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Twin Study Sheds New Light on Screen Time and Mental Health

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Image created with AI.

Shared family factors, such as genes and upbringing, are likely to explain a large part of the link between high screen use and mental health problems in young people. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Human Behaviour.

“Our results suggest that the association may in some cases have been overestimated because it has not been possible to fully account for shared family factors,” says Tong Gong, research specialist at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, and the study’s corresponding author alongside Lu Yi, senior researcher at the same department. 

The researchers have followed over 21 000 Swedish twins from the age of nine, through their teenage years and into adulthood. The aim was to investigate how leisure-time screen use is linked to symptoms of depression and anxiety over time. By comparing twins within the same family, where one twin used screens more than the other, they were able to study how the association was influenced by shared genetic and environmental factors.

Clear links during adolescence

The clearest associations between screen use and mental health problems were observed during adolescence and for interactive screen activities such as gaming, chatting and surfing the internet. In contrast, significantly weaker or no links were observed for passive activities such as watching TV or videos.

Fifteen-year-olds who spent more than six hours a day on interactive screen activities had more symptoms of depression or anxiety and were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with such a condition later in life, compared with their peers who spent no more than two hours a day using screens. However, when the researchers compared twins within the same family, most of these links weakened, particularly among identical twins. 

“The correlations did not disappear entirely, but they did become significantly weaker, suggesting that both genes and upbringing play an important role,” says Tong Gong.

The researchers emphasise that the results do not mean that screen time is irrelevant to mental health. Interactive screen activities during adolescence were still linked to an increased risk of mental health problems later in life, although the uncertainty increased when shared family factors were included in the analyses.

Will examine different types of activities

The study is based on self-reported data on screen use and does not capture exactly what the young people were doing on their screens or why they were using them. Furthermore, the data was collected before social media and smartphones became as integral a part of young people’s everyday lives as they are today.

The next step is to examine different types of screen-based activities in greater detail, studying their content, the motivation behind their use, problematic use and the activities that screen time replaces. In this way, the researchers hope to gain a better understanding of how these complex relationships vary across different age groups and between girls and boys.

“Future recommendations should not focus solely on how much time children and young people spend in front of screens,” says Emma Frans, senior research specialist at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, and co-author of the study. “To be able to give good advice, we also need to understand what they are doing on their screens, why they are doing it, and which individual and family-related factors may affect their well-being.” 

The study was conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in collaboration with partners from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Australia. It was primarily funded by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation and the Swedish Brain Foundation. One of the co-authors, Henrik Larsson, has received research grants, honoraria, and consultancy fees from pharmaceutical companies outside the scope of this study. The other researchers declare no conflicts of interest.

Publication

”Recreational Screen Use and Internalizing Problems from Preadolescence to Young Adulthood in a Longitudinal Twin Cohort with Co-Twin Comparison”, Tong Gong, Emma Frans, Anna Ohlis, Shuyang Yao, Ruyue Zhang, Anders Nilsson, Yasmina Molero, Miriam A Mosing, Isabell Brikell, Henrik Larsson, Paul Lichtenstein, Lisa B Thorell, Patrik KE Magnusson, Ralf Kuja-Halkola, Yi Lu, Nature Human Behaviour, online 8 October 2026, doi: 10.1038/s41562-026-02607-0.

Source: Karolinska Institutet

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Statins May Protect People from Developing Glaucoma

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Photo by Ksenia Chernaya

New research from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has found that taking statins may be linked to a lower risk of developing glaucoma and a reduced chance of it getting worse. The study found that people with existing glaucoma who are taking statins appear less likely to need stronger treatments like extra eye drops or surgery to keep it under control. The findings are published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

“Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness, and statins are among the most common medications used to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease,” said senior study author Robert Weinreb, MD, Distinguished Professor in the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and ophthalmologist at UC San Diego Health. Weinreb is also director of the Hamilton Glaucoma Center and the Gleiberman Center for Glaucoma Research at the Shiley Eye Institute.

“If this association is confirmed in future studies, it could have implications for a very large number of people.”

Glaucoma is caused by permanent damage to the optic nerve and is typically treated with prescription eye drops, oral medications, laser treatment or a combination of these approaches. Statins are commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol levels, but studies have indicated that they may also prevent or slow nerve cell death. However, their potential role in preventing or slowing glaucoma is poorly understood.

To strengthen the evidence base addressing this gap in knowledge, researchers searched a database covering 165 million individuals across the world.

They compared more than 210 000 people who had a record of statin use between August 2006 and August 2026 with a matched control group of 210 000 people who had no record of using statins. Individuals in both groups had to have a recorded ophthalmological follow-up.

Statin use was associated with a 15% lower risk of developing open-angle glaucoma, the researchers found.

At five years, there were 4771 new diagnoses of glaucoma in the statin group (2.3%) and 5,491 in the control group (2.6%).

In a separate analysis, more than 30,000 individuals with glaucoma who were taking statins were compared with almost 250,000 individuals with glaucoma who were not taking statins.

Statins were linked to a lower risk of progressing to need glaucoma surgery or other treatment.

