Plague, Still a Thing
In a scene straight out of plague-era lore (but with antibiotics handy), a northern Arizona resident sadly died from pneumonic plague—the first U.S. case since 2007. Plague, brought stateside by rat-infested ships in 1900, now lurks in rural rodents across the West, striking about seven Americans annually. Over 80% of cases are the bubonic variety, but pneumonic plague is nastier, hitting the lungs and spreading easily via droplets or handling sick critters. Most U.S. cases pop up in northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, and southern Colorado, plus pockets of California, Oregon, and Nevada. While the Black Death once wiped-out millions, today’s plague is very treatable—just don’t cuddle dead prairie dogs.
The Power of a Groove
Researchers delivered a toe-tapping twist: even people with musical anhedonia—those who don’t receive pleasure from music—still feel the irresistible urge to move to it. In an online study of 148 participants (17 with musical anhedonia), researchers found groove responses were strikingly similar across groups. Ratings of wanting to move fully mediated pleasure responses in musical anhedonia, suggesting that footloose urge fuels enjoyment even when typical musical pleasure circuits are quiet. Medium levels of rhythmic and harmonic complexity brought the most groove delight, consistent with the idea that our brains love a dash of predictability spiced with surprise. These findings hint that moving to a beat might itself be a core source of pleasure. So, even if patients claim music leaves them cold, their striatum might still be dancing.
Source: PLOS One
Why Ocean Dips Leave Skin High and Dry
Beach days are great—until your skin feels tight, dry, and a little like parchment. Researchers confirmed it’s not just your imagination: saltwater really does mess with your skin barrier. Using ex vivo human stratum corneum (SC), they found that saline caused significantly higher elastic modulus and drying stress than deionized water, meaning skin gets stiffer and loses moisture faster. Why? Sodium chloride starts pulling water from your skin once humidity drops below 76%, speeding up drying far more than fresh water ever could. Unlike soaking in fresh water for hours, a quick ocean dip is enough to start disrupting the SC’s structure. That uncomfortable “beach skin” feeling now has solid biomechanical backing—and it’s not just cosmetic. Increased trans-epidermal water loss and stress may set the stage for xerosis or even microfractures. So, next time you're toweling off, know that your skin’s barrier just took a salty hit.
Source: Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials
Fire in the Air, Trouble in the Heart
Wildfire smoke isn’t just bad for your lungs—it may be breaking hearts, too. In a massive study of 22 million older adults across the U.S. found that long-term exposure to wildfire-specific PM2.5 particles was linked to a significantly higher risk of heart failure compared to pollution from other sources. Using Medicare data from 2007 to 2018 and ZIP code–level smoke maps, the team tracked over 115 million person-years and found that for every 1 μg/m³ increase in smoke PM2.5 over 2 years, the risk of incident heart failure rose by 1.4% (HR: 1.014)—nearly triple the effect of nonsmoke PM2.5. That adds up to an estimated 20,238 extra heart failure cases annually. And the risks weren’t evenly spread—women, Medicaid enrollees, and people in lower-income areas were hit hardest. So while wildfires rage outside, this study shows the cardiovascular fallout may smolder quietly for years, especially in vulnerable communities.
Source: Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Five Teas, One Metabolic Mission
In this week’s delightfully steeped exploration, researchers brewed up a five-cup sampler of tea’s antidiabetic potential, and spoiler alert: every variety had its own metabolic magic. Green tea came in strong, enhancing insulin sensitivity and boosting GLUT4 expression. Black tea’s helped improved glucose regulation and slowed the carb to sugar breakdown, while white tea showed off by preserving testicular antioxidant status in prediabetic rats. Oolong pulled its weight through antioxidant activity and glycemic control, and fermented pu-erh was shown to potentially protect against diabetic nephropathy. While therapeutic dosing and safety still need to be clarified, the data suggest that your daily cup might be doing more than warming your hands—it could be nudging your metabolism in the right direction, one polyphenol at a time.
Source: Plants
The intersection of medicine and the unexpected reminds us how wild, weird, and wonderful science can be. The world of health care continues to surprise and astonish.