Saturday, July 25, 2026


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Second Alzheimer’s drug shows modest slowing effect on disease progression with safety concerns

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WASHINGTON. Researchers reported Monday that another experimental Alzheimer’s drug can modestly slow the inevitable worsening of the disease, extending patients’ functional abilities by about four to seven months.

Eli Lilly and Co. is seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for donanemab, a lab-made antibody administered through intravenous (IV) infusion. If approved, it would become the second Alzheimer’s treatment to convincingly demonstrate a delay in the progression of the mind-robbing disease, following the recent approval of Leqembi, a drug from Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai.

Lilly’s Dr. John Sims expressed hope during the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam, stating that even though the disease cannot be cured, meaningful treatments are still possible, akin to how diabetes is managed with treatment rather than cured.

In May, Lilly announced positive results from the study involving donanemab, and on Monday, the full study, which included 1,700 patients, was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association and presented at the Alzheimer’s conference.

Both donanemab and Leqembi target sticky amyloid buildup in the brain, a key culprit in Alzheimer’s disease. However, they come with a significant safety concern — brain swelling or bleeding, which was linked to three deaths in the Lilly study.

Scientists believe these drugs may usher in a new era of Alzheimer’s therapy, but they acknowledge that many questions remain unanswered, particularly concerning which patients should try the drugs and the actual benefits they may experience.

Dr. Eric Widera of the University of California, San Francisco, wrote in an accompanying editorial in JAMA that the modest benefits of amyloid-targeted therapy would be more widely accepted if the drugs were low-risk, inexpensive, and easy to administer. However, these drugs currently lack these qualities.

Lilly’s study involved people between the ages of 60 and 85 who were in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Half of the participants received once-a-month infusions of donanemab, while the other half received dummy infusions over 18 months.

During the study, patients were switched to dummy infusions if enough amyloid was cleared from their brains, which occurred in about half of the participants within a year. The researchers also tracked levels of abnormal tau, another culprit in the brain responsible for advancing the disease.

The results showed that both groups experienced decline over the 18-month study period, but those given donanemab declined about 22% more slowly. Notably, the drug appeared to be more effective in earlier stages of the disease, as patients with low to medium tau levels experienced a 35% slower decline.

In practical terms, donanemab slowed patients’ worsening by approximately four to seven months, as concluded in the JAMA report. Among recipients with lower tau levels, 47% remained stable after a year, compared to 29% of those who received the dummy version.

Despite the encouraging results, the main safety concern remains brain swelling or bleeding, affecting about a quarter of donanemab recipients. About 20% of patients experienced microbleeds.

Patients receiving any amyloid-targeted therapy require repeat brain scans to monitor these side effects, which can be costly and time-consuming.

Dr. Mark Mintun of Lilly indicated that temporarily stopping donanemab treatment in responsive patients might help manage these challenges. However, more research is needed to determine if patients may need to resume treatment after stopping.

The study’s demographic makeup, with over 90% of participants being white, raises concerns about the drug’s effectiveness in other populations.

While promising, the results from donanemab and Leqembi have rekindled interest in targeting amyloid buildup, additional approaches are needed. Lilly expects results from a late-stage study of a drug that fights abnormal tau, another hallmark of Alzheimer’s, next year.

PBBM sa ₱20 kada kilo na bigas: ‘Ginagawa namin ang lahat’

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Inanunsiyo ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na patuloy na ginagawa ng kanyang administrasyon ang lahat ng makakaya nito upang tuparin ang kanyang pangako na pababain ang presyo ng bigas sa P20 kada kilo, na ipinangako niya noong kampanya noong 2022.

Noong Lunes, Hulyo 17, kinumpirma ng Pangulo na hindi pa niya natutupad ang nasabing pangako. “Iyon pa rin ‘yung ating hangarin na ₱20 na bigas ay wala pa tayo roon pero ginagawa natin ang lahat,” ayon sa Pangulo sa kanyang talumpati matapos pirmahan ang Memorandum of Agreement para sa Kadiwa ng Pangulo kasama ang mga lokal na pamahalaan.

Ayon sa datos ng Department of Agriculture, sa ngayon, Hulyo 17, ang presyo ng bigas bawat kilogram ay nasa ₱36 hanggang ₱48.

Ipinaliwanag ng Pangulo na ang pagpapalawig ng Kadiwa ng Pangulo sa buong Pilipinas ay maaaring makatulong sa pagbaba ng presyo ng mga agricultural products dahil mawawala ang mga “middlemen” sa proseso ng pagbenta.