At five years, statin use was associated with a 36% lower risk of incisional glaucoma surgery and a 55% reduced risk of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) – a keyhole procedure to lower the intraocular pressure in the eye.

“Statins are known to have pleiotropic effects beyond cholesterol lowering, including anti-inflammatory and potential neuroprotective properties. This study suggests those effects could be relevant to optic nerve health, and future studies will be able to tell us if this is a causal, clinically actionable relationship.”

— Robert Weinreb

Statins were also associated with a 60% lower risk of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) — a procedure that lowers the pressure in the eye by using laser pulses. There was also a 12% reduced risk of eye drops to reduce the pressure in the eye linked to statin use.

After 10 years, statin use continued to be associated with a lower risk of incisional glaucoma surgery, MIGS, SLT, and use of eye drops, the researchers found.

The researchers caution that this is an observational study and as such, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. Another limitation of the study is that the researchers did not have access to individual patient data, including intraocular pressure measurements or surgical details. This means they were unable to determine whether surgery was performed due to increased disease severity or because the patient was not adhering to treatment.

Nevertheless, they say their findings add to the growing literature about the neuroprotective effect of statins. Prospective randomized trials are now needed to better understand the effects of statin use on glaucoma incidence and treatment.

“Statins are known to have pleiotropic effects beyond cholesterol lowering, including anti-inflammatory and potential neuroprotective properties,” said Weinreb. “This study suggests those effects could be relevant to optic nerve health, and future studies will be able to tell us if this is a causal, clinically actionable relationship.”

This story was adapted from a press release issued by the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Read the full study: “Statin Use is Associated with Lower Risk of Open-Angle Glaucoma Incidence and Treatment Escalation”

Source: University of California – San Francisco

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Dis-Chem and Cipla Foundation Partner to Bring Affordable Primary Healthcare Closer to Macassar Residents

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The partnership supports community-based care while empowering a local nurse entrepreneur to provide quality primary healthcare closer to home

Macassar, Western Cape – Residents of Macassar will now have improved access to affordable, quality primary healthcare close to home following the launch of a new Sha’p Left nurse clinic.

Established through a partnership between Dis-Chem’s Better Tomorrow programme and the Cipla Foundation’s Sha’p Left initiative, the clinic aims to remove everyday barriers to care, including high transport costs, lost working hours and long queues at public health facilities.

Home to approximately 52 400 people across 14 000 households, Macassar is a growing, working-class community. Most residents rely on the local Community Health Centre for primary and maternity care. The new clinic will help ease pressure on this already busy facility while improving access to care for conditions including HIV, tuberculosis, diabetes and hypertension.

Led by experienced Clinical Nurse Practitioner Patricia-Ann Smith, the new fee-for-service practice is fully licensed to dispense medication up to Schedule 4. Patients can therefore be examined, diagnosed and receive the required treatment and prescriptions during a single visit, offering a convenient, cost-effective and dignified alternative for routine primary healthcare.

“Better Tomorrow is about finding practical ways to bring quality care closer to communities,” says Joshila Shiba, Dis-Chem’s Head of Health Equity and Sustainability. “Rather than building every solution from scratch, we partner with experienced organisations that already have proven, community-rooted models. Macassar gives us an invaluable opportunity to measure the real-world impact of this intervention and assess its long-term sustainability.”

From nurse to nursepreneur

At the heart of the clinic, Smith, a veteran healthcare professional with 37 years of nursing experience says the initiative has created an opportunity to turn a lifelong ambition into reality. The Sha’p Left model supports qualified nurses, predominantly women, with the infrastructure, training, compliance support and operational systems needed to establish independent practices.

“I have always wanted to own a healthcare business, but nursing has always been about putting people first and building trust,” says Smith. “Caring for my own community means a great deal to me. Primary healthcare gives us an opportunity to prevent illness, promote healthier choices and improve quality of life. Being able to make quality healthcare more accessible while contributing to my community makes this practice especially meaningful to me.”

A scalable model for primary healthcare

Designed by the Cipla Foundation, the Sha’p Left initiative aims to establish self-sustaining primary healthcare practices that can operate independently of ongoing philanthropic funding. The model is built on the principle that trusted local clinical nurse practitioners are well placed to expand access to primary healthcare in their own communities.

“Affordable, nurse-led clinics have an important role to play in expanding access to quality healthcare in South Africa,” says Paul Miller, CEO of Cipla Africa. “By bringing essential services closer to communities, we can help ease pressure on overburdened public health facilities while empowering qualified nurses to become healthcare providers and entrepreneurs in their own communities.”

For Dis-Chem Better Tomorrow, funding the Sha’p Left Macassar clinic forms part of a broader commitment to strengthening primary and preventative healthcare across South Africa.

“We want to help build and support healthcare models that strengthen the broader primary healthcare system for the long term,” says Shiba. “Macassar is our starting point. Demonstrating real societal health impact by improving access to quality healthcare for more South Africans through our integrated healthcare ecosystem is core to our purpose.”

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Every Unit has a Story: SANBS Documentary Reveals why Blood Matters as Stocks Drop to 4.2 Days’ Cover

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Johannesburg, 9 October 2026 – What happens to a unit of blood after someone rolls up their sleeve and donates? Who receives it? What does that blood mean to a person fighting for their life? And what would happen if the blood needed in an emergency simply wasn’t available?

