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  • Partnership Between Algae And Bacteria Reveals Secrets Of Evolution

    Partnership Between Algae And Bacteria Reveals Secrets Of Evolution

    Chain of the symbiotic diatom with its N2 fixing cyanobacterial symbiont. In the brightfield (top) the symbiont is inconspicuous inside the host, whereas with epi-fluorescence (bottom) the filaments of the symbionts (arrows) are easily distinguished. Credit Images by Dr. Vesna Grujcic.

    The microscopic alliance between algae and bacteria offers rare, step-by-step snapshots of how bacteria lose genes and adapt to increasing host dependence. This is shown by a new study led by researchers from Stockholm University, in collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Linnaeus University, published in Current Biology.

    In some of the most nutrient-poor waters of our oceans, tiny partnerships are hard at work keeping life going. These partnerships, called symbioses, are between microscopic algae known as diatoms and a specific bacteria called cyanobacteria that can take nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that living things can use.

    In some of these symbioses, the cyanobacteria belong to the genus Richelia, and their main role is to supply nitrogen to their diatom hosts. The diatom hosts are highly active photosynthesizers. Photosynthesis is the metabolic process common to all plants, algae, and some bacteria which use sunlight energy to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) into chemical energy, usually in the form of sugars.

    A continuum of integration

    How the Richelia physically interact with their diatom hosts vary widely. Some Richelia live attached to the outside of their host, others live in the space between the diatom’s outer cell wall (called a frustule) and inner cell membrane, and some live fully inside. This “continuum” of integration reflects different stages of the partnerships and provides researchers with a unique opportunity to examine the evolutionary process at these different time points of their relationship.

    “In general, as symbionts become more dependent on their hosts, they become more integrated into the host, for example, live inside the host cell, and start to lose genomic information that is redundant with their hosts,” explains co-author, Professor Rachel Foster at Stockholm University.

    Genomes in transition

    Using a comparative genomics approach, postdoctoral researcher Dr. Vesna Grujcic identified that several genomic features of the different Richelia reflect key transitional stages in the evolutionary process.

    “As Richelia become more dependent to their hosts, the set of genes they carry changes a lot. We can see which genes disappear and which stay – giving us a rare view of how these partnerships evolve step by step. Moreover, by comparing Richelia to other nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial symbionts, we found both shared patterns of gene loss and unique changes that reflect each lineage’s evolutionary path,” says Vesna Grujcic.

    “What excites me most with this research is that different steps on the way to a fully integrated symbiont exist at the same time. This allowed us to study the genetics behind how evolution towards a lifestyle characterized by complete dependence of the symbiont on its host happened,” says Daniel Lundin, from Linnaeus University.

    Grujcic led the pangenome analysis, identifying the set of genes shared by all Richelia (the core genome) as well as the accessory genes that differ between species. Together with Maliheh Mehrshad from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Grujcic also examined patterns of genome reduction, the size and distribution of spaces between genes known as intergenic spacers, and the extent of pseudogenization – when genes accumulate mutations and lose their function.

    “The level of integration between Richelia and their hosts affects not only genome size and gene content, but also the proportion of coding regions – the parts of DNA that carry instructions for making proteins. Looking at the non-coding DNA, such as the intergenic spacers and broken genes that no longer work (pseudogenes), also tells us a lot about their evolutionary journey,” says Maliheh Mehrshad.

    Coding and noncoding fractions reflect genome degradation stages in Richelia symbionts
    Genome statistics were calculated for the four Richelia genomes derived from the cultures and ten MAGs (Figure 2; Table S1; Figure S1). There is a direct correlation between genome size and GC content in the Richelia spp.: endobionts possess smaller genomes and lower GC content (3.39 Mb ± 0.34 and 34.03% ± 0.88%) compared with periplasmic symbionts (5.17 Mb ± 0.78 and 39% ± 0.07%) and the epibiont (5.98 Mb and 40%) (Figure 2A; Table S1). The number and percentage of coding sequences (CDSs) follows a similar trend where genomes of endobionts have fewer CDSs (2,038 ± 175; 56% ± 4.81%) compared with periplasmic symbionts (6,029 ± 1,548; 67% ± 1.50%) and the epibiont (4,954; 76.09%) (Figures 2B, 2C, and S1A; Table S1).

