Sunday, November 16, 2025

BIG Wrap

Studies underscore damaging effects of vaping and smoking on blood vessels

Long-term use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), or vaping, can significantly impair the function of the body's blood vessels, increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease. Additionally, the use of both e-cigs and regular cigarettes may cause an even greater risk than the use of either of these products alone. These findings come from two new studies supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The findings,...

Research supports alternative theory of gravity

(University of Bonn)  –  An international team of astrophysicists has made a puzzling discovery while analysing certain star clusters. The finding challenges Newton's laws of gravity, the researchers write in their publication. The observations are consistent with the predictions of an alternative theory of gravity. However, this is controversial among experts. The results have now been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. In their work, the researchers investigated open star clusters. These are...

‘World’s dirtiest man’ dies at age 94

A hermit dubbed by media as "the world's dirtiest man" has died at the age of 94, just months after having his first wash in decades. Amou Haji had refused to use soap and water for more than half a century, fearing it would make him sick, the BBC reports. The Iranian, who lived in the southern province of Fars, had avoided previous attempts by villagers to get him clean. But, local media say, Amou Haji finally...

Avoiding extinction – some large Asian animals thriving near humans

Some of Asia's largest animals, including tigers and elephants, are defying 12,000 years of extinction trends by thriving alongside humans, a University of Queensland-led study has revealed. Researchers scoured paleontological records to compare the historic distribution of Asia's 14 largest species with their populations in present-day tropical forests. PhD candidate Zachary Amir, from UQ's School of Biological Sciences and the Ecological Cascades Lab, said four species – tigers, Asian elephants, wild boars and clouded leopards – showed...

Research indicates potential method of preventing liver cancer

Almost all liver cancers develop after decades of chronic liver disease, but a new discovery by Columbia University researchers may lead to treatments that could break the link. The research shows that during chronic liver disease a shift in the balance of quiescent and activated stellate liver cells not only promotes fibrosis but sets the stage for the most common type of primary liver cancer, called hepatocellular carcinoma. The findings, published online in Nature, suggest that it may be possible to prevent...

India vaccine maker dumps 100 million COVID doses

Indian vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII) has said it had to dump 100 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine after they expired, the BBC reports. The firm stopped producing Covishield in December last year due to low demand, CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Thursday. SII, the world's largest vaccine maker, has been making the local version of AstraZeneca's Vaxzevria jab. Covishield accounts for more than 90% of the doses given in India. India has administered over...

How a magician-mathematician revealed a casino loophole

The industry executives were anxious, writes Shane Keating for the BBC.  Their company manufactured precision card-shuffling machines for casinos. Thousands of their mechanical shufflers were in operation in Las Vegas and around the world. The rental fees brought in millions of dollars each year, and the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. However, the executives had recently discovered that one of their machines had been hacked by a gang of hustlers. The gang used a hidden...

Pantheon+ analysis offers ‘most precise constraints on the dynamics and history of the universe’

(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)  –  Astrophysicists have performed a new analysis that places the most precise limits yet on the composition and evolution of the universe. With this analysis, dubbed Pantheon+, cosmologists find themselves at a crossroads. Pantheon+ finds that the cosmos is composed of about two-thirds dark energy and one-third matter – mostly in the form of dark matter – and is expanding at an accelerating pace over the last several billion years. However, Pantheon+...

Ye hath decreed that he shall purchase Parler

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has agreed to buy the self-styled "uncancellable" social-media platform Parler, the company has announced. Last week, the star's Twitter and Instagram accounts were locked, after he posted anti-Semitic messages, the BBC reports. Ye "will never have to fear being removed from social media again," chief executive George Farmer posted. The announcement on PR Newswire reveals little about the terms of the deal. It says: "Under the terms of their agreement in principle, the parties intend...

Opioid crisis — U.S. teens fastest growing group to die

Teen overdose deaths have never been higher in the U.S. as young people are increasingly poisoned by the synthetic opiate fentanyl, even as fewer teens use drugs. More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year — the vast majority were adults — but the fastest growing group to die of overdoses was teenagers, the BBC reports. Fentanyl is typically smuggled into the United States by Mexican drug cartels. While it used to be laced...