Escitalopram does best at keeping depression from coming back, a Lancet Psychiatry analysis of nearly 10,000 people finds

The stories

24 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   Escitalopram does best at keeping depression from coming back, a Lancet Psychiatry analysis of nearly 10,000 people finds

   nearly 10,000

   people in the pooled studies, on antidepressants for up to a year

   escitalopram, agomelatine and duloxetine ranked highest [1]

   1 in 6

   people in the UK affected by depression

   for some it comes back after they recover [1]

   6 months

   the least time doctors advise staying on the drug after depression lifts

   then the dose is tapered off slowly [1]

   about a third

   of long-term antidepressant patients who would be shut out of trials

   found in Finnish and Swedish health records [3]

   What happened

   • Escitalopram, a common antidepressant, did best at keeping depression from coming back in a new analysis. [1]
   • The analysis covered nearly 10,000 people who took antidepressants for up to a year. [1]
   • Agomelatine and duloxetine came next, and Prozac ranked just below them. [1]
   • The work was published in The Lancet Psychiatry, a medical journal. [1] It pooled earlier studies of more than a dozen antidepressants. [1]
   • Escitalopram is an SSRI, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. [1] Many medical guidelines name SSRIs as the first drug to try. [1]
   • SSRIs increase the activity of serotonin, a brain chemical linked to mood. [1][4]
   • Low serotonin may not be what causes depression, but trials still show the drugs help. [2]
   • Depression affects about 1 in 6 people in the UK. [1]
   • Many people recover, but for some the depression comes back. [1]
   • Doctors already advise staying on the drug for at least 6 months after depression lifts, then tapering off slowly. [1]
   • Compared with Prozac, people on escitalopram were more likely to get better and stay better. [1]
   • They were also less likely to stop taking their pills. [1]
   • Other drugs, including sertraline, did no better than Prozac. [1]
   • Like all medicines, escitalopram can cause side effects, such as sleep problems, constipation and weight gain. [1]

   Who is involved

   Professor Eric Ruhe of Radboud University in the Netherlands is one of the researchers. [1]

   • Eric Ruhe a professor at Radboud University in the Netherlands; one of the researchers behind the analysis
   • Allan Young a professor at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the UK body for psychiatrists; called the differences modest
   • Sameer Jauhar a doctor and researcher at Imperial College London; said the study cannot pick a drug for one patient

   Why it matters

   Professor Allan Young of the Royal College of Psychiatrists said "the differences are modest". [1]

   He said side effects, past response and what a patient prefers are likely to matter more. [1]

   Dr Sameer Jauhar of Imperial College London said the study cannot tell which drug will work best for one patient. [1]

   Experts say longer studies are still needed. [1]

   How it works

   Medical researchers call this a network meta-analysis: one ranking built from trials that each tested only some drugs.

   The results set every drug against one shared yardstick, Prozac. [1] That puts escitalopram and sertraline on one scale. [1]

   Seen it before

   Two runners who never raced each other can be compared by how each did against the same third runner.

   The truth

   • What is really going on Escitalopram came top in a ranking of antidepressants for keeping depression away, but the experts quoted called the gaps between drugs modest. [1]
   • Why it works on people A ranking with a winner reads like a verdict, so 'came top' sounds like 'works best for me', which the analysis says it cannot tell. [1]
   • About a third of real patients on long-term antidepressants would not qualify for drug trials, a Finnish-Swedish study found. [3]
   • Those left out had over twice the risk of a mental health hospital stay or a suicide attempt. [3]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Which antidepressant will work best for any one person.

     The analysis ranks drugs across groups, and an Imperial College expert said it cannot tell which drug suits an individual patient. [1]

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether escitalopram's lead holds beyond a year.

     The pooled studies ran for up to a year, and experts say longer studies are still needed. [1]

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the ranking fits the patients doctors actually see.

