There has been increased focus on concussion since a group of former players launched legal action against rugby authorities, claiming they were not sufficiently protected from and informed about potential brain injuries.
Barclay said he played in the 2017 autumn internationals, unsure whether he had fully recovered from a concussion suffered six weeks before on club duty for Scarlets.
“The autumn Tests were coming up and I thought I felt alright, but I wasn’t sure,” he said.
“I thought I probably was but, looking back, should I have played? Possibly. Probably not.
“But as someone who’s had a history of concussions, Garry Ringrose realises how serious it is. It’s massive, an incredibly selfless decision.”
Ringrose’s withdrawal means the Lions line up with Ireland’s Bundee Aki inside Jones, a midfield combination that has started only once together in the eight matches played by the 2025 Lions.
However, with rain forecast for Melbourne on Saturday, Monye said brute power may be more important that intricate patterns of play.
“Saturday’s not the day for multi-phases and pressure through attack,” he said.
“If it is hammering down with rain, I think that works as an equaliser.
“If you are worried about cohesion and this and that, it’s not going to be that type of game.
“I think it’s going to be probably five or six phases and then get rid of the ball – that type of game.”
Owen Farrell, who was called up to the tour as a replacement for the injured Elliot Daly and played 80 minutes at inside centre against the First Nations and Pasifika XV, is covering midfield on the bench.
The 33-year-old four-time tourist is noted for his distribution and defence, but lacks the gainline power of Aki or Sione Tuipulotu.
“You can try and rank the potential centre partnerships but, with Aki and Jones, we have two really, really good players together,” said Monye.
“My only hesitation is what that centre partnership looks in the final 30 minutes. Is it going to be Aki and Farrell? Is it going to be Farrell and Jones?
“That is going to be a change.”
Barclay said: “The 12s they have picked for this tour – Aki and Sione Tuipulotu – play completely differently to Owen Farrell.
“If you put Farrell in there the game plan has to change slightly.”
Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who had a family history of psoriatic disease were diagnosed with psoriasis and PsA earlier and showed more entheseal involvement than those without such family history.
METHODOLOGY:
Researchers enrolled 843 patients with PsA (mean age, 50.8 years; 50.6% men; 76.4% White individuals) from the New York University (NYU) Psoriatic Arthritis Center and associated clinics in an observational, longitudinal registry to study familial aggregation and differences in disease onset and phenotype.
They collected data on demographics, medical and family history, and psoriatic phenotype and activity.
Patients were categorized on the basis of family history, with 379 participants having one or more first-degree or second-degree relatives with psoriatic disease (301 had relatives with psoriasis and 78 had relatives with PsA) and 464 having no history.
Disease measures included the age at which psoriasis and PsA were diagnosed, types and locations of psoriasis, and areas affected by PsA.
TAKEAWAY:
Patients with a family history of psoriatic disease were diagnosed with psoriasis and PsA earlier than those without (mean age, 27.6 vs 32.2 years and 37.6 vs 40.3 years, respectively; P < .01 for both).
Patients with first-degree or second-degree relatives with PsA were diagnosed with psoriasis and PsA earlier than those with relatives with psoriasis alone or no family history (P < .01 and P = .01, respectively).
Patients with a family history of psoriatic disease were more likely to have a history of enthesitis than those without (36.7% vs 30.0%; P < .05) and active enthesitis at baseline (30.1% vs 21.6 %; P < .01).
The transition time between the diagnosis of psoriasis and PsA was longer among patients with two or more first-degree or second-degree relatives than among those with only one relative or those with no family history (mean time to diagnosis, 14.1 vs 8.0 vs 8.8 years; P < .01).
IN PRACTICE:
“Additional studies integrating molecular and immune features are needed to elucidate how genetic, environmental, and epigenetic elements influence the progression from psoriasis to PsA, as well as PsA’s clinical presentation, severity, and therapeutic response,” the authors of the study wrote.
SOURCE:
The study was led by Catherine Howe, MD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York City. It was published online on July 14, 2025, in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
LIMITATIONS:
The study relied on patient-reported data for age of diagnosis and family history, which may introduce potential recall bias and underdiagnosis of mild cases. Having a family history may not equate to genetic burden. The lack of a uniform baseline visit for all patients with PsA may affect the assessment of disease activity.
