Our brain is just like a muscle and it thrives on exercise. Moreover, it is the fastest-aging organ in the body. Studies show that brain volume naturally decreases with age due to neuronal loss, starting as early as your late 20s or 30s. This process accelerates over time, leading to a decline in cognitive functions such as memory, processing speed, and decision-making.

However, there is a way to counter it. Neurologists across the world agree that frequently playing brain games can prevent brain ageing. Backing them up is research showing that brain-training games may help improve attention levels, memory, response time, logic skills, and other measures of cognitive function if played over a long period.

And the good news is that these brain games are affordable and easily accessible to all. you just need a pen and paper for sudoku and the same goes on for crosswords. However, if you are someone who is up for a high-tech, options for brain games are plentiful.

To give your brain a workout while having fun, try these games and activities:

Sudoku

Crosswords

Elevate

Peak

Happy Neuron

Happy Neuron is another game that organizes its games into memory, attention, language, executive functions, and visual/spatial categories. Training is personalized, and progress tracking is available. While a subscription is required, a free trial lets you explore its offerings. The app is available only for Android users.

Braingle

Queendom

Queendom features personality tests, puzzles, and "brain tools" for cognitive improvement. Free accounts provide limited access, while full reports require payment.

My Brain Trainer

My Brain Trainer offers an online "brain gym" with games and puzzles to boost mental fitness. It recommends 10 minutes of training twice a day. Subscription plans are more affordable than similar platforms and free trials are available.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has released its new "2025 CPR and Emergency Care Guidelines." This is the first full update to these life-saving rules since 2020. The new advice includes better ways to handle choking and suspected opioid overdose, along with other steps to save a life.

Every year, about 350,000 people in the U.S. experience sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, and nearly 90% of them do not survive. The AHA’s new guidelines, its first full update since 2020, offer science-backed instructions that make emergency response easier for everyone to understand and apply.

What To Do When A Person Is Choking

The instructions for helping someone who is choking are now clearer and apply to all ages:

For Adults and Older Children (who are awake)

You should switch back and forth between giving five back blows (hits on the back) and five abdominal thrusts (the Heimlich maneuver). Keep doing this until the object comes out or the person passes out.

This is new for adults, and the old rules for children just said to do abdominal thrusts.

For Infants

You should switch back and forth between giving five back blows and five chest thrusts, which are pushes on the chest, using the heel of one hand. Keep going until the object comes out or the baby passes out.

Do not use abdominal thrusts on infants, as it could seriously hurt them.

How To Spot an Opioid Overdose

The guidelines have new advice for helping someone who might have overdosed on opioids. Opioids cause many drug overdose deaths because they slow down the part of the brain that controls breathing. Watch for these signs of a suspected opioid overdose:

• Breathing is slow, very shallow, or has stopped.
• Making choking or gurgling noises.
• Feeling very sleepy or passing out.
• The pupils (black centers of the eyes) are very small and tight.
• The skin, lips, or fingernails look blue or gray.

What You Need To Know About CPR

The AHA also worked with pediatric experts to update the rules for kids and newborns:

Helping Newborns

For most newborns who don't need immediate help, the updated rule now recommends a slight delay, asking doctors to wait at least 60 seconds before cutting the umbilical cord. This simple change is crucial for the baby's health, as it allows more blood to flow to the infant, improving their blood and iron levels.

Easier CPR Steps

The complicated, separate steps previously used to guide rescuers have been replaced with a single, simple "Chain of Survival." This new chain clearly stresses that when a person's heart stops, it is absolutely essential to quickly perform both chest compressions and rescue breaths, especially for infants and children, to give them the best chance of surviving.

Training Younger People

New research shows that kids who are 12 years old or older can be successfully trained to perform high-quality CPR and even learn to use a defibrillator. The American Heart Association wants everyone to take a class to learn these vital skills, encouraging more training programs and public education efforts so that communities are better prepared for medical emergencies.

The AHA urges everyone to take a CPR class to learn these life-saving skills. They are encouraging more training and public campaigns to make sure everyone is ready to help in an emergency

The State of Global Air 2025 report offers a worrying look at how the planet’s air quality is declining. It reveals that pollution has now become the second biggest cause of premature deaths worldwide, coming just after high blood pressure.

