What Causes Sleep Paralysis Demons?

Many of us have experienced hallucinating while getting out of bed, only to find out later that we are actually still asleep? How about multiple times in a row?

Manasee Wagh of Popular Mechanics wrote that Ben Rein, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Stanford University, actually has had that jarring experience many, many times. Your brain can trick you into having hallucinations while you hover at the boundary of sleep, Rein says.

Rein is diagnosed with narcolepsy — a chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming, uncontrollable daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep. He has also experienced hypnagogic hallucinations, or short-lived, disturbingly realistic imagery that tricks the brain as you’re falling asleep.

First the brain enters a sleep state, then slowly descends into a deep sleep, before finally surfacing slightly to enter a dreaming period called Rapid Eye Movement (REM). The full process takes about 60 to 90 minutes. This acts as a buffer between being conscious and dreaming, which is why people often have trouble remembering their dreams, Rein explains.

For people who experience sleep hallucinations, the period between consciousness and REM sleep is shorter. These fits can plague people with narcolepsy, in which a person enters directly into REM sleep — they’re awake, and then they’re suddenly partially conscious and dreaming. This situation is comparable to a hallucination before reaching a true dreaming state.

"I've experienced a lot of hypnagogic hallucinations," Rein admits. "They're definitely pretty wild." These types of hallucinations aren't very common, because you need to have some sort of condition that affects your sleep, he adds.

Hypnopompic hallucinations, on the other hand, happen while you’re waking up. They are connected to sleep paralysis, which can be downright scary.

"What happens is in sleep paralysis, during REM sleep, when you’re dreaming, your body is paralyzed, you have your brain intentionally disconnected from your body so that you’re not moving around acting out your dreams, for obvious reasons, of course," Rein says. (Naturally, you wouldn’t want to inadvertently punch your sleeping partner in the face while acting out a fight scene in your dream.)

However, during this rapid shift from REM sleep to wakefulness, the brain-body disconnection doesn’t necessarily happen for people who experience sleep paralysis. "And so you end up remaining body-locked and paralyzed because your brain thinks, '’m still dreaming right now.'But you are conscious enough to recognize that you are awake," Rein says.

Since your brain is still hovering at the border between dreamland and wakefulness, you are not only paralyzed, but also hallucinating. You may even think you’re being attacked—a horrifying experience people call sleep paralysis demons. "These are actually hypnopompic hallucinations, because really, what’s happening is, the mysterious things happening in the dream world are leaking over into real life. And so it seems very real, but it’s still really a dream," he explains.

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Try Not To Mix Coffee And Antibiotics

A daily cup of coffee could be blunting the effects of certain antibiotic treatments, according to a new study analyzing the reaction of Escherichia coli bacteria to caffeine.

The international team of researchers behind the study looked at 94 different chemical substances and how they changed E. coli: specifically, how they altered the systems that control what gets into and out of the bacterial cells.

Around a third of the substances tested were shown to interfere with gene activity related to managing traffic in and out of the cell. But caffeine was the one that stood out. It led to the E. coli absorbing a lower level of some antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin.

"Our data show that several substances can subtly but systematically influence gene regulation in bacteria," says microbiologist Christoph Binsfeld, from the University of Würzburg in Germany.

This is part of ongoing research into what's known as low-level antibiotic resistance. Not the fully fledged kind, where bacteria adapt to resist targeted treatments directly, but subtler effects that are triggered by changes in how genes operate and the way that these bugs respond to their environment.

We already know that bacteria such as E. coli use these adaptive responses to maximize their chances of survival in whatever environment they find themselves in. What's not known are the precise biological mechanisms being used, which can tell scientists more about how bacteria pathogens stay alive and how we might beat them.

The analysis showed that a particular protein called Rob played a bigger role than previously thought in controlling what gets in and out of the bacteria cells. It was involved in about a third of all the changes spotted by the researchers, including those triggered by the introduction of caffeine.

"Caffeine triggers a cascade of events starting with the gene regulator Rob and culminating in the change of several transport proteins in E. coli – which in turn leads to a reduced uptake of antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin," says biological engineer Ana Rita Brochado, from the University of Tübingen in Germany.

It's important to note that this research is based on tests carried out in the lab: it's not fully clear how this might work in actual human beings, or how much coffee you'd actually have to drink to make a noticeable difference to antibiotic response, but this is something future research can look into.

Another discovery by the researchers was that the antibiotic weakening effect was not seen in Salmonella enterica, another harmful bacteria closely related to E. coli. This is a response that seems to only apply to certain kinds of bacteria.

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"Ozempic Vulva" Makes Women Look Old Down There

Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs have become extremely popular for their ability to manage Type 2 diabetes symptoms and spur weight loss. A recent study found that about 4 percent of Americans took these meds last year.

As GLP-1s have become widely used, there’s been a corresponding increase in awareness of their potential risks and side effects. Add another one to the list — "Ozempic vulva" or "Ozempic vagina." They dropped — and then they drooped.

"[The rapidity of] weight loss can cause visible skin sagging, laxity and wrinkles throughout the body," Dr. Sherry Ross, an OB-GYN in Santa Monica, Calif., and author of "She-ology" and "She-ology, the She-quel," told HealthCentral.

"All areas of the body can show visible skin changes in response to this significant weight loss," she added, "including the lower belly, pubic mons and inner and outer labia."

