Many of us believe that we are great drinkers and that alcohol does not affect us as much. People who are able to drink without showing any sign of inebriation are known as social drinkers. In short, they are not addicted to alcohol but will not turn down the opportunity to have a good time! While it may seem like it doesn’t affect you, new studies suggest that it is just an illusion, even if you have high tolerance, alcohol affects your cognitive and motor functions more than you think.

The study reveals the below implications and techniques:

• Researchers used a new MRI technique to precisely measure brain electrical activity.
• By comparing brain scans before and after drinking, scientists identified specific areas affected by alcohol and how much brain activity slowed down.
• Participants were chosen to be regular social drinkers without alcohol addiction, ensuring the study focused on the effects of alcohol alone.
• MRI technology provided reliable data on brain activity changes caused by alcohol consumption.

How does the brain react to alcohol?

Think of it as the foundation for your brain's performance. When brain conductivity is high, information flows smoothly, and that helps your brain in rapid processing and response. On the other hand, low conductivity can hinder cognitive function, leading to slower thinking, impaired memory, and difficulties with coordination.

A study conducted at the Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and UNSW Science unveiled a startling connection between alcohol consumption and brain conductivity.

What is the connection between alcohol consumption and brain activity?

While many people brush off the effects of alcohol as temporary changes in behaviour, the reality is much more complex. Beyond the obvious impacts on coordination and judgment, alcohol significantly alters brain function. Alcohol dramatically slowed down brain activity, especially in areas responsible for decision-making, planning, and physical coordination. This decline was so significant that it resembled the brain changes seen in normal ageing. This means even one drink could temporarily accelerate the ageing process of your brain.

Alcohol and Brain activity: What does the study Imply?

The implications of this research are far-reaching. It provides compelling evidence that alcohol consumption has a direct and measurable impact on brain function. The discovery that alcohol can significantly reduce brain conductivity opens new avenues for understanding the neurocognitive effects of alcohol abuse and dependence. While you may not feel like alcohol is affecting you and you have a high tolerance, it most definitely changes and affects your decision-making abilities and impulse control.

Furthermore, the MRI technique employed in the study could be a valuable tool for assessing the impact of other substances on the brain and for developing interventions to mitigate alcohol-related brain damage.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign for girls aged 14 years from Rajasthan's Ajmer.

The initiative marks a decisive step towards eliminating cervical cancer through timely HPV vaccination. Cervical cancer remains the second most common cancer among women in India. Nearly 80,000 new cases and over 42,000 deaths are reported annually in the country.

"Today, I have had the opportunity to launch the HPV vaccine campaign from Ajmer. This campaign is an important step towards empowering women and daughters of this country,” PM Modi said.

“For us, this was a sensitive issue tied to the insult of our sisters and daughters, one that made them ill. That is why we resolved it at a crucial turning point in their mission,” he added.

The World Health Organization has also lauded India's mission to launch the HPV vaccine and prevent the risk of cervical cancer.

“We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the daughters of the country are healthy and prosperous. The objective of this initiative is the prevention of cervical cancer," the Prime Minister, earlier wrote in a post on social media platform X.

The HPV Vaccination Campaign

The nationwide program, based on expert recommendations of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), will target girls aged 14 years.

At 14, the HPV vaccine offers maximum preventive benefit, well before potential exposure to the virus.

"By prioritizing prevention at the right age, the program is expected to provide lifelong protection and significantly reduce the future burden of cervical cancer in the country," the government said.

“The HPV vaccine works best at 9-14 years, before exposure, and when the immune response is strongest. Studies show effectiveness is highest in younger age groups and decreases with age,” Dr. Parmod Kumar, Associate Professor in Medical Oncology, AIIMS Jodhpur, shared on X.

Vaccination under the national program will be voluntary and free of cost.

The HPV vaccination will be conducted exclusively at designated government health facilities, including Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (Primary Health Centers), Community Health Centers, Sub-District and District Hospitals, and Government Medical Colleges.

Cervical Cancer Burden In South East Asia

Despite being preventable, cervical cancer continues to claim the life of a woman every two minutes globally, and the WHO South-East Asia Region bears nearly one-quarter of the global burden.

Dr. Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia, stated that the introduction of HPV vaccination at a national scale in India "will have a far-reaching impact". It will accelerate progress not only for the country, but for the region and the world, she said.

“This landmark step, led at the highest level of government, reflects India’s strong commitment to protecting adolescent girls from cervical cancer," said Dr. Boehme.

With today’s milestone, nine of the 10 countries in the Region now include HPV vaccination in their national immunization programs.

The WHO global targets for 2030 include vaccinating 90 percent of girls by age 15, screening 70 percent of women by ages 35 and 45, and ensuring 90 percent of women with pre-cancer and invasive cancer receive appropriate treatment.

72 tigers have died due to an illness in Thailand's Chiang Mai. This happened is the span of less than two weeks this month. Facilities of Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai, have been concerned, as this is a park where visitors can touch and interact with the big cats.

As per a BBC report, the local livestock department said that samples from tigers showed canine distemper virus. However, authorities have not yet confirmed how the outbreak happened. The samples were collected from tigers' bodies, the chicken they eat and their surroundings.

