WEIRD STUFF

Dog stripped of world record

The 'world's oldest dog' has been posthumously stripped of his title.

Guinness World Records says it has no evidence that Bobi the canine, who died last October at the apparent age of 31 years and 165 days, was as old as claimed.

GWR had opened an investigation into Bobi - a Rafeiro do Alentejo from Portugal - after doubts were raised about the proof of the pooch's age.

The organisation has ruled that the microchip that was used as evidence of Bobi's old age was not sufficient proof to give him the record.

GWR said: "We're left with no conclusive evidence which can definitively prove Bobi's date of birth.

"Without any conclusive evidence available to us right now, we simply can't retain Bobi as the record holder."

GWR is yet to confirm which dog is the new record holder while Bobi's owner Leonel Costa has not commented on the removal of his late pet's title.

Stress causes cancer to spread

A team of experts at New York's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have found that chronic stress leads to the formation of sticky webs of white blood cells known as neutrophils - which make it easier for cancer cells to invade tissues.

The scientists conducted their research on lab mice who had suffered from breast cancer. It was found the risk of the disease spreading further was increased by two to four times when the rodents were placed under stress.

Although the evidence points to stress promoting the growth of cancer, it does not show that stress leads to tumours in the first place.

Stress has also been found to suppress the actions of vital immune cells and makes it easier for cancer cells to reproduce in the lungs.

Researcher Dr Xue-Yan He said: "Stress is something we cannot really avoid in cancer patients.

"You can imagine if you are diagnosed, you cannot stop thinking about the disease or insurance or family. So it is very important to understand how stress works on us."

-----

Leaky blood vessels linked to COVID brain fog

Brain fog in long COVID sufferers may be caused by leaky blood vessels.

Scientists have theorised that catching the virus causes disruption in the blood-brain barrier of some victims, causing the cognitive issues experienced in those battling the condition.

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin and FutureNeuro analysed data from 76 patients who were hospitalised with the virus in March or April 2020 - as well as 25 people before the pandemic.

The findings demonstrate that those with long COVID who had leaks in the blood-brain barrier had brain fog, while those without disruption did not.

Matthew Campbell, principal investigator at FutureNeuro, praised the research for identifying a possible cause of the worrying condition.

He said: "For the first time, we have been able to show that leaky blood vessels in the human brain, in tandem with a hyperactive immune system, may be the key drivers of brain fog associated with long COVID.

"This is critically important, as understanding the underlying cause of these conditions will allow us to develop targeted therapies for patients in the future."

--------

Humans could defeat aliens with AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is humanity's secret weapon in the hunt for aliens.

Bill Diamond, head of the extraterrestrial research organisation Seti Institute, explained that the search for aliens has been "a needle in a haystack problem" but claims that artificial intelligence has proved to be "indispensable" in the quest to find little green men.

Seti is building an AI-powered system in the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico that is going to be able to scan and process data in extraordinary ways.

Diamond said: "There was the question, 'What if there is an alien advanced tech that is using wideband radio?'

"We are looking for science and technology beyond the solar system as evidence of life and intelligence."

----