The vagina is surrounded by two sets of "lips" or folds of skin. The labia majora are the outer, larger folds, while the labia minora are the inner, smaller folds.

They extend from the mons pubis, the rounded, fatty area over the pubic bone.

Some GLP-1 users have complained that their weight loss has led to a decrease in the volume of their labia majora, causing it to appear deflated or aged.

Labia puffing may help. The procedure restores volume and fullness to the labia majora via dermal fillers or fat grafting.

Dr. Michael Tahery, a board-certified OB-GYN in LA, notes on his website that the fillers used in labia puffing are comparable to facial fillers. The tiny injections can last up to eight months a session and don’t require recovery time.

With fat grafts, a doctor injects a small amount of fat from the patient’s thigh, abdomen or elsewhere in their body into the labia.

"The benefit of this treatment is that it does not pose risks for rejection because it uses the patient’s own fat," Tahery wrote. "The fat is easily reabsorbed by the body over time."

Labiaplasty to reshape the labia and vaginal tightening to restore firmness to the vaginal canal may also provide relief.

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WHO Released Warning On Possible Epidemic Threat

Hgh officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) has alerted the public to a potential revival of epidemic proportions. New reports show the chikungunya virus is spreading outside of its typical distribution, according to Reuters.

Chikungunya is a virus that was first identified in the United Republic of Tanzania in 1952. Since then, it's emerged across Africa and Asia, particularly in the Indian Ocean region. It's spread by mosquitoes, most commonly by the species Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Once bitten, an infected person can expect to experience fever and severe joint pain.

Right now, an estimated 5.6 billion people across 119 countries are at risk of contracting the virus as it spreads to Europe and other continents, per Reuters. WHO officials are concerned that the pattern is similar to an epidemic of the disease that happened between 2004 and 2005 and impacted nearly half a million people.

"We are seeing history repeating itself," said Diana Rojas Alvarez, a medical officer at the WHO, per Reuters.

According to the WHO, mosquitoes are the most common vector of disease. Illnesses such as chikungunya, malaria, and West Nile cause nearly 800,000 deaths each year worldwide.

Humans are more likely to be infected where mosquitoes thrive in warm, wet climates. With global temperatures on the rise, the insect's habitat is expanding.

There are no medicines currently known to treat chikungunya, though two types of vaccines are available in the United States and acetaminophen or paracetamol can alleviate symptoms, per the CDC. With this, as with many mosquito-borne illnesses, prevention is key.

Mosquito-borne illnesses are easily preventable by controlling the insect population and preventing them from breeding. In California, vector district officials are working to sterilize male mosquitoes in an effort to control populations. Scientists in Burkina Faso have developed a mosquito-killing fungus to be introduced to the insects during mating.

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Computer Science Degree Is No Longer An "Entry Ticket" To Tech?

VIBE Coding CEO Anton Osika says he thinks people should stop seeing computer science degrees as a surefire way to land a career in tech.

"I wouldn't say it's worthless, but I do think the leverage has moved," Osika told Business Insider in an interview a few days ago.

Osika, 35, said that while getting a computer science degree "isn't useless," its value has shifted. "Curiosity, adaptability, and shipping high-quality products quickly can matter more than credentials," he added.

"For most people, a degree is no longer the entry ticket. You can build, ship, and even start companies without it," Osika said.

"The degree still has value if you want to go deep on systems, theory, or research. There's rigor there that tools won't replace. But the default path — 'I need a CS degree to be relevant in tech' — feels much less true today," he continued.

Osika said that in the past, the bottleneck to building in tech was the "technical know-how," which required "years of training to even get started." But now, people have the tools to "go from idea to working product without ever touching a formal CS education," he said.

Osika cofounded Lovable in 2023. Lovable is a vibe coding platform that allows people with limited programming knowledge to create software using AI.

Osika's startup has 45 employees, per PitchBook, and is hiring for 16 open positions on its careers page as of press time.

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Superager's Brain Refused To Grow Old

Ask anyone what they dread about aging, and the thought of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia is likely an answer high on the list. The irreversible symptoms of dementia only worsen with time and can become severe enough for the person to struggle remembering the faces of those close to them and even their own identity.

There is no cure for dementia (even though treatments that mitigate symptoms do exist). However, answers for prevention may lie in the brains of superagers, individuals over the age of 80 who have memories superior to others in their age group and can recall things as well as people decades younger.

A Northwestern University study that spanned 25 years studied the lifestyles and brain activity of superagers both during life and in those who had donated their brains postmortem.

What the researchers at the Northwestern Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center found were physical differences in brain structures that delayed symptoms of brain aging that often lead to dementia. Superagers would remember at least as many words from a list read to them as neurotypical adults who were 20 to 30 years younger. Their brain age of these subjects, mostly octogenarians and novogenerians, defied the expectations of the degenerative processes that often happen to the brains of people who reach their biological age. What is considered “normal” brain aging involves decline. The average brain usually does not stay so remarkably intact.

"During the first 25 years of this program, we established that superagers constitute not only a neuropsychological but also a neurobiological phenotype distinctive from cognitively average age peers," they said in a study recently published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

What gives superagers these superpowers? There are several contributing factors.

Somehow, their cerebral cortex resists thinning that is often a cause of neurodegenerative diseases. This outermost portion of the brain, also known as gray matter, is made of tightly packed neurons and responsible for higher-level processes that include memory, as well as learning, thought, reasoning, intelligence, language, decision-making, emotion, and personality. Superagers experience little to no cortical thinning, giving them cortical volumes similar to those of much younger brains.

