Science

Trees, Targets and Trillions: What's on the Agenda at COP30?

This is Beirut 09:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Nations Brasil COP30 Belem Climate

This year's United Nations climate summit promises to be symbolic, marking a decade since the Paris Agreement and taking place in the environmentally vulnerable Amazon. But what is actually on the agenda? The marathon negotiations gather nearly every country to confront a challenge that affects them all, but unlike recent editions, this "COP" has ...

From Ribbons to Robots: Does AI Have a Role in Breast Cancer Screening

Alissar Boulos 31/10 11:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

LAU Breast Cancer Screening AI Mammogram

Breast cancer doesn’t behave the same way in every woman, and it certainly doesn’t behave the same way across borders. From access to screening technology to the age and frequency of recommended mammograms, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Can artificial intelligence (AI) help make breast cancer screening smarter, more personal, and ...

ExplainerAnxiety and Intelligence: Myth or Scientific Reality?

Bélinda Ibrahim 30/10 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Anxiety Intelligence Myth Reality Science

Long seen purely as a burden, anxiety now intrigues researchers for one unexpected reason: its possible association with higher forms of intelligence. On social media and in some media outlets, one often reads that “anxious people have higher IQs.” But what do scientific studies really say? Should stress and rumination be seen as indicators of ...

SpotlightSmart Cartilage: The New Frontier Against Arthritis?

Bélinda Ibrahim 29/10 11:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Arthritis Science Cartilage Smart

This morning, in the calm corridors of a hospital, Myriam, 56, hesitates before putting her foot on the ground. Arthritis, with its constant flare-ups and stiffness, waits behind every movement. Around the world, hundreds of millions of people live in fear of a single misstep, caught between brief moments of relief and the anxiety of the next ...

Musk Launches Grokipedia to Rival 'Left-Biased' Wikipedia

This is Beirut 28/10 09:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

USA AI Internet Elon Musk

Elon Musk's company xAI launched Grokipedia on Monday to compete with online encyclopedia Wikipedia, which he has accused of ideological bias. The site dubbed version 0.1 had more than 885,000 articles by Monday evening, compared to Wikipedia's more than seven million in English. The launch came with the promise of a newer version, 1.0, which ...

Malaria in Lebanon: Discreet Comeback or Simple Alert?

Makram Haddad 24/10 09:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon Malaria

The aim is to include malaria in the differential diagnosis even without recent travel, to perform blood smear and thick smear, to use a rapid test if needed to save time, to notify cases to the Malaria Control Bureau and to apply therapeutic protocols strictly. This nudge serves as a reminder within a shifting regional context and heightened ...

ExplainerShampoo Basin Syndrom: The Stroke from the Beauty Salon

Bélinda Ibrahim 23/10 12:00 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Stroke Shampoo Basin Syndrom Awareness Health

That day, Julien never imagined that a simple shampoo would turn his life upside down. Sitting comfortably at the basin with his head tilted back, he enjoyed a moment of calm, unaware that a hidden danger was looming. A few days later, he suffered a stroke. On Instagram, he shared: “When I had my stroke, one of the first questions the ...

Online Search a Battleground for AI Titans

This is Beirut 23/10 09:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

AI Technology Google OpenAI Atlas

Tech firms battling for supremacy in artificial intelligence are out to transform how people search the web, challenging the dominance of the Chrome browser at the heart of Google's empire. Chatbots that started out as AI-powered assistants have gradually merged with web browsers and can independently scour the internet for detailed answers to ...

Osteoporosis: The Other Silent Burden

Makram Haddad 23/10 09:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Osteoporosis Vitamin D

Osteoporosis weakens bone and exposes people to so-called “fragility” fractures (a fall from standing height, a trivial movement). Long asymptomatic, it often declares itself with a first fracture – vertebra, wrist, hip – which is likely to be followed by others if nothing is done. Each October, the International Osteoporosis Foundation ...

SpotlightA Subretinal Chip Brings New Hope for AMD Patients

Bélinda Ibrahim 22/10 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

AMD Science Vision Chip World Retina

Losing central vision is like watching the heart of the world blur, then fade to black, until you can no longer recognize a loved one’s face or read the lines of a book. This silent suffering affects over 200 million people worldwide: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is now the leading cause of vision loss in those over 60. The disease ...

From Protection to Precaution: Reassessing Pandemic-Era Chemicals

Michael al-Andary 22/10 10:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

European Union USA corona cancer Covid-19 Ethanol ECHA WHO BPR

Some of the chemicals widely used for protection during the 2020 – 2021 coronavirus pandemic are now raising concerns among scientists, with new research suggesting they may have posed unexpected health risks. According to a recent report published by the Financial Times on Tuesday, the European Union (EU) is considering classifying ...

EU Takes Aim at Plastic Pellets to Prevent their Nightmare Cleanup

This is Beirut 21/10 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Europe European Union Plastic UN

At first glance, the tiny plastic pellets appear relatively harmless. No bigger than a lentil, these "nurdles" are destined to be melted down to make everything from car bumpers to salad bowls. But when tens of millions of them spill from trucks or cargo ships they are devilish to clean up, blighting landscapes and washing up around the world for ...