    The role of ‘jumping genes’

    Another interesting result came from the work of the researcher Theo Vigil-Stenman, a former postdoc at Stockholm University, who characterized all the insertion sequences and transposons – pieces of DNA known as “jumping genes” because they can move genetic information within the genome.

    The researchers had earlier noticed that the genome of the partially integrated symbiont which lives wedged between the outer cell wall of the diatom and the inner cell membrane, only had a slightly smaller genome than the symbiont that attaches to the outside of the host diatom and was missing similar metabolic pathways as the most internal symbiont. Typically, genome size decreases as symbionts become more integrated, or live further inside their respective hosts.

    “We didn’t understand why it could maintain this genome size despite lacking several functional metabolic pathways,” reflects Foster. ”Theo Vigil-Stenman identified that these partially integrated symbiont genomes were full of insertion sequences which inflated their genome size.”

    A model for studying evolution in action

    The research group suggest that these diatom-Richelia symbioses represent a valuable model for studying symbiont genome evolution. The work offers a unique glimpse into evolution in action, as there are few known examples of symbioses caught in transitional stages. Such comparative analysis is rare among planktonic systems and places the diatom–Richelia partnership alongside other notable models of symbiosis.

    Much remains however to learn about how living in symbioses has impacted the evolutionary trajectory of the host diatom genomes and how such models of N2 fixing symbioses can be used in other fields. For example, can such systems lend valuable insights to synthetic biology for making N2-fixing crops?

    Stepwise genome evolution from a facultative symbiont to an endosymbiont in the N2-fixing diatom-Richelia symbioses, current biology

    Astrobiology,

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  • Intravenous cangrelor provides rapid platelet inhibition in cardiogenic shock

    Intravenous cangrelor provides rapid platelet inhibition in cardiogenic shock

    Compared with crushed ticagrelor, intravenous cangrelor provided immediate, effective platelet inhibition, with no increase in major bleeding and lower mortality rates in patients with acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock, according to late-breaking research presented in a Hot Line session today at ESC Congress 2025.

    Cardiogenic shock is a life-threatening condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. It is present in around 4.6% of patients admitted to hospital for acute myocardial infarction (MI) and is associated with in-hospital mortality rates of 44%. Reperfusion using primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains the only universal therapeutic approach that improves prognosis.

    Achieving early and effective platelet inhibition is vital for reperfusion at the microcirculatory level in patients with MI complicated with cardiogenic shock. However, major randomized trials on the efficacy and safety of antiplatelet drugs have not included patients with cardiogenic shock. Currently, oral crushed ticagrelor tablets are given; however, the parenteral, direct-acting, reversible P2Y12 inhibitor, cangrelor, may address issues that occur during cardiogenic shock, including poor absorption and impaired liver metabolism. The DAPT-SHOCK-AMI trial – comparing IV cangrelor with crushed ticagrelor – is the first-ever randomized study evaluating the efficacy and safety of antiplatelet agents in this setting.”


    Principal Co-Investigator, Professor Zuzana Motovska from the Charles University and University Hospital Kralovske Vinohrady, Prague, Czechia

    This double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial was conducted at 29 sites in Czechia, France, Germany, Poland and Slovakia. Key inclusion criteria were acute MI with an indication for emergency primary PCI and cardiogenic shock that fulfilled at least two of: a) systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg in the absence of hypovolaemia, b) need for vasopressor and/or inotropic therapy and c) signs of organ hypoperfusion. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive IV cangrelor (IV bolus of 30 μg/kg followed by a continuous infusion at 4 μg/kg) or oral ticagrelor (crushed tablets at a 180-mg loading dose and then a maintenance dose of 90 mg twice daily). In the cangrelor group, 30 minutes before the end of the cangrelor infusion, 180 mg of ticagrelor (crushed tablets) was administered, followed by a maintenance dose of 90 mg twice daily. Cangrelor-placebo and ticagrelor-placebo were administered in the same form as their active counterparts. The study medication was administered to all enrolled patients on top of concomitant aspirin. In total, 605 patients were randomized. The mean age was 65 years and 22.6% were women.

