back home.

Less psychedelic, more medical magic mushrooms

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

The psychoactive substance of magic mushrooms, psilocybin, is under scientific scrutiny as being useful in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, substance use disorder and some neurodegenerative diseases. It can be limited to broader therapeutic uses, however, by the hallucinogenic effects. A study on the effects of psilocin, the active compound in psilocybin, on mice published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry by researchers synthesized modified versions of psilocin which preserve its properties but have fewer hallucinogenic-like effects than pharmaceutical-grade psilocybin.

In line with the emerging scientific view that psychedelic and serotonergic works can be decoupled, one correspondent author of the study, Andrea Mattarei, states that their findings align with this emerging school of thought. This creates the prospect of developing new therapies that are more biologically active but less hallucinogenic, which might allow developing safer and more practicable treatment options.

Mood disorders as well as certain neurodegenerative ailments such as the Alzheimer disease entail an imbalance of the neurotransmitter molecule serotonin that aids in controlling moods and other brain processes. Psychedelics have been studied to have therapeutic effects against serotonin-signaling pathways in decades by scientists. But the hallucinations that can be used along with these drugs can cause people to fear their use even in case there is a medical advantage.

Brain Image (NIH)

Therefore, a group supervised by Sara De Martin, Mattarei and Paolo Manfredi chemically engineered 5 psilocin analogs to release gradually, slowly and possibly non-hallucinogenic into the brain. The initial test of the five compounds was conducted using human plasma samples and the laboratory parameters that replicate gastrointestinal absorption. These tests have enabled the group to determine a compound they refer to as 4e as the best prospect since it exhibited desirable stability to be absorbed and allowed a slow release of psilocin – a trait that has the potential to reduce the effects of hallucinations. Notably, 4e was also active at major serotonin receptors, and at similar levels as psilocin.

The researchers then compared the impact of the same dosage of 4e on mice with pharmaceutical quality psilocybin. The team orally gave the compounds to mice and assessed the degree to which psilocin was absorbed by the bloodstream and the brain after 48 hours. The compound had the capability of penetrating the blood-brain barrier in mice treated with 4e and had a lower yet more prolonged presence of psilocin in their brain than did their psilocybin-treated counterparts. In examining the behavior of the mice, the researchers found that the 4e-treated mice had reduced the number of head twitches, a well-established oral psychiatric effect of psychedelics in rodents, with the 4e-treated mice compared to those treated with psilocybin having far fewer head twitches. This difference in behavior seemed to be linked with the quantity and the time that psilocin was released in the brain.

According to the researchers, the results of their experiments testify to the possibility of creating stable derivatives of psilocin penetrating the brain and preserving the function of serotonin receptors without acute psychotropic effects. Their mechanism of action and complete description of their biological effects will require further research before their therapeutic capacity and safety in human beings are evaluated.

The authors admit MGGM Therapeutics, LLC. funding in partnership with NeuroArbor Therapeutics Inc. Some of the authors state that they are patent holders regarding psilocin.

What is Rett Syndrome ? New study Opens Avenue to Cure This Rare Disorder

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

A group of researchers at the Texas Children Neurological Research Institute (NRI), Duncan, Baylor College of Medicine, found a possible new therapy to cure Rett syndrome has been reported in the Science Translational Medicine journal, with the early signs of success in a neurodevelopmental disorder with no cure yet.

According to the corresponding author, Dr. Huda Zoghbi, the director of the Duncan NRI, Distinguished Service Professor at Baylor, and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Rett syndrome is an uncommon genetic neurodevelopmental disorder that results in a developmental regression, usually past 6 to 18 months of normal development, followed by severe motor skill impairment, speech and communication impairment and communication impairment. The disorder affects girls mostly and it occurs in 1 out of 10,000 live births.

Loss-of-function mutations in MECP2 gene cause Rett syndrome, which plays a central role in normal brain functions since it controls the amount of various genes controlling neurological functions. These mutations cause the protein to disappear or code a faulty protein which cannot perform its normal function. Certain mutated forms of MeCP2 protein are also less abundant and/or reduced in terms of DNA binding, which is a key role in the functioning of this protein.

In mouse models of Rett syndrome, it has been demonstrated that the disorder is reversible, once normal MeCP2 protein is added in the brains of those mice, the conditions are reversible. Notably, it has been demonstrated by researchers that raising the concentration of a mutant MeCP2 protein that retains a minimal amount of functioning also enhances symptoms, such as survival, motor coordination and respiratory defects in mice.