DISCLOSURES:
This study was funded by grants to authors from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the NYU Colton Center for Autoimmunity, the Rheumatology Research Foundation, the National Psoriasis Foundation, and other sources. Two authors reported receiving support from an Institutional National Research Service Award and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Some authors reported receiving consulting fees from or serving on advisory boards for pharmaceutical companies that market drugs for psoriatic disease.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
It looks like Pakistan are set to be involved in another tri-series next year with Australia and potentially Bangladesh, scheduled for February 2026.
The series is likely to be played ahead of the T20 World Cup, a source within the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed.
Cricket Australia has a longstanding tradition of touring the subcontinent ahead of major ICC events to acclimatise properly. In 2021, Australia toured Bangladesh for a five-match T20I series and, similarly, played a Test and ODI series in Sri Lanka to prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year.
With India and Sri Lanka scheduled to host the mega event in February–March, Australia are set to play three T20Is against Pakistan. However, discussions are underway to convert the bilateral series into a tri-nation competition.
Read More: Bangladesh take second T20I for first series win over Pakistan
A BCB official confirmed that, at this stage, no formal proposal has been tabled by the Pakistan Cricket Board, but informal conversations have taken place on the sidelines of the ongoing Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Dhaka.
According to local media, the PCB is eager to include Bangladesh in the series following improved bilateral relations between the two boards.
It is expected that PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi will formally discuss the tri-nation proposal with BCB counterpart Aminul Islam Bulbul on the sidelines of the ACC meeting. Naqvi, who is also the ACC President, is currently in Dhaka for the ACC Annual General Meeting scheduled for July 24–25.
If finalised, the series would feature seven matches, with each team playing the other two sides twice, followed by a final between the top two.
Meanwhile, a similar initiative is in motion involving Pakistan’s scheduled T20I series against Afghanistan. On July 5, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) Chairman Mirwais Ashraf confirmed that talks are underway to transform the series into a tri-nation tournament, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the third team and host.
Also Read: Faheem slams Mirpur pitch
The ACB chief further stated that the proposed tri-nation series will serve as a vital opportunity for their men’s cricket team to prepare for the ACC Men’s Asia Cup, scheduled for later this year.
If you have ever spotted faces or human-like expressions in everyday objects, you may have experienced the phenomenon of face pareidolia. Now, a new study by the University of Surrey has looked into how this phenomenon grabs our attention, which could be used by advertisers in promoting future products.
The study, published in i-Perception, investigated the differences between our attention being directed by averted gazes – when a subject looks away from another subject’s eyes or face – and when it’s directed by pareidolia – imagined face-like objects.
The researchers conducted four “gaze cueing task” experiments with a total of 54 participants, to measure how our attention is influenced by the direction of another subject’s gaze. They found that participants consistently shifted their attention in response to the appearance of both averted gazes and pareidolia.
However, the underlying mechanisms through which attention is drawn are quite different. While we are primarily drawn to the eye region of averted gazes, we are drawn to pareidolia’s holistic structure of their “faces,” and as a result, experienced a stronger response and attention.
Dr Di Fu, Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Surrey, said:
“Our research shows that both averted gazes from real faces and perceived faces in objects can direct where we look, but they do so through different pathways. We process real faces through focusing on specific features, like the direction of the eyes. However, with face-like objects, we process their overall structure and where their “eye-like features” are positioned, resulting in a stronger attention response.”
The findings of the study may have implications that go beyond a better understanding of how our brain processes information. Dr Fu adds:
“Our findings may have practical implications too, particularly in areas like product advertising. Advertisers could potentially incorporate face-like arrangements with prominent eye-like elements into their designs, increasing consumer attention and leaving a more memorable impression of their products.”
Twelve workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been sentenced to six months in prison by two separate courts in Islamabad for staging a protest on November 26 without official permission.
The convictions came in three separate cases registered under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order (PAPO) Act—two at Ramna Police Station and one at Tarnol Police Station. Judicial Magistrate Ahmed Shehzad Gondal issued verdicts in the two Ramna cases, while Judicial Magistrate Mureed Abbas ruled on the Tarnol matter.
Out of 13 accused, one individual was acquitted, while the remaining 12 were found guilty of participating in an unlawful assembly.