In a news conference, officials told that the virus was no longer spreading and that no more tigers were dying. The officials also stated that no humans had been infected.

The remains of the tigers have been buried and a recommendation was made for the gravely ill tigers to be euthanized, said the authorities. Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, director of the national livestock department, previously told local media, "By the time we realized they were sick, it was already too late." He noted that it was harder to detect the sickness in tigers compared to animals like common household cats or dogs.

Read: This Zoonotic Disease Of Himalayas Is Re-emerging But Recognition Remains Poor

Previously, the provincial livestock office had told that preliminary tests showed the tigers were infected with feline parvovirus. While some local officials also suspected that the outbreak was stemmed from contaminated raw chicken meat that was fed to tigers as per the Bangkok Post.

As per the Thai PBS report, none of the veterinarians or other staff working in the Chiang Mai tiger enclosures had fallen ill from canine distemper virus. However, the disease control department said that they have been placed under observation for 21 days.

Canine Distemper: The Virus That Killed 72 Tigers In Thailand

As per the American Veterinary Medical Association, canine distemper is a contagious and serious disease caused by the canine distemper virus. The virus attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous system of canines, including dogs, cats, and other wild canines, which includes foxes, wolves, tigers, big cats, raccoons, and skunks, etc.

The signs of canine distemper includes:

• Discharge from the eyes and nose
• Fever
• Coughing
• Lethargy
• Reduced appetite
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

There are certain neurological signs too that can be noted:

• Walking in circles, unable to follow a straight path
• Head tilt
• Lack of coordination
• Muscle twitches
• Convulsions with jaw-chewing movements (“chewing gum fits”) and drooling
• Seizures
• Partial or complete paralysis

Is Canine Distemper Contagious to Humans?

As per PetMD, there is no evidence that humans can get canine distemper. Blue Cross UK also states that canine distemper virus is not infectious to humans and poses no known health threat to people. While it could be related to human measles virus, it does not cross over to cause illness in humans.

Read: Is There A Difference Between Zoonotic, Non-Zoonotic And Reverse Zoonotic Diseases

How Did The Tigers In Thailand Get Canine Distemper?

Many animal right groups are blaming the poor living conditions of captives as the reason for the virus. They say that tigers used for entertainment in Thailand lived in unclean enclosures. As per the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, the tigers' deaths exposed the "extreme vulnerability of captive wildlife facilities to infectious disease". "Tragedies like this would be far less likely to happen" if tourists "stayed away" from these attractions, Peta Asia said in a statement.

Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai has been temporarily closed for two weeks to carry out the disinfection work.

In a world first, doctors have corrected the DNA of a teen from British Columbia, Canada, using new gene-editing technology under clinical trial, and cured him of his rare disease, raising hopes for scores of patients with such inherited diseases around the globe.

A new paper published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine described Ty Sperle, 19, as the first person to be cured of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) -- a genetic condition where the body’s white blood cells do not work properly, increasing his risk of infectious disease -- by a treatment known as “prime editing”.

Ty was diagnosed with the condition at the age of five and has since been on pills, antibiotics, and antifungals. Yet, skin and soft-tissue infections, as well as an invasive bacterial infection in the lung, were quite frequent in his life.

“We have an immune system that I like to think of as a suit of armor that protects us, and because of Ty’s issue, he really had a big hole in that suit of armor,” Dr. Stuart Turvey, a pediatric immunologist at B.C. Children’s Hospital was quoted as saying in Global News.

"And so different bacterial or fungal infections could sneak in really at any time and cause serious or even life-threatening infections. So, it’s a tough disease to live with. People with this disease don’t live long, healthy lives," he added.

The Landmark Gene-Editing Technology

Ty became the first person to take part in the clinical trial, set up by US-based Prime Medicine, where doctors utilized the technology to correct an error in the DNA of patients affected by CGD.

In the trial, Ty's blood stem cells were drawn and enriched before being treated with the gene editing product.

"The product contains the necessary components to target and correct the mutation in the gene responsible for the condition, NCF1," the B.C. Children’s Hospital shared in a statement.

Ty was discharged after spending 24 days in hospital care. Follow-ups revealed that his immune system’s antimicrobial activity remained even durable six months later.

“When we got the call from Dr. Turvey, I was very excited as there were no cure options for me at that time,” Ty said.

“It was nerve-wracking for me as I was the first patient to volunteer for this procedure, and it seemed I was the only one, so it was scary," he said.

"I am thrilled with the result because I am cured of CGD and can live my life fully.”

What Is CGD?

CGD is an inherited disease that severely impacts the immune system and affects approximately one in 200,000 children.

Turvey, who treated Ty for more than a decade, said that the rare genetic disease leaves patients susceptible to infections that can turn serious, even fatal.

People with the condition have a dramatically reduced ability to fight illnesses and are extremely vulnerable to inflammatory conditions and bacterial and fungal infections.

While other treatments, such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or a bone marrow transplant, can help patients with CGD, they work only in the case of an optimal healthy donor.