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Light and sound may delay Alzheimer’s by making the brain remove toxins. Plus: the melting of Greenland ice could cause European heat extremes this year

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Tsai Laboratory/MIT Picower Institute

Light show

A new explanation has emerged for why an experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s disease involving sounds and flickering lights may help slow cognitive decline. The frequencies involved seem to ramp up the brain’s waste disposal networks, which boosts the clearance of beta-amyloid and other toxic proteins that contribute to memory and concentration problems. “Once we understand the mechanism, we can probably figure out how to further optimise this whole concept andimprove the efficacy,” says Li-Huei Tsai at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Read more.

European heat

The 10 hottest and driest summers in Europe in the past 40 years have all followed the release of particularly large amounts of freshwater from Greenland’s ice sheet, and it may mean an especially hot summer is coming in southern Europe this year and next. The link happens because the extra meltwater triggers a series of amplifying feedbacks that affect the strength and position of the atmospheric jet stream over Europe, according to Marilena Oltmanns at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, UK. Read more.

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• Less-good hydration: The powers of hyaluronic acid in skincare products have been oversold. For more on the skin and how important it is to our health, see the long read (below).

Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com

Our skin is one of the first body parts to show signs of ageing. Such changes may seem – quite literally – skin-deep, but we shouldn’t underestimate the skin’s importance to the rest of the body. Growing evidence suggests that damage and deterioration of our skin has surprising knock-on effects for the rest of the body, driving inflammation, muscle and bone loss, and possibly even cognitive decline. The more your skin deteriorates, the more the rest of you ages prematurely. There is even tentative evidence that taking better care of our skin could slow the harmful effects of ageing and improve our overall health. Read more.

In the footsteps of Alexander von Humboldt: Ecuador

16 August 2024 | 11 days 

Explore Ecuador's stunning natural wonders, including the Amazon and Cloud Forest, and follow in the footsteps of ecologist Alexander von Humboldt.

Dylan Gomes at Oregon State University talks about how strange animals called pyrosomes are thriving as the Pacific heats up.

Thanks for reading and have a great Thursday.

Chris Simms

Assistant news editor, New Scientist

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