Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Researchers at Heidelberg University have identified a toxic protein pairing that acts as a "death switch" driving Alzheimer's disease, and successfully used a compound to disrupt this mechanism in mice, slowing disease progression, protecting brain cells, and reducing amyloid buildup.^[1]

Using global cancer incidence data from 185 countries, a new study published in Nature Medicine shows that four in ten cancers worldwide are attributable to modifiable risk factors, highlighting substantial opportunities for prevention through targeted population-level interventions.^[2]

President Trump announced a five-day postponement of threatened strikes on Iran's power infrastructure, citing ongoing talks with Tehran, though Iran's Foreign Ministry denied any direct negotiations were taking place.^[3]

Scientists at VIB and KU Leuven have uncovered exactly how the Alzheimer's drug lecanemab (Leqembi) works, discovering that a specific part of the antibody called the Fc fragment activates the brain's immune cells to clear toxic amyloid plaques.^[4]

A researcher at Anglia Ruskin University has identified seven new species of frog-like leafhoppers in Uganda's Kibale National Park—the first new African species of this insect group recorded since 1981.^[5]

The EU has confirmed itself as Ukraine's main source of support four years into Russia's full-scale invasion, with a €90 billion loan voted through in February 2026 as the Trump administration has pulled back.^[6]

Scientists have uncovered more than 2.3 million ancient regulatory DNA sequences in plants—genetic "switches" that control when and how genes are activated—that have persisted for more than 400 million years across plant evolution.^[7]