There are also less obvious parts of the brain that give them an advantage, such as the cingulate gyrus, which is located below the cerebral cortex and above the corpus callosum. The cingulate gyrus also processes memory, along with emotion, self-regulation and pain. Superagers have a region in the cingulate gyrus that is thicker than the same region in younger adults. Their brains also show fewer signs that often indicate the onset of Alzheimer’s, such as less plaque buildup.

Nerves and the neurons they are made of are another factor critical for brain health, especially in advanced age. Superagers were discovered to have larger entorhinal neurons, which are found in the entorhinal cortex and involved in memory of times, places and objects. Their cholinergic nerves, which are involved in memory and help control many physical processes, are especially well preserved.

There is also a greater density of von Economo neurons, which speed up information processing, in their brains. Microglia, cells which are found in nerve fibers and often behind brain inflammation and lesions in older individuals, are less prone to causing inflammation in superagers.

Something that surprised the Northwestern research team was that superagers did not necessarily have many lifestyle parallels. Some took every measure to keep themselves healthy. Others had done just about everything that would seem to counter that, such as smoking, drinking, and being sedentary.

Many suffered from stress and were not able to get adequate sleep. The one thing that most superagers did have in common was that they were had active social lives, making extracurricular activities a regular part of their lives. They even reported having more positive relationships with others than people around the same age who were cognitively average.

Eventually, the structure and function of superager brains may be the basis for preventative treatments and gene therapies targeting Alzheimer’s, other dementias, and more neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.

There are some aspects of this phenomenon that have yet to surface: whether superagers are born with larger brains, or with factors that make their brains almost immune to the ravages of time that cause others to experience the effects of brain degeneration. Either way, researchers are going to remember these findings for future studies.

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Bama Rush Is Exploding Wildly

Bama Rush Week is happening right now at the University of Alabama, and this year’s potential new members, or PNMs as they are called, have taken over TikTok yet again as always.

The white girls that want to be a part of Greek life at the university have racked up thousands of followers and millions of views on TikTok. Each girl has created their own engaging style taking followers with them as they get closer to Bid Day, the day they officially find out which sorority they will be a part of.

The Bama Rush process even inspired a documentary titled "Bama Rush: Acceptance Is Everything" which premiered on the Max streaming service in May 2023.

So why is Bama Rush such a big deal each year?

Videos from UA's sorority rush week went viral on TikTok in 2021. The #bamarush and #alabamarush hashtags on TikTok have attracted millions of views during the past few years. Many followers online are calling this year's Bama Rush "Season 4". And fans can't seem to get enough of a Bama Rush staple: the coveted OOTD, which is an acronym for "outfit of the day." It's not uncommon for the ladies to showcase outfits wearing jewelry from Hermès , enewton and David Yurman, Golden Goose sneakers, Gold Hinge tennis skirts, Lululemon outfits, Amazon accessories, and more.

Many of these young ladies even become young entrepreneurs and influencers because of Bama Rush. One example of this is Kylan Darnell. Darnell, now a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, shot to fame after her Bama Rush Tok stardom in 2022.

"I woke up (the morning after posting my first rush TikTok) with my phone blowing up," Darnell previously told USA TODAY about her rush experience. "My mom was like, 'have you checked your TikTok?' I gained like 100,000 followers in a night. Brands started reaching out, I started getting brand deals and making a little bit of money. It was like an overnight thing. It was crazy."

The ladies participating in Bama Rush now will learn their fate on what's called Bid Day. The University of Alabama's annual sorority recruitment event was held last Sunday 18 August at Bryant-Denny Stadium, where the university's football team holds its games. That's when thousands of young women will find out which sorority has accepted their membership bid, according to reporting by Tuscaloosa News, a part of the USA TODAY Network.

There, they will be handed a manila envelope, opening them all at the same time. They will then rush excitedly, or "run home," to their new sorority houses. Here's a look at the events that lead up to Bid Day:

• Convocation
• Open House
• Philanthropy (Days 1-3)
• Sisterhood (Days 1-3)
• Preference Day

The remaining events are Sisterhood Day 3, which is Friday, 16 August, and Preference Day, which is Saturday, 17 August.

For Convocation, Open House, and Philanthropy Days 1-3, you will notice the ladies rocking a more casual attire. The Philanthrophy Day OOTDs all consist of everyone wearing the same UA Panhellenic shirt and pairing it with a cute bottom and jewelry to stand out.

But for Sisterhood Days 1-3 and Preference Day the ladies have to up the ante as a more formal attire is required. Then it's back to casual for Bid Day as they will run to their new forever homes to meet their sisters, ready to be adorned with shirts, hats, and other paraphernalia bearing the sorority's Greek letters.

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Philippines Will Host Futsal Women's World Cup

The Philippines is hoping to make an impact as host as well as on the field in the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup. A total of 16 countries will see action from 21 November to 7 December in Pasig City and Victorias City, Negros Occidental.

These are Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal (Europe); Iran, Japan, Thailand, Philippines (Asia); Morocco, Tanzania (Africa); Canada, Panama (North America); Argentina, Brazil, Colombia (South America); and New Zealand (Oceania).

The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout phase, comprising the quarterfinals, semifinals, a third-place playoff and finals.

