Experiencing daytime sleepiness is something that is usually perceived as a minor inconvenience, but for older adults, it could be an early warning sign of Dementia. This neurodegenerative disease leads to the progressive decline of brain cells. This eventually

affects memory, cognition, and personality, making everyday tasks more difficult. As one of the fastest-growing neurological disorders across the world, dementia poses a significant health threat to ageing populations.

Is Dementia Linked To Poor Sleep?

For this study, researchers followed 445 older adults (average age 76) over three years, aiming to determine whether poor sleep could increase the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which often leads to dementia. At the start, none of the participants had MCI, but by the end of the study, 36 individuals had developed the condition.

The researchers discovered that participants with poor sleep were more likely to develop MCI compared to those who slept well. However, when depression symptoms were taken into account, the link between poor sleep and MCI became less pronounced, suggesting that while sleep issues are a concern, mental health also plays a key role in dementia risk.

To assess sleep quality, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used, evaluating factors such as sleep duration, disturbances, and daytime alertness. Among these, "daytime dysfunction"—defined as excessive sleepiness and low energy during the day—was most strongly associated with an increased risk of MCI. Those experiencing daytime dysfunction were more than three times as likely to develop MCI as those who didn’t report such symptoms.

There are many types of dementia:

Dementia is not a specific disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is an overall term that describes a decline in mental ability that interferes with daily life. People with dementia often have symptoms like trouble remembering, thinking, or making everyday decisions. These symptoms tend to get worse over time.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, and it mostly affects the elderly. Each form of dementia has a different cause. Though dementia mostly affects older adults, it is not a part of normal ageing. An estimated 6.7 million older adults have Alzheimer's disease in the United States. That number is expected to double by 2060, as per data from the CDC.

In 2022, 3.8% of men and 4.2% women in US were diagnosed with dementia. The percentage of people increase with age from 1.7% for those aged 65-74 to 13.1% for those aged 85 and older. Alzheimer's accounts for 60 to 80% of all dementia cases and it is most prevalent in California, Florida, and Texas, as these states have the highest number of people.

Bangladesh was once close to eliminating measles but is now battling what has been described as the world’s largest measles outbreak. With close to 1,000 suspected and confirmed measles-related deaths since March 2026, the country is grappling with its worst outbreak.

According to Bangladesh health ministry data cited by Reuters, 999 deaths have been associated to the measles outbreak, including 100 laboratory-confirmed measles fatalities.

More than 166,000 suspected cases have been reported, including nearly 20,000 laboratory-confirmed infections. More than 146,000 suspected patients have also been hospitalised.

Bangladesh, who is already battling a worsening dengue crisis, is dealing with enormous strain on its healthcare system.

How Did Bangladesh Go From Near Elimination To A Massive Outbreak?

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious infectious diseases. It spreads through respiratory droplets and airborne particles when an infected person coughs, sneezes or breathes. But measles is also highly preventable through vaccination.

For much of the past decade, Bangladesh maintained measles vaccination coverage at or above the 95% level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for preventing long-term transmission.

The vaccine coverage dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the country had otherwise made substantial progress toward elimination.

The political upheaval in 2024 and 2025 disrupted routine immunisation which contributed to the current crisis.

Bangladesh’s health minister, Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain, told parliament that changes in vaccine procurement contributed to shortages.

A vaccination programme was postponed in 2024, while a nationwide measles-rubella campaign planned for the following year was cancelled, according to Reuters. That left growing numbers of children without adequate immunity.

“Bangladesh missed its measles elimination target because of vaccination gaps in 2024 and 2025,” said Professor Mahmudur Rahman, an epidemiologist and former director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.

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Young Children Bearing The Brunt

Children under five have been particularly affected, making up for about 80% of cases during the initial stages of the outbreak.

Infants are especially vulnerable because babies younger than nine months may be too young to receive the routine measles vaccine, according to the country’s vaccine schedule.

When vaccination coverage falls in older children and adults, the virus can circulate more widely, increasing the chances that infants will encounter it before they are protected.

Measles itself can cause high fever, cough, runny nose and the characteristic rash. But the danger comes from its complications.

Children can develop pneumonia, severe dehydration, ear infections and encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain. Malnutrition can make severe disease more likely.

“To my knowledge, Bangladesh has never witnessed so many children dying from measles. Nor have we ever seen such a high number of patients in a single year. This is a truly terrible situation, and the saddest part is that the victims are children,” Rahman said.

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Bangladesh Has Started A Massive Vaccination Response

The government launched an emergency measles-rubella vaccination campaign in April, supported by international health agencies.

More than 19.7 million children have been vaccinated through the campaign, according to Reuters. But public health experts say emergency campaigns alone cannot solve the problem.

The country also needs to restore routine childhood immunisation, identify children who missed earlier doses and close the immunity gaps that allowed the virus to spread so rapidly.

UNICEF had already warned in April that the outbreak was disproportionately affecting young children. Its early situation report recorded nearly 10,000 suspected cases and 128 suspected measles-related deaths by April 7, highlighting how quickly the outbreak escalated.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that spread dengue, chikungunya and Zika are showing resistance to permethrin, a commonly used pyrethroid insecticide, in parts of Pune, according to a new ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV) study.

