If you are suffering from chronic back pain, a walk in the woods can help you better manage the condition, according to a study on Tuesday.

The study, published in The Journal of Pain, showed that being time in or around nature can provide people suffering from chronic lower back pain with a degree of escapism that helps them better manage their physical discomfort.

In a first-of-its-kind experiment, researchers from the University of Plymouth, UK, asked 10 people experiencing chronic lower back pain, in some cases for almost 40 years, about the role nature plays in any coping strategies they employ to help manage their condition.

They found that people who were able to get out in nature said it enabled them to connect with others on a social level, whereas they might otherwise spend the majority of their time indoors and isolated.

Amid a fresh wave of Covid-19, caused by the SARS-CoV2, a new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras showed that viruses follow seasonal and yearly cycles.

The international study, undertaken along with a team of scientists from the universities of Wisconsin-Madison and Texas at Austin, focussed on viruses in freshwater lakes.

The researchers used cutting-edge Machine Learning (ML) tools to study 465 freshwater lake samples from Madison, Wisconsin, collected over more than 20 years -- representing the longest DNA-based monitoring of a natural environment on Earth.

By sequencing all the DNA from the lakes using a method called metagenomics, the researchers reconstructed 1.3 million virus genomes.

Among the global rise in obesity rates, a study showed that being overweight can lead to mental health issues like anxiety and also impair brain functioning.

The animal study suggested that the two conditions may be connected through interactions between the gut and the brain.

Conducted in mice, the research linked diet-induced obesity with anxiety-like symptoms, alterations in brain signaling, and differences in gut microbes that may contribute to impaired brain functioning.

"Our findings suggest that obesity can lead to anxiety-like behaviour, possibly due to changes in both brain function and gut health," said Desiree Wanders, Associate Professor and chair of nutrition at Georgia State University, US.

Microscopic plastic particles found in food and beverages may affect glucose metabolism and harm organs such as the liver, according to a new animal study.

The findings raise concerns about potential health risks in people who consume microplastics (less than 5 millimetre) and nanoplastics (less than 100 nanometre), which can enter the food chain and end up in seafood and other foods people eat.

Previous estimates show that a person may ingest around 40,000 to 50,000 microplastic particles a year through food and beverages, with some estimating exposure to be as high as 10 million particles per year.

"Our observations that oral ingestion of polystyrene nanoplastics contributes to glucose intolerance and signs of liver injury, confirm and extend what has been recently reported on the effects of nanoplastics in animal models," said Amy Parkhurst, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Davis, US.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) called for aggressive efforts to control mpox in southern Ethiopia to avert possible cross-border spread.

The East African country reported its first mpox case on May 25 when a 21-day-old infant tested positive in Moyale near the Kenyan border.

On Friday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health announced that the number of cases has now reached six as three new cases were confirmed.

During an online media briefing on Thursday evening, Ngashi Ngongo, chief of staff and head of the Executive Office at Africa CDC, expressed concern due to Moyale town's close proximity to neighbouring Somalia.

"The proximity to Somalia, and knowing all the challenges in Somalia, makes it so that we really need to be very bold and aggressive to control this outbreak from the source so that it does not expand from the region," he said.

Amid the latest wave of Covid-19, the number of SARS-CoV2 infections in the country has risen to 2,170. As many as 511 new cases were recorded from the previous day, according to the latest update by the Health Ministry on Saturday. Meanwhile, 255 patients were discharged or migrated in the last 24 hours, indicating an improvement in recovery.

As per the data, the number of deaths across multiple states, since January 1, 2025, surged to 22.

Kerala with 1,147 cases is the worst-hit state, followed by Maharashtra (424), Delhi (294), and Gujarat (223).

The highest number of deaths have been reported from Maharashtra (7), followed by Kerala (5), and Delhi (2).

Amid 84 new Covid-19 cases reported on Friday, the Maharashtra public health department has issued an advisory asking the hospitals to keep ICU beds, oxygen supplies and other necessary resources ready.

At the same time, the department has advised people to wear masks, maintain social distancing and wash their hands frequently.

On the other hand, medical experts suggested that people who have not taken a booster dose for a long time should consider getting vaccinated.

The department’s advisory is crucial as the total number of infections reported in the state this year has gone up to 681 in the wake of 84 new cases reported on Friday.

Of the 681 patients, 207 recovered till May 30. The number of active cases currently stands at 467.

Australian researchers have identified a common genetic variant that doubles the risk of dementia in men.

The team from Curtin University said that one in three people carry one copy of the variant, known as H63D, while one in 36 carry two copies.

The research, published in the journal Neurology, found that men who carry a double H63D variant are twice as likely to develop dementia in their lifetime compared to women.

The study, based on 19,114 healthy older people in Australia and the US, investigated whether people who had variants in the hemochromatosis (HFE) gene, which is critical for regulating iron levels in the body, might be at increased risk of dementia.

"Having just one copy of this gene variant does not impact someone's health or increase their risk of dementia. However, having two copies of the variant more than doubled the risk of dementia in men, but not women," said Professor John Olynyk, from the Curtin Medical School.

In a significant boost to India's medtech innovation landscape, the Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Union Department of Science and Technology (DST), on Friday announced financial support to the development of India’s first indigenous thrombectomy device for stroke care.

The board sanctioned assistance to Mysuru-based S3V Vascular Technologies’ pioneering neuro-intervention integrated manufacturing plant for the treatment of stroke, which sees nearly 1.5 million cases every year in the country.

The project envisions the establishment of a state-of-the-art upstream integrated manufacturing facility at the Medical Devices Park, Oragadam in Chennai’s Sriperumbudur.

The plant will develop and manufacture advanced mechanical thrombectomy kits -- a life-saving intervention for patients suffering from acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday recommended all countries to use both maternal vaccine and a monoclonal antibody to protect babies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) -– the leading cause of acute lower respiratory infections in children globally.

While the maternal vaccine -- RSVpreF -- can be given to pregnant women in their third trimester to protect their infant, the long-acting monoclonal antibody -- nirsevimab -- can be administered to infants from birth, just before or during the RSV season, stated the recommendations, published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER).

“Every year, RSV causes about 100,000 deaths and over 3.6 million hospitalisations in children under the age of 5 years worldwide. About half of these deaths occur in infants younger than 6 months of age,” the WHO said.