     About a third of people on long-term antidepressants would not qualify for drug trials, and they fare worse. [3]

1. 02

   US measles status goes under review

   What happened

   • A Pan American Health Organization commission is meeting from 10 to 13 November to review measles in the Americas. [5]
   • It will consider whether the US still counts as having eliminated measles. [5]
   • Eliminated means the virus did not spread inside the country for a whole year. [5] The US won that status in 2000. [5]
   • The US has 5,182 measles cases so far in 2026, up from 2,289 in 2025 and 285 in 2024. [5]

   How it unfolded

   Canada lost its own status last year after more than 5,000 cases. [5]

   A US expert committee was to review the CDC's measles report in August and pass its view to the commission. [7]

   1. 10 Nov the commission meets
   2. 13 Nov the meeting ends

   Why it matters

   Losing the status brings no formal penalty, but experts call it a blow to US public health. [5]

   Babies under 1 carry most of the danger from measles, a Stanford infectious disease chief said. [6]

   How it works

   Doctors call giving a dose sooner than usual during an outbreak an accelerated schedule.

   In normal times US babies get their first measles shot at 1. [6] In an outbreak it can be given from 6 months. [6]

   Seen it before

   A school brings an exam forward when the holidays move, so pupils are ready in time.

   Why health advice lands better from a neighbour than a stranger

   Health communication researchers call it source credibility: people weigh a health message by how far they trust whoever brings it.

   The twist

   Facts alone rarely change what people do. Whether they act on a fact depends a lot on whether they trust the person telling them.

   Step by step

   1. 1 A health message reaches a person
   2. 2 They judge first who is giving it
   3. 3 A trusted giver is heard, a distrusted one is ignored
   4. 4 Trust carries false messages as well as true ones

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Men turn to chatbots with their feelings

     Men who avoid therapists told STAT they open up to a bot because it cannot judge them, so the choice of listener decides whether they talk at all.

   • US measles status goes under review

     Families tend to trust their own doctors more than local officials, so a doctor advising an earlier measles shot might raise vaccination more than an official could.

   • Dubai educators warn children treat chatbots as friends

     Dubai educators worry that children now take their worries to a chatbot instead of to an adult who knows them and could notice trouble.

   Where you've seen this

   Advertising

   brands pay people their followers already trust to recommend a product

   Election campaigns

   local volunteers knock on doors, because a neighbour is listened to where a leaflet is thrown away

   School

   a rule explained by a teacher pupils like is kept better than the same rule on a poster

   The catch

   Trust carries false messages too: in the same Amish community, word of mouth spread the false rumour that the measles vaccine contains aborted fetus parts.

   And the whole of it

   Most people pass health beliefs on to family and friends who trust them, usually without checking where the belief came from. The grandmother who heard the vaccine rumour, the nurse whose number spread, and the reader of this page all sit somewhere in that chain.

   The truth

   • The CDC counts 4 measles deaths this year, while local health departments report 8. [5]
   • No US vaccine advisory committee is working, after a judge found it was set up improperly. [6]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the US loses its measles elimination status this week.

     The Pan American Health Organization commission is still meeting until 13 November and has not announced a decision. [5]

   • Nobody knows yet

     How many people have died of measles in the US this year.

     The CDC counts 4 deaths, while local health departments report 8. [5]

   Good news

   • Canada's measles outbreak, which cost the country its elimination status last year, was declared over last month.

   What comes next

   The commission's meeting ends on 13 November, and the US could lose its status that week. [5]

1. 03

   A nurse's house calls reach Amish families

   What happened

   • Dale Weiser, a nurse with Chester County's health department in Pennsylvania, has vaccinated Amish families at home since August. [8]
   • She has given more than 400 doses of the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. [8]
   • Families often call her after a neighbour mentions she was just down the street. [8]
   • An Amish-owned restaurant hosted a clinic in August, and 24 people came, all through word of mouth. [8]
   • Only about 1 in 3 Amish families in the area vaccinate their children, surveys suggest. [8]

   Who is involved

   • Dale Weiser county health nurse

   How it unfolded

   Pennsylvania has confirmed more than 1,500 measles cases and 6 deaths this year. [8]

   Why it matters

   Lancaster County, home to about 45,000 Amish people, has a third of the state's cases. [8]

   The truth

   • What is really going on In Pennsylvania, measles shots reached Amish homes once neighbours passed on a nurse's number, while US vaccine advice has stayed the same with no advisory committee working. [8][6]
   • Some families refuse because of a false rumour that the vaccine contains aborted fetus parts. [8]
   • Who pays Amish children whose parents heard the vaccine rumour — None of one grandmother's 13 grandchildren have had the measles shot, because their parents believed it contained fetus parts. [8]