These are some of the questions explored in the South African National Blood Service’s (SANBS) new documentary, Why Blood Matters, which premiered in Johannesburg on Thursday, 8 October, and will be broadcast on SABC 2 on Sunday, 11 October 2026, at 9pm.

The premiere brought together the people whose stories bring the documentary to life, highlighting the profound impact of blood donation and the people, science and processes that make safe blood available to patients across South Africa.

The screening comes at a critical time for the country’s blood supply, with SANBS blood stocks having dropped to 4.2 days’ cover. SANBS is urging eligible donors to donate blood as soon as possible to help replenish stocks and ensure that blood is available for patients who need it. South Africans are encouraged to watch Why Blood Matters on Sunday and, just as importantly, donate blood. Behind every unit is a patient who may be relying on the generosity of a stranger.

Watch the documentary trailer

Every unit has a human story

The documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of South Africa’s blood supply system, bringing together the voices of donors, recipients, healthcare professionals and SANBS experts to tell the story of what happens between the moment blood is donated and the moment it becomes a lifeline for someone in need.

At the heart of the documentary are the people whose lives have been touched by blood donation. For some recipients, blood is needed because of an accident or medical emergency. For others, it forms part of a long and complex treatment journey.

One of the stories featured is that of Marie Bontjes, who was diagnosed with anaemia at just one year old. Her story highlights how blood transfusion can become part of a person’s life from childhood, and the difference a readily available blood supply can make.

Another recipient, Meena Singh, experienced liver failure and required a liver transplant. Her journey involved receiving multiple units of blood – an intervention she describes as giving her an opportunity at life.

The documentary also follows Gregory Naidoo, whose experience illustrates the unpredictability of medical emergencies and the vital role blood can play when a person’s body is under immense strain.

For donors, the motivation can be equally personal.

Mario Ferreira, who has been donating blood since he was 19, speaks about the deeply personal reward of knowing that his donation could help save another person’s life.

“Knowing that I can save a life makes me happy.”

Another donor featured in the documentary is Boitumelo Masiu, who began donating while still at school. Her experience demonstrates how a culture of blood donation can begin early and become a lifelong commitment.

For Siyabonga Malinga, donating blood has become part of a community of people who understand that, in an emergency, there may be no time to wait.

More than blood: understanding what happens behind the scenes.

While the documentary centres on personal stories, it also seeks to answer questions and address misconceptions surrounding the blood supply system. Blood donation is voluntary, and donated blood is given freely. However, once blood has been donated, it must undergo a rigorous process that includes testing, processing, storage and distribution before it can safely reach a patient.

This requires specialised infrastructure, equipment, skilled people and logistics – all of which form part of the complex system needed to ensure safe blood is available when and where it is required. With SANBS aiming to collect approximately 3 500 units of blood every day, the scale of the operation is significant.

However, maintaining an adequate blood supply depends on the continued commitment of donors. Blood has a limited shelf life, with red blood cells lasting up to 42 days, making regular donations essential to keeping stocks replenished.

For SANBS, this is ultimately about much more than numbers. It is about ensuring that patients undergoing emergency treatment, surgery, cancer care, transplants and other medical procedures have access to the blood they need.

Simphiwe Cele, Marketing and Branding Manager at SANBS, says the documentary provides an opportunity for South Africans to see the full human impact of blood donation.

“We often talk about blood in terms of units, blood groups, stock levels and statistics, but behind every unit is a human story. A donor chose to give, people work tirelessly to ensure the blood is safe, and a patient’s life may depend on receiving it. Why Blood Matters brings those stories together and reminds us why this work matters so deeply.”

He adds that one of the most important messages for viewers is that blood cannot simply be replaced when it is needed.

“Nothing does what blood does. It cannot be manufactured, and it cannot be taken for granted. The only reason we can provide blood to patients when they need it is because ordinary South Africans make the extraordinary decision to donate.”

The documentary also highlights the science, infrastructure and people behind South Africa’s blood supply, including the extensive processes involved in ensuring that every unit collected can be safely used.

Watch on Sunday. Donate today.

For SANBS, Why Blood Matters is more than a documentary. It is an invitation to South Africans to understand their role in a system that touches thousands of lives – and to recognise that the decision to donate blood can make the difference between a patient receiving the treatment they need and a critical shortage standing in the way.

With blood stocks currently at only 4.2 days’ cover, the need for donations is urgent. SANBS is calling on eligible donors to visit their nearest donor centre or mobile blood drive and donate as soon as possible.

South Africans are also encouraged to tune in to Why Blood Matters on SABC 2 on Sunday, 11 October 2026, at 9pm to discover the stories, science and people behind one of the country’s most essential healthcare services.

A single donation can help support emergency treatment, surgery, cancer care, transplant journeys and ongoing medical treatment. The donor and recipient may never meet, but their lives are connected through an act of generosity that can give someone another chance.

For more information or to find your nearest donor centre or mobile blood drive, contact SANBS on 0800 11 90 31 or visit SANBS.

