On Thursday, Uganda confirmed an outbreak of the Ebola virus in its capital city Kampala, with the first confirmed patient dying from it a day before. As per the new developments, the officials are now preparing to deploy a trial vaccine to put an end to this outbreak.

Groups of scientists are working on the vaccine and deployment of more than 2,000 doses of a candidate vaccine against the Sudan strain of Ebola has been planned and confirmed by the Uganda Virus Research Institute. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), Uganda has access to 2,169 doses of trial vaccine. For now, however, there are no approved vaccines for the strain and officials are still investigating the source of the outbreak.

The WHO had also allocated $1 million from its contingency fund for emergencies to support quick action and contain the outbreak in the country.

Confirmed Case

On Wednesday, the Sudan strain of Ebola killed a nurse employed at Kampala's main referral hospital. It is after his death that Ebola was declared an outbreak in the country. Post-mortem samples too have confirmed the Sudan Ebola Virus Disease and at least 44 contacts of the deceased man have been listed for tracing. 30 of these are health workers.

Ebola is a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever, which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and tissue. Symptoms include headache, vomiting of blood, muscle pains and bleeding.

it was in the late 2022, when Uganda had last suffered an Ebola outbreak. It killed 55 of the 143 people who were infected and was declared over on January 11, 2023.

What Is Ebola Virus Disease?

As per the WHO, Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a rare but severe illness in humans and is often fatal. People can get infected with the virus if they touch an infected animal when preparing food, or touch body fluids of an infected person such as saliva, urine, faeces or semen, or things that have body fluids of an infected person like clothes or sheets.

How Does Transmission Work?

Ebola enters the body through cuts in the skin or when one is touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Early symptoms include fever, fatigue and headache.

It was first discovered in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreak, when in Nzara, South Sudan and other in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter occurred near a village near the Ebola River, which is where it gets its name from.

It is highly infectious and transmissible disease, in fact, there have been cases of health-care workers who have frequently been infected while treating patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola. This occurs through close contact with patients when infection control precautions are not practiced strictly.

Cases of people conducted burial ceremonies, involving direct contact with the body of the deceased too can lead to the transmission of Ebola. Even after the long suffering and recovery, there is a possibility of sexual transmission. Pregnant women who get acute Ebola and recover may still carry the virus in their breastmilk, or in pregnancy related fluids and tissues.

Symptoms:

• feeling tired
• headache
• muscle and joint pain
• eye pain and vision problems
• weight gain
• belly pain and loss of appetite
• hair loss and skin problems
• trouble sleeping
• memory loss
• hearing loss
• depression and anxiety

A recent massive study analysed more than 10,000 brain MRI scans and delivered fresh insights into why memory worsens as people age.

The study suggested that age-related memory decline is not caused by damage to a single brain region, as previously believed, but by widespread structural changes across the brain.

Researchers examined 10,343 MRI brain scans alongside 13,460 memory assessments from 3,737 cognitively healthy adults across 13 long-running international studies.

The findings, published in Nature Communications, are based on one of the largest investigations of healthy brain aging to date.

Age-Related Memory Loss Involves More Than Hippocampus

For decades, scientists have focused on the hippocampus, a brain region essential for learning and memory, and one of the earliest brain areas affected by Alzheimer's disease.

However, the new study found that although the hippocampus remains the strongest factor to consider memory decline, it is far from being the only region involved.

Researchers discovered that shrinking brain tissue in multiple interconnected regions, including areas linked to the hippocampus and several parts of the temporal lobe, collectively contributes to declining memory with age.

Brain Shrinkage Occurs Over Decades

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The researchers found that the link between brain shrinkage and memory loss becomes much stronger after the late 50s.

Rather than following a steady, gradual path, memory decline appears to accelerate as structural changes accumulate across multiple brain regions.

The study also showed that individuals with shrinkage affecting a greater number of brain regions experienced faster declines in memory, highlighting that brain aging varies considerably from person to person.

Alzheimer's Risk Gene Isn't The Only Factor

Also read: Healthy Lifestyle Changes Improve Memory, Thinking In Older Adults At Dementia Risk: The Lancet

The team also evaluated the role of APOE ε4, the best-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

While carriers of the gene generally showed faster brain volume loss and memory decline, researchers found that genetics alone could not explain the observed changes.

Instead, widespread structural changes throughout the brain played a much larger role in determining memory performance.

Senior author Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and senior scientist at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, said, "By integrating data across dozens of research cohorts, we now have the most detailed picture yet of how structural changes in the brain unfold with age and how they relate to memory."

He added, "These results suggest that memory decline in aging is not just about one region or one gene. It reflects a broad biological vulnerability in brain structure that accumulates over decades. Understanding this can help researchers identify individuals at risk early and develop more precise and personalized interventions that support cognitive health across the lifespan and prevent cognitive disability."

The researchers say this could improve how scientists identify people at risk for future cognitive decline before symptoms become severe.

Instead of monitoring only the hippocampus or focusing primarily on genetic risk, future screening and interventions may need to evaluate the health of multiple interconnected brain networks.

Lifestyle Changes Can Help

While there is no cure for neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's, growing evidence suggests that healthy lifestyle changes can help improve brain health and preserve cognitive function in older adults at risk.

A major study published in The Lancet suggests that adopting healthy lifestyle habits can significantly improve memory and thinking skills in older adults at risk of dementia.

The study found that a culturally adapted, structured lifestyle program delivered across 11 Latin American countries produced meaningful improvements in cognitive function over two years. Participants in the intensive program showed 55 per cent greater improvement in overall cognition than those who received general health advice.

