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Ditch the decaff: only caffeinated coffee is linked to brain benefits.Credit: Matthew Horwood/Getty
Regular caffeine intake from coffee and tea might slow cognitive decline and reduce a person’s risk of dementia, a huge study suggests. Researchers used data from two health studies to track the caffeine-drinking habits of more than 130,000 people over four decades. They found that drinking 2–3 cups of coffee or 1–2 cups of tea a day was associated with the greatest reductions in rate of cognitive decline, a result that held true even in people with a genetic variant called APOE4, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. “However, because it uses observational, not experimental, evidence, the findings can only be considered suggestive,” says cardiometabolic medicine specialist Naveed Sattar.
France has announced that its initiative to recruit foreign researchers will award funds to 46 scientists who are relocating to the country — 41 of them from the United States. Eight of these researchers worked at Columbia University, which last year saw hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of its research grants cut and frozen by the administration of US President Donald Trump. The high proportion of US scientists among those recruited by the programme shows that “enthusiasm and morale for doing science is low” in the United States, says Sharon Milgram, who used to lead training of early-career researchers at the US National Institutes of Health.
Infographic of the week
“January 2026 delivered a stark reminder that the climate system can sometimes simultaneously deliver very cold weather in one region, and extreme heat in another,” says Samantha Burgess of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). This view of surface temperatures in the middle troposphere (around 5.5 kilometres above sea level), as seen from over the North pole on 24 January, shows the Northern Hemisphere experiencing severe cold waves as a meandering polar jet stream spilled icy air into Europe and North America. Meanwhile, record-breaking heat provided fuel for extreme conditions, including wildfires and floods, in the Southern Hemisphere. (Euronews | 4 min read)
Reference: Copernicus Climate Change Service and ECMWF announcement (Data source: ERA5. Credit: C3S/ECMWF)
Features & opinion
International restrictions on China’s fast-growing biotechnology sector — such as a US law that prevents federally funded pharmaceutical companies from working with certain Chinese companies — are prompting some in China to argue that the country should go it alone. That would be a backwards step — for China and the rest of the world, say policy analysts Lizzi Lee and Jing Qian. “Through collaboration, Western biotech and pharma firms are gaining access to China’s drug-manufacturing muscle and vast clinical data sets, and Chinese companies are conducting more rigorous science and so gaining international regulatory approval, and greater visibility and credibility,” the authors write.
Immunologist and science communicator John Tregoning shares tips on how to command the conference stage, gleaned from fellow scientists and celebrity performers. Get out from behind the lectern, vary your tone of voice and check your IT set-up in advance to avoid losing the crowd’s attention before you’ve even started, he suggests. “The purpose of being on a stage, regardless of the type of performance, is communication,” advised singer–songwriter Frank Turner. “You are engaged in a dialogue, not a monologue, even if the replies of the audience are silent and implied.”
Can you sing every word of mathematician-satirist Tom Lehrer’s 1959 song ‘The Elements’? Or even the updated attempt featuring the latest discoveries from science communicators ASAP Science? If so, you’ll be at an advantage when playing C&EN’s periodic table challenge. Beat the clock or take all the time you need to fill out the whole table in any order.
While I frantically type ‘praseodymium’ to the tune of ‘I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major-General’, why not send me your feedback on this newsletter? Your e-mails are always welcome at [email protected].
Thanks for reading,
Flora Graham, senior editor, Nature Briefing
With contributions by Jacob Smith
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