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.

Argentina has formally withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO), its foreign minister has announced.

The country follows the footsteps of the United States, which in January made its exit from the global health body, after President Donald Trump condemned the WHO for not properly handling the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

Argentina, a key ally of Trump, also criticized the WHO on its role during COVID and made the formal notification of withdrawal last year. Based on the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the withdrawal takes effect one year after a notification is made.

Taking to the social media platform X, the country's Foreign Ministry reported that Argentina has now completed the withdrawal process within the timeframe stipulated by international treaties.

"Today, Argentina's withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) takes effect, marking one year since the formal notification made by our country," Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said on X.

"Our country will continue to promote international cooperation in health through bilateral agreements and regional forums, fully safeguarding its sovereignty and its decision-making capacity in health policy matters," he added.

In 2025, Argentina declared that "the WHO's recommendations are ineffective because they are not based on science, but on political interests", the AFP reported.

Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni told a press conference at the time that the decision "gives the country greater flexibility to implement policies adapted to the context and interests that Argentina requires, as well as greater availability of resources, and reaffirms our path towards a country with sovereignty also in matters of health", Xinhua news agency reported.

US' Withdrawal From The WHO

While WHO's membership is nearly universal, and withdrawals are extremely uncommon, the United States, earlier in January this year, became the first country to formally withdraw from the UN health body.

It comes a year after Trump signed an executive order to exit the multinational grouping on his return to the White House.

In its statements, the United States cited as one of the reasons for its decision, “WHO failures during the COVID-19 pandemic”, including “obstructing the timely and accurate sharing of critical information” and that the WHO “concealed those failures”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) was founded on April 7, 1948, when its constitution officially came into force, making it a specialized agency of the United Nations.

The global health body has been instrumental in eradicating smallpox and tackling public health threats like polio, HIV, Ebola, and tuberculosis.

Global Health Funding Takes A Hit

In January, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he deeply regretted the move, saying it would make the United States and the rest of the world unsafe.

The withdrawal of the US -- accounting for nearly a fifth of the WHO’s budget -- also affected its budget. Ghebreyesus also warned of falling donor support and severe budget cuts.

The agency is facing “the greatest disruption to global health financing in memory” as contributions fall sharply across the board, the WHO chief said.

The WHO has revised its financial plans, scaling back its current spending and proposing a 21 percent cut for the 2026-2027 budget cycle.

In November 2025, the global health body announced that its workforce will shrink by nearly a quarter or over 2,000 jobs by mid 2026.

In 2024, an estimated 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday, including 2.3 million newborns, according to an alarming new report by the United Nations today.

A majority of the deaths could have been prevented with proven, low-cost interventions and access to better health care, revealed the Levels & Trends in Child Mortality report.

While child mortality under-five globally has fallen by more than half since 2000, the pace of reduction slowed down by more than 60 percent after 2015.

“The world has made remarkable progress in saving children’s lives, but many still die from preventable causes,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“Children living amid conflict and crisis are nearly three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday. We must protect essential health and nutrition services and reach the most vulnerable families so every child has the chance not only to survive, but to thrive,” he added.

Key Findings

• Children under five years:

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) claimed more than 100,000 children aged 1-59 months in 2024, mainly in Pakistan, Somalia, and Sudan.

Notably, malnutrition weakens children’s immunity and increases their risk of dying from common childhood diseases.

• Newborn deaths -- nearly half of all under-five deaths occurred in newborns. Leading causes include:

Complications during labor and delivery (21 percent)

Infections, including neonatal sepsis and congenital anomalies

• In infants and toddlers, major killers were infectious diseases such as

diarrhea,

pneumonia

• Children and youth aged 5–24 -- an estimated 2.1 milliondied in 2024.

In adolescents, self-harm was the leading cause of death among girls aged 15–19, and road traffic injuries among boys.

• Countries With Most Deaths

• conflict,
• climate shocks,
• invasive mosquitoes,
• drug resistance,
• Low access to prevention and treatment.

Europe and Northern America -- 9 per cent

Australia and New Zealand -- 6 per cent.

Southern Asia -- 25 per cent of all under-five deaths

Children and youth between 5 and 24 years old

How To Prevent

The report called for increasing investments in child health with low-cost interventions, such as

• vaccines
• treatment for severe acute malnutrition
• boost primary health care systems and community health workers
• transparent data collection, tracking, and reporting
• focus on mothers and children at highest risk
• make quality healthcare more affordable

“History has shown what is possible when the world commits to protecting its children. With sustained investment and political will, we can continue to build on those achievements for future generations,” Russell added.

A meningitis outbreak in Kent University is now treated as a national incident, after two people have died, one of them being the student of the university. Students have been urged to get vaccines and take antibiotics as health officials are dealing with the "unprecedented" and "explosive" outbreak.

As per the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), 15 cases have been reported and all of them have lead to hospital admission. Cases are also expected to rise due to the incubation period of infection to when the symptoms start to appear. The incubation period is from two to 14 days.

A report by Sky News notes that around 5,000 students in the university halls in Kent will be offered the meningitis B or (menB) vaccine in the coming days. Four schools across the county have also confirmed cases with hundreds of people being offered antibiotics.

Read: Meningitis Outbreak: University of Kent Student Among Two Who Died of the ‘Invasive’ Disease

Quickest-growing Meningitis Outbreak

As per experts, many of whom are affected had attended Club Chemistry in Cantebury between 5 to 7 March. UKHSA chief executive Susan Hopkins said the outbreak "looks like a super-spreader" event with "ongoing spread" through universities' halls of residence. She added: "There will have been some parties particularly around this, so there will have been lots of social mixing. I can't yet say where the initial infection came from, how it's got into this cohort, and why it's created such an explosive amount of infections."

She further said that in her 35 years working in medicine, healthcare, and hospitals, "This is the most cases I've ever seen in a single weekend with this type of infection". She added: "It is the explosive nature that is unprecedented here - the number of cases in such a short space of time." She also remarked that this was the "quickest-growing outbreak" she has ever seen in her career.

Fighting For Jabs

According to The Guardian report, parents are contacting pharmacies in an "increasingly desperate" effort to get their children vaccinated against meningitis after the outbreak in the university was reported. The surge in vaccination demand has led to the stocks running so low that many pharmacies are unable to get hold of supplies from wholesalers.

A snap poll recorded that almost nine out of 10 pharmacies, which makes it 87 per cent, reported a dramatic rise in requests from concerned parents to get a child or children vaccinated, as per the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).

Read: Kent Uni Meningitis Outbreak Caused By Less-Targeted Strain B

Parents were paying £200 or more per child for a vaccine that protects against meningitis B, the strain of meningococcal bacteria involved in the outbreak. For example, Boots is charging £220 for the two jabs needed.

A pharmacy owner in Berkshire told The Guardian, “I have received about 30 or 40 calls in two hours from people wanting to book their entire families for vaccinations. They are worried. They are getting agitated.”

NPA chair, Olivier Picard told The Guardian that the demand was "far exceeding supply", which has forced pharmacies to "manage constrained levels of supply" and tell anxious parents that they cannot immunize their children.