Spain, Italy, Brazil, Thailand and Canada will be the toughest teams to beat, according to Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president John Gutierrez during the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila last 19 August.

"And if we look at ourselves as mediocre to these powerhouses, then what’s the point of us participating. Realistically, we will be very competitive," Gutierrez said.

Coach Rafa Merino has a 20-women pool led by skippers Inday Tolentino and Isabella Flanigan. The team will be trimmed to 16, before the final 14 players.

Gutierrez said the hosting preparations are right on schedule.

"We’ve been having meetings almost every day, updates on certain developments like venues getting them up to par with FIFA standards. It’s looking good for us," Gutierrez said.

The PFF expects some chinks but is prepared for anything.

"The local organizing committee (LOC) is doing an excellent job working with FIFA to make sure we are able to host this very prestigious event," he said. "We’re not here just to participate. We’re here to make an impact."

The national team will attend a training camp in Japan by mid-September.

"It’s really a milestone for women’s sports that finally the World Cup for women’s futsal is here. So we’re very excited and thankful to FIFA for trusting us in hosting this event," Gutierrez said.

Isabella Fernando, head of government relations of the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup LOC, also attended the weekly session presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee.

She said the official draw ceremony will be held on 15 September.

The tournament received a major boost through Administrative Order No. 35 signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the creation of an Inter-Agency Task Force for the hosting.

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Leftist Professor Breaks Rank To Get "Wokeness" Out Of Schools

A liberal educator is calling for reforms in the social sciences that have been "captured" by extreme leftist agenda after joining a coalition of scholars from both sides of the political aisle dedicated to ending wokeness in higher education.

"The idea is that really, one would think that when we're talking about science, whether it's social science or medical science or anything like that, political opinion shouldn't matter. It shouldn't cloud the pursuit of truth," Wayne State University professor Jukka Savolainen told Fox News Digital.

"And we are doing this because we are convinced with good evidence that this mission has been, this plot has been lost over the years, over the decades, and we want to restore these traditional values of objective inquiry and truth."

Savolainen teaches criminal justice and "Sociology of Sport" at Wayne State University in Detroit.

While Florida was considering cutting sociology as a core general education requirement in 2023, Savolainen wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal arguing that he saw the discipline "morph from a scientific study of social reality into academic advocacy for left-wing causes."

His comments bucked the majority of his academic counterparts who were pushing to "Save Sociology." He added that there are other sociology professors who "silently" agree with him.

Now, Savolainen is the point person of the sociology community of the Heterodox Academy.

"Eric Kaufman is the director of the Institute for Heterodox Social Science, and heterodoxy, of course, means the opposite of orthodoxy, the opposite of groupthink. We are all joined in our displeasure with groupthink and monoculture in academia, and we are interested in viewpoint diversity and those types of things," he said.

Savolainen signed "The Buckingham Manifesto for a Post-Progressive Social Science" that was published by The Chronicle of Higher Education in July.

The manifesto, led by political science professor Eric Kaufmann, calls for a "post-progressive social science" to be "pursued in new universities and centers, among dissident scholars in the academic mainstream, in think tanks, or, best of all, in a future academe rededicated to open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and civil discourse."

Savolainen said that Kaufmann is seeking a coalition of people from all political backgrounds that care about the truth. He added that critics of the manifesto may consider all the signatories conservative because they do not subscribe to the "sort of left-wing social justice type of narrative."

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Bracelet That Protects Women From Sexual Assaults

It was estimated that one in three adult women across the EU have experienced sexual or physical assault, according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. This includes what is known as drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA).

Faced with these alarming statistics, a team of chemists from Portugal and Spain, led by Carlos Lodeiro Espiño of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, has presented a prototype of a paper bracelet equipped with a chemical sensor.

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary festival wristband. In reality, it is a microscopic laboratory of its own, one that can detect the presence of the date rape drug Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, otherwise known as GHB, as well as other intoxicating substances, within a matter of seconds.

The invention, which could hit European festivals and clubs as early as this year, has the potential to significantly reduce the number of sexual assaults.

The lightweight and biodegradable bracelet conceals two miniature colourimetric sensors, one of which reacts to the presence of GHB.

Simply wet a section of the band with a drop of drink. If it turns green, that indicates the presence of an unwanted substance.

The entire chemical reaction takes a few seconds and the result is visible to the naked eye.

"It's a product designed as a personal shield. It can work for up to five days, repeatedly testing different drinks," explains Professor Carlos Lodeiro Espiño, who led the research into the bracelet.

GHB is colourless, odourless and metabolises quickly in the body. Just a few hours after ingestion, it can be virtually undetectable in standard tests.

Victims often lose consciousness or memory of events, making subsequent investigation difficult.

In Europe, up to a third of sexual assaults involving chemical agents take place precisely after the administration of GHB or its derivatives.

The project is a collaboration between researchers from Portugal and the University of Valencia in Spain. The research into the sensors took several months, building on 20 years of experience in optical detection methods.

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Roblox Accused Of Fostering Sex Predators

Roblox has been labelled as a "hunting ground for child-sex predators" in a new lawsuit against the online gaming giant that alleges it caused the sexual exploitation of a 9-year-old boy.

The lawsuit, filed a few days ago in a Georgia state court by an anonymous DeKalb County mother and her young son, accuses Roblox of negligence as well as prioritizing growth over child safety.