    The primary laboratory endpoint (defined as platelet reactivity index <50% at the end of primary PCI) was achieved in 100% of patients with cangrelor and in 22.1% with ticagrelor (p for superiority<0.0001).

    At 30 days, the primary clinical endpoint was not met: 37.6% of patients in the cangrelor group and 41.0% of patients in the ticagrelor group experienced all-cause death, MI or stroke (difference −3.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI] −11.2% to 4.3%; p for noninferiority=0.13).

    The incidence of all-cause mortality at 12 months was 43.6% in the cangrelor group and 49.2% in the ticagrelor group (difference: −5.6%; 95% CI −13.5% to 2.4%), while the incidence of cardiovascular mortality was 26.8% and 33.2%, respectively ( −6.4%; 95% CI −13.7% to 0.9%).

    The incidence of major bleeding at 30 days was 6.4% in the cangrelor group and 5.2% in the ticagrelor group (p=0.53).

    Improvements were noted in primary PCI outcomes, periprocedural complications, early reinfarction and stent thrombosis rates with cangrelor compared with ticagrelor.

    Principal Co-Investigator, Professor Deepak Bhatt from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA, concluded: “Compared with crushed ticagrelor, IV cangrelor provided immediate, effective platelet inhibition and improved several secondary and exploratory clinical outcomes without increasing major bleeding. If verified in larger trials, IV cangrelor could represent a major advancement in the treatment of cardiogenic shock.”

    Source:

    European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

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  • The 25 Greatest of All Time

    The 25 Greatest of All Time

    In honor of Power Players week, Billboard’s Hip-Hop team celebrates the legendary hip-hop labels that molded the superstars we love.

    Clockwise, from top left: LL Cool J, Tupac, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z

    Mara Ocejo (@maraocejo)

    As Hip-Hop shaped the sound of the streets and transformed the music industry, these legendary record labels brought the genre’s vision to life and helped it dominate the world.

    The iconic labels listed below have nurtured groundbreaking talent, released countless timeless classics, and played a crucial role in shaping hip-hop’s evolution as both an art form and a movement. Without Death Row Records, there would be no Snoop Dogg; without Bad Boy, no Notorious B.I.G.; without Young Money, no Drake.

    The list goes on, but the point is clear: without the right label to steer the ship, many of the rappers we know and love might never have gained the exposure needed to reach superstardom. Before joining Aftermath, Eminem was a struggling battle rapper living in a Detroit trailer park, and Kendrick Lamar might never have risen beyond his Compton roots. The Beastie Boys wouldn’t have been the first rap group to top the Billboard 200 without Def Jam, and Wu-Tang Clan might not have redefined New York hip-hop without Loud Records. Many of the culture’s most visionary labels are just as legendary as the artists they’ve supported — their rags-to-riches stories serving as prime examples of the American Dream.

    As the Billboard staff evaluated which labels truly reign supreme, several factors were considered: the label’s longevity, its chart success, cultural impact, influence, and, of course, the number of classic albums they’ve produced. While major labels did influence a lot of these rosters’ ascents, most of the credit ultimately lies with the indies underneath them — so majors won’t be included in this list. Without further ado, here are the 25 most impactful hip-hop record labels of all time.

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  • Complete brain activity map revealed for the first time in mice – Neurology

    Complete brain activity map revealed for the first time in mice – Neurology

    The first complete activity map of the brain has been unveiled by a large international collaboration of neuroscientists including at UCLA Health. 