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Flushing the Toilet can Send Aerosols to Face Height

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Photo by Jan Antonin Kolar on Unsplash

Researchers from Flinders University have found that flushing toilets can release aerosols and bioaerosols into the surrounding air, with some studies detecting particles at heights corresponding to the breathing zone of adults.

The new study, published in Science of the Total Environment, systematically reviewed research into aerosol and bioaerosol that is generated during toilet flushing, and examined the factors that influence how much aerosol is produced and how it disperses.

Lead author Lira Adiyani, a PhD student at Flinders University, says the findings highlight the potential for exposure to disease-causing microbes contained in toilet-generated aerosols.

“Toilet flushing creates turbulence that can release aerosols into the surrounding air. Some studies detected these aerosols at adult breathing height, indicating a potential pathway for inhalation exposure,” says Ms Adiyani.

“The microbes can originate both from contamination of the toilet bowl during use, or from the water used for flushing. The more microbes present in the toilet, the more bioaerosols may be released. Therefore, larger flush volumes generally produce more aerosols.”

The review analysed 22 studies of toilet-generated aerosols, including studies using microorganisms or surrogate organisms seeded into toilet water as well as studies conducted under normal, unseeded conditions.

The researchers found that aerosol concentrations varied considerably between studies, depending on experimental conditions, toilet characteristics and sampling methods.

Among experiments where microorganisms were deliberately introduced into toilet water, higher microbial concentrations in the water were associated with higher concentrations detected in aerosols. Higher aerosol concentrations were also commonly reported closer to the toilet, particularly around seat height.

Together, these findings suggest that maintaining good toilet hygiene, including regular cleaning of the toilet and surrounding surfaces, and handwashing after use may help minimise microbial contamination and potential exposure to microbial disease.

Flush volume was also identified as an important factor influencing aerosol generation, suggesting that choosing toilets designed with lower flush volumes, or using the lower-volume option on dual-flush toilets where appropriate, may help minimise aerosol production.

Aerosols were also reported to remain suspended in the air for at least 20 seconds after flushing. Although ventilation and lid position were not significantly associated with aerosol concentrations in the review, they may still influence how aerosols disperse within the bathroom.

Adequate ventilation may help disperse and remove suspended airborne particles, while evidence from individual studies suggests that closing the lid can alter the direction of aerosol dispersion, with aerosols escaping through gaps between the lid and toilet bowl rather than travelling directly upwards.

“Based on the available evidence, I would recommend closing the toilet lid before flushing, where a lid is available, as a precautionary measure to minimise potential inhalation exposure – while recognising that it does not completely prevent aerosols from escaping,” says Ms Adiyani.

Research co-author Professor Harriet Whiley, from Flinders University’s College of Science and Engineering, says the findings identify important research gaps and priorities for future investigation.

“Further research is needed to develop design and engineering interventions that reduce toilet-generated bioaerosols, particularly in high-risk settings such as hospitals,” says Professor Whiley.

Adequate bathroom ventilation and closing the toilet lid before flushing may be simple precautionary measures to help minimise potential exposure. However, further research is needed to determine how effectively these measures reduce aerosol dispersion and inhalation exposure.

The study – “Aerosol and Bioaerosol Generation from Toilet Flushing: A Systematic Review and Risk Factor Analysis,” by Lira Adiyani, Kirstin Ross, Ben Van den Akker and Harriet Whiley – is published in Science of the Total Environment. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.182111

Source: Flinders University

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Optogenetic Therapy for Retina Pigmentosa Shows Safety and Signs of Improvement

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Photoreceptor cells in the healthy retina. Credit: Scientific Animations

Scientists have taken another important step toward vision restoration in people with certain inherited forms of blindness. In a study published Oct. 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and international collaborators showed that an experimental, optogenetics-based treatment was safely administered to 10 patients and improved visual function in some participants when used in combination with a specially designed visual stimulation device.

The retina is limited in its ability to repair itself. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which destroys light-sensing cells in the retina, affects more than 1.5 million people worldwide. At onset, patients first notice impaired night vision, then impaired peripheral vision that gradually worsens over time, which can ultimately lead to severe vision loss or blindness.

“Retinitis pigmentosa can result from a mutation in any one of more than 100 distinct genes, so it presents an extraordinary challenge,” said UPMC Professor José-Alain Sahel, director of the UPMC Vision Institute; and first and co-corresponding author of the study. While in recent years Sahel and others have made strides in stopping and even reversing other progressive blinding diseases using gene therapies that target specific disease-causing mutations, RP requires an outside-of-the-box approach.

“Developing a separate treatment for every genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa is proving tremendously difficult and costly. While we continue working on correcting specific gene defects, our goal is to develop a way to restore visual function regardless of which gene caused the disease,” said Sahel.

In optogenetics, scientists alter cells to produce light-sensing proteins, which they are working to modulate for a variety of experimental uses. In this study, the team delivered a gene that produces a light-sensing protein known as ChrimsonR into surviving retinal ganglion cells, via a single injection into the eye.