Millions of Americans hit the gym hoping the numbers on the scale will quickly drop. But if weeks of consistent workouts haven't translated into evident weight loss, a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) can explain why.

Published in the journal Circulation recently, the review explains why exercise alone is not enough to achieve meaningful weight loss unless it is combined with dietary changes or very high levels of physical activity.

However, researchers stress that even when body weight barely changes, regular exercise delivers powerful benefits for heart health, metabolism, and overall well-being.

Exercise Alone May Not Lead To Major Weight Loss

The AHA study says that while physical activity burns calories, many people unknowingly compensate by eating more or moving less throughout the rest of the day. As a result, hitting the calorie deficit needed for significant weight loss is often missed.

The statement found that exercise by itself usually results in less than 5% body weight loss unless aerobic activity reaches approximately 225 to 420 minutes per week. Fewer than 15% of people achieve clinically significant weight loss through exercise alone.

Most individuals lose only around 3% of their body weight with exercise without making dietary changes. The health benefits begin long before the scale changes

Researchers emphasize that focusing only on body weight misses many of the most important effects of exercise.

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Regular physical activity can:

• Lower blood pressure
• Improve cholesterol levels
• Enhance insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control
• Reduce inflammation
• Improve cardiovascular fitness
• Lower the risk of heart disease and premature death

These health improvements can occur even when there is little change in body weight.

Exercise Helps Preserve Muscle While Losing Fat

One of the biggest concerns during weight loss is losing muscle along with fat. According to the AHA, combining exercise, particularly resistance training, with calorie deficit helps preserve lean muscle mass.

Maintaining muscle is important because it supports metabolism, mobility, strength, and healthy blood sugar regulation.

Researchers also note that consuming adequate protein alongside resistance exercise further helps protect muscle during weight loss.

One of the researchers said, "For most people, cardio exercise without changing your diet is unlikely to result in a large amount of weight loss. Dietary changes remain the primary driver of weight loss. However, physical activity plays a powerful supporting role when combined with other treatments, including healthy eating, weight loss, medications, or surgery. Exercise can help people lose a little more weight, preserve important lean mass, especially with resistance exercise, and improve overall health."

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Dr. Danielle L. Swift, chair of the scientific statement writing group and professor at the University of Virginia, said in an American Heart Association news release, "Maintaining weight loss is often more difficult than achieving it."

The statement highlights that consistent physical activity is one of the strongest predictors of keeping lost weight off over the long term.

US Obesity Crisis

The findings come as obesity continues to affect more than four in 10 adults in the US, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and several cancers. At the same time, the AHA reports that only one in four U.S. adults meets the recommended physical activity guidelines.

The authors say people should rethink what "success" looks like after starting an exercise routine. If blood pressure falls, cholesterol improves, energy increases, sleep improves, and fitness rises, meaningful health improvements are occurring even if the scale moves slowly.

Night shift workers often face the risks of poor sleep or sleep deprivation. They have long been advised to aim for one uninterrupted block of daytime sleep after work.

However, a new review suggests that splitting sleep into two separate periods, known as biphasic sleep, can help them avoid certain health risks.

Can Biphasic Sleep Help Night Shift Workers?

Night shifts have become an unavoidable part of our lives. Healthcare professionals, emergency responders, factory employees, and transportation workers often work overnight.

Night shifts can disrupt the body's internal clock, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and cognitive decline.

Research also shows that night shift workers typically sleep one to four hours less than daytime workers, leading to chronic sleep debt over time.

The recent review, published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews, examined existing research on biphasic sleep among shift workers.

Researchers found that while evidence is still emerging, dividing sleep into two episodes can help workers get more sleep, improve alertness during night shifts, and potentially reduce a few long-term health risks associated with chronic sleep deprivation.

The researchers noted that although sleep recommendations traditionally focus on obtaining one long sleep period, many shift workers naturally divide their sleep into two episodes. They usually sleep for a few hours immediately after work and then take another longer sleep before returning for the next night shift.

Also read: Not Just Exhaustion, Sleep Disorders Can Alter Your Brain's Attention & Decision-Making Centres: Study

"Biphasic sleep may help mitigate sleep loss-related impairments," the authors wrote, while observing that its potential benefits have not been fully understood until now.

According to the review, this split-sleep pattern could help workers accumulate more total sleep over a 24-hour period while fitting better around their daytime commitments.

Evidence also suggests biphasic sleep may improve alertness, reduce fatigue, and enhance cognitive performance compared to one uninterrupted daytime sleep, which is often shortened and disrupted by noise, light, or social obligations.

The findings build on a growing body of research suggesting that sleep does not necessarily have to occur in one continuous block to provide health benefits.

A 2025 review also stated that biphasic sleep may be a natural and flexible sleep pattern for some people and could be particularly useful for shift workers, new parents, and others facing unavoidable sleep disruption.

Split Sleep Is Not A Permanent Fix

Experts do caution that split sleep is not a permanent solution. The latest review emphasizes that evidence is still limited as there are just a few reliable studies that directly compare biphasic and monophasic sleep among night workers.

Factors like shift schedules, chronotype, workplace demands, and individual health conditions can all influence whether the strategy is effective.

Sleep specialists also stress that the total amount of sleep remains the most important factor.

Adults should still aim for seven to nine hours of sleep within a 24-hour period whenever possible. Good sleep hygiene, including using blackout curtains, reducing noise, avoiding caffeine before bedtime, and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, continues to play a key role in protecting long-term health.