The courts ruled that the demonstration lacked prior approval, constituting a breach of public order regulations. The prosecution, led by Special Public Prosecutor Muhammad Usman Rana, argued that the protest did not qualify as a peaceful or constitutionally protected gathering.
Rana asserted that the demonstration sought to exert unconstitutional pressure on the government, justifying state intervention to preserve public order. He emphasized that while peaceful protest is a right, it is subject to legal boundaries under national and international frameworks such as the Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
“When the law is violated,” the prosecutor stated, “there must be consequences.”
A landmark contribution to the field of diplomacy, “The Currency of Influence: Economic Diplomacy and Public Perception through Public Diplomacy,” authored by Ambassador (Retd) Dr. Ahmed Ali Sirohey, was officially launched at the Secretariat of OIC-COMSTECH here on Thursday.
Published by AISI Publications in 2024, the book offers a profound exploration of the evolving dynamics of public and economic diplomacy, blending theoretical insight with real-world experience—particularly drawn from Dr. Sirohey’s tenure as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Niger, said a press release.
The launch ceremony was attended by an esteemed audience of diplomats, civil society leaders, academics, and COMSTECH officials, underscoring the relevance of diplomacy in shaping Pakistan’s global image.
Spanning 23 chapters, The Currency of Influence highlights the role of soft power, cultural understanding, patience, and public engagement as critical instruments in modern international relations. From diplomatic strategies to field case studies, the book is a rich resource for scholars, policymakers, and students of international affairs.
The book included a foreword by former Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, enhancing its academic value. Already, it has been described as a “masterpiece of modern diplomatic thought” in both academic and diplomatic circles.
Prof. Dr M. Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator General of COMSTECH, lauded Dr. Sirohey’s contribution to diplomacy, praising his service in Africa and his efforts to elevate Pakistan’s international presence. He emphasized the importance of intellectual contributions like this in projecting a positive national narrative.
Currently serving as Director General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ahmed Ali Sirohey shared personal insights during the event and reflected on the importance of science diplomacy and knowledge-sharing among OIC member states, especially the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa.
He also expressed gratitude to COMSTECH for advancing policy-oriented platforms that encourage innovation and strategic dialogue in diplomacy.
With The Currency of Influence, Dr. Ahmed Ali Sirohey provides a compelling blueprint for understanding how influence, narrative, and strategic engagement shape today’s global diplomatic landscape. This work is a timely and essential read for practitioners and students alike.
An international collaboration between world leaders in Huntington’s disease (HD) that spans both academia and pharmaceutical companies is giving us new insight into how HD progresses. This study has given researchers a detailed timeline of how brain connectivity changes in HD. Using an advanced technique called MIND, researchers traced how brain communication networks shift over decades, from a chaotic overdrive to widespread breakdown. They found that these shifts aren’t random, they’re shaped by disease stage-specific changes that unfold in a dynamic, evolving way. Picture the brain as an orchestra, desperately trying to keep the music going, only to fall out of sync as the HD progresses.
Act I: The Brain’s Opening Crescendo – Hyperconnectivity
In the earliest stages of HD, years, even decades before symptoms arise, the brain isn’t going quiet. In fact, it’s playing louder. A new study used a large collection of data from the observational studies TRACK-HD, TrackOn-HD, and the HD Young Adult Study (YAS). These studies aren’t testing a drug, but are rather designed to follow people with HD as they naturally live and age. They have followed hundreds of people without and with HD for many years, spanning people aged 18 to 65 in all stages of HD. This is a huge dataset!
A major finding of this study is that hyperconnectivity, a state where brain regions are over-communicating, is one of the first detectable features of HD. It can emerge more than 20 years before motor symptoms begin, sometimes even in childhood.
You might expect that a brain with HD would steadily lose function over time. But that’s not what this research showed. Instead, the early HD brain looks like an orchestra where multiple sections begin to play too loudly, as if trying to compensate for someone in their section who was a no show. This might be the brain’s attempt to maintain performance despite early, subtle losses in some neurons.
However, just like an orchestra playing too loudly and out of sync, this early overactivity isn’t necessarily healthy. It was linked to changes in neurofilament light (NfL) levels, a marker that tracks with brain health and nerve cell breakdown and can be measured in blood or brain fluid. So while the early hyperconnectivity might reflect compensation, it’s also a sign of stress, suggesting the brain might be straining to keep the music going.