The protein is then put into action with a visual prosthetic system. The user wears specialized goggles with a built-in camera that sends visual information to a portable processor. The processor, in turn, converts the information into patterns of light. A projector within the glasses sends back to the eye these patterns of light, which are of specific wavelengths designed to activate ChrimsonR in the modified retinal cells.

The researchers administered the optogenetic treatment to 10 people with advanced retinitis pigmentosa who were legally blind with little or no remaining vision. In this small, early-stage trial, the team found encouraging results in tests of the treatment’s safety.

Most eye-related side effects were mild or moderate and included temporary inflammation and short-lived increases in eye pressure.

After treatment, seven of the 10 participants had improved light sensitivity, and six made gains large enough to be considered clinically meaningful. While the treatment did not restore normal vision or the ability to read, some participants became better able to detect when an object was present, determine where it was located and reach toward it accurately while using the goggles.

The team also tested whether visual information was reaching the brain. Using electroencephalography, researchers led by Marlene Behrmann, John and Clelia Sheppard Professor of Ophthalmology at Pitt, found evidence that visual signals reached and were processed by the visual cortex when participants viewed objects. Four participants showed consistent improvements across multiple real-world visual tasks over months to years of testing.

“These results show that even in people with profound vision loss, the visual system retains a remarkable capacity to process new information,” said Sahel. “Potentially, the approach could also help patients with other blinding diseases in which the eye’s light-sensing cells have been lost, but other retinal cells – especially retinal ganglion cells – remain viable. Many of these patients currently have few or no treatment options.”

The study builds on a landmark Nature Medicine paper published in 2021, the first report of partial recovery of visual function in a blind patient following optogenetic therapy and the first ever clinical application of optogenetics in medicine. Last month, Sahel and his longtime collaborator, Botond Roska, of the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, who is also corresponding author of the current study, received the António Champalimaud Vision Award, the largest award in the field, for their contribution to vision restoration research.

The findings of the new study highlight one of several promising and complementary strategies the team is pursuing to restore vision in patients with end-stage retinal disease. Last year, Sahel was senior author of a New England Journal of Medicine article describing the ability to restore vision using an implanted prosthetic in patients affected with end-stage, age-related macular degeneration. The technology, known as PRIMA, has since received permission from the European Union to be marketed for clinical use within many European countries.

Source: University of Pittsburgh

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The Nobel Prize Winning Optogenetics Research that Revealed Neuron Mysteries

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From left: Peter Hegemann (Photo: Humboldt University of Berlin/Philipp Plum), Karl Deisseroth (Photo: Christopher Michel/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0), Georg Nagel (Photo: Robert Ememrich/University of Würzburg).

Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries behind optogenetics, a method that makes it possible to switch nerve cells in the brain on and off using light. The technique has given researchers new tools to understand how specific nerve cells contribute to memories, emotions and behaviour.

Which nerve cells make us feel fear or anxiety? Which ones drive us to move, eat or seek social contact?

The brain consists of billions of nerve cells that are constantly sending electrical signals to one another. For a long time, researchers could observe which nerve cells were active during specific brain processes and behaviours, but they could not determine whether they actually caused the behaviour. Optogenetics changed that.

“There was no way to test what would happen to a behaviour if I activated a particular type of nerve cell or if I stopped the activity of that type of nerve cell? Optogenetics made exactly that possible: to switch the activity of specific nerve cells on or off and observe how the behaviour changed,” says Konstantinos Meletis, professor at the Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, who has collaborated with Karl Deisseroth.

The researchers could therefore move from correlation to causality: from observing that a nerve cell is active when a certain behaviour occurs to testing whether the activity in the nerve cell actually causes the behaviour.

“It is so incredibly fundamental, so crucial to brain research. You can divide the history of neuroscience into a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ this discovery. Optogenetics has completely transformed what is possible to do,” says Konstantinos Meletis.

From algae to nerve cells

The story behind this year’s Nobel Prize began in the early 1990s, when the German researcher Peter Hegemann became interested in how the single-celled alga chlamydomonas can detect and swim towards light.

Together with fellow Nobel laureate, George Nagel, also from Germany, he succeeded in identifying a light-sensitive type of protein in the alga during the 2000s. The protein was named channelrhodopsin.

They discovered that when blue light struck the protein, a channel in the cell membrane opened. Electrically charged particles, known as ions, could then flow into the cell and generate an electrical signal. A key finding was that the the same protein and mechanism could also function in other types of cells.

From there came the next major idea.

The American researcher Karl Deisseroth realised that the protein channelrhodopsin could be used to control nerve cells.

The researchers introduced the gene coding for the protein channelrhodopsin into nerve cells grown in a laboratory, leading to formation of the light-sensitive protein on the surface of the nerve cells. When the nerve cells were exposed to blue light, the ion channels opened and the nerve cells began to generate and transmit electrical signals, just as nerve cells naturally do in the brain.

In effect, they had created a light-controlled switch for nerve cells.

Two years later, Karl Deisseroth and his colleagues were able to use the technique to control nerve cells in the brains of living mice.

Since then, optogenetics has become a central tool in neuroscience. By controlling specific nerve cells, researchers can investigate how different brain circuits influence movement, memory, emotions and behaviour.