   Good news

   • Many Amish families have changed their minds as cases rose, and Weiser drives the shots to them. [8]
2. 04

   Cleaner air could prevent 9.4 million deaths

   What happened

   • Meeting the WHO's limit on fine dust could prevent 9.4 million deaths a year, University of Cambridge researchers found. [9]
   • Fine dust here means PM2.5, specks tiny enough to pass from the lungs into the blood. [10]
   • Across the 136 countries studied, average PM2.5 was 30.44 micrograms per cubic metre. [9] The WHO limit is 5. [9]
   • Cutting nitrogen dioxide to WHO levels could prevent or delay about 1.1 million more deaths. [9]

   How it unfolded

   The report came out on 10 November, as world leaders met at COP31 climate talks in Turkey. [9]

   Why it matters

   The gains would be largest in low- and middle-income countries, where city growth and traffic have worsened the air. [9]

   Meeting the PM2.5 limit could also mean 7.3 million fewer cases of heart disease a year. [9]

   How it works

   Doctors call this kind of pollution fine particulate matter: dust far smaller than a grain of sand.

   PM2.5 can pass through the lungs into the bloodstream and reach every major organ. [10] Heart attacks and strokes make up most of the deaths cleaner air would prevent. [9]

   Seen it before

   Fine flour slips through a sieve that holds back the lumps.

   The truth

   • The 9.4 million is a model's estimate of deaths cleaner air could prevent, not a count of deaths. [9]
3. 05

   Early deaths twice as common in England's poorest areas

   What happened

   • People in England's most deprived areas are 2.3 times as likely to die before 75, a Health Foundation study found. [11]
   • That is 815 early deaths per 100,000 people, against 353 in the least deprived areas. [11]
   • The study used 2021 census data and deaths from March 2021 to December 2023. [11]
   • Men who are long-term unemployed or never worked die early at 3.5 times the rate of senior managers. [11]
   • Women with no qualifications die early at 2.5 times the rate of women with degrees. [11]

   Why it matters

   The gaps were widest in north-east and north-west England and Yorkshire, and smallest in London. [11]

   How it works

   Public health researchers call this the social gradient: health gets worse step by step as income and schooling fall.

   Freya Tracey, an analyst at the Health Foundation, said education, jobs and local economies are the building blocks of health. [11]

   Seen it before

   Runners who start further back finish later, even if everyone runs at the same speed.

   The truth

   • Chinese men had the lowest early death rate, 284 per 100,000. [11] A race equality charity said a low rate does not mean good health. [11]
4. 06

   Wheelchair waits of up to 2 years

   What happened

   • Disabled people in England wait up to 2 years for a wheelchair, the health service ombudsman found. [12]
   • Paula Sussex, the official who looks into complaints about NHS care in England, launched the inquiry. [12]
   • Complaints rose from 8 in 2020-21 to 110 in 2025-26. [12]
   • 4 in 5 complaints involve the few private firms that supply at least half of all wheelchair users. [12]
   • Graham Woolner, 68, got a working chair 26 months after the 18-week deadline. [12]

   Who is involved

   • Paula Sussex health service ombudsman

   Why it matters

   A 3-year-old boy with cerebral palsy started nursery after his twin brother, because he waited 7 months for a chair. [12]

   How it works

   Economists call a market with only a few sellers an oligopoly: buyers have little choice of supplier.

   The NHS bodies that pay for wheelchairs face a market dominated by a handful of private firms, the report found. [12]

   Seen it before

   If only one shop in town sells school shoes, it can be slow and still keep its customers.

   The truth

   • No watchdog checks wheelchair fitting and repair, because the care regulator's remit does not cover it. [12]
   • Who gains The few private firms that supply most NHS wheelchairs — They dominate an uncompetitive market, and the NHS bodies that buy from them rarely warn each other about poor service. [12]
   • Who pays Disabled children waiting for wheelchairs — A boy waiting 7 months for his chair could not start nursery with his twin, and missed specialist therapy. [12]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How many people in England need a wheelchair and are waiting.

