Carissa Wong
@carissacwwong.bsky.social
Health reporter at New Scientist, covering cancer, Alzheimer's, immune conditions and plenty else. Email: carissa.wong#newscientist.com.
She/Her 🏳🌈
She/Her 🏳🌈
Pinned
Carissa Wong
@carissacwwong.bsky.social
· Oct 22
The extraordinary influence of the lymphatic system on our health
It has remained mysterious for millennia, but we’re finally uncovering the profound role the lymphatic system plays in everything from preventing dementia to fighting cancer
www.newscientist.com
Our bodies contain a ghostly web of thread-like vessels and bean-shaped nodes, called the lymphatic system.
My latest cover story looks at how it could be a secret ingredient in treating some major health conditions from Alzheimer's disease to cancer.
www.newscientist.com/article/2499...
My latest cover story looks at how it could be a secret ingredient in treating some major health conditions from Alzheimer's disease to cancer.
www.newscientist.com/article/2499...
We now know why a meningitis outbreak in the UK in March was so severe: it was caused by bacteria that took genes from harmless microbes.
This helped the resulting bacteria evade the immune system and obtain iron from blood, boosting their growth.
www.newscientist.com/article/2590...
This helped the resulting bacteria evade the immune system and obtain iron from blood, boosting their growth.
www.newscientist.com/article/2590...
Severe meningitis outbreak caused by bacteria that took genes from microbiome | New Scientist
An unprecedented meningitis outbreak that occurred in Kent, UK, in March seems to have been driven by a bacterial strain taking genes from harmless microbes
www.newscientist.com
September 23, 2026 at 1:25 PM
We now know why a meningitis outbreak in the UK in March was so severe: it was caused by bacteria that took genes from harmless microbes.
This helped the resulting bacteria evade the immune system and obtain iron from blood, boosting their growth.
www.newscientist.com/article/2590...
This helped the resulting bacteria evade the immune system and obtain iron from blood, boosting their growth.
www.newscientist.com/article/2590...
Reposted by Carissa Wong
The Gordon McVie Award for Reporting Cancer goes to Carrisa Wong @newscientist.com for her article on the link between nerve cells & cancer. Congratulations @carissacwwong.bsky.social #mjaawards
September 22, 2026 at 6:39 PM
The Gordon McVie Award for Reporting Cancer goes to Carrisa Wong @newscientist.com for her article on the link between nerve cells & cancer. Congratulations @carissacwwong.bsky.social #mjaawards
Listening to bursts of pink noise while you sleep seems to boost the brain's waste-clearance system.
Most other attempts to boost the flow of brain fluid are delivered while people are awake, so the sonic approach could be less disruptive, say researchers.
www.newscientist.com/article/2588...
Most other attempts to boost the flow of brain fluid are delivered while people are awake, so the sonic approach could be less disruptive, say researchers.
www.newscientist.com/article/2588...
Bursts of ‘pink noise’ during sleep seem to help clear waste from brain | New Scientist
The human brain flushes out waste products while we sleep and now it seems that certain sounds might enhance the process
www.newscientist.com
September 10, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Listening to bursts of pink noise while you sleep seems to boost the brain's waste-clearance system.
Most other attempts to boost the flow of brain fluid are delivered while people are awake, so the sonic approach could be less disruptive, say researchers.
www.newscientist.com/article/2588...
Most other attempts to boost the flow of brain fluid are delivered while people are awake, so the sonic approach could be less disruptive, say researchers.
www.newscientist.com/article/2588...
In a very cool discovery, scientists found immune hubs in the skull that help to kill brain tumours and could be targeted to treat a whole range of brain conditions.
www.newscientist.com/article/2585...
www.newscientist.com/article/2585...
Newly discovered immune hubs in our skull may keep our brain healthy | New Scientist
We may have clusters of immune cells at the back of our skull that help ward off conditions like brain cancer
www.newscientist.com
August 21, 2026 at 4:43 PM
In a very cool discovery, scientists found immune hubs in the skull that help to kill brain tumours and could be targeted to treat a whole range of brain conditions.
www.newscientist.com/article/2585...
www.newscientist.com/article/2585...
Brain organoids have been kept alive for a record-breaking 5 years and sensed the passing of time.
www.newscientist.com/article/2585...
www.newscientist.com/article/2585...
5-year-old brain organoids can sense the passing of time | New Scientist
Brain organoids have been grown and studied for five years, the longest time to date, and their activity suggests they had a sense of time going by
www.newscientist.com
August 21, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Brain organoids have been kept alive for a record-breaking 5 years and sensed the passing of time.
www.newscientist.com/article/2585...
www.newscientist.com/article/2585...