The technique is also being explored as a potential foundation for future treatments.

“The technology is already being used in attempts to restore vision in people who are blind. The hope is that it will also become a tool for treating neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and PTSD,” says Konstantinos Meletis.

A collaboration that spread across the globe

Around 2008, Konstantinos Meletis was a postdoctoral researcher at MIT in the United States alongside Marie Carlén, now a professor at the Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet. There, they collaborated with Karl Deisseroth’s laboratory at Stanford University. This marked the beginning of a long-standing scientific collaboration. Deisseroth was invited to Karolinska Institutet on several occasions and held an affiliated research position between 2013 and 2019.

“Karl is an absolutely exceptional scientist and human being. In addition to being incredibly intelligent, he is remarkably generous. This has contributed to the breakthrough in optogenetics,” says Marie Carlén, and continues:

“As soon as he set up his lab and carried out the first optogenetics studies in the mid-2000s, he began sharing these tools with others. Since then, they have spread to thousands of laboratories around the world. I would say that is quite unique. It has enabled laboratories everywhere to continue expanding our knowledge of the brain.”

For Konstantinos Meletis, this year’s Nobel Prize is a reminder of the value of basic research and the importance of investing in work whose future significance is not yet known.

“We must be willing to trust the unexpected, to trust major discoveries that arise from things we did not anticipate. Optogenetics did not emerge because someone decided we needed a method to cure a specific disease. It developed frompeople who were deeply committed to a fundamental scientific question. Only later could its potential be recognised,” he says.

He points to Hegemann’s and Nagel’s early research on light-sensitive proteins in algae as an example. At the time, it was far from obvious how important the discovery would become for neuroscience.

“What funding body would choose to support research on algae in order to discover this protein? And yet, 20 years later, it has transformed the entire field of neuroscience. That is what makes it so inspiring.”

Facts about the 2026 Nobel Laureates

Karl Deisseroth

Born in 1971. Received his PhD in 1998 and his medical degree in 2000 from Stanford University,USA. Professor of Biomedical Engineering and of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stanford University.

Peter Hegemann

Born in 1954. Received his PhD in 1984 at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany, where the prize-winning discoveries were made. Professor of Neuroscience at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.

Georg Nagel

Born in 1953. Received his PhD in 1988 at the University of Frankfurt in Germany. Professor of Molecular Plant Physiology at the University of Würzburg, Germany. The prize-winning discoveries were made at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt, Germany.

Text: Anna Björklund

Source: The Nobel Foundation via Karolinska Institutet

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False Mechanism in Cancer Trial Drug Raise Concerns for Clinical Research

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Cancer drug entered clinical trials based on a false mechanism, exposing risks and costs of testing drugs without knowing their true target.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

A cancer drug currently being tested in patients may have entered clinical trials based on an incorrect understanding of how it works, according to a new study led by the University of Sydney in collaboration with Goethe University, Oxford University and the Institute of Cancer Research, London. 

Published in Nature Chemical Biology, the study found the experimental drug zavondemstat and a closely related research compound, QC6352 – developed to treat cancers such as colorectal, pancreatic and prostate cancer – do not primarily target KDM4, a family of proteins which can help cancer cells grow and spread when it becomes overactive. Instead, both compounds largely work by blocking DHODH, an enzyme cancer cells rely on to produce the molecules needed for rapid growth.

Lead author Professor Lenka Munoz from the University of Sydney School of Medical Sciences and Charles Perkins Centre said: “We can think of DHODH as a machine producing bricks needed to build new DNA. If you switch off the machine, the cell starts running out of bricks and can no longer efficiently copy its DNA and keep dividing.”

These findings could affect the interpretation of previous studies around the world that used the research compound (QC6352) to investigate the biology of the cancer protein and may have implications for the ongoing clinical development of the zavondemstat drug. 

The discovery emerged from research investigating whether zavondemstat and QC6352 could be repurposed for glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer. 

“We tested these compounds to investigate whether they could potentially be repurposed for glioblastoma treatment,” Professor Munoz said.

“When we tested other KDM4 inhibitors, we found they did not reproduce the anti-cancer effects observed with QC6352. 

“If blocking KDM4 was driving those effects, we would have expected the other inhibitors to behave similarly. Instead, the results suggested QC6352 was acting through a different mechanism.”

“Our study shows this is not just a historical problem but one still happening today. Greater rigour is needed to ensure we understand exactly how potential treatments work before they move into clinical testing.”

Professor Lenka Munoz
Charles Perkins Centre

Using patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells, tumour models and a series of genetic, mechanistic and molecular experiments, the researchers traced the compounds’ response to DHODH rather than KDM4.

“Researchers around the world have used QC6352 as a leading tool to study KDM4 biology, while the related drug zavondemstat progressed into clinical trials based on the same understanding,” Professor Munoz said.

“Our study found much of the anti-cancer activity of these compounds is driven by blocking DHODH rather than KDM4.”

Study highlights broader issue facing cancer drug development

Professor Munoz said the findings highlight a broader challenge in cancer drug development.

