Opioids such as fentanyl are “indiscriminate killers” that can be misused by people from all walks of life. But where you live may be more influential than previously realized, according to researchers at Rutgers University.

While driving recently, a long-forgotten song came on the radio. I found myself singing along; not only did I know all the lyrics to a song I hadn’t heard in 25 years or more, but I also managed to rap along. How is it that I could give this rendition, but often cannot remember what I came into the room for?

An antibody test for the infectious disease mpox was successfully developed during the new clade 1b outbreak in Rwanda, the first time that an assay of its kind has been validated within this setting. The test, an IgG ELISA assay, is described in a new paper published in Lancet Infectious Diseases. Developed by a team from the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) and the University of Rwanda, the highly accurate test for mpox antibodies was successfully trialed within the National Reference Laboratory in Kigali, Rwanda.

Increasing our level of physical fitness leads to a bigger release of brain-boosting proteins following one session of exercise, finds a new study led by a UCL researcher. The study, published in Brain Research, took a group of inactive unfit participants through a 12-week training program of cycling three times per week and made them fitter. Researchers found that as their fitness increased, so did the amount of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) released following exercise, resulting in improved brain function.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have identified new genetic variants associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by using long-read whole genome sequencing (LR-WGS), an emerging approach that reads large sections of the genome at once, making it easier for scientists to find new genetic variants and understand how genetic variants affect the function of a gene. The team found that compared to traditional short-read approaches, LR-WGS enhanced the discovery of several categories of genetic variants. The findings may pave the way for more accurate genetic tests and could enable new therapies targeting specific genetic mechanisms underlying ASD.