A McGill University-led clinical trial is the first in humans to show online brain training exercises can improve brain networks affecting learning and memory.

The study found 10 weeks’ use of the game-like app BrainHQ by older adults enhanced cholinergic function, a chemical system in the brain that typically declines with age and influences attention, memory and decision-making.

A McGill University-led clinical trial is the first in humans to show online brain training exercises can improve brain networks affecting learning and memory.

The study found 10 weeks’ use of the game-like app BrainHQ by older adults enhanced cholinergic function, a chemical system in the brain that typically declines with age and influences attention, memory and decision-making.

A McGill University-led clinical trial is the first in humans to show online brain training exercises can improve brain networks affecting learning and memory.

The study found 10 weeks’ use of the game-like app BrainHQ by older adults enhanced cholinergic function, a chemical system in the brain that typically declines with age and influences attention, memory and decision-making.

A McGill University-led clinical trial is the first in humans to show online brain training exercises can improve brain networks affecting learning and memory.

The study found 10 weeks’ use of the game-like app BrainHQ by older adults enhanced cholinergic function, a chemical system in the brain that typically declines with age and influences attention, memory and decision-making.

Countries must scale up investment and care to treat neurological disorders, responsible for over 11 million deaths each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. 

96 Global Health NOW: Post-Pandemic Picture of Health; ‘Lowest Layer of Hell’ for Burmese Refugees; and Superbugs Stalk Ukraine’s Hospitals “An emerging crisis” of youth deaths. View this email in your browser October 13, 2025 Forward Share Post A view of the "Silent Struggle" statue, an art project by artist Sazza created to break the taboo surrounding suicide, decorated with photos and candles, in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, on November 4, 2024. Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty A Post-Pandemic Picture of Health    The top causes of mortality around the world are shifting away from COVID-19 and back to increasingly urgent noncommunicable threats like heart disease, finds the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, published in The Lancet and presented at the World Health Summit in Berlin—the first snapshot of global health since the height of the pandemic, reports CBC.     Highlights of the 2023 report, drawing from 300,000+ data sources across 204 countries, include:     Chronic conditions on top: Heart disease is once again the world’s leading cause of death, eclipsing COVID-19, which fell from 1st in 2021 to 20th in 2023.  

• Other NCDs like stroke, diabetes, and COPD now account for two-thirds of global deaths and disability, while deaths from infectious disease continue to decline.  

Rising youth mortality: The world faces “an emerging crisis” of rising deaths among teenagers and young adults, reports The Guardian. 

• In North America and parts of Latin America, deaths from suicide, drug overdoses, and alcohol use are on the rise among people ages 20–39.  

Global life expectancy rates have also recovered from the pandemic dip—but stark disparities remain, with life expectancy ranging from 83 years in high-income regions to 62 years in sub-Saharan Africa, per Medical Xpress.  

• That gap is “sure to widen” with international aid cuts this year, warned senior author Emmanuela Gakidou. 

Preventable loss: Nearly half of all global death and disability is linked to modifiable risk factors like high blood sugar, poor diet, and smoking.                                                                                          GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners
Rift Valley Fever has killed 17 in Senegal in an outbreak that has led to 119 cases in the country’s northern livestock-producing region, per the nation’s health ministry. The Telegraph    Antibiotic resistance is increasing sharply among common hospital infections, per the WHO’s Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance report, which found that 40%+ of antibiotics lost potency against infections between 2018 and 2023, and 1 in 6 bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotic treatments in 2023. The Guardian

Overdose deaths among adults 65+ from fentanyl mixed with stimulants surged 9,000% from 2015 to 2023, according to findings presented at the Anesthesiology 2025 annual meeting; the research used CDC data to reveal the trend among older adults, who are often left out of overdose analyses. ScienceDaily    ~600 U.S. CDC workers have been terminated as part of the Trump administration's mass layoffs of federal agency workers; while the administration rescinded more than half of ~1,300 termination notices it originally sent Friday, upheaval at the agency is ongoing. Axios  GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES REFUGEES Aid Cuts Deepen the ‘Lowest Layer of Hell’ in Burma    Burmese families that have endured years of conflict and displacement now face even more acute suffering after U.S. aid cuts deprive them of essential food and medical aid. 

• “We are in the lowest layer of hell already,” said an advocate with one shuttered aid group.  

• Now, increasingly desperate refugees along the Thailand-Burma border are forced to scour jungles and rivers for even menial sources of sustenance. 

Vast need: The UN estimates ~40% of Burma’s population now requires humanitarian aid, with children especially vulnerable to malnutrition and starvation.     Void left behind: The U.S. was once the largest aid donor to this population before the abrupt cuts. Aid groups are now seeking new lines of support, with little traction.     AP  OPPORTUNITY ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE The Superbugs Stalking Ukraine’s Hospitals    Drug-resistant infections are surging among Ukraine’s wounded and spreading beyond hospitals into the general population as overwhelmed trauma wards, poor infection control, and misguided antibiotic use fuel spread. 
  Especially notorious: Klebsiella pneumoniae, a once-rare bacterium, is now the “signature pathogen” of the war, and an often-untreatable threat.     New tactics: Doctors have been deploying a range of new strategies against the superbugs, including doubling up on antibiotic regimens, using faster genetic testing to ID strains, and improving antibiotic stewardship.     Stemming from the start: A new pilot program aims to treat battlefield wounds like bioweapon exposure, using hazmat gear and improved antiseptics to prevent infections.  