Dagdag pa niya, “Ang programa ng Kadiwa ay napakasimple lamang at tayo ay ginagawa natin ay pinalalapit natin sa magsasaka ang palengke. Kaya’t ‘yung mga middleman, ‘yung mga added cost ay binabawasan natin nang husto ‘yan. Sa ganyang paraan ay maipagbili natin ng presyo na mababa.”

Sa kabila ng kasalukuyang hamon sa pagpapababa ng presyo ng bigas, patuloy na tinitiyak ng Pangulo sa pagtiyak sa publiko na patuloy nilang pagtutuunan ng pansin at pagsisikapang tuparin ang nasabing pangako sa lalong madaling panahon.

American soldier detained by North Korea after crossing heavily armed border

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SEOUL, South Korea. An American soldier crossed the heavily armed border from South Korea into North Korea “willfully and without authorization,” U.S. officials said Tuesday, becoming the first American detained in the North in nearly five years amid heightened tensions over its nuclear program.

In a rare and concerning incident, an American soldier crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea into North Korea without authorization, according to U.S. officials on Tuesday. The soldier’s motives and the circumstances surrounding the crossing have not been immediately disclosed. The four U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, revealed the information ahead of a formal public announcement.

The American-led U.N. Command, responsible for overseeing the area, tweeted earlier that the detained individual was an American citizen who was on a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom. The U.S. military in South Korea released a statement confirming that the soldier had “willfully and without authorization” crossed the military demarcation line into North Korea. The soldier is believed to be in North Korean custody, and the U.N. Command is in communication with North Korean counterparts to resolve the situation.

Cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are uncommon, while over 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War to escape political oppression and economic challenges.

Panmunjom, located within the 248-kilometer (154-mile)-long Demilitarized Zone, has been jointly overseen by the U.N. Command and North Korea since the end of the Korean War. The area has witnessed occasional bloodshed and gunfire but has also served as a venue for numerous talks and remains a popular tourist destination.

Tours to the southern side of Panmunjom reportedly attracted around 100,000 visitors annually before the COVID-19 pandemic led South Korea to restrict gatherings. However, the tours fully resumed last year after pandemic-related restrictions were eased. In 2018, during a period of inter-Korean engagement, mine-clearing operations were conducted in Panmunjom to transform the village into a “peace zone,” allowing tourists from both sides to move around with more freedom.

In previous incidents, North Korean soldiers have fired on individuals attempting to defect to South Korea. However, the most infamous occurrence took place in August 1976 when two American army officers were killed by ax-wielding North Korean soldiers while attempting to trim a tree that obstructed the view from a checkpoint. In response to the attack, the United States dispatched nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the DMZ to deter North Korea.

The armistice signed at Panmunjom to end the Korean War has not been replaced with a peace treaty, technically leaving the Korean Peninsula in a state of war. The United States currently maintains approximately 28,000 troops in South Korea.

While a small number of U.S. soldiers went to North Korea during the Cold War, defections of American civilians to the North have been rare. One notable case was Charles Jenkins, who deserted his army post in South Korea in 1965 and lived in North Korea for decades before dying in Japan in 2017.

In recent years, American civilians have been arrested in North Korea after allegedly entering the country from China, often facing charges of espionage and subversion. Past incidents of detainment have led to high-profile diplomatic missions securing the detainees’ release.

The most recent releases occurred in 2018 when North Korea freed three American detainees during a period of engagement with the United States. However, the diplomatic efforts ultimately collapsed, and tensions over North Korea’s missile tests have escalated since then.

The soldier’s crossing comes amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s continuous missile testing. In response, a U.S. nuclear-armed submarine visited South Korea on Tuesday for the first time in four decades, demonstrating deterrence against North Korea.

Note: The situation is developing, and further updates may follow as more details emerge.

Minibus nahulog sa fishpond, 10 sugatan

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NOVELETA, Cavite. Sampung pasahero ang nasugatan, kabilang ang isang senior citizen na driver ng isang minibus, matapos itong mahulog sa isang palaisdaan sa Brgy. San Rafael IV, sa bayang ito, kamakalawa.

Batay sa ulat ng pulisya, nangyari ang insidente bandang alas-tres ng hapon habang ang pampasaherong minibus (DXR 117), na minamaneho ng isang nakikilala pa lamang sa apelyidong Tampos, ay papunta sana sa Cavite City proper at dumaan sa may Callero Bridge sa Brgy. San Rafael IV, Noveleta ngunit nagloko ang makina ng minibus, nagekis0ekis ang takbo at hindi nakayang kontrolin ni Tampos ang manibela hanggang sa bumangga ito sa railings at nahulog sa palaisdaan.