Early in Huntington’s disease, even before someone starts to show outward symptoms, brain connections go into hyperdrive. Similar to someone singing out of key or playing too loudly in a band or orchestra, this can throw off the rest of the music. Andrea Piacquadio
Act II: The Middle Movement – When the Conductor Walks Out
As HD progresses toward the late pre-manifest stage, a sharp transition appears to occur. That initial hyperactivity doesn’t seem to last. The overactive brain networks begin to falter, and the orchestra loses its timing. This is the point in the concert where the conductor might walk offstage, leaving the musicians to drift out of sync.
The study found that in this mid-stage of HD, a new mechanism kicks in: trans-neuronal spread. This is the idea that the disease-causing HD protein might propagate from one brain region to another along neural connections, almost like a bad note spreading from section to section. The brain’s communication network becomes a route for the disease to move and intensify.
Interestingly, researchers identified specific “epicenter” regions of the brain that seemed to play a role in this trans-neuronal spread only in this mid-stage. It’s as if the disease chooses a few critical players in the orchestra to sabotage the rest. But this is a limited window; the epicenter-driven spread fades as the disease continues, reinforcing the idea that HD progresses in distinct stages.
Using an advanced technique called MIND, researchers traced how brain communication networks shift over decades, from a chaotic overdrive to widespread breakdown.
Act III: The Finale in Dissonance – Hypoconnectivity and Breakdown
By the time someone reaches the stage of HD where symptoms are outwardly visible, the music has largely fallen apart. The orchestra is no longer too loud, instead it’s eerily quiet. The study revealed widespread hypoconnectivity, a dramatic reduction in communication across the brain’s major networks. This was observed in 48 out of 68 brain regions, suggesting a systemic breakdown.
The instruments, or more precisely, the brain’s long-range brain cell connections, appeared to no longer be functioning. Think of the violins missing half their strings, the wind section gasping for air, the percussion fading into silence. This breakdown strongly correlates with high levels of NfL, indicating extensive damage to the brain’s wiring.
Yet even here, a few sections persist. The occipital cortex, responsible for visual processing, showed some pockets of increased activity. Unlike the rest of the brain, these changes didn’t correlate with NfL, raising the possibility of resilience or compensation. Maybe a few musicians are still trying to play, even after the rest of the orchestra has gone silent.
Chemical signaling in the brain changes as Huntington’s disease progresses. Even before outward symptoms appear, there seem to be changes in neurotransmitters that help with memory and mood, giving way to altered impulse control, tracking with what we know about how HD affects people who live with this disease. ROMAN ODINTSOV
Behind the Music: The Cellular Players and Their Shifting Roles
So what drives this shifting performance? The study points to a fascinating interplay between different biological mechanisms that dominate at different stages. Early on, the disruptions are primarily driven by toxic processes within individual neurons. It’s like certain musicians playing the wrong notes, regardless of what the conductor says.
These early-stage disruptions were closely linked to neurotransmitter systems, the brain’s chemical messengers. The study suggested changes in specific systems particularly involved in the brain’s initial hyperconnectivity. These neurotransmitters play crucial roles in learning, memory, mood, and adaptation, suggesting that the brain’s most flexible systems may be first to respond, and first to fail.
As the disease progressed, these players also changed. Neurotransmitters that regulate pain, mood, and reward seemed to be affected in early pre-HD. And in late pre-HD, systems around mood regulation and impulse control seemed to be affected. These findings match with what we know about some of the earliest changes people with HD start to experience.
In the mid- and late stages, the dominant mechanisms seemed to shift toward genetic disruptions and mitochondrial dysfunction, more systemic issues that impair cellular function across the board. The music becomes not just off, but increasingly impossible to play.
What makes this study so valuable is the large collection of data used from 3 observational studies (TRACK-HD, TrackOn-HD, and HD-YAS), providing a layered and time-sensitive understanding.
A Stage-Specific Symphony of Decline
What makes this study so valuable is the large collection of data used from 3 observational studies (TRACK-HD, TrackOn-HD, and HD-YAS), providing a layered and time-sensitive understanding. So while clinic visits for these observational studies can be laborious, each blood draw, clinical assessment, and research visit provides incredibly valuable information that scientists are putting to good use to better understand HD. It’s time very well spent!