It follows a recent wave of similar lawsuits lodged against the US$ 90 billion company that accuse the popular gaming platform of not doing enough to safeguard children from pedophiles.

In a statement to Business Insider recently, a Roblox spokesperson said, "We are deeply troubled by any incident that endangers our users, and safety is a top priority."

"We dedicate substantial resources, including advanced technology and 24/7 human moderation, to help detect and prevent inappropriate content and behavior, including attempts to direct users off platform, where safety standards and moderation may be less stringent than ours," the spokesperson said.

The latest lawsuit alleges that these predators harassed the boy for months and ultimately "extorted" him to send sexually explicit images and videos to his friends at school.

As a result, the boy has "suffered devastating and life-altering psychological trauma" and was eventually required to change schools, the lawsuit says.

"Had Defendant implemented even the most basic system of age and identity verification, as well as effective parental controls, Plaintiff would never have engaged with this predator and never been harmed," the lawsuit says.

In July, Roblox announced a new age verification system, which includes an age estimation tool based on a selfie-style video, for users who want to chat back-and-forth with so-called "trusted connections." "If the system estimates that a user is actually under 13, then we will automatically correct the user's age to under 13 and remove access to features that are not appropriate," Roblox says on its website.

The Georgia mother's attorney, Matthew Dolman of the Florida-based firm Dolman Law Group, told Business Insider that he expects even more lawsuits to be filed in the near future and that his firm is currently investigating over 300 incidents on behalf of prospective claimants.

"Roblox has materially misrepresented that its product is safe on multiple occasions knowing full well that law enforcement investigations resulting in arrests of sexual predators are occurring nationwide," Dolman said.

Roblox, a top gaming platform among children and teens, hosts millions of user-generated games called "experiences" that range from racing to horror-themed.

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White Sorority Girls' "Bama Rush" Goes Viral

Sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama, better known as "Bama Rush," has become a viral and trending cultural moment, with thousands watching to see which houses incoming white freshmen students join.

It’s a week defined by carefully coordinated Southern outfits, whirlwind conversations, and now, millions of TikTok views. While rush has always been a high-stakes tradition in the South, the social media age has turned it into a viral spectacle.

Videos from the University of Alabama's sorority rush week went viral on TikTok in 2021. The #bamarush and #alabamarush hashtags on TikTok have attracted millions of views during the past few years and continue to do so.

"It's emotional boot camp. It's psychological warfare," Brandis Bradley, a sorority coach, told PEOPLE of the process of primary recruitment. "And their frontal lobes aren't even fully developed."

For two members of Zeta Tau Alpha — senior Kylan Darnell and junior Kaiden Kilpatrick — the reality of Greek life is personal and powerful after the two women harnessed social media to attract thousands of viewers to their pages.

Darnell didn’t grow up with Southern sorority culture. The reigning Miss Ohio Teen USA at the time, she arrived at Alabama from a small town with little knowledge of what rush even entailed.

"I was the first person from my high school to go to Alabama," Darnell told Fox News Digital. "I had no idea about the culture, and honestly, I felt clueless. When I got to orientation and other girls started talking about rush, I had to ask, 'What is that?'"

That same night, she got her first real taste of what sorority life looked like when a group of girls and their mothers took her down Sorority Row. She was instantly hooked.

"I called my mom and said, 'Mother, I have to try to be in a sorority,'" she recalled. "But my parents weren’t on board at first. My mom said no. My dad said, 'We’re not paying for friends.'"

"He told me, 'You’re the most outgoing girl we know, you’ll be fine without it.' But I kept pushing. Daddy listened to his little princess," she added with a laugh. "Eventually, I talked them into it."

A spontaneous TikTok she made on the first day of recruitment, originally sent to her family’s text message group chat to explain the process to her family, went viral while she was still in orientation. Within hours, her life changed.

"That first video was supposed to be a video diary for my family," she said. "But I posted it on TikTok, and when I came back from convocation, my phone had blown up. I couldn’t believe it."

Her audience grew overnight.

"After that, my life completely changed," she said. "I became financially independent and was able to pay for the rest of college through TikTok. It launched my platform, and gave me a voice."

But that platform came with a price. Darnell, now with 1.2 million followers and over 82 million likes, said the scrutiny became overwhelming.

"It’s been fun and I wouldn’t trade it, but it’s also been really hard to navigate college while being under a microscope," she said. "People forget that we’re real people."

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Illinois Governor Requires Mental Health Screening On Children

A new Illinois law requiring annual mental health screenings for public school students is drawing backlash from parents, policy experts and lawmakers who warn the policy may overstep boundaries and wrongly label children.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure on 31 July, making Illinois the first state in the country to mandate mental health screenings for students in grades three through 12.

The law, set to take effect in the 2027–2028 school year, directs schools to provide self-conducted screenings each year using digital or paper forms. Parents will have the ability to opt their children out.

Supporters say the initiative will help schools identify early signs of depression, anxiety or trauma — before they develop into crises. But critics argue the plan could create more problems than it solves.

"I want to be on-the-record and crystal clear. This is a disastrous policy that will do vastly more harm than good," Abigail Shrier, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, wrote on X. "Watch as tens of thousands of Illinois kids get shoved into the mental health funnel and convinced they are sick. Many or most of which will be false positives."

Katherine Boyle, a partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also raised concerns about government overreach and what she called the "mental health industrial complex."