    The International Brain Laboratory (IBL) researchers published their findings today in two papers in Nature, revealing insights into how decision-making unfolds across the entire brain in mice at the resolution of single cells. This brain-wide activity map challenges the traditional hierarchical view of information processing in the brain and shows that decision-making is distributed across many regions in a highly coordinated way.

    “This is the first time anyone has produced a full, brain-wide map of the activity of single neurons during decision-making. The scale is unprecedented as we recorded from over half a million neurons across mice in 12 labs, covering 279 brain areas, which together represent 95% of the mouse brain volume. The decision-making activity, and particularly reward, lit up the brain like a Christmas tree,” explained Professor Alexandre Pouget, Co-Founder of IBL and Group Leader at the University of Geneva.

    Brain-wide map showing 75,000 analysed neurons lighting up during different stages of decision-making. Credit: International Brain Laboratory

    The brain map was made possible by a major international collaboration of neuroscientists from multiple universities across Europe and the US. Officially launched in 2017, IBL introduced a new model of collaboration in neuroscience that uses a standardized set of tools and data processing pipelines shared across multiple labs, ensuring data reproducibility. This visionary approach, supported by Wellcome and the Simons Foundation, draws inspiration from large-scale collaborations in physics and biology, such as CERN and the Human Genome Project.

    “We’d seen how successful large-scale collaborations in physics had been at tackling questions no single lab could answer, and we wanted to try that same approach in neuroscience. The brain is the most complex structure we know of in the universe and understanding how it drives behavior requires international collaboration on a scale that matches that complexity,” commented Professor Tom Mrsic-Flogel, Director of the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre at UCL and one of the core members of IBL.

    Researchers across 12 labs used state-of-the-art electrodes for simultaneous neural recordings, called Neuropixels probes, to measure brain activity while mice were carrying out a decision-making task. In the task, a mouse sits in front of a screen and a light appears on the left or right side. The mouse then responds by moving a small wheel in the appropriate direction to receive a reward. 

    However, in some trials, the light is so faint that the animal must guess which way to turn the wheel. The mouse uses how often the light has appeared on the left or right previously to help them make this guess. These challenging trials therefore allowed the researchers to study how prior expectations influence perception and decision-making. 

    The first paper, “A brain-wide map of neural activity during complex behaviour,” showed that decision-making signals are surprisingly distributed across the brain, not localized to specific regions. This adds to a growing number of studies that challenge the traditional hierarchical model of brain function and emphasizes that there is constant communication across brain areas during decision-making, movement onset, and even reward. This brain-wide activity means that neuroscientists will need to take a more holistic, brain-wide approach when studying complex behaviors in future.

    The second paper, “Brain-wide representations of prior information,” showed that prior expectations, our beliefs about what is likely to happen based on our recent experience, are encoded throughout the brain. Surprisingly, these expectations are not only found in cognitive areas, but also brain areas that process sensory information and control actions. For example, expectations are even encoded in early sensory areas such as the thalamus, the brain’s first relay for visual input from the eye. This supports the view that the brain acts as a prediction machine, but with expectations encoded across multiple brain structures playing a central role in guiding behavior responses. These findings could have implications for understanding conditions such as schizophrenia and autism, which are thought to be caused by differences in the way expectations are updated in the brain. 

    “The efforts of our collaboration generated fundamental insights about the brain-wide circuits that support complex cognition; this is really exciting and a major step forward relative to the “piecemeal” approach (1-2 brain areas at a time) that was previously the accepted method in the field. Moreover, our team took rigor and reproducibility very seriously. We developed an entire task force that leveraged our unique, multi-lab approach to determine the extent to which our efforts at standardization enhanced reproducibility. My hope going forward is that both our scientific discoveries and our new insights on reproducibility will have an impact in the field,” commented Dr. Anne Churchland, professor of Neurobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and one of the core members of IBL.