     The NHS bodies that buy wheelchair services have unreliable information on how many people locally need one, the ombudsman found. [12]

5. 07

   Fear of falling raises the risk of a fall

   What happened

   • A survey of 1,007 US adults by Ohio State University's medical centre found many miss common fall risks. [13]
   • 63% did not know that being afraid of falling is itself a risk. [13]
   • 60% missed hearing loss as a risk, and 74% missed an urgent need for the toilet. [13]
   • In the EU, about 35,848 people aged 65 or over died from falls each year, in 2010 to 2012 figures. [13]

   Why it matters

   Falls cause 58% of older people's injury visits to emergency departments in Europe. [13]

   Ohio State nurse practitioner Michelle Easley said fear of falling is "one of the biggest risks of falling". [13]

   How it works

   Rehabilitation doctors call it post-fall syndrome: after a fall, fear makes a person move less.

   Fear of falling can make older people less active, which weakens them and makes a fall more likely. [13]

   Seen it before

   A bike you stop riding gets harder to ride, so you ride it even less.

   The truth

   • The EU death figure comes from data more than a decade old. [13]

   Good news

   • Targeted fall-prevention programmes can cut injury rates by 20% to 40% in high-risk groups, studies suggest. [13]
6. 08

   Tigray's hospitals overwhelmed again

   What happened

   • Fighting between Tigrayan rebels and Ethiopia's army broke out on 23 September, as a 2-year ceasefire collapsed. [14]
   • A surgeon in Mekele, the capital of Tigray, said war wounded flooded his emergency room for 7 or 8 days. [14]
   • Phone networks, the internet and power were cut, so staff could not tell how many patients were coming. [14]

   How it unfolded

   After rebels took over Tigray's regional government in May, Ethiopia's government cut its hospitals' funds. [14] Doctors have not been paid in months. [14]

   The 2020 to 2022 Tigray war killed an estimated 600,000 people. [14]

   Why it matters

   A health worker counted more than 100 women who died in childbirth in Tigray in the past year. [14] He blamed missing medicine, staff and fuel. [14]

   WHO data show attacks on health care in 19 countries killed more than 960 people this year. [14]

   Targeted attacks on health care are generally considered a war crime, NPR reports. [14]

   How it works

   Lawyers call the rule that hospitals and medics must not be attacked in war medical neutrality.

   Lindsey Green of Physicians for Human Rights said the attacks continue because nobody is punished for them. [14]

   Seen it before

   When a referee never shows a card, the fouls keep coming.

   The truth

   • Ethiopia's foreign ministry and prime minister's office did not answer NPR's questions. [14]
   • Who pays Women giving birth in Tigray — Without medicine, staff or fuel for ambulances, more than 100 died in childbirth in a year, a health worker counted. [14]
7. 09

   Welsh health visitors end 9-month strike

   What happened

   • About 100 health visitors in south Wales will return to work next week, ending a 9-month strike. [15]
   • Health visitors support babies, young children and their families, including keeping children safe. [15]
   • They struck over the grade of their jobs, saying it cost them up to £9,000 a year. [15]
   • Unite, their union, says all of them will be offered new roles. [15]

   Who is involved

   They work for Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board, covering Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf. [15]

   • Unite the union
   • The health board the employer

   Why it matters

   Home visits fell from 6,140 in March to May 2025 to 909 in the same months of 2026. [15]

   How it works

   NHS pay follows job grades, so a dispute over a job's grade is a dispute over its pay.

   The board will create a specialist health visitor role with extra duties. [15]

   The truth

   • The board says the new role is still subject to approval. [15]
   • Who pays Babies and families in Cwm Taf Morgannwg — During the strike, home visits from health visitors fell to 909 in three months. [15]

   Good news

   • About 100 health visitors in south Wales go back to work next week, after a 9-month strike that cut home visits to babies from 6,140 to 909.
8. 10

   A Scottish NHS chief's £378,000 pay-off

   What happened

   • Mary Morgan, former head of NHS National Services Scotland, received a £378,000 redundancy payment when she retired. [16]
   • She retired in May after a 44-year career in the health service. [16]
   • She had earned between £160,000 and £165,000 a year. [16]

   How it unfolded

   Her body was merged in April into a new public agency, Public Services Delivery Scotland. [16]

   Why it matters

   The payment comes ahead of a planned overhaul that could sharply cut the number of Scotland's health boards. [16]

   How it works

   Employment lawyers call this contractual redundancy: a payment the job contract promises if the post is abolished.