From this work, we’re learning that HD is not a simple, straight-line descent, it’s a multi-act drama with distinct biological players, turning points, and feedback loops. The research suggests that each stage of HD is defined by different mechanisms, from neurotransmitter disruption to cellular communication spread to full-scale network collapse.
It also shows that these changes are trackable over time, with brain imaging and blood-based biomarkers like NfL helping pinpoint when things go wrong. That means future treatments might not just focus on slowing decline, but on targeting the right process at the right time, catching the brain when it’s still trying to play, even if off-key.
TL;DR: The Big Takeaways
Early HD isn’t quiet, it’s loud. Hyperconnectivity (over activation) appears decades before symptoms, likely as a mix of compensation and early damage.
The brain acts like an orchestra, first overplaying to seemingly compensate, then falling apart as coordination fails.
Disease progression is stage-specific. Early on, issues within cells seem to dominate; later, disease spread and systemic breakdown appear to take over.
Different neurotransmitters seem to play key roles at each stage, with what appears to be distinct impacts on brain connectivity.
NfL levels track with connectivity loss, making it a useful marker for identifying when the music begins to falter.
This model opens the door to earlier, more precise interventions, targeting specific processes before full-blown symptoms appear.
Learn More
Original research article, “Cell-specific mechanisms drive connectivity across the time course of Huntington’s disease” (open access).
The ITA reports that handball player Daniel Morisholombe has been sanctioned with a two-year period of ineligibility for an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under Article 2.1 and/or Article 2.2 of the IHF anti-doping rules (IHF ADR).
The player provided two samples on 15 and 22 March 2024 during two in-competition anti-doping controls conducted during the 13th African Games held in Accra, Ghana, between 8 and 23 March 2024¹. After analysis by a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratory, the samples returned two adverse analytical findings² for caboxy-THC.
Carboxy-THC is prohibited under the WADA Prohibited List as S8. Cannabinoids. It is prohibited in-competition only and is classified as a specified substance. Carboxy-THC may be considered as a substance of abuse under specific circumstances³ and it may improve muscle relaxation and reduce anxiety.
The player did not challenge his ADRV. Pursuant to Article 8.3.3 of the IHF ADR, the ITA issued a sanctioning decision⁴ imposing the applicable consequences, namely a period of ineligibility of two years from 9 July 2025 until 8 July 2027 and the disqualification of his individual competitive results from 15 March 2024 onwards.
The decision is subject to appeal before the appeals division of CAS in accordance with article 13.2.3 of the IHF ADR.
Ledecky, for her part, also has high praise for her training partner – even if she took the opportunity to get in a barb or two.
“Bobby swam his 800 much better than his 1500,” she said. “I think both of our 1500s were not quite what we wanted, but the 800s were good. Bobby looked good out there today – his freestyle was good today. And obviously, coming off the IM… Bobby had a few more rest days than I did. So he’s been slacking.”
“I’m getting old,” Finke replied. “I need my days off.”
In Singapore for the World Aquatics Championships, Finke, 25, and Ledecky, 28, know what to expect. That’s helping them embrace the moment without getting too far ahead of themselves.
“When I take the blocks, I always expect a challenge,” said Finke. “I don’t like going in expecting anything. I think that helps me a lot – it kind of lowers my expectations, and if I am pretty far ahead, I get a motivation boost and it helps me finish the rest of the race. It’s a lot of fun racing [international competitors] – they always bring the best out of me.”
They’re also embracing their roles as the veteran leaders of the U.S. squad, which combines seasoned returners and newcomers.
“I think we have a great group,” said Ledecky. “On the women’s side, it’s a very experienced group… and I know on the men’s side we’ve got a lot of newcomers as well. So it’ll be a lot of good energy.”
Finke echoed that sentiment: “We do have a lot of young faces and I think that’s a really good thing, a really positive thing for the rest of the quad. Going into L.A. is going to be very exciting, especially on home soil.”
He paused before adding, “It is weird that I am definitely one of the older ones on the team now.”
Still, if Ledecky has anything to say about it, this duo is far from done making history together in the pool.
“He talks about retirement every single week,” Ledecky said, seizing on a mention of LA28. “I love it when he starts talking about L.A., because I’m like, all right, I see you. I caught you. You’re going.”