    “Traditionally, neuroscience has looked at brain regions in isolation. Recording the whole brain means we now have an opportunity to understand how all the pieces fit together. This was too big of a project for any one lab, and a collaboration on this scale was only possible because of the dedication and talent of our staff scientists, who are the best in the business,” commented Dr Kenneth Harris, Professor of Quantitative Neuroscience at UCL and one of the core members of IBL.

    “It’s immensely gratifying to see the IBL deliver the first brain-wide map of neural activity with such high spatial and temporal resolution. The map describes the activity of over 650,000 individual neurons with single-spike resolution. This activity underlies the brain’s sensory and motor activity that constitutes a decision. The map is a fantastic resource that is already being mined by myriad scientists, and yielding unexpected discoveries. It’s a great success for team science and open science,” commented Dr Matteo Carandini, Professor of Visual Neuroscience at UCL and one of the core members of IBL.

    Looking ahead, the team at IBL plan to expand beyond their initial focus on decision-making to explore a broader range of neuroscience questions. With renewed funding in hand, IBL aims to expand its research scope and continue to support large-scale, standardized experiments. As per the IBL model, it will continue to share its tools, data pipelines and platforms with the global scientific community to democratize and accelerate science and enhance data reproducibility.

    “The brain-wide map is undoubtedly an impressive achievement, but it marks a beginning, not the grand finale. The IBL has shown how a global team of scientists can unite, pushing each other beyond comfort zones into uncharted territories no single lab could reach alone. For me, working within the IBL meant constantly confronting the limits of my own knowledge while learning from the extraordinary expertise of colleagues. The IBL has set the highest standards for sharing high-quality data, tools, and resources to accelerate scientific progress. Now, the next horizon is to extend this collective expertise to the entire community. We envision diverse groups of scientists joining IBL to pursue their own projects, leveraging the unique expertise of the IBL staff and benefiting from the open exchange of data and ideas that only large-scale collaboration can offer,” commented Tatiana Engel, Associate Professor at Princeton University and one of the core members of IBL.

    All data from these studies, along with detailed specifications of the tools and protocols used for data collection, are openly accessible to the neuroscience community for further analysis and research. Summaries of these resources can be viewed and downloaded on the IBL website under the sections: Data, Tools, Protocols. 

    This research was supported by grants from Wellcome (209558 and 216324), the Simons Foundation, The National Institutes of Health (NIH U19NS12371601), the National Science Foundation (NSF 1707398), the Gatsby Charitable Foundation (GAT3708), and by the Max Planck Society and the Humboldt Foundation.

    Source:

    Read the full papers in Nature: 

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  • Man of Tomorrow Movie Set as Superman Followup for 2027

    Man of Tomorrow Movie Set as Superman Followup for 2027

    James Gunn has unveiled his next project in his Superman Saga. Man of Tomorrow will be in theaters July 9, 2027, the filmmaker revealed on Instagram.

    The announcement was accompanied by a drawing by DC head Jim Lee featuring Lex Luthor in a green and purple mech suit with Superman leaning against him, a slight smile on his face as he holds a screwdriver. Luthor’s armored suit, designed to battle Superman, has been seen for decades in the comics and in animation, but never in live-action.

    Gunn has been teasing this new feature for weeks, saying that his next project won’t be a direct sequel to Superman, but will feature characters audiences already know from his summer hit.

    “I’ve already finished the treatment for the next story in what I’ll call the ‘Superman Saga,’” Gunn told The Hollywood Reporter last month at the premiere for his TV show Peacemaker. “I’m working on that and hopefully going into production on that not too far away from today.”

    It’s unclear what the story will be, but there was a Superman: Man of Tomorrow animated movie in 2020 that was based on a 2003 mini-series titled Superman: Birthright that was a modernization of the Superman origin story.

    Coming up, DC Studios has filmmaker Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl due out June 26, 2026, with James Watkins’ horror title Clayface slated for Sept. 11, 2026.

    Gunn is coming off of Superman, which earned strong reviews and introduced a slew of new characters to populate the DC Universe, not just Superman (David Corenswet), Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) but heroes such as Guy Gardner (Nathon Fillion), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced).