Came across some fascinating early research at an Alzheimer's conference last week: inhaling high levels of carbon dioxide intermittently for half an hour seems to flush proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease out of the brain. www.newscientist.com/article/2580...
Inhaling high-dose CO2 clears Alzheimer's proteins from the brain | New Scientist
Intermittingly inhaling a high dose of carbon dioxide seems to remove the proteins amyloid and tau, which are implicated in Alzheimer's disease, from the brain by boosting its glymphatic system
www.newscientist.com
July 21, 2026 at 4:55 AM
Came across some fascinating early research at an Alzheimer's conference last week: inhaling high levels of carbon dioxide intermittently for half an hour seems to flush proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease out of the brain. www.newscientist.com/article/2580...
A form of cognitive "speed training" that substantially cuts dementia risk has now been shown to alter levels of beta-amyloid in men's brains.
www.newscientist.com/article/2578...
www.newscientist.com/article/2578...
Game that reduces dementia risk may clear amyloid from men's brains | New Scientist
Playing a mental speed-training game seems to help the brain clear a protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease in men, but may work in women through different mechanisms
www.newscientist.com
July 13, 2026 at 3:37 PM
A form of cognitive "speed training" that substantially cuts dementia risk has now been shown to alter levels of beta-amyloid in men's brains.
www.newscientist.com/article/2578...
www.newscientist.com/article/2578...
Human eggs that contain too many or too few chromosomes are a major cause of miscarriage and IVF failure.
Exciting to see that giving such eggs a single injection can substantially reduce the problem.
www.newscientist.com/article/2533...
Exciting to see that giving such eggs a single injection can substantially reduce the problem.
www.newscientist.com/article/2533...
Injection halves risk of chromosome error common in older human eggs
Egg cells missing a key protein may be more likely to end up with the wrong number of chromosomes, but an mRNA injection that helps the cells make the protein reduces the problem
www.newscientist.com
July 10, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Human eggs that contain too many or too few chromosomes are a major cause of miscarriage and IVF failure.
Exciting to see that giving such eggs a single injection can substantially reduce the problem.
www.newscientist.com/article/2533...
Exciting to see that giving such eggs a single injection can substantially reduce the problem.
www.newscientist.com/article/2533...
Super exciting IVF breakthrough announced at the @eshre.bsky.social conference: 5 healthy lambs have been born from highly immature sheep eggs, suggesting a way to improve standard IVF, which currently relies on mature eggs.
www.newscientist.com/article/2533...
www.newscientist.com/article/2533...
Lambs born via IVF using highly immature eggs in major breakthrough
Lambs have been born using an experimental form of IVF that coaxes immature eggs to become mature ones. This could boost the number of eggs available for fertilisation and improve IVF success rates
www.newscientist.com
July 8, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Super exciting IVF breakthrough announced at the @eshre.bsky.social conference: 5 healthy lambs have been born from highly immature sheep eggs, suggesting a way to improve standard IVF, which currently relies on mature eggs.
www.newscientist.com/article/2533...
www.newscientist.com/article/2533...
CAR T-cell therapy, where immune cells are engineered to kill cancer, can do wonders for some people with the condition but it's too expensive to be available everywhere.
Now a 3D printed approach could allow more people to access it.
www.newscientist.com/article/2528...
Now a 3D printed approach could allow more people to access it.
www.newscientist.com/article/2528...
3D-printed lymph nodes could widen access to CAR T-cell therapy
The cost of CAR T-cell therapy means that the highly effective cancer treatment is unavailable in many parts of the world. But a new way of making these cells could dramatically drive down the cost
www.newscientist.com
May 29, 2026 at 12:36 PM
CAR T-cell therapy, where immune cells are engineered to kill cancer, can do wonders for some people with the condition but it's too expensive to be available everywhere.
Now a 3D printed approach could allow more people to access it.
www.newscientist.com/article/2528...
Now a 3D printed approach could allow more people to access it.
www.newscientist.com/article/2528...
We're increasingly prioritising our own needs over those of the wider community. So how is this affecting our love lives?
www.newscientist.com/article/2528...
www.newscientist.com/article/2528...
We're becoming more individualistic and it's affecting our love lives
We're increasingly prioritising our own needs over those of the wider community, which may be causing us to love our partners less intensely
www.newscientist.com
May 29, 2026 at 12:16 PM
We're increasingly prioritising our own needs over those of the wider community. So how is this affecting our love lives?
www.newscientist.com/article/2528...
www.newscientist.com/article/2528...
This is super cool. For the first time ever, we have pinpointed drugs that seem to boost our brain's waste disposal system, helping the it clear out proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease. It opens up a whole new avenue for therapies.
www.newscientist.com/article/2520...
www.newscientist.com/article/2520...
