Author: NY TIMES

There is a problem with the recently approved Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm. It can remove some of the amyloid that forms brain plaques that are hallmarks of the disease. But most of the drug is wasted because it hits an obstacle, the blood-brain barrier, that protects the brain from toxins and infections but also prevents many drugs from entering.Researchers wondered if they could improve that grim result by trying something different: they would open the blood-brain barrier for a short time while they delivered the drug. Their experimental method was to use highly focused pulses of ultrasound along with tiny gas…

Born in Upper Austria as Franz Leopold Maria Möst — the stage name came later, with “Welser” taken from his hometown, Wels — he got his start in music by learning violin from a nun named Sister Gerburga, who liberally slapped her students’ hands with a ruler. When a new secondary school for music opened nearby in Linz, he auditioned, was accepted and began studying with an eye toward a career at the Vienna Philharmonic.But in 1978, on the way back from a performance of Schubert’s Mass in G, he was in a car accident that left him with three…

Whatever its outcome, the accusation of genocide leveled this week against Israel at the world’s top court is an epochal intervention imbued with profound symbolism for both Israelis and Palestinians.In the granular sense, the case at the International Court of Justice is a chance to assess three months of devastation in Gaza. Israel stands accused of committing genocide against the Palestinian people in a military campaign that has killed roughly 1 in 100 Gazans and displaced nearly two million others.But the case, brought by South Africa to the court in The Hague, has also taken on a broader resonance: Among…

The Emmy Awards are on Monday, after being postponed four months because of Hollywood’s labor disputes.I’m tuning in to see the actors and creators of “The White Lotus” and “Succession” walk the red carpet in fancy dress, after which they will, with any luck, make some witty or inspiring speeches when they win their awards. These are two shows that I loved obsessively while they were on, and mourned ridiculously when they were over.One of the most common criticisms I’ve heard from those who can’t stomach these shows is that they’re devoid of likable characters. The navel-gazing vacationers of “The…

Mis palabras exactas para él en nuestra primera cita fueron: “No busco integrar a nadie en mi vida. Busco escapar de mi vida”.Nos conocimos en un restaurante italiano durante una cálida noche de agosto, en el segundo aniversario de la muerte de mi marido. Habíamos conectado en una aplicación de citas, donde destacaban sus mensajes ingeniosos y cerebrales, así como su foto de perfil en la que aparecía leyendo una revista New Yorker en un sofá bañado por la luz del sol.Ese mismo día me había ido de excursión con mis hijos a un parque cercano, donde mi hija encontró…

Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $249 million in penalties to resolve investigations by federal prosecutors and securities regulators into the firm’s practices in handling some large stock trades, authorities and the bank said on Friday.As part of the settlement, Morgan Stanley entered into a nonprosecution agreement with the government and will not be charged with any criminal wrongdoing.The investigations found that at least one employee at the bank had misused confidential information in connection with so-called block trades of stocks by some of its customers, according to statements and filings released by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the Securities and…

OpenAI said on Wednesday that it was opening an app store for people to share customized versions of its popular chatbot, ChatGPT, as the artificial intelligence company works to expand the reach of its flagship technology and turn it into a moneymaker.The new store is called the GPT Store. People who spend $20 a month for a subscription to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus service can browse the store for custom chatbots that provide a wide array of services, including those that recommend books, teach mathematics and search through scientific papers.The store will “help you find useful and popular custom versions of…

Shortly after dropping two Harvard scientists with financial conflicts of interest, the national organization assembling a committee to assess the evidence about drinking and health has chosen four new panelists, among them another Harvard professor who also has financial ties to the alcohol industry.The committee’s work, under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, will be used to update the federal government’s dietary guidelines, which advise Americans on nutrition and diet, including how much they should or should not drink.Scientists at universities all over North America study the health effects of alcohol, and many do not…

This week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes segments on:Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan, the two stars of “Saltburn,” who offer two different modes for the leading man of the momentElordi’s work in “The Sweet East,” in which he pokes fun at and downsizes his public imageJeremy Allen White, star of “The Bear” and the current Calvin Klein underwear campaign, as heartthrob rookieThe anti-heartthrob heartthrob Nathan Fielder, who’s been toying with his public image through canny character work as Asher on “The Curse”New songs from Starlito featuring…

The Gaza Strip was plunged into another communications blackout on Friday, with internet and phone service cut off for most of its more than two million residents as Israeli bombardment continued.“All telecom services in Gaza Strip have been lost due to the ongoing aggression,” the major Palestinian telecommunications company, Paltel, announced late Friday afternoon. Another mobile network, Ooredoo Palestine, said damage to communications lines had shut down all of its services in the southern and central parts of the territory, which Israeli forces have recently made a focus of their operations. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the…