The report, prepared by the Health Effects Institute (HEI) in partnership with the University of Washington’s School of Medicine and the NCD Alliance in Geneva, draws attention to the sharp increase in pollution-linked diseases.

One of the most alarming findings is the growing connection between toxic air and dementia. This has raised a key question among people, can long-term exposure to polluted air actually trigger dementia? Here’s what experts and data reveal.

Rising Air Pollution in Delhi

Over the past several days, Delhi and its neighbouring cities have been trapped under a thick layer of smog, with air quality swinging between “poor” and “very poor.” The situation worsened sharply after Diwali, when fireworks filled the air with dense smoke. Reports noted that this was Delhi’s worst post-Diwali air quality in four years.

Every winter, the city faces this predictable yet avoidable crisis. Dr Arjun Khanna, pulmonologist at Amrita Hospital, told us that his phone has been “ringing non-stop” since the Diwali weekend. “We are seeing a surge in patients with breathing difficulties and sore throats,” he said. “This year’s winter is expected to be harsher, which will make the air quality even worse. The volume of firecrackers has been overwhelming, the smog is already visible, and the weather feels heavy and dull.”

He warned that the coming weeks will be particularly tough for Delhi-NCR residents and urged people to take precautions seriously.

Is Long-Term Air Pollution Contributing to Dementia?

Air pollution is no longer limited to the lungs or heart as now, it is also being tied to neurological decline. According to the State of Global Air 2025 report, 626,000 deaths related to dementia in 2023 were linked to long-term exposure to air pollution. That means nearly 29% of all dementia deaths globally had an environmental cause. For the first time, the report also measured how much healthy life pollution costs humanity, 11.6 million years lost due to its contribution to dementia.

With more than one in four dementia deaths connected to polluted air, the report underlines a growing risk for ageing populations worldwide. Fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, harms not just the respiratory and cardiovascular systems but also the brain.

How Does Air Pollution Damage The Brain?

The report explains that microscopic pollutants can travel from the lungs into the bloodstream and eventually reach the brain. Once there, these particles trigger inflammation and oxidative stress, leading to damage in brain cells and tissues. This accelerates neurodegeneration and increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and mild cognitive impairment, all conditions marked by memory loss and reduced thinking ability.

Researchers also found that air pollution can disrupt brain development in children and young adults, increasing the risk of autism, anxiety, and depression later in life.

While lifestyle factors such as smoking or poor diet remain major contributors to dementia, experts warn that pollution exposure is far more widespread affecting billions of people. Even a small rise in individual risk, therefore, results in a major global health burden.

Air Pollution’s Link to Other Non-Communicable Diseases

The data from the report also reveal that pollution drives a wide range of non-communicable diseases (NCDs):

• 1 in 2 deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were caused by air pollution.
• 1 in 4 heart disease deaths were linked to exposure to polluted air.
• More than 1 in 4 dementia deaths were tied to pollution.
• Nearly 1 in 6 diabetes deaths were caused by poor air quality.

Overall, 95% of all air pollution deaths occurred among people over the age of 60, and 6.8 million deaths were due to NCDs.

India’s Struggle Against Toxic Air

India’s Supreme Court recently relaxed its blanket ban on firecrackers in New Delhi during Diwali, allowing limited use of “green crackers” which is a cleaner alternative designed to cut emissions by about 30%. The court permitted their use during specific hours, but as in past years, compliance was poor.

New Delhi and its wider metropolitan area is home to over 30 million people but still these cities remain among the most polluted regions on Earth, particularly during the winter. The combination of Diwali fireworks, low temperatures, and smoke from crop burning in nearby states consistently traps the city under layers of toxic haze.

Authorities have announced temporary measures such as restricting construction, banning diesel generators, and limiting vehicle movement. However, environmentalists stress that these are short-term fixes. Long-lasting change, they argue, requires cleaner energy policies, stricter emission standards, and greater public accountability to prevent this annual health emergency.

