Short Takes – 9-24-25

Gut bacterium amplifies amphetamine’s addictive pull. ChemistryWorld.com article. Pull quote: “A common gut bacterium can make amphetamines more addictive by producing a chemical that boosts dopamine activity in the brain. By targeting this microbial pathway, it may be possible to dampen amphetamine’s effects, helping people overcome addiction.”

Ebola outbreak in the DRC: why is it so deadly? Nature.com article. Pull quote: ““It’s not identical to previous strains that have been identified, which strongly suggests that it’s a new spillover [from animal source] event,” says epidemiologist Peter Horby of the Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford, UK.”

Congressional Budget Office says Trump’s immigration crackdown will shrink U.S. population faster than expected, a threat to inflation and GDP growth. NewsBreak.com article. Pull quote: “The nonpartisan budget agency released a revised population forecast on Wednesday. It predicts that deaths will outnumber births in the U.S. starting in 2031—two years earlier than previously expected—due to fewer immigrants and lower birth rates.”

What’s Behind Russian Incursions Into NATO? LawfareMedia.org pod cast. Pull quote: “So they [US forces in Poland] were not involved really in this response, although the US is the framework nation in this NATO-forward force deployment in Poland. So, I think that was the, a relevant data point that they were looking for, maybe even more so than the general NATO response.”

Boron replaces metal by forming complexes with olefins, reducing toxicity and cost. Phys.org article. Pull quote: “The article published in Nature Chemistry shows that boron can also form so-called π complexes with olefins, which are similar in their properties and behavior to the complexes of transition metals with olefins. The latter compounds are intermediates in many large-scale catalytic processes in industry.”