• “We can’t afford to lose more limbs and more lives,” said Hailie Uren, a clinician who led antimicrobial resistance efforts in Lviv. 

Knowable   QUICK HITS Germany announces billion-euro investment to fight AIDS and malaria – DPA International 
Why Fiji has the world's fastest growing HIV epidemic – ABC Australia (audio)    A brain test may predict antidepressant-related sexual problems, early research suggests – CNN     In Kenya, a search for links between a changing climate and mental health – AP     Bangladesh launches typhoid vaccination drive to combat drug-resistant threat – Straits Times    Maryland failed to document many deaths from suspected child abuse or neglect – The Baltimore Banner    Post-monsoon dengue outbreak risk high: Experts – The Rising Nepal     Your nose gets colder when you're stressed. These thermal images show the change – BBC   Issue No. 2803
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Common infections are becoming harder – and sometimes impossible – to treat, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday, as new data show that one in six bacterial infections globally are resistant to standard antibiotics, endangering millions and straining health systems worldwide.

For millions of persons living with disabilities worldwide, artificial intelligence could be a game changer. At Purple Fest in Goa, India, entrepreneurs are showing how AI is turning assistive technology into everyday empowerment.

McGill team develops hydrogel that outlasted current treatments in a preclinical study, a step toward reducing the need for repeat procedures

McGill University researchers have engineered a new hydrogel that shows early promise as a treatment for people with vocal cord injuries.

Voice loss is often permanent when scarring forms on the vocal cords. Current injectable treatments break down quickly, which can force patients to get repeated procedures that can further damage the delicate tissue.

McGill team develops hydrogel that outlasted current treatments in a preclinical study, a step toward reducing the need for repeat procedures

McGill University researchers have engineered a new hydrogel that shows early promise as a treatment for people with vocal cord injuries.

Voice loss is often permanent when scarring forms on the vocal cords. Current injectable treatments break down quickly, which can force patients to get repeated procedures that can further damage the delicate tissue.

McGill team develops hydrogel that outlasted current treatments in a preclinical study, a step toward reducing the need for repeat procedures

McGill University researchers have engineered a new hydrogel that shows early promise as a treatment for people with vocal cord injuries.

Voice loss is often permanent when scarring forms on the vocal cords. Current injectable treatments break down quickly, which can force patients to get repeated procedures that can further damage the delicate tissue.

McGill team develops hydrogel that outlasted current treatments in a preclinical study, a step toward reducing the need for repeat procedures

McGill University researchers have engineered a new hydrogel that shows early promise as a treatment for people with vocal cord injuries.

Voice loss is often permanent when scarring forms on the vocal cords. Current injectable treatments break down quickly, which can force patients to get repeated procedures that can further damage the delicate tissue.

McGill team develops hydrogel that outlasted current treatments in a preclinical study, a step toward reducing the need for repeat procedures

McGill University researchers have engineered a new hydrogel that shows early promise as a treatment for people with vocal cord injuries.

Voice loss is often permanent when scarring forms on the vocal cords. Current injectable treatments break down quickly, which can force patients to get repeated procedures that can further damage the delicate tissue.

McGill team develops hydrogel that outlasted current treatments in a preclinical study, a step toward reducing the need for repeat procedures

McGill University researchers have engineered a new hydrogel that shows early promise as a treatment for people with vocal cord injuries.

Voice loss is often permanent when scarring forms on the vocal cords. Current injectable treatments break down quickly, which can force patients to get repeated procedures that can further damage the delicate tissue.

McGill team develops hydrogel that outlasted current treatments in a preclinical study, a step toward reducing the need for repeat procedures

McGill University researchers have engineered a new hydrogel that shows early promise as a treatment for people with vocal cord injuries.

Voice loss is often permanent when scarring forms on the vocal cords. Current injectable treatments break down quickly, which can force patients to get repeated procedures that can further damage the delicate tissue.

Thirty-two McGill research projects have received new funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation's for investments in research infrastructure to support their innovative projects, for a total federal investment of $9.7 million.   

Thirty-two McGill research projects have received new funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation's for investments in research infrastructure to support their innovative projects, for a total federal investment of $9.7 million.   

Thirty-two McGill research projects have received new funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation's for investments in research infrastructure to support their innovative projects, for a total federal investment of $9.7 million.   

Thirty-two McGill research projects have received new funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation's for investments in research infrastructure to support their innovative projects, for a total federal investment of $9.7 million.   

Thirty-two McGill research projects have received new funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation's for investments in research infrastructure to support their innovative projects, for a total federal investment of $9.7 million.