The brain's cleaning system can be boosted to rid Alzheimer's proteins
A duo of drugs that boosts our glympathic system, which clears waste from our brain, also improves the removal of proteins associated with the onset of Alzheimer's disease
www.newscientist.com
March 26, 2026 at 10:10 AM
This is super cool. For the first time ever, we have pinpointed drugs that seem to boost our brain's waste disposal system, helping the it clear out proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease. It opens up a whole new avenue for therapies.
www.newscientist.com/article/2520...
www.newscientist.com/article/2520...
For people with peanut allergies, microbes in the gut and mouth may influence the severity of allergic reactions.
www.newscientist.com/article/2517...
www.newscientist.com/article/2517...
Your microbiome may determine your risk of a severe allergic reaction
The microbes that live in our mouth and gut may influence whether an allergic reaction to peanuts is mild or life-threatening, and could be harnessed to ward off a severe attack
www.newscientist.com
March 4, 2026 at 4:46 PM
For people with peanut allergies, microbes in the gut and mouth may influence the severity of allergic reactions.
www.newscientist.com/article/2517...
www.newscientist.com/article/2517...
The key to better sleep could be in what you eat. A new study suggests that chomping on more fibre could help you snooze more deeply.
www.newscientist.com/article/2517...
www.newscientist.com/article/2517...
People who eat a lot of fibre spend more time in deep sleep
The most comprehensive study to date has revealed what we need to eat throughout the day to sleep well that night
www.newscientist.com
March 4, 2026 at 4:44 PM
The key to better sleep could be in what you eat. A new study suggests that chomping on more fibre could help you snooze more deeply.
www.newscientist.com/article/2517...
www.newscientist.com/article/2517...
Scientists claim to have stumbled across a hidden network of vessels in the brain, a discovery that could transform our understanding of neurodegenerative conditions - but further research is needed to confirm the findings.
www.newscientist.com/article/2515...
www.newscientist.com/article/2515...
Accidental discovery hints at mystery structures within our brain
Scientists may have stumbled across a network of vessels in the brain that helps clear out waste fluid – a discovery that could "represent a paradigm shift in our understanding of all neurodegenerativ...
www.newscientist.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Scientists claim to have stumbled across a hidden network of vessels in the brain, a discovery that could transform our understanding of neurodegenerative conditions - but further research is needed to confirm the findings.
www.newscientist.com/article/2515...
www.newscientist.com/article/2515...
Stool transplants seem to boost the effectiveness of cancer therapies against kidney and lung cancer, by altering the gut microbiome. Cool to see a couple of studies building on evidence that this approach can work for skin cancer.
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Faecal transplants could boost the effectiveness of cancer treatments
Adults with kidney cancer who received faecal microbiota transplants on top of their existing drugs did better than those who had placebo transplants as their add-on intervention
www.newscientist.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Stool transplants seem to boost the effectiveness of cancer therapies against kidney and lung cancer, by altering the gut microbiome. Cool to see a couple of studies building on evidence that this approach can work for skin cancer.
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Cancer therapy has, understandably, long focused on helping people live longer, but tumours can also be painful. Now a drug seems to both improve survival rates and relieve bone tumour-related pain, suggesting it could offer a more comfortable form of therapy.
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
Bone cancer therapy unexpectedly makes tumours less painful
A drug that kills cancer cells by puncturing them comes with an additional benefit: tests in mice suggest it reduces the growth of pain-sensing nerves around tumours
www.newscientist.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:34 AM
Cancer therapy has, understandably, long focused on helping people live longer, but tumours can also be painful. Now a drug seems to both improve survival rates and relieve bone tumour-related pain, suggesting it could offer a more comfortable form of therapy.
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
www.newscientist.com/article/2513...
If you're not feeling up for a social plan, you may find yourself wondering: to cancel or not to cancel? Well, it turns out that people may be more accepting of cancellations than we assume...
www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
Cancelling plans may be more socially acceptable than you think
Volunteers consider it relatively unacceptable to cancel social plans – but they are more forgiving if it's someone else cancelling the plans
www.newscientist.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:12 PM
If you're not feeling up for a social plan, you may find yourself wondering: to cancel or not to cancel? Well, it turns out that people may be more accepting of cancellations than we assume...
www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
Reposted by Carissa Wong
A bumper pod this week:
💥Rutger Bregman on moral ambition, veganism, the AI revolution
💥Evolutionary explanation for gay sex in primates
💥Small tweaks to increase lifespan
💥Wild proposal to drawdown carbon
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPke...
💥Rutger Bregman on moral ambition, veganism, the AI revolution
💥Evolutionary explanation for gay sex in primates
💥Small tweaks to increase lifespan
💥Wild proposal to drawdown carbon
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPke...
