This is Beirut - science

Benzodiazepines and Alzheimer’s: The Lingering Question of Memory Loss

Bélinda Ibrahim, 13/11 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Benzodiazepines Alzheimer Memory Anxiety Science Medicine

In the dim aisles of pharmacies, small boxes of benzodiazepines change hands almost furtively, daily companions for millions of people living with anxiety, insomnia, or age-related fragility. Sedatives, anxiolytics, and muscle relaxants, they calm restless minds, ease worry, and help induce sleep. Yet for over a decade, unease has grown: could ...

Neural Nostalgia: The Calming Power of the Music of Our Youth

Bélinda Ibrahim, 12/11 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Neural Nostalgia Music Science Feel Good

Tuning into an FM station, an old hit slips in between news flashes, and suddenly everything comes rushing back: the taste of an adolescent summer, the warmth of a first love, the carefree lightness of youth. Why do these songs, sometimes simple or even innocent, have such a powerful effect on our mood? In a world where nostalgia seeps into ...

Can You Really Die of a Broken Heart?

Bélinda Ibrahim, 06/11 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Broken Heart Science Takotsubo Cardiology

Losing a loved one, experiencing a breakup, or facing shocking news can make anyone feel, in moments of devastation, that their heart might literally burst. The saying “to die of a broken heart” once seemed little more than sentimental folklore. Yet modern medicine has shown otherwise. Emotional pain can, in rare cases, strike the heart with ...

Why Time Seems to Speed Up as We Age

Bélinda Ibrahim, 05/11 11:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Time Aging Science Speed Up

Even in childhood, time can feel endless: holidays seem to last for months, and school days drag on forever. But as we age, the feeling reverses. Years appear to fly by at a pace that can be surprising, even unsettling. This perception of time flying by is one of the most universal psychological paradoxes: everyone experiences it, yet few realize ...

Anxiety and Intelligence: Myth or Scientific Reality?

Bélinda Ibrahim, 30/10 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Anxiety Intelligence Myth Reality Science

Long seen purely as a burden, anxiety now intrigues researchers for one unexpected reason: its possible association with higher forms of intelligence. On social media and in some media outlets, one often reads that “anxious people have higher IQs.” But what do scientific studies really say? Should stress and rumination be seen as indicators of ...

Smart Cartilage: The New Frontier Against Arthritis?

Bélinda Ibrahim, 29/10 11:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Arthritis Science Cartilage Smart

This morning, in the calm corridors of a hospital, Myriam, 56, hesitates before putting her foot on the ground. Arthritis, with its constant flare-ups and stiffness, waits behind every movement. Around the world, hundreds of millions of people live in fear of a single misstep, caught between brief moments of relief and the anxiety of the next ...

A Subretinal Chip Brings New Hope for AMD Patients

Bélinda Ibrahim, 22/10 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

AMD Science Vision Chip World Retina

Losing central vision is like watching the heart of the world blur, then fade to black, until you can no longer recognize a loved one’s face or read the lines of a book. This silent suffering affects over 200 million people worldwide: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is now the leading cause of vision loss in those over 60. The disease ...

Australian Moths Use Stars as Compass

Bélinda Ibrahim, 15/10 14:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Bogong Moth Science Stars

Each spring, in the silence of Australian night, billions of Bogong moths take flight on an extraordinary journey. They travel hundreds of kilometers from their native lands in southeastern Australia to the icy caves of Australian Alps, where they cluster by thousands to spend summer in a protective torpor known as aestivation. In autumn, they ...

Paracetamol, Pregnancy, Autism: The Debate Reignited

Bélinda Ibrahim, 09/10 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Paracetamol Pregnancy Autism Science Risk

Who hasn’t slipped a pack of paracetamol into their bag or medicine cabinet? As the pain reliever and fever reducer most of us rely on, paracetamol is a daily fixture, especially for pregnant women, who are often advised to avoid many other medications. Yet this familiar gesture conceals an important question: is paracetamol use during pregnancy ...

Is ChatGPT Doomed to Hallucinate in Order to Survive?

Bélinda Ibrahim, 08/10 11:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

ChatGPT AI Artificial Intelligence Science World Hallucinate

Like other generative models, ChatGPT revolutionized our relationship with information while continuing to deliver confident factual errors. OpenAI, the company behind the famous chatbot, published a new study that doesn’t dispel doubts but instead reveals how deeply the problem is rooted in the system’s design. These so-called hallucinations ...

Skipping Class, Winning Prizes: The Untold Stories of Nobel Laureates

This is Beirut, 03/10 16:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nobel Prize Education Science Culture

Some Nobel laureates were straight-A students from the get-go. But others AFP spoke to recounted how they cut class, got expelled, and had doubts about their future. Perhaps the most illustrious Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, was once a mediocre student at Zurich Polytechnic School, now ETH Zurich. The young Einstein skipped classes, ...

Europe’s First Alzheimer’s Treatment: Will Leqembi Live Up to Expectations?

Bélinda Ibrahim, 02/10 11:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Alzheimer Treatment Leqembi Europe Science

After decades of research and broken promises, the arrival of Leqembi (lecanemab) marks a symbolic milestone in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Developed by Eisai and Biogen, this monoclonal antibody has just been approved in the European Union for the treatment of early-stage Alzheimer’s. For the first time, a drug aims to slow the progression ...

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