    With $611.6 million globally, Superman stands as the top grossing comic book movie of the year, but the sum also reflects the more challenging theatrical landscape when it comes to superheroes, particularly internationally. (In 2013, Zack Snyder Superman feature Man of Steel topped $670 million globally.)

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  • Hot mic catches Xi and Putin discussing organ transplants and immortality

    Hot mic catches Xi and Putin discussing organ transplants and immortality

    Watch: Xi and Putin overheard discussing organ transplants and living to 150-years-old

    Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been overheard discussing organ transplants as a means of prolonging life on the sidelines of a military parade in Beijing.

    Putin suggested even eternal life could be achievable as a result of innovations in biotechnology, according to a translation of remarks caught on a hot mic.

    The unguarded moment was captured on a livestream carried by Chinese state TV as the two leaders and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un walked together through China’s historic Tiananmen Square.

    Xi and Putin have been in power for 13 and 25 years respectively. Neither has expressed any intention of stepping down.

    Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the North Korean and Russian leaders, China’s president used his Victory Day spectacle to project an alternate vision for the future of the world order.

    However their private conversation suggests their sights extend beyond the economic and political.

    The exchange was relayed by a Mandarin translator for Putin and a Russian translator for Xi, and has been translated into English by the BBC.

    “In the past, it used to be rare for someone to be older than 70 and these days they say that at 70 one’s still a child,” Xi’s translator could be heard saying in Russian.

    An inaudible passage from Putin follows. His Mandarin translator then added: “With the development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, and people can live younger and younger, and even achieve immortality.”

    Xi’s translator then said: “Predictions are, this century, there’s a chance of also living to 150 [years old].”

    Putin reportedly reprised his remarks later while speaking to Russian media.

    Russian state news agency Tass quoted him as saying: “Modern recovery methods, medical methods, even surgical ones dealing with the replacement of organs, enable humanity to hope for active life to last longer than it does today.

    “Average age is different in different countries but life expectancy will increase significantly”.

    Xi said the world faced a choice between peace and war as China unveiled a huge arsenal of weapons – including nuclear missiles with a global reach – to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

    Wednesday’s parade marked the first time that the Chinese, Russian and North Korean leaders had appeared together publicly, viewed by some observers as a message to the Western nations that have shunned them.

    Putin and Kim joined 24 other dignitaries at the parade, including Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif, Vietnam’s Luong Cuong and Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa.

    China has sought to position itself as a possible counterweight to the US since the imposition of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

    On Wednesday, the US president accused Xi of conspiring against the US with the leaders of Russia and North Korea.

    In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the United States of America.”

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  • Home-based hypertension care improves blood pressure control in rural South Africa

    Home-based hypertension care improves blood pressure control in rural South Africa

    Home-based hypertension care led to reductions in systolic blood pressure and improvements in hypertension control in South Africa, according to late-breaking research presented in a Hot Line session today at ESC Congress 2025 and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

    Hypertension is the primary risk factor for stroke and heart disease, which are leading causes of death in South Africa. Despite the wide availability of low-cost, effective therapies, hypertension control remains extremely poor in resource-limited settings. Obstacles include a lack of patient confidence to manage their own hypertension care, overcrowded clinics with long wait times and the cost of transport to clinics. Our trial aimed to assess the effectiveness and implementation of reliable, home-based, technology-supported interventions to improve blood pressure control in low-resourced rural South Africa.”


    Doctor Thomas Gaziano, IMPACT-BP trial’s Co-Principal Investigator, Mass General Brigham (MGB) and Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

    IMPACT-BP was an open-label, randomized controlled trial conducted at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in which patients were recruited from two public-sector primary healthcare clinics. The implementation study was designed with Co-Principal Investigator, Doctor Mark Siedner of AHRI and MGH, Professor Nombulelo Magula of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Department of Health.