"If a school nurse or a state-mandated mental health test tells you you’re sick, you’re going to believe them," Boyle wrote. "This is why so many families are opting out of primary school completely — the overreach is astounding."

Illinois education officials say the screenings will not be diagnostic and are designed to flag students who may benefit from further evaluation. The Illinois State Board of Education will develop the screening tools and guidelines by September 2026, and school districts will be responsible for implementing them.

"Mental health is essential to academic readiness and lifelong success," State Superintendent Tony Sanders said in a statement. "Too often, we only recognize a student’s distress when it becomes a crisis. With universal screening, we shift from reaction to prevention."

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Aging Usually Accelerates At This Age

The passage of time was considered very linear, but the course of human aging is not. Rather than a gradual transition, your life staggers and lurches through the rapid growth of childhood, the plateau of early adulthood, to an acceleration in aging as the decades progress.

Now, a new study has identified a turning point at which that acceleration typically takes place: at around age 50.

After this time, the trajectory at which your tissues and organs age is steeper than the decades preceding, according to a study of proteins in human bodies across a wide range of adult ages – and your veins are among the fastest to decline.

"Based on aging-associated protein changes, we developed tissue-specific proteomic age clocks and characterized organ-level aging trajectories. Temporal analysis revealed an aging inflection around age 50, with blood vessels being a tissue that ages early and is markedly susceptible to aging," writes a team led by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"Together, our findings lay the groundwork for a systems-level understanding of human aging through the lens of proteins."

Humans have a remarkably long lifespan compared to most other mammals, but it comes at some costs. One is a decline in organ function, leading to a rise in risk of chronic disease as the years mount up.

We don't have a very good understanding of the patterns of aging in individual organs, so the researchers investigated how proteins in different tissues change over time. They collected tissue samples from a total of 76 organ donors between the ages of 14 and 68 who had died of accidental traumatic brain injury.

These samples covered seven of the body's systems: cardiovascular (heart and aorta), digestive (liver, pancreas, and intestine), immune (spleen and lymph node), endocrine (adrenal gland and white adipose), respiratory (lung), integumentary (skin), and musculoskeletal (muscle). They also took blood samples.

The team constructed a catalogue of the proteins found in these systems, taking careful note of how their levels changed as the ages of the donors increased. The researchers compared their findings to a database of diseases and their associated genes, and found that expressions of 48 disease-related proteins increased with age.

These included cardiovascular conditions, tissue fibrosis, fatty liver disease, and liver-related tumors.

The most stark changes occurred between the ages of 45 and 55, the researchers found. It's at this point that many tissues undergo substantial proteomic remodeling, with the most marked changes occurring in the aorta – demonstrating a strong susceptibility to aging. The pancreas and spleen also showed sustained change.

To test their findings, the researchers isolated a protein associated with aging in the aortas of mice, and injected it into young mice to observe the results. Test animals treated with the protein had reduced physical performance, decreased grip strength, lower endurance, and lower balance and coordination compared to non-treated mice. They also had prominent markers of vascular aging.

Previous work by other researchers showed another two peaks in aging, at around 44, and again at around 60. The new result suggests that human aging is a complicated, step-wise process involving different systems. Working out how aging is going to affect specific parts of the body at specific times could help develop medical interventions to make the process easier.

"Our study is poised to construct a comprehensive multi-tissue proteomic atlas spanning 50 years of the entire human aging process, elucidating the mechanisms behind proteostasis imbalance in aged organs and revealing both universal and tissue-specific aging patterns," the researchers write.

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Fans Asked Naomi Osaka To Just Retire From Tennis

Tennis fans have supported Naomi Osaka throughout her career. Last 6 August, however, they called her out for being a "sore loser."

Osaka reached the National Bank Open final this week, taking down seeded players such as Elina Svitolina and Clara Tauson. Standing in her way of a title was 18-year-old Victoria Mboko. Despite winning the opening set against the Canadian teenager, Osaka fell apart in the second set and was never able to shake off her nerves by the time the deciding set arrived.

After dropping the National Bank Open final, Osaka was supposed to deliver a speech in front of the fans. She decided to cut it short though because she was frustrated with her performance. While that has happened before, fans thought she'd congratulate Mboko on the victory.

Unfortunately, Osaka didn't do that.

"I don’t really wanna take up too much time. I’ll just say thank you to everyone," Osaka said. "Thank you to my team, the ball kids, organizers and volunteers. I hope you guys had a good night."

Tennis fans thought Osaka showed a lack of sportsmanship Thursday night. Some are willing to forgive her, but others believe it's time for her to simply walk away from the sport.

"I have no time for Naomi Osaka acting like this," one person wrote on X. "Pull yourself together, congratulate that girl, retire, and spend time with your daughter. Enough."

"The whole world watched you Naomi Osaka. Your poor sportsmanship in loss. Your tears. A 4 time major winner who cannot lose with grace. Please retire. Nobody likes you now. Nobody will cheer for you after this," a fan commented.

"It’s time for Naomi Osaka to retire," another fan declared. "Every time she loses she’s crying & making excuses."

"Naomi Osaka has the talent, no doubt…but I think her best option is to retire, she had a good run," a social media user wrote.

Osaka is set to be seeded at the US Open later this summer. She has already won this Grand Slam twice in her career.

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A Deadly Opioid Drug Is Spreading Fast In The U.S.

A little-known opioid that is considered as deadlier than fentanyl has led to a growing number of overdose deaths in recent years.