The finding, published as preprint in the International Journal of Tropical Insect Science, raises concerns about the effectiveness of insecticide-based mosquito control, particularly during outbreaks.

Researchers collected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from nine Pune Municipal Corporation wards — Pashan, Susgaon, Khadki, Yerawada, Warje, Hadapsar, Kondhwa, Kothrud and Dhankawdi — between February and May 2024.

They exposed the mosquitoes to 0.75% permethrin, the standard dose used in WHO susceptibility testing.

Resistance was detected in mosquitoes from six of the nine localities, while mosquitoes from three wards remained susceptible.

Genetic Mutations Linked to Resistance

The researchers then used PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing to look for genetic changes associated with pyrethroid resistance.

They identified four previously reported mutations:

• S989P and V1016G in Pashan and Kondhwa
• F1534C in Khadki, Susgaon, Warje, Yerawada and Hadapsar
• T1520I exclusively in Hadapsar

The D1763Y mutation, which can occur alongside V1016G, was not detected. The differences in mutations across wards suggest that resistance mechanisms may vary between mosquito populations.

Why Are Mosquitoes Becoming Resistant?

Pyrethroid resistance can develop through metabolic changes, target-site mutations, or both. Target-site changes, known as knockdown resistance (kdr) mutations, can reduce the ability of pyrethroids to act on the mosquito's voltage-gated sodium channel.

Pyrethroids have been widely used in India for mosquito control since the 1980s. Reduced susceptibility to deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin and permethrin has also been reported in several states, including Assam, Delhi, West Bengal and Rajasthan.

The researchers noted that the widespread use of pyrethroid-based household mosquito-control products, including vaporizers, mats and coils, could potentially contribute to resistance.

What Does This Mean for Public Health?

According to the WHO South-East Asia Region Epidemiological Bulletin which reported 22,938 dengue cases in India through June 2026.

When mosquitoes develop resistance, more of them can survive exposure to insecticides that would normally kill susceptible mosquitoes. This could make controlling Aedes aegypti more difficult, particularly during dengue outbreaks.

Importantly, insecticide resistance does not mean the mosquitoes cause more severe dengue. The concern is that commonly used mosquito-control measures may become less effective.

The researchers called for regular resistance surveillance, insecticide rotation and locally tailored integrated vector-management strategies.

Did Insecticide Spraying Cause the Resistance?

The researchers noted that areas reporting more dengue cases may have experienced more frequent insecticide spraying, which could potentially be associated with higher resistance.

However, the study did not directly track insecticide use in these areas and did not establish that spraying caused the resistance.

The researchers stressed the need for continued surveillance to track resistance and adapt mosquito-control strategies to local conditions.

Future research could examine resistance genes through genetic mapping, transcriptomic profiling and CRISPR-Cas9 studies, while studying behavioral changes that may help mosquitoes survive insecticide exposure.

Cancer cases linked to the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center terror attacks have surged 75%, according to new research, highlighting the ongoing health crisis even 25 years later.

The research was conducted by Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center, which provides free medical monitoring to people affected by the aftermath of the attacks at New York’s World Trade Center, where nearly 3,000 people were killed.

About two-thirds of all enrollees are certified for at least one WTC-related health condition, while 30% of those enrolled through Northwell have battled cancer. That number is expected to rise dramatically over the next decade.

“For over 25 years, we have cared for people who were exposed to the aftermath of September 11th,” said Jacqueline Moline, director of the Northwell WTC Health Program.

“Over 57,000 cases of cancer have been documented, and cancer rates — including rare cancers — are rising. There has been a two-fold increase in lung cancer in just five years. Our fear is that cancer diagnoses will only rise as we move into the next 25 years.”

Which Cancers Are Growing?

Northwell’s WTC Health Program saw 9/11-certified cancer cases increase from 177 in 2023 to 235 in 2025 — a 75% jump over three years.

Another 132 new cases were reported through the first half of 2026, continuing the trend. That brings the total to 811 new cases over 42 months.

Prostate and skin cancers were the most common, followed by breast and urinary tract cancers.

By comparison, the program recorded 1,634 cancer cases during the first decade from 2013 to 2022, and 2,445 all-time cases through June among 1,489 people.

Crisis Grows From Lung Diseases To Cancer

Researchers at the center noted that September 11 was not a one-day event. The toxic dust cloud at Ground Zero and the gruelling recovery work created a persistent environmental catastrophe that continues to affect lives.

A variety of lung diseases were seen earlier among those affected. Now, after a decades-long incubation, a range of cancers is emerging as a growing concern.

"Hundreds of thousands of people were at risk then and remain at risk for disease now. While we initially saw respiratory disease, we now are faced with increasing numbers of our patients developing cancer," Moline said.

Further, a trove of newly released files by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani indicates that toxic air persisted for months after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and that officials played down the health risks.

“People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,” Mamdani said at a news conference with survivors.

“As the years pass and the human toll grows, we reckon with the cost of September 11th whenever another New Yorker is stolen from us too soon. Now, close to 25 years later, more people have died from 9/11-related illnesses than were killed on the day itself.