    Adult patients were eligible if they had evidence of uncontrolled hypertension as defined by South African Department of Health Guidelines: two measurements of systolic blood pressure (SBP) >140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP (DBP) >90 mmHg, taken a minimum of 6 months apart.

    Patients were randomized to one of three strategies: 1) standard-of-care, clinic-based blood pressure (BP) management; 2) home-based BP self-monitoring supported by the provision of BP machines, community health workers (CHWs) who conducted home visits for data collection and medication delivery, and remote nurse-led care assisted by a mobile application with decision support; or 3) an enhanced CHW group in which BP machines included cellular technology to transmit BP readings automatically to the mobile application. The primary outcome was change in SBP from enrolment to 6 months.

    In total, 774 patients were randomized. The mean age was 62 years, 76% were women, 14% had diabetes and 47% were living with HIV.

    Compared with standard-of-care, mean SBP at 6 months was lower in the CHW group (−7.9 mmHg; 95% confidence interval [CI] −10.5 to −5.3; p<0.001) and the enhanced CHW group (−9.1 mmHg; 95% CI −11.7 to −6.4; p<0.001). In the standard-of-care group, hypertension control at 6 months was 57.6% compared with 76.9% in the CHW group and 82.8% in the enhanced CHW group. Improved BP with home-based care appeared to persist at 12 months.

    Severe adverse events (2.7%) and deaths (1.0%) were uncommon overall and similar across groups. Retention in care remained more than 95% in both intervention groups, with patients reported to have enjoyed managing their own hypertension.

    Summarising, Doctor Siedner said, “This study is an important example of how making models of chronic disease care more convenient – taking it from the clinic to patients’ homes and letting them play a major role in their own care – can substantially improve hypertension outcomes.”

    Of particular value was that the programme was successful in a community that has historically had low access to care. Professor Magula concluded: “Achieving hypertension control in over 80% of people in a predominantly Black African community in rural South Africa is a clear example that equitable health care access can be achieved in disadvantaged communities. Similar models of care that address structural barriers could be considered to improve hypertension control in other remote and resource-limited settings. Expansion of the model to include the care of people with multiple comorbidities may also be valuable.”

    Source:

    European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

    Journal reference:

    Siedner, M. J., et al. (2025). Home-Based Care for Hypertension in Rural South Africa. New England Journal of Medicine. doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2509958

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  • ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Opens July 2027

    ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Opens July 2027

    David Corenswet will dust off his red trunks soon, as a sequel to James Gunn‘s summer hit “Superman” will fly into theaters in less than two years.

    Director and DC Films co-head James Gunn took to social media on Wednesday to announce an official title and release date for the project. “Superman: Man of Tomorrow” will hit theaters on July 9, 2027.

    In his announcement, Gunn included a comic book image of Superman standing next to Lex Luthor in his Warsuit, a pretty clear signal that the sequel will continue to focus on Luthor’s antipathy for the Man of Steel. In the DC comics, Luthor (played by Nicholas Hoult in the film) creates the suit in order match Superman’s strength and abilities; it seems that after the failure of his plan to use a clone of Superman to defeat him in Gunn’s first film, Luthor has decided that he needs to cut out the middle man and get the job done himself.

    In August, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav personally announced that Gunn would return to write and direct the follow-up to the character’s full-stop creative reboot. The film earned more than $611 million at the worldwide box office this summer, making it the highest-grossing superhero film of the year.

    “Man of Tomorrow” will follow the 2026 releases of the outer space-set “Supergirl” (directed by Craig Gillespie, written by Ana Mogueira and starring Milly Alcock) and the body horror film “Clayface” (directed by James Watkins, written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini and starring Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie). The accelerated schedule also means the “Superman” sequel will debut before Matt Reeves’ “The Batman Part II,” which is currently slated to open on Oct. 1, 2027.

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  • From 370 Million Miles Away, NASA Heats Up a Spacecraft’s Camera to Fix It

    From 370 Million Miles Away, NASA Heats Up a Spacecraft’s Camera to Fix It

    How do you revive an unreliable camera aboard a spacecraft 370 million miles from Earth? Give it the equivalent of a swift whack — or what NASA calls a “thermal kick.”