Nitazenes, a class of synthetic opioids, were originally developed as pain relievers in the 1950s, but were never approved for use due to the high overdose risk, according to a report from the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD).

Starting in 2019, nitazenes (benzimidazole-opioids) began to enter the illicit drug market in Europe, where they have been reported on almost every continent.

CICAD’s report suggests that "nitazene use is a growing trend in North America and that availability is likely spreading across the Americas."

The most prevalent type of nitazene is isotonitazene (ISO), but at least a dozen others have been identified, the report stated.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies ISO as a Schedule 1 drug, along with seven other nitazenes.

"Nitazenes are being produced in illicit labs overseas, mostly in places like China and India, and are getting trafficked into the U.S. through the same channels used for fentanyl," Corey Gamberg, a licensed alcohol and drug counselor and executive director at the Massachusetts Center for Addiction, told Fox News Digital.

Because they’re synthetic and cheap to make, they’ve become a popular option for illegal manufacturers, the expert noted.

"As authorities crack down on fentanyl, traffickers pivot to new synthetic opioids like nitazenes to get around enforcement," Gamberg went on.

"These drugs are cheap to make and easy to move. It's a pattern we’ve seen before, and it’s repeating itself now."

Nitazenes are available in pills, powders, sprays and other forms. They can be snorted, smoked, injected or taken orally.

The biggest risk is potency, as some types of nitazenes are several times stronger than fentanyl.

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Filipinas Are Back In Contention For The Asian Cup

The Philippine Women's Football National Team will play in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup next year after its 1-0 victory over Hong Kong last 5 July during the final day of the qualifiers at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

An early goal by Chandler McDaniel in the fourth minute proved to be enough for the Filipinas to clinch a berth in the Asia Cup by sweeping all three matches in Group G of the qualifiers.

With the result, the Philippines is slated to play in the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia in 2026 where they will once again vie for a spot in the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Filipinas also played in the Asian Cup in 2022 in India, securing a berth in the Women’s World Cup by beating Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals.

The Filipinas got on the board quickly with McDaniel receiving a short pass from Alexa Pino inside the penalty box, knocking the ball in at the bottom left corner of the net.

The Philippines held on to the lead for the rest of the match. Olivia McDaniel parried a shot by Cheung Wai Ki from the right side of the penalty box during the 20th minute, the closest Hong Kong got to equalize the match.

"The team had a goal and it’s to win all three games, and do the best we absolutely could," said Chandler McDaniel.

"I think that’s exactly what our team did. Three games in six days is always hard but we showed a lot of heart. We showed a lot of heart and we came out and showed that."

"We deserve to go back to qualifiers [World Cup] again this year," McDaniel added.

The Philippines began the qualifiers with a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia last 29 June. It was followed by a 6-0 victory over Cambodia last 2 July for their second victory.

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Chinese UK Students Pressured To Spy On Other Students

Chinese students at several universities in the U.K. are being compelled to spy on their classmates in an attempt to suppress the discussion of issues that are sensitive to the Chinese government, a new report suggests.

The UK-China Transparency (UKCT) think tank says its survey of academics in China studies also highlighted reports of Chinese government officials warning lecturers to avoid discussing certain topics in their classes.

It comes days after a new law came into force placing more responsibility on universities to uphold academic freedom and free speech.

The Chinese embassy in London called the report "groundless and absurd", adding that China respects freedom of speech in the UK and elsewhere.

The regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), says freedom of speech and academic freedom are "fundamental" to higher education.

The new legislation, which came into force last week, says universities should do more to actively promote academic freedom and freedom of speech, including in cases where institutions have agreements in place with other countries.

Universities could be fined millions if they fail to do so, the OfS has said.

However, the UKCT report says some universities are reluctant to address the issue of Chinese interference because of their financial reliance on Chinese student fees.

• Be ready to be shocked and offended at university, students told
• Students want free-speech clarity but universities fear catch-22

The report alleges that some Chinese academics involved in sensitive research had been denied visas by the Chinese government, while others said family members back in China had been harassed or threatened because of their work in the UK.

Those sensitive topics can range from science and tech to politics and humanities, the report says, such as alleged ethnic cleansing in China's Xinjiang region, the outbreak of Covid or the rise of Chinese technology companies.

Some academics reported intimidation by visiting scholars or other Chinese officials, as well as by staff at Confucius Institutes.

These are partnership organisations operating at several UK universities, which bring together institutions in the UK and China, as well as a Chinese government agency which provides funding.

They promote Chinese culture and language on UK campuses, but have been criticised over alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

OfS chief executive Susan Lapworth previously said she expected Confucius Institutes to be looked into under the new free speech laws, over concerns that they could present a threat to free speech on campuses.

The OfS already has powers to ensure free speech is upheld by universities, including against any threats from the influence of foreign states or institutions.

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U.S. Swim Team Dominates 2025 World Championships

A United States swimming team composed of pure biological women saved their best for last by setting a world record in the 400 medley relay in the final race of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.

Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske clocked a world record 3:49.34 to end the meet. The victory gave the United States its ninth gold medal, edging Australia's eight for the most in Singapore. The U.S. also had 11 silver medals and nine bronze, giving it 29 total medals, well ahead of Australia's 20.