   A spokesperson said all payments were "in accordance with the terms and conditions of her employment". [16]

   Seen it before

   A player whose club folds is still paid what the contract promised.

   The truth

   • When BBC Scotland asked in March, the board said only that she was considering her options. [16]
   • Who gains Mary Morgan, the former NHS National Services Scotland chief — Her contract paid redundancy terms when her body was merged, though she retired. [16]
9. 11

   A rare cancer found by chance

   What happened

   • Donna Marklew, 44, from Coventry, learned she had neuroendocrine cancer after a hysterectomy for problems after childbirth. [17]
   • Neuroendocrine cancers start in cells that make and release hormones, and can grow in any organ. [17]
   • About 6,000 people in the UK get the disease each year, the charity Neuroendocrine Cancer UK estimates. [17]
   • Scans then found tumours in her appendix, Fallopian tubes and nearby tissue. [17]

   Who is involved

   • Donna Marklew patient, Coventry

   Why it matters

   On average 5 years pass between a first symptom and a diagnosis, the charity says. [17]

   How it works

   Doctors call this diagnostic delay: the time lost before an illness is named.

   The symptoms look like other conditions, so patients are often sent down another route first, the charity says. [17]

   Seen it before

   A cough that sounds like a cold gets treated as a cold, until it refuses to go away.

   The truth

   • Her GP had put her palpitations down to the perimenopause, the years before periods stop. [17]
10. 12

    South Africa's top court weighs late drinking hours

    What happened

    • South Africa's Constitutional Court is hearing a challenge to longer drinking hours in Northern Cape province. [18]
    • A 2024 provincial law lets bars trade until 2am and nightclubs until 6am. [18]
    • The DG Murray Trust brought the case, citing violence, road injuries and pressure on health services. [18]

    Who is involved

    • DG Murray Trust brings the case
    • Northern Cape made the law

    How it unfolded

    In April a lower court found that the province's lawmakers had not properly consulted the public. [18]

    Why it matters

    A modelling study linked about 62,300 South African deaths in 2015 to alcohol, roughly 1 in 10 deaths. [18]

    How it works

    Public health researchers study alcohol availability: how easy it is to buy shapes how much people drink.

    Expert evidence in the case links longer opening hours to more heavy drinking, violence and injuries. [18]

    Seen it before

    A snack drawer left open all day empties faster than one opened at lunch.

    The truth

    • The central question is whether the state has a duty to protect people from alcohol harm. [18]
    • Who gains Bars and nightclubs in Northern Cape — The 2024 law lets them sell drinks until 2am and 6am, unless the court strikes it down. [18]

    What comes next

    The trust asks the court to give the province 24 months to fix the law. [18]

11. 13

    Selena Gomez says vaping changed her voice

    What happened

    • Singer Selena Gomez said in an Instagram video that vaping "changed my voice" for good. [19]
    • Vaping damages the protective cells on the vocal cords, which then swell and can make a voice hoarse. [19]
    • Up to a third of people who vape report a long-lasting cough, studies in the US and China found. [19]
    • Gomez also has lupus, an illness in which the body attacks its own tissues and can inflame the vocal cords. [19]

    Why it matters

    A small swelling is enough to change a voice, especially in people who use theirs heavily, a respiratory professor said. [19]

    How it works

    Doctors call a damaged, rough voice dysphonia. [19]

    The voice box's lining is delicate, so heated vapour inflames it, and the voice changes. [19]

    Seen it before

    A guitar string with tape stuck on it plays a duller note.

    The truth

    • Respiratory doctor Matthew Peters said vapes should now be regulated "on the basis of proven harm, not precaution". [19]
    • Nobody knows yet

      Whether vaping damage to the voice heals after people stop.