Matapos ang mahigit isang oras na rescue operation ng mga miyembro ng Noveleta Municipal Police Station, Noveleta MDRRMO, at Noveleta-Bureau of Fire Protection, nailigtas ang mga sugatang pasahero kasama na ang driver na naipit sa kinauupuan nito.

Kaagad na dinala ang mga biktima sa pinakamalapit na pagamutan upang mabigyan ng agarang lunas.

Mammals may have hunted down dinosaurs for dinner, rare fossil suggests

NEW YORK. An unusual find in China suggests some early mammals may have hunted dinosaur for dinner.

The fossil shows a badgerlike creature chomping down on a small, beaked dinosaur, their skeletons intertwined. The find comes from a site known as “China’s Pompeii,” where mud and debris from long-ago volcanoes buried creatures in their tracks.

“It does seem like this is a prehistoric hunt, captured in stone, like a freeze frame,” University of Edinburgh paleontologist Steve Brusatte, who was not involved with the study, said in an email.

The fossil, described Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports, shows two creatures from around 125 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period.

Even though the mammal is much smaller, researchers think it was attacking the dinosaur when they both got caught in the volcanic flow, said study author Jordan Mallon, a paleobiologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature. The mammal is perched on the dinosaur, its paws gripping the reptile’s jaw and a hind limb while its teeth plunge into the ribcage.

“I’ve never seen a fossil like this before,” Mallon said.

That mammals ate dinosaur meat had been proposed before: another fossil showed a mammal died with dinosaur remains in its gut. But the new find also suggests that mammals may have actually preyed on dinosaurs several times their size, and didn’t just scavenge ones that were already dead, Mallon said.

“This turns the old story on its head,” Brusatte said. “We’re used to thinking of the Age of Dinosaurs as a time when dinosaurs ruled the world, and the tiny mammals cowered in the shadows.”

The study authors acknowledged that there have been some fossil forgeries known from this part of the world, which Mallon said was a concern when they started their research. But after doing their own preparations of the skeletons and analyzing the rock samples, he said they were confident that the fossil — which was found by a farmer in 2012 — was genuine, and would welcome other scientists to study the fossil as well.

The mammal in the fossil duo is the meat-eating Repenomamus robustus, about the size of a house cat, Mallon said. The dinosaur — Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis — was about as big as a medium-sized dog with a parrotlike beak.

This species was a plant eater, but other dinosaurs were meat eaters or ate both. In the end, dinosaurs were probably still eating mammals more often than the other way around, Mallon said.

“And yet we now know that the mammals were able to fight back, at least at times,” he said.

300 toneladang bangus, tilapia patay sa fishkill sa Batangas

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TALISAY, Batangas. 300 tonelada ng bangus at tilapia ang apektado ng fishkill sa Taal Lake sa bayang ito sa Batangas, ayon sa Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-Calabarzon).

Ayon sa ulat, ang fishkill ay nangyari sa Brgy. Sampaloc sa Talisay, ngunit apektado rin ang katabing Barangay Buco dahil dinala ng agos ang mga namatay na isda sa kanilang lugar.

Sinabi ni Sammy Malvas, Regional Director ng BFAR-Calabarzon, na karaniwan itong nangyayari kapag mainit ang panahon at biglaang umulan. Ito ay nagdudulot ng pagbaba ng dissolved oxygen sa lawa, na nagiging sanhi ng fishkill. Dagdag pa niya, kapag nagkakaroon ng pagbabago sa klima, karaniwan ding nagkakaroon ng ganitong insidente.

Patuloy na ginagawa ng BFAR-Calabarzon ang monitoring at water sampling sa Taal Lake upang malaman ang kalagayan nito na may kinalaman sa fishkill.

Samantala, ipinagbabawal ang pagbebenta at pagkain ng mga isdang namatay upang maiwasan ang anumang posibleng epekto sa kalusugan ng mga mamimili.

Ayon sa BFAR, mananatili silang nakatutok sa pagmamanman sa sitwasyon upang agarang makatugon sa anumang pangangailangan at mapanatili ang kaligtasan ng publiko.

Meteorologists say Earth sizzled to a global heat record in June and July has been getting hotter

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An already warming Earth steamed to its hottest June on record, smashing the old global mark by nearly a quarter of a degree (0.13 degrees Celsius), with global oceans setting temperature records for the third straight month, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.

June’s 61.79 degrees (16.55 degrees Celsius) global average was 1.89 degrees (1.05 degrees Celsius) above the 20th Century average, the first time globally a summer month was more than a degree Celsius hotter than normal, according to NOAA. Other weather monitoring systems, such as NASA, Berkeley Earth and Europe’s Copernicus, had already called last month the hottest June on record, but NOAA is the gold standard for record-keeping with data going back 174 years to 1850.