The importance of this in that approximately 65 percent of patients with Rett syndrome have partially functional MeCP2, which is either less abundant or lacking DNA binding capacity, as compared to the normal level, according to the authors. Our study, on working with mouse models and cells obtained by patients with Rett syndrome, suggests evidence of concept that an increase in the levels of mutant MeCP2 in patients with the condition would be therapeutically beneficial.

Mechanism of the MECP2 gene

The creation of therapeutics that regulate the level of MeCP2 is not that simple. A mutation to MeCP2 that is too small leads to Rett syndrome, but an excess of MeCP2 leads to another neurological disorder, MECP2 Duplication Syndrome. The balance of the question has been so delicate that it has been difficult to come up with safe and efficient treatments.

Zoghbi said that before this research, they had already learned that the brain normally forms two versions of the MeCP2 protein E1 and E2, which differ slightly. These versions are the result of the same gene, which gets processed in one direction to form E1 and in another to form E2.

Consider a gene as a blueprint of a protein. MeCP2 has four ingredients, which are e1, e2, e3 and e4. In order to produce the MeCP2-E1 protein, cells simply mix ingredients e1, e3 and e4. In order to create MeCP2-E2, the cells mix all four ingredients, which makes ingredient e2 peculiar to this form of the protein. Both versions are produced by the brain, but E1 is prevalent.

“We also learnt that no cases of Rett syndrome individuals have been reported to have mutations on E2 protein. The condition is only caused by mutations that interfere with E1 protein,” said Tirumala. This is supported in studies on mice.

“All in all, we have known that MeCP2-E2 is a single ingredient below MeCP2-E1 in the gene and it is not so abundant as E1 and not linked to Rett syndrome and is not required to support the MeCP2 activities in the brain,” Tirumala said. “This made us hypothesize that by instructing the brain cells to omit the e2 ingredient, the production of additional MeCP2-E1 protein in patients with Rett syndrome will be promoted and will lead to a better disease outcome. We have experimental evidence in the mice and cells of patients with Rett-syndrome to support our hypothesis.”

The researchers first genetically removed the ingredient e2 of normal Mecp2 gene in mice and evaluated the outcome of the deletion on the abundance of the protein and its neurological activity. Tirumala said that the results of this approach gave 50 to 60 percent MeCP2 protein increment in normal mice.

The researchers subsequently used the same strategy on the cells that were obtained using the patients with Rett syndrome that contained MECP2 mutations that decrease the abundance and activity of the protein. They removed the ingredient e2 in this mutant MECP2 gene and evaluated the impact of this mutation on the abundance of this protein and the attributes of these cells. Tirumala said that they were excited to find that MeCP2 production improved when ingredient e2 was deleted. Notably, with the degree of mutation, these cells reappeared with part or all of their usual structure, their usual electrical functions and their capability to control the level of other genes.

Lastly, the team evaluated the therapeutic potential of such an approach. Does a blocking drug of ingredient e2 elevate MeCP2 protein?

Tirumala said the value of morpholinos was tested to stimulate MeCP2 protein production in mice. “Morpholinos are artificial molecules to be used in this instance to inhibit the production of MeCP2-E2 protein by preventing the e2 ingredient to enter the cell,” explained Tirumala. “This was interesting because our morpholinos found to increase MeCP2 protein in mice tremendously.”

The work by Zoghbi and colleagues forms the basis and offers preclinical support to a treatment method of Rett syndrome involving the enhancement of MeCP2 and offering some functional recovery, Zoghbi said. Even though morpholinos are not an option due to their toxicity, analogous ones, such as antisense oligonucleotide therapies that are already being employed to treat other diseases, might be created in Rett syndrome.

Use of Boron in Proteins to Create New Treatments to Cure Cancer: Study

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

A large number of the most important proteins of modern medicine and science are insoluble. These comprise a host of signalling proteins and protein hormones, and all of the receptors embedded in the cell membranes, which are directed at approximately 60 percent of the active ingredients presently utilized in medicines. When the concentration of these proteins crosses some given level, they will form clumps and become useless.

This aggregation renders synthesis of these molecules in lab impossible. Since specialised production with specialised synthesing robots always needs more than a single fragment to be conjugated into a full protein, a single poorly soluble fragment of protein is usually sufficient to inhibit production. The reason is that the current techniques employed by chemists to assemble protein fragments merely perform successfully when the fragments exist in solution and in very high concentrations.

A team of researchers, headed by Jeffrey Bode, professor at the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at ETH Zurich has now discovered how to couple even the poorly soluble portions of proteins into functional proteins. In order to do this, they utilized special properties of a chemical compound comprising an element named boron.