      There are no long-term studies showing permanent changes or recovery after quitting, a respiratory doctor said. [19]

12. 14

    Older gun owners with failing memory

    What happened

    • At least a third of people with dementia can get at a gun, US researchers estimate, KFF Health News reports. [20]
    • In 2024, 8,226 Americans aged 65 or over died from firearms, almost 23 a day. [20]
    • More than 90% of gun deaths among older people in the US are suicides. [20]
    • Researchers now also study people with worsening memory who have no dementia diagnosis yet. [20]
    • In the US, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline takes calls and texts. [20]

    Why it matters

    Only about 5% of dementia carers said a health worker had ever raised gun safety, a 2020 study found. [20]

    How it works

    Public health calls this approach harm reduction: making something less dangerous without demanding it is given up. [20]

    Studies show talks about storing guns unloaded and locked, with free trigger locks, work best. [20]

    Seen it before

    A bike helmet makes riding safer without taking the bike away.

    The truth

    • Some patients do not mention guns to doctors, wrongly fearing that depression or dementia means confiscation. [20]
13. 15

    Why sleep paralysis brings visions

    What happened

    • Baland Jalal, a Harvard neuroscientist, has a new book on sleep paralysis called The Phantom Mind. [21]
    • Sleep paralysis means waking up unable to move, often while seeing a figure that is not there. [21]
    • It affects about 30% of people worldwide. [21]
    • For roughly 1% of people it comes back every week, raising the risk of insomnia. [21]

    Who is involved

    • Baland Jalal Harvard neuroscientist

    Why it matters

    Jalal says the half-awake state could help scientists study how consciousness works. [21]

    How it works

    Sleep scientists call the most vivid dreaming stage REM sleep, and Jalal says the paralysis starts there. [21]

    In REM sleep the body is paralysed so we cannot act out dreams. [21] If the brain wakes first, the body stays frozen. [21]

    Seen it before

    A film can still be playing when the lights in the room come up.

    The truth

    • Why people see monsters is still only theory, Jalal says, because nobody has scanned a brain during an episode. [21]
14. 16

    Men turn to chatbots with their feelings

    What happened

    • Some men who avoid therapy are talking about their feelings to AI chatbots, STAT reports. [22]
    • In a Pew survey, 8% of men said they used chatbots for emotional support. [22]
    • Men account for up to 80% of suicide deaths. [22] They are nearly half as likely as women to get mental health treatment. [22]

    Why it matters

    Psychiatrist Michael Heinz of Dartmouth said chatbots skip the appointment and waiting room that put some men off. [22]

    How it works

    Psychologists call this help-seeking stigma: the fear of being judged keeps people from asking for help.

    Men STAT spoke with said a bot felt safe to talk to because it could not judge them. [22]

    Seen it before

    Some people find it easier to type a hard thing in a message than to say it face to face.

    Men who avoid therapists told STAT they open up to a bot because it cannot judge them, so the choice of listener decides whether they talk at all.

    The idea, in story 02: Why health advice lands better from a neighbour than a stranger →

    The truth

    • Studies of chatbots' effect on mental health are still limited, and some chatbots have been dangerous, STAT notes. [22]
    • Who gains Chatbot makers — Men already use AI at rates similar to women, and a Dartmouth psychiatrist sees a market for tools aimed at men's mental health. [22]
    • Nobody knows yet

      Whether the relief men feel after talking to chatbots lasts.

      Studies so far are limited, and a Harvard psychiatrist is only now seeking a grant to test it. [22]

    What comes next

    Harvard psychiatrist John Torous has applied for a grant to test whether the relief lasts. [22]

15. 17

    Accurate AI health answers can still backfire

    What happened

    • Two University of Pennsylvania researchers argue that accurate AI health advice can still make people less healthy. [23]
    • More than 300 million people ask ChatGPT health questions every week, they write. [23]
    • In a test, ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude answered questions about chickenpox parties accurately. [23]
    • But each began by calling such parties popular or common, which could make parents more interested. [23]

    Who is involved

    • Penn researchers write the argument

    Why it matters

    Nearly half of US cancer deaths come from risks people can change, such as smoking, the authors note. [23]

    How it works

    Psychologists call this a descriptive norm: people tend to copy what they think most others do.