The increase over the last June’s record is “a considerably big jump” because usually global monthly records are so broad based they often jump by hundredths not quarters of a degree, said NOAA climate scientist Ahira Sanchez-Lugo.

“The recent record temperatures, as well as extreme fires, pollution and flooding we are seeing this year are what we expect to see in a warmer climate,” said Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald. “We are just getting a small taste for the types of impacts that we expect to worsen under climate change.”

Both land and ocean were the hottest a June has seen. But the globe’s sea surface — which is 70% of Earth’s area — has set monthly high temperature records in April, May and June and the North Atlantic has been off the charts warm since mid March, scientists say. The Caribbean region smashed previous records as did the United Kingdom.

The first half of 2023 has been the third hottest January through June on record, behind 2016 and 2020, according to NOAA.

NOAA says there’s a 20% chance that 2023 will be the hottest year on record, with next year more likely, but the chance of a record is growing and outside scientists such as Brown University’s Kim Cobb are predicting a “photo finish” with 2016 and 2020 for the hottest year on record. Berkeley Earth’s Robert Rohde said his group figures there’s an 80% chance that 2023 will end up the hottest year on record.

That’s because it’s likely only to get hotter. July is usually the hottest month of the year, and the record for July and the hottest month of any year is 62.08 degrees (16.71 degrees Celsius) set in both July 2019 and July 2021. Eleven of the first dozen days in July were hotter than ever on record, according to an unofficial and preliminary analysis by University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer. The Japanese Meteorological Agency and the World Meteorological Organization said the world has just gone through its hottest week on record.

NOAA recorded water temperatures around Florida of 98 degrees (36.7 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday near the Everglades and 97 degrees (36.1 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday near the Florida Keys, while some forecasters are predicting near world record level temperatures in Death Valley of around 130 degrees (54.4 degrees Celsius) this weekend.

NOAA global analysis chief Russ Vose said the record hot June is because of two main reasons: long-term warming caused by heat-trapping gases spewed by the burning of coal, oil and natural gas that’s then boosted by a natural El Nino, which warms parts of the Pacific and changes weather worldwide adding extra heat to already rising global temperatures. He said it’s likely most of June’s warming is due to long-term human causes because so far this new El Nino is still considered weak to moderate. It’s forecast to peak in the winter, which is why NOAA and other forecasters predict 2024 to be even hotter than this year.

While El Nino and its cooling flip side, La Nina, “have a big impact on year-to-year temperatures, their effects are much smaller over the long run than human-caused warming,” said climate scientist Zeke Hausfather of Berkeley Earth and the tech company Stripe. “Back in 1998, the world had a super El Nino event with record global temperatures; today the temperatures of 1998 would be an unusually cool year. Human-driven climate change adds a permanent super El Nino worth of heat to the atmosphere every decade.”

Global and Antarctic sea ice levels were at record lows in June, NOAA also said.

“Until we stop burning fossil fuels, this will only get worse,” Climate scientist Friederike Otto of the Imperial College of London said in an email. “Heat records will keep getting broken, people and ecosystems are already in many cases beyond what they are able to deal with.”

P2 taas-presyo ng produktong petrolyo ipinatupad ngayong araw, Hulyo 18

Muling humarap ang publiko sa bigtime na pagtaas ng presyo ng produktong petrolyo na ipatutupad ng mga oil company simula ngayong araw, Martes, Hulyo 18.

Ayon sa mga advisories na inilabas ng Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. at Seaoil Philippines Corp., magtataas sila ng presyo kada litro ng gasolina ng P1.90, diesel ng P2.10, at kerosene ng P1.80.

Nagkabisa ang mga pagbabagong ito kaninang alas-6 ng umaga para sa lahat ng mga kumpanya, maliban sa Cleanfuel na mag-aanunsyo pa ng kanilang mga bagong presyo mamayang 4:01 p.m. 

Samantala, ang ilang mga kumpanya ay hindi pa naglalabas ng kanilang mga anunsyo hinggil sa presyo ng petrolyo para sa susunod na linggo.

Noong nakaraang linggo, may bahagyang pagbaba sa presyo ng gasolina na nagkakahalaga ng P0.20 kada litro, habang ang diesel ay tumataas ng P0.75, at ang kerosene naman ay tumaas ng P0.50 kada litro.

Ayon sa Department of Energy (DOE) Oil Industry Management Bureau, ang pagtaas ay sanhi ng planong pagbabawas ng supply at sa inaasahang pagtaas ng demand.

