As obesity in America continues to rise at alarming rates, researchers are finding that diet and exercise are not the only driving factors. A new scientific review from UCLA Health explains how stress, hardship and other social challenges can reshape a person’s gut bacteria and brain performance in ways that make it harder to keep weight off. 

In a Policy Forum, Ben Belton and colleagues discuss the rapidly growing use of drone technology in agricultural applications and the important, yet understudied, benefits and trade-offs involved. “There are strong indications that drones can raise the efficiency and productivity of farming, improve worker safety, and enhance rural livelihoods, but these impacts have yet to be evaluated rigorously,” Belton et al. write. “Applied interdisciplinary research and corresponding policy responses are urgently needed to steer the global drone revolution in ways that make agriculture more sustainable.” Over the past decade, drones have become a profoundly transformative technology. Of their many uses, agriculture has emerged as one of the most significant and fastest-growing domains, particularly in Asia and Latin America. On farms worldwide, drones now undertake tasks ranging from sowing seeds and distributing fertilizers to monitoring crops, surveying livestock, and most prominently, spraying pesticides and other agrochemicals. As such, its thought that drones may help solve the challenge of producing more food with fewer resources. According to Belton et al. drones could enhance farming sustainability by boosting yields, reducing waste, and lowering chemical exposure, while also creating new opportunities for rural livelihoods—though risks of labor displacement, gender inequality, and chemical drift remain. To maximize benefits and manage these challenges, governments should support inclusive adoption through financing, training, and smart regulation. They should invest in research and infrastructure, say the authors, and establish safeguards on labor transitions, environmental safety, and data sovereignty, ensuring drones advance both sustainability and equity.

Critical Path Institute® announced today that its Translational Therapeutics Accelerator (TRxA) program has completed a record year of funding and mentorship, making seven BRIDGe awards to academic drug-development teams. TRxA launched in 2022 and awarded its first grants in 2023. In 2025 the program supported seven projects, its largest annual cohort.

A new peer-reviewed study from the Environmental Working Group finds that advanced PFAS filtration systems not only remove toxic "forever chemicals" from drinking water but also significantly reduce other harmful contaminants. These include cancer-linked disinfection byproducts, agricultural nitrates, and heavy metals like arsenic and uranium. The study, published in ACS ES&T Water, analyzed data from 19 U.S. utilities and the EPA’s national monitoring program, showing that technologies like granular activated carbon, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis offer broader public health benefits than previously recognized.