    Describing a behaviour as common can encourage more people to do it, studies show. [23]

    Seen it before

    Telling a class that lots of pupils forget homework can make forgetting feel normal.

    The truth

    • This is an opinion piece, and the authors propose testing AI answers for what they make people do. [23]
16. 18

    Dubai educators warn children treat chatbots as friends

    What happened

    • Dubai educators warn that some children already treat AI chatbots as friends, instead of turning to adults who know them. [26]
    • Neil Hopkin, an education director in Dubai, called it "a problem already". [26]
    • Chatbots answer day and night, so children can seek reassurance without speaking to another person. [26]
    • A UAE study of 433 university students found a link between seeking help from AI and anxiety, stress and depression. [26]
    • In Oman, 11.9% of 360 students surveyed had used chatbots for mental health support. [26]

    How it unfolded

    Dozens of countries, including the UAE, Australia and Germany, signed a Children First Declaration in Paris. [25]

    French President Emmanuel Macron said no AI should reach children without being tested and authorised first. [25]

    Why it matters

    Hopkin worries children will share problems with AI instead of someone who could tell when something was wrong. [26]

    Macron told Les Echos, a French newspaper, that AI should be banned where it threatens children's mental health. [24]

    How it works

    AI researchers call a chatbot's habit of agreeing with its user sycophancy.

    Chatbots often agree with users, so a child in distress may hear no other view, Hopkin warned. [26]

    Seen it before

    A friend who agrees with everything is pleasant company and no help when you are wrong.

    Dubai educators worry that children now take their worries to a chatbot instead of to an adult who knows them and could notice trouble.

    The idea, in story 02: Why health advice lands better from a neighbour than a stranger →

    The truth

    • The warning rests on what educators see in schools, and the studies they cite show a link, not a cause. [26]
    • Nobody knows yet

      Whether seeking help from AI makes students anxious, or anxious students seek AI.

      The UAE study of 433 students found a link only, which cannot show which came first. [26]

17. 19

    A new obesity test splits the BMI group

    What happened

    • UK researchers tested a new definition of obesity on 6,978 people aged 46, all born in one week of 1970. [27]
    • BMI, the usual measure, cannot tell fat from muscle. [27]
    • The new Lancet framework counts excess fat plus limits on daily life or damage to organs. [27]
    • Of people with obesity by BMI, only 31.4% met the new test for clinical obesity. [27]

    Why it matters

    Clinical obesity was linked to more deaths within 5 years, while BMI groups were not. [27]

    How it works

    The framework calls extra fat with no harm yet pre-clinical obesity. [27]

    So 68.6% of people obese by BMI were pre-clinical, with excess fat but no organ damage or limits. [27]

    Seen it before

    A rugby player and an office worker can weigh the same and not be equally healthy.

    The truth

    • The death link held only before other factors were adjusted for, and its uncertainty was wide. [27]
18. 20

    A man with ALS runs his home by silent speech

    What happened

    • A man with ALS controlled smart devices at home by silently miming words, a study in Communications Biology reports. [28]
    • ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, can leave people unable to move or talk. [29]
    • Electrodes implanted on his brain picked up the words he tried to say. [28]
    • Across 18 sessions, the system decoded his commands with 97.1% accuracy. [28] Guessing by chance would score 7.14%. [28]

    Why it matters

    Earlier systems needed a screen or sound cue, so users could not give commands privately. [28]

    How it works

    Engineers call this a brain-computer interface: a device that turns brain signals into commands. [28]

    The system detects each silently mimed command in real time and decodes it into a device command. [28]

    Seen it before

    A phone that learns your voice can switch the lights off when you ask.

    The truth

    • The study had one participant, so it cannot show how well the system works for others. [28]

    Good news

    • A man with ALS controlled devices in his home by silently miming words, and the system read his commands right 97.1% of the time.
19. 21

    Five anti-ageing treatments share one molecule

    What happened

    • University of Michigan researchers compared 5 treatments that lengthen male mice's lives, in Frontiers in Aging. [30]
    • They included eating fewer calories and drugs such as rapamycin and acarbose. [30]
    • Ergothioneine, a substance from mushrooms and other fungi, rose in the brains and blood of mice on all 5. [30]
    • An AI program spotted the fifth treatment from chemical patterns in 33 of 35 tests. [30]

    Why it matters

    A shared marker could let scientists test anti-ageing drugs faster, the researchers hope. [30]

    How it works

    Biologists call a measurable sign of a body process a biomarker, and the study treats ergothioneine as one. [30]

    If many treatments that slow ageing raise ergothioneine, its level could flag a new drug worth testing. [30]

    Seen it before

    If every winning team trains at dawn, a scout may start watching who trains at dawn.