“Getting a drug’s mechanism wrong can lead to poorly designed clinical trials, inappropriate patient selection and years of research focused on the wrong biological target,” she said.

“There are well-known examples of cancer drugs advancing through large clinical trials before researchers realised they were not working through the mechanism originally proposed. 

“Our study shows this is not just a historical problem but one still happening today. Greater rigour is needed to ensure we understand exactly how potential treatments work before they move into clinical testing.

“Establishing a drug’s true mechanism early can protect patients, prevent wasted research effort and help ensure what limited funding we have is directed towards genuinely promising treatments.”

The findings also point to DHODH inhibition as a potential new avenue for glioblastoma treatment. Several drugs targeting DHODH are already being investigated for other cancers, raising the possibility they could eventually be tested in patients with brain cancer.       

Beyond identifying the drug’s true target, the researchers developed new compounds that inhibit KDM4 without affecting DHODH, which could help scientists study the role of KDM4 more accurately in future cancer research. 

Source: University of Sydney

Categories : Obstetrics & GynaecologyTags : Leave a comment

HPV-vaccinated Women had a Lower Risk of Preterm Birth

On By ModernMedia
Source: Pixabay CC0

The benefits of the HPV vaccine may extend beyond protection against cancer. In a study published in The BMJ, researchers at Karolinska Institutet found that women who had been vaccinated against HPV were less likely to experience several pregnancy and childbirth complications, particularly preterm birth.

HPV (human papillomavirus) is the leading cause of cervical cancer. HPV infection and treatment of cervical cell changes have also been associated with an increased risk of certain pregnancy complications. A new study has investigated the link between the HPV vaccine and complications such as preterm birth, premature rupture of membranes, babies being small for their gestational age, stillbirth, and neonatal mortality.

The study is based on Swedish registers and covers 624 713 pregnancies among first-time mothers aged 16 to 35 between 2006 and 2023. Of these women, 92 620 had received the quadrivalent HPV vaccine prior to becoming pregnant, providing protection against four common types of HPV.

Stronger link when vaccinated at a younger age

Women who had been vaccinated before pregnancy consistently had a lower risk of the studied complications, particularly preterm birth. Compared with unvaccinated women, they were around five per cent less likely to give birth prematurely and around 15 per cent less likely to give birth very prematurely.

“We also observed that the associations were stronger among women who had been vaccinated before the age of 17,” says Zhongsong Zhang, doctoral student at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet. “This is consistent with previous findings that the HPV vaccine provides the best protection against HPV-related disease when administered at a younger age.” 

A large register-based study

Although the researchers took into account several factors that could have influenced the results, as this was an observational study, it was not possible to conclude that the lower risk was caused by HPV vaccination. Nevertheless, the study covered a large number of women from the Swedish population over a long period of time. 

“Even a relatively small reduction in the risk of preterm birth can be significant at a population level, given that HPV vaccination is administered to millions of young people worldwide,” says Jiayao Lei, assistant professor at the same department at Karolinska Institutet. “Our results suggest that the benefits of HPV vaccination may extend beyond cancer prevention to include the reduction of complications that can arise during pregnancy and childbirth.” 

The study was carried out in collaboration with researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Funding for the research came from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, the Swedish Cancer Society, Karolinska Institutet and ALF grants, among others. See the scientific article for information on any conflicts of interest.

Source: Karolinska Institutet

Categories : Expert Opinion Healthcare Politics and RegulationsTags : Leave a comment

Inside The Box with Dr Andy Gray | How Should Medicines Shortages be Managed in South Africa?

On By ModernMedia
#InsideTheBox is a column by Dr Andy Gray, a pharmaceutical sciences expert at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Pharmaceutical Policy and Evidence Based Practice. (Photo: Supplied)

By Dr Andy Gray for Spotlight

Imagine you have been taking a medicine for years. Then one day you are told at the pharmacy that supplies have run out. In his latest Spotlight column, Dr Andy Gray zooms in on how governments can monitor and plan for such shortages.

The draft text of the United Nations High-Level Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, which failed to get consensus support at the General Assembly on 25 September 2026, contained this paragraph:

“Deeply concerned by the inequities at national and international levels that hindered timely and equitable access to health products, including vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics to address coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and recognizing the need to address serious shortcomings at the national, regional and global levels in prevention, preparedness, response and health system recovery for public health emergencies of international concern, including pandemic emergencies;”

However, it is not only during pandemics or public health emergencies that shortages of medicines and vaccines are experienced and have to be actively managed. In fact, in recent decades the issue has become so serious that several high-income countries have taken legal and regulatory steps to address it.

Global access to medicine shortage data

South African health and medicines law does not clearly define what is meant by a “medicines shortage”. By contrast, the US Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act simply defines it as a period of time when the demand or projected demand for a medicine exceeds its supply.

Since 2012, marketing authorisation holders in the US have been under a legal obligation to report shortages to that country’s medicines regulator. These obligations were strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic and now require manufacturers to report any interruption in their manufacturing process that is likely to lead to a meaningful disruption in supply, as well as to disclose the reasons for the interruption. Manufacturers are also required to give advanced warning of permanent discontinuation of production, and the reasons for that decision. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a publicly accessible database of current resolved shortages and discontinuations. In addition, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists maintains a separate database.