The slow carbon chemistry has a concentration constraint.

The only major difference between the ETH technique and the traditional strategies is in the rate of the coupling reaction. Unlike in biochemistry, which occurs extremely fast in cells of living organisms, through enzymes, reactions such as these typically need to be carried out at unnatural concentrations within the laboratory. The reason behind this is that the slower the reaction is taking place, the greater the concentration of the reacting substances should be so that the reaction processes take place as intended.

The novel coupling technique invented by the team of Bode is approximately 1000 times faster and thus was also applicable in 1000 times lower concentrations.

Boron opens up new opportunities bio-chemistry

The ETH chemists hastened the reaction by including Boron atoms to the carbon-based molecules. These are not found in natural molecules.

In several of its properties, the metalloid boron behaves in a somewhat different way. On bonding with metals, it forms very tough and heat-resistant metal alloys. Alternatively, it is capable of bonding with the nonmetals carbon, oxygen or nitrogen in the lab to form molecules that tend to have bizarre reaction characteristics. In 2010, Akira Suzuki, a Japanese researcher and Richard Heck, an American researcher, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry due to the development of boron-based coupling reactions to enable laboratory synthesis of natural substances.

According to Bode, “We reach an ultimate limit of reaction rate with purely carbon based systems. It is further expansion into previously untapped boron based reagents that places us in a space where even the most recalcitrant reactions that bring large biological molecules together can occur in a very brief time.”

cancer cells/photo:en.wikipedia.org

Protective acids: a rocky road

As shown by Bode and colleagues in 2012, this was the first study to demonstrate that it was possible to add an element of a hitherto unexplored chemical group to proteins fragments and do so with great speed and stability. Nevertheless, this compound was not stable with strong acids hence could not be utilized in automated synthesis.

To endure the tough environment that was applied to the sensitive boron compound in normal laboratory robots, the compound would require protection in the form of a chemical packaging, but this was easier said than done. The researchers experimented with a number of strategies in four years to little effect.

The discovery was made by mistake and eventually, the discovery occurred when a doctoral student tried an experimental method that the team had indeed thought was ineffective. The resulting protective compound binds to the boron group on three sides, therefore, being unable to be terminated in the acids in protein production.

According to Bode, such fundamental research, in which there is no assurance of success, is feasible only due to the unrestricted funds provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation and ETH.

Inorganic amino acids and cancer treatment

The ETH method implies that new peptide and protein drugs or drugs of medical interest to cure cancer that are prone to clumping, can now be produced via the usual laboratory protocols.

Moreover, special amino acids that are not natural can also be incorporated in the location of choice on the poorly soluble proteins. As an example, the chemists can functionalized these building blocks in a protein in a specific way in case they wish to attach it to an active substance on a particular location. Some of the applications of antibody-drug conjugates prepared through this method include cancer treatment procedures that do not damage normal tissues.

The way in which the method will be applied to clinical practice is not yet clear. In 2020 Bode co-founded the ETH spin-out Bright Peak Therapeutics, which applications the technologies invented in his lab to build immunotherapies to fight cancer. A therapeutic agent has already entered clinical trials and the new method based on boron may assist in increasing the size of the product pipeline of the spin-off.

Europe Deforestation to Double, Predicts AI Study Citing Fires, Storms and Bark Beetles

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

A new study estimated the extent to which the area covered by Europe in forest could be disturbed by fire, storms, and bark beetles by the year 2100 in varying climate conditions. With satellite data and forest simulations, an artificial intelligence model predicted the disturbances on a continental scale using 13,000 points in Europe.

In every case, disturbances of the forests in the future were greater than it is today, with great impact on forests and services to the society.
There is a significant effect of wildfires, storms, and even bark beetles on forests and the benefits that they bring to people and environment.

This is the first time when a big international team of researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has computed how disrupts would alter the forests in Europe in the year 2100. In even the most optimistic of scenarios, the team does project a significant expansion of the damaged forest area, in the worst case, the disturbance might even be doubled.

It is not novel that trees die, and in fact, it is a normal process in the forest that is in the process of natural dynamics whereby old trees die, young trees regenerate and become the next generation of canopy trees.

The new thing is the magnitude of how wildfires, storms, and bark beetles are transforming forests due to the change of climate. The amount of forest destruction in Central Europe demonstrated dramatic figures in recent years, however until this time it was unknown how much the area covered by forests could be deterred by future disturbances. The disturbances define the carbon storage capacity of the forests, the timber they are capable of offering, and the habitats of which species they are able to offer, thus making the results very significant to the policymakers and society.

