Daily Archives: December 19, 2024

Moon, implantable chips and climate in the science of 2025

From new private missions to the Moon to chips implantable in the brain for medical rehabilitation or for virtual reality, up to climate policies and the possible consequences on scientific research of Donald Trump’s return to the Presidency of the United States: these are some of the events on which they focus expectations of the scientific community for 2025according to the analysis published by the journal Nature on its website.

We look with particular interest at Trump and the changes it could bring about American science. Many, for example, fear that he could once again withdraw the United States from Paris Agreements on the climate, as he had done in his previous mandate. Nature experts also look with concern at nomination of Robert Kennedy Jrknown for his skepticism towards vaccines, as Secretary of Healthand to that of Elon Musk leads the Department of Government Efficiencywhich could have a significant impact on the budget and workforce of even scientific research agencies.
According to Nature, space will certainly have a leading role next year. In the early months of 2025 is expected launch of two new private landers headed on Moon: Venture Moon from Japan iSpaceon its second attempt, and the Texan lander Intuitive Machineswhich has already succeeded in the feat. Two missions that will study the solar wind: Smileby the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, e Punch of NASA. The mission is also NASA’s Spherexwhich in two years will have to obtain a sky map in 102 colorscollecting data on more than 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars. AtEarth observation the satellites are dedicated instead Biomass of ESA e Nisarby NASA and the Indian space agency (Isro), which will map the earth’s surface and forests.

In 2025 the China plans to begin testing on new brain-computer interfaces that could compete with i chip of the company Neuralink by Musk: one of these, which involves eight electrodes positioned on the cerebral cortex, is designed to restore hand movement in individuals suffering from spinal cord injuries and has already demonstrated its effectiveness.
After construction work started over 10 years ago, there is also great anticipation for the entry into operation of the European Spallation Source in Sweden, the new particle accelerator European destined to become the most powerful neutron source in the world: can make a contribution especially to hunting new materialsand also contains a lot of Italian technology. It should also be completed within the year feasibility study of Future Circular ColliderThe successor to Lhc active at Cern in Geneva, with the evaluation of costs, technical aspects and environmental impacts.
After the success of anti-obesity drug semaglutidewhich has caused a lot of talk this year, three trials in the United States are in an advanced stage. We are also looking with interest at the arrival of new molecules for the treatment of chronic pain.

Finally, great expectations for the Global Treaty on Pandemic Preparednesswhose discussions have reached an impasse without meeting the June 2024 deadline, and for the COP30 climate conference of November 2025 in Brazil, which will have to finalize decisions on financing for developing countries, and the ongoing negotiations for a treatise on plasticwhich establishes an international framework of binding rules.
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I am a journalist with over 6 years of experience working in the news industry. I currently work as an author for Global Happenings, and my coverage focuses on Technology news. I have written for various publications, including Reuters, The New York Times and The Guardian.
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What the science actually says about fluoride in drinking water

Public health officials are sparring over conflicting studies weighing the benefits and risks of fluoride, especially for young children. Most everyone agrees it is important for our dental health. The question is how much fluoride we need to protect our teeth without risking possible cognitive harm.

Recent analyses suggest some evidence that high levels of fluoride might harm the brains of children and developing fetuses. Other studies have found no such evidence. And there is no indication that fluoride hurts adult cognition.

The fluoride mineral is part of the Earth’s crust. It exists in all water and in many foods. In much of the country, extra fluoride gets added to public drinking water. It is also in toothpaste and other dental products.

The decision to add fluoride to drinking water is made by local municipalities. Nearly 20 communities across the country have halted the practice, with more discussing it. Many European countries including France and Germany don’t fluoridate drinking water.

You can find the level of fluoride for some communities on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Fluoride’s benefitsMost U.S. public health experts and doctors staunchly support adding fluoride to public drinking water to mitigate tooth decay.

Cavities are typically caused by acid that breaks down the enamel of the teeth. Fluoride helps remineralize those areas, making them more resistant to decay.

In Canada, the city of Calgary stopped adding fluoride to its public water in 2011. An April study in the Canadian Journal of Public Health compared Calgary with Edmonton, which continued fluoridation, and found that the rate of general anesthesia for cavity-related treatments was higher in Calgary among more than 2,600 children under age 12 between 2010 and 2019. Children 5 and younger had higher rates than the older children.

“We found that 65% of the children who had general anesthesia lived in nonflouridated areas,” said Maryam Amin, a professor and associate chair of research at the University of Alberta and senior author on the study. Calgary is resuming fluoridation in its public water.

Fluoride applied directly to teeth via toothpaste strengthens tooth enamel and promotes remineralization. Fluoride ingested through water and food gets incorporated into the developing enamel of teeth that haven’t emerged yet, which is why it is especially important for children during their tooth-forming years, Amin says.

Other studies have found more cavities and dental decay in both Calgary and Juneau, Alaska, which ended its community water fluoridation program in 2007.

Fluoride’s possible risksA study last year in the journal Environmental Health linked higher prenatal fluoride exposure to increased neurobehavioral problems, such as anxiety or emotional problems, when children reached age 3.

The study measured urine fluoride levels in pregnant women in Los Angeles County. It found that women whose levels were at the 75th percentile during pregnancy had children nearly twice as likely to exhibit neurobehavioral problems by age 3 than those at the 25th percentile.

The National Toxicology Program assesses potentially toxic chemicals for the government. In August, it released a study concluding with “moderate confidence” that higher levels of fluoride exposure are associated with lower IQ in children—though that wasn’t necessarily the cause. High levels were defined as 1.5 milligrams of fluoride a liter. That equals more than two times the U.S. recommended level of 0.7 milligrams per liter.

The conclusion was based largely on research conducted in other locations—outside of the U.S.—where some pregnant women, infants and children are exposed to higher levels of fluoride.

“There very likely is a level of fluoride much, much higher than what we have in the United States that may cause neurocognitive issues during fetal and early childhood development,” says Dr. Charlotte Lewis, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. But there is no strong evidence that is happening with the levels of fluoride in public drinking water in the U.S., she says.

What to doParents worried about potential risks to children can take a few steps.

Pregnant women who want to limit their fluoride exposure can look for bottled water labeled as deionized, purified, demineralized or distilled, without any fluoride added after purification treatment, says Kyla Taylor, a health scientist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and co-author of the National Toxicology Program study.

Water filters in refrigerators typically don’t filter out fluoride. A filter needs a reverse-osmosis step to remove most fluoride. You can buy reverse-osmosis filtration systems at such places as Home Depot.

The CDC recommends children use fluoride toothpaste starting at age 2. To avoid accidental ingestion, children younger than 6 should use no more than a pea-size amount of toothpaste. For pregnant women, using toothpaste with fluoride should be safe for the fetus, says Ashley J. Malin, an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology at the University of Florida and author of the study linking fluoride to neurobehavioral problems.

Other scientists say concern about fluoridated water in the U.S. is misguided.

Lewis, the University of Washington pediatrics professor, says infants’ teeth are mineralizing in the jaw even when they aren’t yet visible. So exposure to fluoride affects how the teeth eventually develop, making them stronger and more resistant to cavities.

“Everyone benefits from fluoride at the level that we have in U.S. community water fluoridation,” she says. That includes pregnant women and infants.

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