Science

The Brain: Forever an Adolescent Until 32
SpotlightThe Brain: Forever an Adolescent Until 32

“Our brain does not age, it evolves,” noted neurologist Yves Agid. But how far does this evolution go? For decades, scientists have tried to map the mysterious changes that shape our minds from early childhood through old age. A British team led by Duncan Astle at the University of Cambridge has now taken a major step forward. By analyzing ...

HIV and STIs: The Return of a Forgotten Threat Among 15–24-Year-Olds
SpotlightHIV and STIs: The Return of a Forgotten Threat Among 15–24-Year-Olds

Not long ago, the prospect of a generation largely untouched by HIV felt within reach: new diagnoses were falling, treatments were becoming more effective, and access to testing was expanding. Yet as 2025 draws to a close, public-health agencies are voicing growing concern. In all three countries, infections among young people are rising again. ...

Long Covid: New Pathways to Repair the Brain
SpotlightLong Covid: New Pathways to Repair the Brain

Since the emergence of Covid-19, a growing number of patients have reported symptoms that persist long after the acute infection has passed. Neurological after-effects are among the most worrying: memory loss, difficulty finding words, brain fog, persistent fatigue. According to data published by Santé Publique France, nearly 30% of people ...

Luck: Randomness or Quantum Secret? Science Is Just Starting to Look
SpotlightLuck: Randomness or Quantum Secret? Science Is Just Starting to Look

Quantum physics has upended the very foundations of how we understand the world. For over a century, it has challenged the idea that randomness is merely a product of our ignorance, suggesting instead that it is woven into the fabric of the universe itself. Before observation, particles exist in a cloud of probabilities. Nothing is predetermined. ...

AIDS in Lebanon: A Chronic Disease, A Stubborn Taboo
AIDS in Lebanon: A Chronic Disease, A Stubborn Taboo

The history of AIDS officially begins in the early 1980s, when research teams, including that of Luc Montagnier at the Institut Pasteur, identified the human immunodeficiency virus. At the time, doctors had neither reliable tests nor effective treatment. Today, the situation has radically changed: triple and dual antiretroviral therapies control ...

Over Half of Gen Z Already Shows Noise-Induced Hearing Damage
SpotlightOver Half of Gen Z Already Shows Noise-Induced Hearing Damage

In the deafening clamor of the 21st century, Generation Z, those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, stands out for its unprecedented relationship with sound. From massive festivals to headphones glued to their ears and constant social media use, exposure to noise has never been so intense or continuous. The figures from the Royal ...

ALS: A Protein Signature that Could Change the Game
SpotlightALS: A Protein Signature that Could Change the Game

In the field of neurodegenerative diseases, scientists have spent decades chasing the same goal: finding an early and reliable biomarker that can reveal what the body has not yet shown. For ALS, that search has long seemed out of reach. The disease arrives quietly, progresses unnoticed, and only becomes visible once the first motor neurons are ...

Repairing the Spine Without Opening the Body: The Promise of Surgical Robotics
SpotlightRepairing the Spine Without Opening the Body: The Promise of Surgical Robotics

The spine has always symbolized human fragility. Operating on it once meant risking pain, complications, or even paralysis. Spine surgery traditionally involved large incisions, long recoveries, and deep scars. Now, in Nancy, a trio of pioneering doctors is redefining the rules with minimally invasive robotic spine surgery: a breakthrough that ...

Capsula Mundi: Imagine Becoming a Tree After Death
SpotlightCapsula Mundi: Imagine Becoming a Tree After Death

What if, after death, we could become a source of life for the planet? This idea is no longer a myth or a poetic dream. It is now taking shape through Capsula Mundi, literally “the capsule of the world” in Italian, a project by designers Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel that challenges our deepest assumptions about human finitude. Since 2003, ...

Roblox Game Platform Launches Age Checks for Chat
Roblox Game Platform Launches Age Checks for Chat

Gaming giant Roblox Corp. says it will roll out compulsory facial recognition or ID checks from next month for players wanting to access its chat features. It aims to stop under-nines from chatting without parental consent and to curb conversations between adults and minors online by placing users into six age bands ranging from under-nines to ...

What is the Enigma M4 Cipher Machine
What is the Enigma M4 Cipher Machine

The auction of an Enigma M4 cipher machine at Christie's today is more than a landmark for collectors of rare artifacts. It represents a unique intersection of military history, cryptanalysis, and the birth of modern computing. This device is both a weapon of war and a witness to the extraordinary intellectual achievement that unlocked state ...