A two-year-old child from Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district reportedly tested positive for polio in 2025, a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease that once crippled millions before being nearly wiped out by vaccines.

Officials from the Union Health Ministry confirmed that the infection was vaccine-derived, stressing that India’s polio-free status remains unaffected. But what exactly does “vaccine-derived” mean, and is it dangerous? Can such a case spread from one person to another? Let’s break it down.

What Is Vaccine-Derived Polio?

A vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a mutated form of the weakened live virus used in the oral polio vaccine (OPV). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), if this weakened strain continues to circulate among communities with poor vaccination coverage or replicates inside a person with a weak immune system, it can revert to a version capable of causing paralysis and illness.

Interestingly, the oral polio vaccine (OPV) has played a crucial role in eliminating wild poliovirus globally. It contains one or more weakened strains of the virus and is administered as oral drops, which help build immunity in the gut, stopping the virus from spreading. However, when too few people are vaccinated, the weakened virus can continue moving from person to person, mutating over time, and eventually regaining its disease-causing ability.

However, it is important to remember that polio drops are safe and have helped nearly every country eliminate the disease. Still, in extremely rare cases, especially among children with weak immune systems, the vaccine strain can cause infection.

Types Of Polio Vaccines

There are two kinds of vaccines used to protect against polio, one given orally and the other through injection.

Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV):

This is the most widely used vaccine in India. It contains a weakened version of the poliovirus that helps the body build immunity without causing illness. It is administered orally, usually as drops, and is used during mass campaigns such as National Immunization Days.

Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV):

IPV, on the other hand, contains a killed version of the poliovirus and is given as an injection. It forms part of India’s routine immunization schedule and is often delivered in combination with other vaccines.

In India, both vaccines are used, though OPV remains preferred because it’s simple to administer during large-scale drives.

Vaccine-Derived Polio Cases Detected In India

India’s last recorded wild poliovirus case occurred years ago, but in 2024, a two-year-old child in Meghalaya was confirmed to have vaccine-derived polio. Officials clarified that this does not affect the country’s polio-free certification, since the virus involved was vaccine-derived rather than wild.

Earlier instances have been reported as well. In 2011, a vaccine-derived virus was detected in West Bengal’s Howrah district. Another case emerged in Beed district, Maharashtra, where an 11-month-old boy with an immune disorder developed brain lesions after contracting the vaccine-derived strain and sadly passed away.

In 2021, Kerala also documented a rare transmission case: a seven-month-old baby with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) received the oral vaccine but couldn’t clear the weakened virus from his system. The virus was later passed to his father through the fecal-oral route, as reported by The Times of India.

Why Are Vaccines Triggering Fresh Polio Cases In India?

Vaccine-derived polio tends to appear in communities where immunization coverage is low. The weakened virus from OPV can circulate in such areas, undergo genetic changes, and, over time, transform back into a version capable of causing paralysis, the World Health Organization (WHO) explains. When this mutated strain starts spreading in the community, it’s known as a “circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus” (cVDPV).

In India, the few vaccine-derived cases reported so far have primarily been seen in children with weak immune systems, who are unable to fight off even the weakened vaccine virus. Poor sanitation and incomplete vaccination coverage further increase the risk of such mutations.

Can Vaccine-Derived Polio Be Prevented?

The oral polio vaccine remains highly effective at preventing the spread of the virus from person to person, and it is easy, drop-based delivery has made it the foundation of the global eradication effort. However, one drawback is that, on rare occasions, it can cause infection or transmit the weakened virus to others, as noted by the CDC.

To reduce this risk, many experts advocate switching entirely to the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). Yet IPV has its own challenges: it requires trained medical staff for injection, which could lower immunization rates, and unlike OPV, it does not stop virus transmission through the gut.

Countries such as the United States and Canada have already moved entirely to IPV. India, however, continues to use both forms, IPV as part of routine childhood immunization and OPV for children under five during Pulse Polio campaigns.

Polio vaccination remains the best protection against both wild and vaccine-derived strains. Maintaining high IPV coverage is essential to keeping India and the rest of the world polio-free, ensuring that even rare mutations never regain a foothold.