To find out more about the podcast go to Nobel Prizes, COVID Vaccine Updates and Malnutrition in Gaza.
Below is a short summary and detailed review of this podcast written by FutureFactual:
Science Quickly Weekly Roundup: Nobel Prizes in Medicine, Physics and Chemistry, Updated COVID Vaccines, and Gaza Malnutrition Study
Overview
In this Science Quickly weekly roundup, we cover the 2025 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry, the CDC's updated guidance on annual COVID vaccines, and a Lancet study estimating acute malnutrition among Gaza children amid ongoing conflict. The episode highlights advances in immune regulation, macroscopic quantum effects, and metal-organic frameworks, alongside public health policy debates and humanitarian concerns.
Nobel Prize Recap: Immunoregulation
The Physiology or Medicine prize recognizes Mary E. Bronko, Fred Ramsdale, and Shimon Sakaguchi for uncovering how regulatory T cells restrain the immune system to prevent self-attack, with work tracing from Sakaguchi's early identification of a key mouse immune-cell population to Brunko and Ramsdell's discovery of the genetic switch that governs these cells. The researchers’ work has spurred numerous clinical trials in autoimmune diseases and transplantation, underscoring the translational potential of T cell immunoregulation. “Regulatory T cells act as internal regulators to prevent self-attack,” — Shimon Sakaguchi.
The Physics prize honors John Clarke, Michelle H. Devere, and John M. Martinez for demonstrating quantum tunneling in macroscopic circuits built from superconductors. By showing billions of electrons acting as a single quantum particle that tunnels through barriers, they extended quantum effects from the microscopic to hand-sized devices, bolstering the foundations of quantum computing and related technologies. “Quantum tunneling in macroscopic circuits shows many electrons acting as a single quantum particle,” — John Clarke.
The Chemistry prize goes to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yagi for metal-organic frameworks, MOFs, versatile cage-like structures that trap gases and liquids with selective openings. The developers demonstrated flexible MOFs capable of gas passage, enabling potential applications from water purification to hydrogen storage and targeted drug delivery. “MOFs could flex and allow gases to pass through them,” — Richard Robson.
Vaccine Guidance and Public Health
The episode shifts to vaccine updates where the CDC officially endorses updated COVID vaccines but with a new caveat: people should consult a healthcare practitioner before receiving the annual shot. Pharmacists remain qualified to advise on routine vaccines and can administer boosters to people of any age and health status. In contrast, debate surrounds measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines, with calls to separate the combination shot, a stance that the CDC and public-health guidance currently rejects due to lack of evidence for benefit and the risks of increasing injections and parental confusion.
Jim O'Neill, Acting CDC Director: "There are currently no individual vaccines approved for use in the US for these 3 viruses, and the CDC's own website says there's no evidence that there's any benefit to separating the combination shot into individual immunizations."
Public Health in Gaza: Malnutrition Insights
A Lancet study estimates that more than 54,600 children aged 6 months to 5 years in Gaza were acutely malnourished through mid-August 2025, extrapolating from arm circumference measurements in a sample of 219,783 children to about 346,000 in the same age group. The data align with the broader pattern that blockade-related aid restrictions correlate with rising wasting, though a ceasefire period in early 2025 temporarily eased some shortages. An accompanying commentary cautions that the health impacts of aid restriction could persist across generations.
Takeaways and Next Steps
The episode ties together basic science breakthroughs with real-world health and policy implications, from autoimmune therapies and quantum-enabled devices to vaccine strategies and humanitarian challenges. Listeners are encouraged to explore the linked Scientific American coverage for deeper dives into these developments and their broader context.
Quotes
“Regulatory T cells act as internal regulators to prevent self-attack,” — Shimon Sakaguchi
“Quantum tunneling in macroscopic circuits shows many electrons acting as a single quantum particle,” — John Clarke
“There are currently no individual vaccines approved for use in the US for these 3 viruses, and the CDC's own website says there's no evidence that there's any benefit to separating the combination shot into individual immunizations,” — Jim O'Neill