Moderna and Merck say their mRNA cancer vaccine cut melanoma death and recurrence by 42% (LINK) — 23 October 2026

Moderna's stock plummets 25% after cancer-vaccine data shared on social media, revealing elevated expectations built into the stock (ground news LINK) — 22 October 2026

Heat killed 'staggering' 50,000 people in Europe's cities this summer, scientists warn (LINK) — 22 October 2026

— Imperial and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine: People succumbed to heat at highest rates in Malta, Italy and Hungary, with health issues, loneliness and poverty exacerbating toll

Almost all coral reef ecosystems face risk of collapse in 50 years, mostly due to warming oceans and heat waves, IUCN warns (LINK) — 22 October 2026

— Some 96% of shallow-water reef systems are already critically endangered and could disappear by 2075, the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced on the sidelines of a U.N. biodiversity conference in Albania.

U.S. is a big reason the world is losing ground in the fight against climate change, UNEP report says: The U.S. was the only major economy that failed last year to reduce its carbon pollution or at least slow the growth in how much carbon dioxide is spewed by burning fossil fuels (LINK) — 22 October 2026

UNEP: New report lays out emission cuts needed for return to 1.5C — (LINK)

Biodiversity COP17 Handbook urges governments to include women's environmental knowledge in biodiversity decision-making (LINK) — 20 October 2026

— Water Journalists Africa: "Women are often the first to notice environmental changes such as shrinking forests, drying rivers and declining fish stocks, yet their observations are frequently overlooked in official policies."

Countries are falling behind on 22 of 23 conservation targets (LINK) — 19 October 2026

— Among the problems highlighted by scientists are pesticide use, unsustainable fishing and subsidies for activities that harm nature. Ecosystem degradation threatens food production, water security and economic stability worldwide.

Scientists reveal new theory of why we exist: Neglected neutrino particle could explain why there is anything at all, study suggests: "The fact that we are here at all proves that an asymmetry between matter and antimatter occurred" at big bang (LINK) — 20 October 2026

Guardian: Cop17 at a glance: everything you need to know about the UN's nature summit on 19-30 October in Yerevan, Armenia: 23 targets agreed in 2022 (LINK) — 19 October 2026

Top global climate science body IPCC suspends meeting without deal on major review timeline: the impasse has lasted nearly three years (LINK) — 16 October 2026

— Governments are set to assess progress toward goals set in the 2015 Paris agreement at the UN climate talks in November 2028, in a so-called "Global Stocktake". The panel's deliberations will resume at the earliest opportunity, the IPCC said, without providing details. Countries including India, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China are pressing for more time to prepare the IPCC's next reports to ensure scientists from less-resourced countries can make meaningful contributions.

Kenya confirms third Ebola case, a relative of the first patient who died (ground news LINK) — 16 October 2026

— Ministry officials state there is no evidence of community spread, as all cases remain linked to the first patient. The second patient, a 39-year-old man from the same family, remains in stable condition.

Science Alert: Princeton physicists may have found a shortcut to fusion energy: heating the plasma first, then adding density, is the best way to go — report 10 September (LINK) — 15 October 2026

The Brighter Side: Einstein was right: Darkness can travel faster than light without breaking relativity: it does not provide a way to send information faster than light: report published 25 March 2026 (LINK) — 14 October 2026

Nobel prize in economics awarded to Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford of US for their work on the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabiliaztion: the laureates' "work has provided us with a stable theoretical foundation" for models used by central banks and governments worldwide (ground news LINK) — 12 October 2026

— Although technically not a Nobel Prize, it is presented on Dec. 10 alongside other honors announced last week in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace.

Scientists find 'Doomsday Glacier', Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, is melting 'more aggressively' than thought, with big impacts for sea level rise (LINK) — 12 October 2026

— CNN: its melting ice currently contributes around 4% to global sea level rise. Thwaites holds enough water to raise sea levels by more than 2 feet (0.6m) if it were to collapse. Because it also acts as a cork holding back the vast Antarctic ice sheet, it could ultimately lead to around 10 feet (3m) of sea level rise, devastating coastal communities from Miami to Manila.

World's largest penguin colony, on Zavodovski Island, Antartica, shrinks two-thirds in just 14 years (ground news LINK) — 7 October 2026

Brazil's bare-throated bellbird and seriema could be world's loudest birds, both exceeding 120 decibels: as loud as a jackhammer (LINK) — 6 October 2026

WHO endorses lifestyle changes over GLP-1 drugs in child obesity fight: first global guidelines recommending diet, exercise, and counseling over weight-loss drugs for managing rising obesity among children and adolescents (ground news LINK) — 7 October 2026

— Obesity prevalence among those aged 5 to 19 has quadrupled since 1990; about 400 million people were overweight in 2024, including 170 million living with obesity. For children under 10, WHO endorsed diet, physical activity, and behavioral support instead of medication, while adolescents aged 10 to 19 may consider drugs only after supervised interventions fail. Luz Regil, director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, noted there is "currently insufficient evidence" on GLP-1 drugs, though researchers are monitoring efficacy trials for potential reassessment.

Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai "for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis" (ground news LINK) — 7 October 2026

— Their discoveries can help address global challenges, including climate change. Kagan is affiliated with Université Paris-Sud in Orsay, France, while Soai, 95, is affiliated with the Tokyo University of Science. The Nobel Prize in Literature is set for Thursday, followed by the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, with the series concluding Monday with the announcement of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Laureates receive a medal, a diploma, and a cash award of $1.2 million.

Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Belgian-American particle physicist Francis Halzen for astronomy breakthroughs: "decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin" (ground news LINK) — 6 October 2026

Nobel medicine prize goes to 3 scientists for research into brain activity (LINK) — 5 October 2026

— Karl Deisseroth, 54, Peter Hegemann, 71, and Georg Nagel, 73, have carried out research into the mechanisms the brain uses to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells: light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. They are based at universities in Germany and the United States.

When media attention intensified, Karl Deisseroth, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, paused the interviews to request a break starting at 6:30 a.m. because his children needed school lunches before leaving for the day — (LINK)