Narcolepsy drug could kick off an Ozempic-style moment for the brain

Hello Nature readers,
Today we read about a first-of-its-kind narcolepsy drug that takes aim at the condition’s root cause. Plus, we hear that postdocs are protesting in Argentina and see the highest-resolution image ever of the Sun’s photosphere.

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An Ozempic-style moment for the brain?

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-its-kind drug to treat the sleep disorder narcolepsy type 1. Oveporexton, sold as Orzeyful, targets a root cause of narcolepsy by activating receptors that respond to the peptide orexin, which helps the brain regulate many pathways in the body, including the sleep–wake cycle. It’s one of a slate of emerging treatments known as orexin agonists, which researchers hope will do for the brain what GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Ozempic and Wegovy are doing for the body. GLP-1s were originally used to treat diabetes and obesity, but are being assessed for their efficacy against a wide range of health issues.

Argentina postdocs take to the streets

Postdoctoral fellows held protests in Argentina last week after nearly 400 were left in career limbo by delays linked to cuts made by the government of President Javier Milei. The country’s main science agency, CONICET, says it won’t know until next August whose applications for a permanent career track are successful. In the meantime, most postdocs whose fellowships have come to an end won’t get paid. This year’s budget on science and technology is projected to fall to about 0.14% of gross domestic product, the lowest level in decades.

AI scientists can’t do it all

Researchers exploring the capacity of artificial intelligence systems to do open-ended research say that we are not there yet. Computer scientist Sayash Kapoor (who co-wrote the book AI Snake Oil) and his colleagues asked an AI tool to do research and write up its findings based on a research question from two papers, and asked the original authors to scrutinize the tool’s output. There were some successes — such as running experiments without getting stuck — but the humans deemed that the AI allowed itself to follow fruitless paths, didn’t fully follow instructions and produced poorly written papers.

Life and the planet evolved hand-in-hand

In Earth & Life, palaeontologist Andrew Knoll explores how physical, chemical and biological processes have interacted over time to enable life to flourish on our planet. Through a catalogue of Earth’s biogeochemical cycles, Knoll explains how life-supporting factors such as atmospheric oxygen arose and changed throughout history, how lifeforms began to influence the Earth in return and how our knowledge of the past informs our perspective of modern climate change. “The best historians recognize that they are storytellers,” writes geobiologist Dianne Newman in her review. “Knoll is one of them.”

Astro-tourism can help life on the ground

“Fifteen years ago, an astro-tourism experience would scarcely have been a consideration in this part of the Karoo [region of South Africa],” writes science communicator Anton Binneman. “These are remote communities where, beyond sheep farming, little exists that might attract tourism.” But the construction of the MeerKAT and SKA telescopes changed all that. Now, the Carnarvon Astro Guides initiative connects these large-scale observatories to local people. “Astronomy infrastructure provides the scientific anchor, local guides provide the interpretive interface, and the night sky becomes a shared space where science, place, culture, and livelihood intersect,” Binneman writes.

‘Protective’ Alzheimer’s research questioned

In the 1980s, the late neurologist Francisco Lopera led breakthrough work in his native Colombia that gathered a vast family tree of people who seemed to carry a mutated gene that raised their risk of early-onset dementia — and, in a few family members, rare protective gene variants that can delay the symptoms by decades. But high-profile research into protective mutations, which builds on his work, might be flawed, reports a Science investigation. The GNA research group involved has defended its work, but critics worry that the field is being undermined. “It’s fostered this whole little cottage industry based on incredibly unstable foundations,” says neurologist Michael Greicius.