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Taking a closer look at immune ‘memory’ could spur progress in the fight against lethal illnesses

The average human has about 1.8 trillion immune cells. These cells patrol the body for bacteria, viruses, cancers, and other threats. Vaccines enhance this security system by teaching our immune cells to target specific pathogens. According to the World Health Organization, vaccine-induced immunity saves about six lives every minute. But how long does this protective immune “memory” last?

According to Shane Crotty, Ph.D., Professor and Chief Scientific Officer at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), we still have much to learn about immune memory.

“There are actually not many studies of human immune memory due to vaccines,” says Crotty. “Scientists traditionally don’t track immune memory past one year after vaccination—or even six months after vaccination—and that’s a bit of a problem.”

An example of how AI struggles to solve a simple ARC-AGI Benchmark challenge question

For Context: OpenAI has recently introduced two new AI models, o3 and o3-mini, designed to enhance reasoning capabilities in complex tasks such as advanced mathematics, science, and coding. These models represent a significant advancement over their predecessor, o1, which was released in September 2024.

Wired.

Translational prospectives for deep brain stimulation and low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation: IFCN Handbook chapter

[IFCN Handbook chapter: DBS and focused ultrasound neuromodulation] Neumann & Darmani: “In the present book chapter we review emergent innovations that have recently surfaced or are imminent to make the leap, improving the treatment of patients with brain disorders.”

All content on this site: Copyright © 2026 Elsevier B.V., its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. For all open access content, the relevant licensing terms apply.

MS Risk Upped Significantly With EBV Mononucleosis

Laboratory-confirmed Epstein-Barr virus-positive infectious mononucleosis (EBV-mono) was linked to a more than threefold higher risk for multiple sclerosis (MS) than not having EBV-mono, a new retrospective study showed.

“Mononucleosis is a relatively uncommon illness, but developing strategies to prevent infection with the virus that causes this disease could help us to lower the number of MS cases in the future,” lead study investigator Jennifer L. St. Sauver, PhD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, said in a press release.

Epstein-Barr virus-positive infectious mononucleosis (EBV-mono) is associated with a threefold higher multiple sclerosis risk than not having EBV-mono, new research shows.

Heart Rate Variability Moderates the Association Between Trait Anxiety and Sympathetic Nerve Activity in Humans

A new study challenges the long-standing view that Alzheimer’s is driven primarily by amyloid plaques, instead pointing to a subtle but critical competition inside neurons.

New research led by the University of California, Riverside, suggests Alzheimer’s disease may not be driven solely by plaque buildup in the brain, as widely believed. Instead, it may result from one protein disrupting the normal function of another.

For years, scientists have focused on amyloid beta (a-beta) as the main cause of Alzheimer’s. Clusters of this protein are commonly found in patients, and genetic mutations that raise a-beta levels are known to trigger early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Copper’s ‘gatekeeper’ could unlock cleaner energy future

A common mineral hiding in plain sight could hold the key to making copper production cleaner, faster and more efficient, just as global demand for the metal surges to power the energy transition. In an article published in Nature Geoscience, researchers from Monash University’s School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment describe why chalcopyrite, the source of around 70% of the world’s copper, has remained so difficult to process, and how its hidden chemistry could be harnessed to unlock more sustainable extraction.

Despite being known for more than 300 years, chalcopyrite continues to frustrate scientists and industry alike, resisting low-temperature leaching and slowing efforts to extract copper from lower-grade ores. This inefficiency is a major bottleneck at a time when copper is critical for renewable energy systems, electric vehicles and modern infrastructure.

“Chalcopyrite is the world’s primary copper mineral, but it behaves in surprisingly complex ways that have limited how efficiently we can extract copper from it,” said study lead Professor Joël Brugger from the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment.

A stretchy, heat-activated skin patch could be a surgery-free melanoma treatment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“A Stretchable, Transparent, Photothermally Stimulated Laser-Induced Graphene Patch for Noninvasive Skin Tumor Treatment” ACS Nano

Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer that is typically removed surgically. Now, researchers publishing in ACS Nano report they have developed a potential noninvasive treatment for melanoma in the form of a stretchy, heat-activated patch similar to a bandage. When activated, the patch releases copper ions that kill the underlying cancer cells and prevent them from spreading. In tests with mice, the researchers say the patch reduced melanoma lesions without damaging surrounding tissue.

CRISPR takes a bold leap toward silencing Down syndrome’s extra chromosome

Scientists have taken an important step toward a gene therapy that could one day turn off the extra genetic material that causes Down syndrome (DS). Down syndrome is a genetic condition caused by an extra chromosome 21 (and consequently hundreds of triplicate genes) that leads to developmental and neurological issues. According to the Washington-based National Down Syndrome Society, approximately 1 in every 640 babies in the United States is born with DS. That makes it the most common chromosomal condition.

Traditional gene therapy targets one or two genes, but in this approach, scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School found a way to silence much of the extra chromosome’s activity in the cell at once.

Details of their research are published in a paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

We Can Now Simulate a Human Brain, Scientists Show

Go to https://ground.news/sabine to get 40% off the Vantage plan and see through sensationalized reporting. Stay fully informed on events around the world with Ground News.

Over the years, computer scientists have used cutting-edge processors to simulate the brains of increasingly more complex animals. They’ve already simulated worm and fruit fly brains, and are now working on mice. But according to a new paper, they’ve made a breakthrough that might allow them to simulate human brains, which contain 80 billion neurons compared to a fruit fly’s 140,000. Let’s take a look.

Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.

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