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Nanoparticles release antibiotics deep in the lungs to reduce symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Plus: why physicists are rethinking the route to a theory of everything.

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Lung treatment

Delivering medication to the lungs with inhalable nanoparticles may help treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD causes the lungs’ airways to become progressively narrower and more rigid, obstructing airflow and preventing the clearance of mucus. As a result, mucus accumulates in the lungs,  trapping medications, making it challenging to treat infections. Now researchers have developed inhalable nanoparticles capable of penetrating mucus to deliver medicine deep within the lungs. In mice with signs of the condition, the treatment improved lung function and reduced inflammation. Read more.

Dire straits

The Panama Canal is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, providing the fastest way to sail between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. But for the third time in less than a decade, a shift to El Niño conditions has led to a severe drought in the area. This, plus a recent surge in demand for passage through the canal, has created a water crisis. There is now limited water available to fill the massive locks that raise ships 26 metres above sea level so they can cross the continental divide. Can the canal survive climate change? Read more.

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• Time crystals: Quantum computer uses a unique phase of matter as a control dial

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• Cold comfort: Orca pod disappears after being trapped in drifting ice off Japan

Finding a theory of everything - a single framework that explains all of reality - is the loftiest goal in physics. But it is also notoriously tough. Some feel that string theory, long seen as our best hope, hasn’t made much progress in years. Now increasing numbers of physicists are trying a new tack. They reason that, if a final theory must explain the fundamentals, including space and time, then they must start even more basic than that. That is why a new breed of theories of everything are springing up, all based on a wild landscape of abstract geometry. Read more.

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Mark Spicer at the HALO Trust, a landmine clearance charity, reveals how a bizarre worm lizard not seen for 90 years was found by landmine removers. 

Thanks for reading and have a great Thursday.

Chris Simms

Assistant news editor, New Scientist

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