    This remote-controlled procedure was performed on the Juno spacecraft’s JunoCam before it made a critical flyby of Jupiter’s volcanic moon, Io.

    Jupiter’s Hellish Radiation Belts

    Jupiter is surrounded by one of the most intense radiation belts in the universe. Spacecraft like Juno, which has been orbiting the gas giant since 2016, are constantly bombarded by energetic particles that can fry even the most radiation-hardened electronics.

    Fortunately, NASA equipped Juno’s critical systems with a protective titanium radiation vault — save for one key instrument outside this shielding, the JunoCam.

    A New Tool in NASA’s Toolbox

    The camera was expected to survive eight orbits, but it managed to hold on for over 45 orbits before showing signs of degradation. By orbit 56, its images were corrupted by streaks and noise, courtesy of a radiation-fried voltage regulator.

    Due to the probe’s distance from Earth, traditional repair was out of the question. Instead, NASA’s engineers came up with an unconventional solution widely used in metallurgy: annealing. NASA first commanded JunoCam’s heater to raise its temperature to 77°F and then to the max. What followed was a waiting game.

    “On-the-Fly” Deep Space Repairs

    The gamble eventually paid off, with the JunoCam sending factory-fresh images of Io’s towering sulfur dioxide-coated mountains and active volcanic fields, proving that even delicate, radiation-damaged components can be resurrected through remote-controlled annealing.

    As Juno’s principal investigator, Scott Bolton, puts it, thermal annealing has given them a new tool in their toolbox. It could extend the lifespan of billion-dollar interplanetary missions as well as safeguard military and commercial satellites in Earth orbit.

    Image credit: Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock

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  • IndyCar star Colton Herta signed to Cadillac Formula 1 Team as test driver

    IndyCar star Colton Herta signed to Cadillac Formula 1 Team as test driver

    Hot on the heels of the announcement of their driver line-up of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez for 2026, Cadillac have revealed that IndyCar racer Colton Herta will fulfil the role of test driver at the team.

    American driver Herta, whose name had been spoken of in relation to a seat at Cadillac before the Bottas/Perez line-up announcement came on August 26, was the youngest ever IndyCar winner back in 2019, and has nine victories and 16 pole positions to his name from his 116 career starts in the series.

    Reflecting on the announcement, 25-year-old Herta – son of former IndyCar and ChampCar racer Bryan Herta – said: “This is a dream opportunity, and one I’ve been working towards for a long time. To be part of Cadillac F1’s entry at such a pivotal time is something I couldn’t pass up.

    “My dream has always been to race in Formula 1, and I see this move as a huge step towards that goal. For now, my focus is on giving everything I can to Cadillac F1, helping build a competitive team.”

    Cadillac’s Team Principal Graeme Lowdon, meanwhile, added: “Colton is an exceptionally talented racer with proven speed, race craft, and maturity well beyond his years. His experience in top-level American motorsport as part of the TWG Motorsport family makes him an ideal fit for this role, and he will bring valuable and fresh insight, perspective, and energy to our team as we continue to build for the future.

    “Having an American driver join an American Formula 1 team is a hugely significant moment, not only for our team, but for American motorsport as a whole.

    “Colton represents the passion, ambition, and competitive spirit that define the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, and we are proud to have him carry the American flag with us on the world stage.”

    Herta has previous F1 experience, having tested a 2021-spec McLaren MCL35M at Portimao back in 2022 – with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown saying at the time: “We’re very serious about anyone we put in our Formula 1 car… The first gate to get through is: do we think this driver is World Champion, Grand Prix-winning capable? And if the answer to that is yes, then we continue to proceed.”

    Meanwhile, the move will mark a return to European racing for Herta, who competed on the continent from 2015-16, including time as Lando Norris’ team mate in the 2015 MSA Formula Championship, before returning Stateside.

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