A great number of researchers headed by Professor of Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management, Rupert Seidl, TUM, has now filled this gap in knowledge. The researchers have approximated that, the space disrupted by fires, storms, and bark beetles might increase threefold by 2100 with a global warming of slightly above 4 degrees Celsius.

The researchers used remote sensed data as a reference point between 1986 and 2020, a timeframe that experienced abnormally high disturbance in the forests. Although it is in the best scenario, the researchers are projecting increased destruction of forests in future compared to this reference period even with the warming of about 2 degrees Celsius.

Regional differences

In combination with 13,000 simulations of forests in Europe, the model was an AI-based simulation, which was trained on 135 million data points of forest simulations and multi-decadal satellite data of forest disturbances. This enabled them to model how the forests would develop in future and how disturbances would occur and penetrate to the scale of a single hectare providing very accurate information on regional variation in future forest disturbance patterns.

A view of Białowieża Forest, Belarus-Poland. CREDIT: IUCN Elena Osipova

The study has indicated that forests in Southern and Western Europe will be affected especially and will experience the strongest forest disturbances.

The overall impact of the future on Northern Europe is less expected to be severe, though the hotspots of the future forest damage are predicted to appear as well. According to Rupert Seidl, disturbances are becoming a cross-regional problem, that is, they destroy timber markets in Europe and endanger the ecosystem services that forests bring to society.

The study authors hence regard the growing disturbance rates as being an urgent demand on forest policy and management to consider: “We should be ready to witness a lot of forest damage in the near future. On the one hand, this implies that we have to prepare and cushion against more severe changes in the services forests offer. Conversely, disruptions also provide a chance to create new and climate-resistant forests – they are agents of change,” said Seidl.

Forestry has to meet the threat and the opportunity of increasing the level of disturbance, with the help of new scientific techniques and knowledge, explained Seidl.

Epstein’s Echo: Will Andrew’s Trade Blunders Delay £19Billion UK Trade Deal With India?

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Arun Kumar N

Britain reels from the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, once Prince Andrew, on his 66th birthday over Epstein ties, questions swirl around New Delhi’s corridors. Could this royal mess cast a shadow on the freshly inked UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), set to unlock £19 billion in UK exports to India?

With the pact eyeing rollout in April, Indian businesses eye massive gains, but trust in UK diplomacy hangs by a thread. Mountbatten-Windsor, nabbed Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, allegedly funneled sensitive trade docs to Jeffrey Epstein during his 2001-2011 stint as UK’s trade envoy.

Emails from US Justice Department files show him sharing “confidential briefs” on investment opportunities and visit reports from Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen in 2010-2011. “Andrew forwarded Epstein reports about Vietnam, Singapore and other places,” notes a Reuters report, highlighting itinerary shares too.

These leaks, post-Epstein’s 2008 conviction, smack of betrayal. Thames Valley Police are probing if this breached the Official Secrets Act, with Buckingham Palace pledging support for any inquiry.

Andrew India visit / PIB

For India, the timing stings. The FTA, signed July 2025 after 15 negotiation rounds, promises tariff cuts on 99% of Indian exports entering UK duty-free, slashing UK duties by up to £400 million yearly, rising to £900 million in a decade. Bilateral trade hit £47.2 billion last year, up 15%, making India UK’s 10th top partner.

But Andrew’s Asia blunders raise red flags. His 2010 tour overlapped with UK’s push into emerging markets, including India. Sharing intel with a convicted felon could expose vulnerabilities in deals involving sensitive sectors like tech and defence, areas India guards closely amidst China tensions.

Andrew made several high-profile visits to India, most notably in 2006, 2010, May 2012 for Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, visiting Chennai, Mumbai, and Nagaland to strengthen defense and trade ties. He visited again in 2015 for various diplomatic and business engagements, including the trade deal.

Though there is no direct India link in leaks or the scandal, its fresh fallout is turning wary. Post-Brexit, UK needs India for growth, but New Delhi, juggling FTAs with EU and US, might demand stricter safeguards now.

On X, chatter hints at unease. While global posts rage over Andrew’s arrest, Indian voices tie it to diplomacy: “UK’s royal rot could spoil our trade party,” tweets analyst @IndiaEconWatch, echoing fears of delayed gains.

Yet, optimism lingers. A commerce ministry official said the pact’s on track for mid-2026, with services provisions limited but goods flowing freer. For Indian firms eyeing UK markets, from autos to pharma, this Epstein echo is unlikely to affect trade ties for now.

India International Times

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Epstein’s Echo: Will Andrew’s Trade Blunders Delay £19Billion UK Trade Deal With India?