Medicines shortages have also been recognised as a critical public health issue by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and its national agencies. Since 2022, manufacturers have been required to report shortages to the European Shortages Monitoring Platform. The EMA maintains an accessible database of current and resolved shortages, as do each of the national agencies.

A similar resource is provided by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

The gap in South Africa

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has no equivalent reporting requirement, nor does it make any such data publicly accessible.

SAHPRA’s online register includes not only those products with current registration, but also includes those where the status is noted as “Cancelled”. Unfortunately, while the date of registration is recorded, there is no date of cancellation stated, nor any reason provided for discontinuation of the product. Health professionals and patients only find out about product discontinuations after the fact and the regulator has no advanced warning of the decision, nor is it provided with the reasons for discontinuation. There is also no accounting for how many medicines have been withdrawn from the South African market.

Section 19(2) of the Medicines and Related Substances Act allows SAHPRA to request any information from manufacturers, sellers or prescribers of medicines, but the intent is to enable response to a specific request, within a stipulated time period. This provision does not create an ongoing obligation or a permanent reporting process, so cannot be used to impose the type of reporting demanded in the US, Europe or Australia.

A valuable resource – the health department’s “hotlist”

The National Health Department’s website includes a recent innovation, in the form of a “hotlist”, defined as “a list of all essential medicines on contract with stock availability of below 90% and with total orders exceeding supplier stock on hand and total provincial stock on hand less than two months of forecasted demand”. Importantly, the list also documents “the root cause for the supply challenge and proposed remedial actions for each listed item”. The list is updated on a monthly basis and the August 2026 version lists 29 “new” items, 98 described as “longer term” and 120 resolved items. Of particular note, a separate tab lists products which were not being supplied to particular provinces because of non-payment of accounts. The reasons for shortages vary considerably, from delays in quality assurance procedures to delays in accessing critical components, whether active ingredients, excipients or packaging materials. Global supply constraints were also identified, as were local regulatory actions (or delays in obtaining regulatory approval for changes in production).

The health department’s website also provides a link to the current Master Health Product List, which includes all medicines for which a tender has been awarded. One of the columns on the spreadsheet documents the “VEN” status of the medicine. This refers to a judgment on whether a medicine is considered “vital”, “essential” or “non-essential”, in terms of the immediate health consequences of a shortage. Lack of access to a vital medicine, for which alternatives might not exist, would be expected to have immediate and serious health consequences for patients. One way to mitigate that risk would be to contract multiple suppliers of a vital medicine. Such split tenders are used for some essential medicines, notably the first-line antiretrovirals used to treat HIV, but not for all medicines listed as vital.

The private sector – adrift

Not only is there no equivalent of the “hotlist” for the private sector in South Africa, but one of the key responses used by the public sector to manage shortages is also not available. The National Department of Health Contract Management Unit’s website lists the products for which SAHPRA has granted the public sector permission, in terms of section 21 of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, to import unregistered medicines in bulk. In the private sector, similar bulk approvals are not issued, and individual applications are required for every patient seeking access to an alternative product, should there not be a registered alternative on the local market.

Health professionals in the private sector are therefore at a distinct disadvantage, lacking access to timely information about medicine shortages and also denied access to a key mechanism for responding to shortages.

In Australia, the equivalent legal provision (section 19A) enables access to unregistered, imported medicines to manage a medicine shortage considered to be of public health importance. Access is enabled for the entire health system, not only for facilities operated by the state.

The concept of “critical medicines”

European authorities have extended the concept of VEN status to create a list of “critical medicines”. In May 2026, political agreement was reached on the Critical Medicines Act, which will enable a number of important interventions to promote resilience in the pharmaceutical market. One of these interventions will require manufacturers to hold contingency stocks of critical medicines and mandate sharing of data on such stocks when reallocation is required, triggering a call for solidarity between Member States. Procurement of medicines will also be required to promote regional manufacturing in the EU.

Many reasons, key gaps

There can be many reasons for medicines shortages, some related to the national market, others impacted upon by global shifts. Regulatory action by SAHPRA in response to non-compliance with good manufacturing standards has resulted in a number of disruptions in supply, notably in the small volume injectable market.

Although the second single exit price adjustment in 2026 will be welcomed by the pharmaceutical industry, other actions noted in the joint government-industry-regulator statement in August 2026 still require attention. Some immediate actions include a joint review of the pricing regulations, to improve transparency and predictability and also explore alternative reimbursement models for specific medicines. In the longer term, the industry is seeking appropriate incentives, including public sector procurement that supports local production and attracts new investment.

According to the FDA definition, a medicine such as lenacapavir is already showing signs of a shortage, with demand exceeding supply. Improved transparency, applied across both public and private sectors, is crucial if medicine shortages are to be prevented, identified and acted upon with the urgency they deserve.

 – Gray is a Senior Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Pharmaceutical Policy and Evidence Based Practice.

Disclosure: Gray serves on three technical advisory committees at the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority.

*This column was published by Spotlight – health journalism in the public interest. Sign up to the Spotlight newsletter.