A joint team from the University of Stuttgart in Germany and the University of Melbourne in Australia has developed a new method for the straightforward analysis of tiny nanoplastic particles in environmental samples. One needs only an ordinary optical microscope and a newly developed test strip—the optical sieve. The research results have now been published in “Nature Photonics” (doi: 10.1038/s41566-025-01733-x).

Just as a computer’s operating system can be rewritten after a major update, dengue infection can ‘re-programme’ the body’s immune system, leaving a long-lasting genetic imprint that influences how people respond to future infections—an effect not seen with vaccination. This finding from a new study sheds light on the mechanics of dengue disease progression and vaccine action, filling an important knowledge gap on how even imperfect vaccines can be used safely.