The United States team that was hampered by the trans agenda and struggled early in the meet after a number of its swimmers came down with a stomach bug, had either performed well below expectations or had to withdraw from events completely. U.S. legends Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte criticized the Americans' performance — before the Americans picked up three gold medals on Saturday and then another on Sunday with the women's world-record relay.

Canadian star Summer McIntosh completed arguably the greatest world championships ever by a female swimmer, capturing her fourth gold medal in Singapore after winning the women’s 400m individual medley in 4:25.78.

McIntosh’s time was the fourth-fastest ever. Twelve-year-old Yu Zidi from China finished fourth.

McIntosh came to Singapore attempting to join Phelps as the only swimmers to ever win five golds in an individual world championships. Her bid ended when Katie Ledecky beat her in the women’s 800m freestyle on 2 August.

McIntosh, who finished third in the 800 free, also won the women’s 400m freestyle, 200m IM and 200m butterfly.

French star Leon Marchand won gold in the men’s 400m individual medley, 4:04.73, well ahead of second-place Tomoyuki Matsushita of Japan (4:08.32), but not close to Marchand’s own WR.

Marchand had earlier set a WR in the 200 IM in Singapore, becoming the first man to sweep the 200 IM and 400 IM in three world championships

American Lilly King, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, finished fifth in the women’s 50m breaststroke in the final competitive race of her career.

American Bobby Finke won bronze in men’s 1500m freestyle on 3 August. The U.S. finished third in the men's 4x100 medley relay.

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Analyst Downplays Caitlyn Clark's Numbers And Got Chastised

Sensational player Caitlin Clark has been sidelined since 15 July, but she still continues to be the hot topic of conversation in the WNBA community.

A few night ago, the Indiana Fever defeated the Dallas Wings thanks to a 23-point performance from Kelsey Mitchell. During ION's in-game coverage, analyst Tiffany Bias Pelton compared Paige Bueckers' rookie season to Clark's 2024 campaign.

Bueckers has been tremendous for the Wings, averaging 18.5 points and 5.5 assists per game. Clark, on the other hand, averaged 19.2 points and 8.4 assists per game during her rookie season.

After ION displayed a graphic about Bueckers and Clark, they turned over to Pelton for her thoughts. She said, "You can tell they are two different styles of players. Paige is getting people involved. Caitlin’s more looking for her shot."

This is a joke, right? The numbers are in front of you and you stil can't make the right call. Check the assists numbers again and tell everyone that Clark is not getting people involve. She averaged three more assists than Bueckers during her rookie season!

Sure, Clark is looking to light up her opponents with a barrage of 3-pointers. But the numbers are there in the screen. Look at it and it will prove that she tries to get her teammates involved. After all, she led the league in assists last season.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, WNBA fans ripped Pelton for her bizarre commentary.

"I’ll never understand this lol Caitlin broke the LEAGUE record for most assists her rookie year and they still refuse to say she’s an amazing playmaker," one fan replied.

"Paige has an exceptional midrange game and a quick release. I'll give her that. She is not near the playmaker that Clark is - no one else is," a second fan wrote.

"Who said this?,You can't be a league leader in assists if all you're doing is looking for your own shot," a third fan argued.

"Like can they not read?! The assists stats are right in front of their face," another fan said.

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Brown University Struck A Deal To Support Women's Sports

Brown University just made a deal with the administration of President Donald Trump to restore research grant funding to the school, in exchange for commitments on women's sports, antisemitism and admissions practices and a promise to donate US$ 50 million to workforce development programs.

The Rhode Island-based school is now the third Ivy League university to reach a deal with the administration, which has lashed out at a range of colleges. Columbia University agreed to pay the federal government a US$ 200 million settlement earlier this month, and the University of Pennsylvania reached a deal with the government over transgender athletes.

Brown announced the deal in a statement last 30 July and shared a copy of a nine-page agreement with the federal government. The Department of Education also confirmed in a statement that it had struck a deal with Brown.

Under the terms of the three-year deal released by Brown, the federal government agreed to restore frozen Health and Human Services grants to the school and close pending federal non-discrimination investigations into the university.

The school said Wednesday it has lost dozens of federal grants and hasn't been reimbursed for over US$ 50 million in expenses related to National Institutes of Health grants — and that total is growing by over US$ 3 million a week.

In exchange for the end to the grant freeze, Brown agreed to pay US$ 50 million to local workforce programs over the next decade. It also promised to provide female student-athletes with locker rooms "strictly separated on the basis of sex," define male and female for athletic purposes in a way that's consistent with President Trump's executive orders and not offer gender-affirming medical care to minors.

Brown also said it will not promote "unlawful DEI goals," would commission a campus survey that asks about — among other things — issues of antisemitism and give the government access to admissions and discrimination complaint data. The school promised not to offer racial preferences in admissions — though the Supreme Court previously barred affirmative action policies in 2023.

The agreement says Brown did not admit to wrongdoing and "expressly denies liability regarding the United States' allegations," and specifies that the government does not have the "authority to dictate Brown's curriculum or the content of academic speech."

In a message to the school community, Brown President Christina Paxson also says Brown will not promise to make any direct payments to the government. She described it as a voluntary agreement.

In her message, Paxson argued that many parts of agreement line up with commitments Brown had already made to "ensure compliance with federal laws prohibiting discrimination." She said the provisions on gender and sports are "consistent with NCAA requirements and Brown's current policies," and the government is already entitled to ask for demographic data. She also noted that the agreement doesn't define the term "unlawful DEI."

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