Sa pinakahuling datos mula sa DOE noong Hulyo 14, 2023, ang kabuuang pagtaas ng gasolina ay umaabot sa P5.65 kada litro, samantalang ang diesel ay may netong pagbaba na P2.95 kada litro, at ang kerosene naman ay may kabuuang pagtaas na P5.50 kada litro.

Heat wave bakes southern Europe, sparking warnings to stay inside, drink water and limit exercise

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ROME. Italian health officials intensified heat warnings as southern Europe began a brutally hot week on Monday with temperatures expected to top 40 C — or 104 F — on a continent already overburdened by tourists.

The health ministry issued 10 recommendations to protect elderly people, the sick and pets from the heat, urging people to stay indoors during the hottest hours, drink at least 1.5 liters (nearly half a gallon) of water a day and refrain from strenuous exercise at peak daylight times. The culprit was a high-pressure anticyclone dubbed Cerberus, the multi-headed dog that guards gates to the underworld in Greek mythology.

Local celebrities went on state-run RAI television to read the recommendations aloud, in hopes of spreading the message.

The third heatwave in a month was expected to affect much of the Mediterranean and last until Wednesday.

The mercury in Rome hit 35 C (95 F) just before noon Monday and was forecast to near 40 C (104 F) in the afternoon. Italy’s capital city was expected to be even hotter on Tuesday, as were several other cities in particular in Sardinia and Sicily.

Power outages were hitting parts of Rome as electric grids suffered under heavier demand from air conditioners as people sought relief. Italian farm lobby Coldiretti, meanwhile, issued an alarm about the plight of domestic and farm animals, noting that cows are producing around 10% less milk as a result of the heat.

Elsewhere in Spain, a wildfire that started Saturday on the Canary island of La Palma continued to burn out-of-control Monday, although authorities says weaker winds and cooler temperatures in the area are helping firefighters combat it. The blaze has burned some 4,600 hectares (11,300 acres) of mostly woody hill land and some 20 houses and buildings.

More than 4,000 residents were evacuated from their homes Saturday but were allowed to return as of late Sunday.

Spain’s Aemet weather agency said the heat wave this week “will affect a large part of the countries bordering the Mediterranean“ with temperatures in some southern areas of Spain exceeding 42 C (107 F).

The agency says it expects temperatures to drop sometime Wednesday.

Spokesman Rubén del Campo said an anticyclone is pushing a hot mass of air from Africa towards Spain and other Mediterranean countries. The agency predicts that with the heat and very dry air, the risk of wildfires will skyrocket.

Barangay Chairman, arestado sa mga baril at bala

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NAGCARLAN, Laguna. Inaresto ng pinagsamang puwersa ng Nagcarlan, Laguna PNP at CIDG-Batangas ang isang Barangay Chairman sa Laguna matapos nitong bentahan ng baril at mga bala ang police poseur buyer sa entrapment operation kahapon sa loob mismo ng barangay hall sa Barangay Wakat, sa bayang ito.

Kinilala ni Police Colonel Harold Depositar, direkto ng Laguna Provincial Police Office ang suspek na si Chairman Renato Acosta, 61 anyos, at residente ng Purok 5 ng nabanggit na barangay.

Ayon sa report ni Police Major Gabriel Ayon, Nagcarlan Municipal Police Station chief, ang isinagawang buy-bust ay bahagi ng OPLAN Paglalansag ng PNP laban sa mga loose firearms at ammunitions na maaaring magamit ng mga gun-for-hire groups sa darating na Barangay at SK elections.

Ayon sa pahayag ng mga CIDG operatives, nagbebenta ng baril si Acosta sa pamamagitan ng online selling gamit ang cellphone, kung saan tinatawagan umano nito ang kanyang mga kliyente.

Sa ikinasang buy-bust ng mga pulis, nakuha kay Acosta ang 1 unit ng caliber 45 semi-automatic rifle; 1 unit ng caliber 45 pistol model 1911; 2 piraso ng magazine para sa caliber 45 pistol; 1 piraso ng steel magazine para sa caliber pistol; 6 na magazines ng live ammunitions; 10 piraso ng live ammunitions para sa caliber 45; 5 piraso ng live ammunitions; at mahigit sa 70 libong pisong cash at 1 unit ng Huwei android cellphone.

Bukod sa mga nabanggit na mga baril at bala, nakuha din kay Acosta ng isang caliber 45 pistol na ayon sa kanya ay ginagamit niya sa kanyang mga opisyal na lakad.

Ang suspek ay kasalukuyang nakakulong sa CIDG Batangas custodial cell habang inihahanda ang kasong paglabag sa R.A. 10591 o Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunitions Act.