    The truth

    • The study shows no cause and effect and used only mice, the report notes. [30]
    • Nobody knows yet

      Whether ergothioneine has anything to do with longer life.

      The study was in mice and shows no cause and effect, the report notes. [30]

20. 22

    A Russian lab banks monkey blood to study ageing

    What happened

    • Russia's Kurchatov Institute is building a bank of blood samples from long-lived monkeys to study ageing, Meduza reports. [31]
    • It works with the Petrovsky surgery research centre, whose director described the plan at a genomics forum. [31]
    • The institute's breeding sites hold more than 7,000 monkeys of 22 species. [31]
    • Its head, Mikhail Kovalchuk, is a close friend of President Vladimir Putin. [31]

    Who is involved

    • Kurchatov Institute runs the bank
    • Petrovsky centre partner
    • Mikhail Kovalchuk institute head
    • Vladimir Putin Russia's president

    How it unfolded

    In 2025 Putin and China's leader Xi Jinping were overheard discussing living to 150. [31]

    Why it matters

    Kovalchuk said the monkey work would lay the groundwork for extending human lifespan. [31]

    The truth

    • Scientists will use the bank in future, the director said, so it has produced no findings yet. [31]
21. 23

    Prince Harry backs an EU law for children online

    What happened

    • Prince Harry backed a proposed EU law to protect children online, in a speech at the European Parliament on Tuesday. [32]
    • He called the pull of social media "brainwashing on an extraordinary scale". [32]
    • The proposed EU Kids Act would delay children's access to social media and bring in age checks. [32]
    • It would also strengthen default safety settings and restrict addictive features. [32]

    Who is involved

    Harry and Meghan unveiled a memorial of photos of young people whose deaths have been linked to online harms. [32]

    • Prince Harry speaks for the law

    How it unfolded

    Last week the European Commission told TikTok to change its For You feed or risk large fines. [32]

    Why it matters

    Harry praised the law for moving the burden from parents to social media companies. [32]

    Young people told him that short, addictive scrolling feeds were when things got worse, he said. [32]

    How it works

    Behavioural scientists call this the power of defaults: most people keep whatever setting they are given.

    So the Kids Act would make strong safety protections the starting setting for children's accounts. [32]

    Seen it before

    Most people keep the ringtone their phone came with.

    The truth

    • Harry did not answer reporters' questions, and the European Parliament is still debating the law. [32]
22. 24

    Pakistan's minister answers a vaccine price row

    What happened

    • Pakistan's health minister Mustafa Kamal said on Tuesday no public money was lost in a row over pilgrims' vaccines. [33]
    • The shots protect against meningitis and flu, and are required for Umrah pilgrims and people seeking jobs abroad. [33]
    • It was alleged that the new deal cost about Rs4,500 per pilgrim, against about Rs1,250 a dose before. [33]
    • Kamal said the Rs183 million collected from travellers is still held in an account at Nadra, the national registration authority. [33]
    • Kamal said the officials involved were arrested and sent to jail. [33]

    Who is involved

    • Mustafa Kamal Pakistan's health minister

    How it unfolded

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a five-member committee to look into how the vaccines were bought. [33]

    Why it matters

    Travellers pay for the required shots themselves, so a higher price lands on each pilgrim and job seeker. [33]

    How it works

    Public procurement rules make a government buy through a set process, so it pays a fair price.

    The inquiry found officials at the border health agency bypassed the health ministry and broke procurement rules. [33]

    Seen it before

    A class buying a gift together agrees the price first, so nobody can quietly pay more.

    The truth

    • Kamal rejected online claims of Rs10 billion in corruption, and said the ministry would publish the inquiry report. [33]