Why So Many Smart People Are Wasting Their Lives | Rutger Bregman
YouTube video by New Scientist
www.youtube.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:34 PM
A bumper pod this week:
💥Rutger Bregman on moral ambition, veganism, the AI revolution
💥Evolutionary explanation for gay sex in primates
💥Small tweaks to increase lifespan
💥Wild proposal to drawdown carbon
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPke...
💥Rutger Bregman on moral ambition, veganism, the AI revolution
💥Evolutionary explanation for gay sex in primates
💥Small tweaks to increase lifespan
💥Wild proposal to drawdown carbon
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPke...
If you're looking for ways to boost your health this year, there's some good news: even small tweaks to your sleep, diet and exercise have been linked to a longer life.
www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
These small lifestyle tweaks can add a year to your life
A few extra minutes of sleep per day or an extra half-serving of vegetables with dinner can add a year to our lives, according to an analysis of data from 60,000 people
www.newscientist.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:17 PM
If you're looking for ways to boost your health this year, there's some good news: even small tweaks to your sleep, diet and exercise have been linked to a longer life.
www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
You may be familiar with the mood-boost that comes with exercise - now a major review confirms that even light physical activity, like walking, can ease depression symptoms as effectively as talking therapies or antidepressants.
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
Exercise may relieve depression as effectively as antidepressants
A comprehensive review confirms the benefits of exercise for treating depression, even if the exact reasons remain unclear
www.newscientist.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:18 PM
You may be familiar with the mood-boost that comes with exercise - now a major review confirms that even light physical activity, like walking, can ease depression symptoms as effectively as talking therapies or antidepressants.
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
People who stop taking obesity drugs tend to regain the weight they've lost within 1.7 years, emphasising how obesity is a chronic condition that requires long-term treatment.
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
Weight regain seems to occur within 2 years of stopping obesity drugs
Drugs like Ozempic have transformed how we treat obesity, but a review of almost 40 studies shows it doesn't take long for people to regain weight if they come off them
www.newscientist.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:14 PM
People who stop taking obesity drugs tend to regain the weight they've lost within 1.7 years, emphasising how obesity is a chronic condition that requires long-term treatment.
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
This year, we’ve seen creatures of all shapes and sizes stealing the spotlight with their adorably cute, and bizarre, behaviours…to be greatly enjoyed!
www.newscientist.com/article/2507...
www.newscientist.com/article/2507...
A spectacular showcase of animal pictures from 2025
Our visual highlights from the animal world this year include a mouse caring for its companion, dolphins communicating in an unexpected way and a colossal squid caught on camera for the first time
www.newscientist.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:05 PM
This year, we’ve seen creatures of all shapes and sizes stealing the spotlight with their adorably cute, and bizarre, behaviours…to be greatly enjoyed!
www.newscientist.com/article/2507...
www.newscientist.com/article/2507...
It's a great week for the fight against drug-resistant gonorrhoea, which is rising globally: a new antibiotic effectively cleared the infection in a late-stage trial - FDA may approve on Monday.
Plus FDA expanded use of another antibiotic to treat gonorrhoea.
www.newscientist.com/article/2508...
Plus FDA expanded use of another antibiotic to treat gonorrhoea.
www.newscientist.com/article/2508...
New antibiotic could stave off drug-resistant gonorrhoea
Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the microbe responsible for gonorrhoea, is developing resistance to most antibiotics, which means we need new drugs to treat the condition. An antibiotic called zoliflodacin mig...
www.newscientist.com
December 12, 2025 at 4:20 PM
It's a great week for the fight against drug-resistant gonorrhoea, which is rising globally: a new antibiotic effectively cleared the infection in a late-stage trial - FDA may approve on Monday.
Plus FDA expanded use of another antibiotic to treat gonorrhoea.
www.newscientist.com/article/2508...
Plus FDA expanded use of another antibiotic to treat gonorrhoea.
www.newscientist.com/article/2508...
Reposted by Carissa Wong
"We have adolescent brains into our 30s" is a great headline but it's also not true. @rowhoop.bsky.social, @carissacwwong.bsky.social and I unpicked all the interesting details from that big news-making white matter study on the World, The Universe And Us youtu.be/HoQgW-KKbr0?...
Sperm Evolved BEFORE Animals
YouTube video by New Scientist
youtu.be
December 1, 2025 at 9:05 AM
"We have adolescent brains into our 30s" is a great headline but it's also not true. @rowhoop.bsky.social, @carissacwwong.bsky.social and I unpicked all the interesting details from that big news-making white matter study on the World, The Universe And Us youtu.be/HoQgW-KKbr0?...