WHO Chief Warns of Imminent Pandemic Threat

In a remarkable feat of modern science, researchers at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) successfully transformed lead nuclei into gold, producing an estimated 86 billion gold nuclei during experiments conducted between 2015 and 2018. This groundbreaking achievement was described in a paper published in *Physical Review C* on May 12, 2025. The process took place within the 27-kilometer ring of the LHC, where lead nuclei were accelerated to 99.999993% of the speed of light. As two lead nuclei collided, their immense electromagnetic fields caused an intense burst of photons, leading to nuclear destabilization and the loss of protons and neutrons. This resulted in the brief formation of gold nuclei, though the total mass produced was only around 29 picograms, too small for practical use. Additionally, the experiments yielded mercury and thallium, highlighting the scientific significance of such transmutations. While the quantities created are minuscule and impractical for gold mining, the findings offer critical insights into nuclear processes in extreme cosmic environments, such as supernovae.

Researchers at CERN's Large Hadron Collider have made a groundbreaking discovery of a particle named antihyperhelium-4, the heaviest antimatter particle identified to date. This finding, reported in a preprint on arXiv, could potentially illuminate the longstanding mystery of why our universe is predominantly composed of matter, despite theories suggesting an equal creation of matter and antimatter during the Big Bang. The discovery was made by the A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE), which specializes in heavy-ion physics. The experiments recreate conditions akin to those present just one millionth of a second after the Big Bang. According to the researchers, antihyperhelium-4 consists of protons and neutrons along with hyperons containing “strange” quarks, making it fundamentally different from ordinary helium. Since hypernuclei decay rapidly, locating these particles poses significant challenges; only two other antihypernuclei have been identified in recent history. Qiu Hao, a collaborator with STAR at Brookhaven National Laboratory, emphasized the importance of creating and studying antimatter to unravel the mystery of matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe.

After over three years of negotiations, member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) have agreed on a landmark accord to enhance global preparedness for future pandemics. The deal, sealed early Wednesday at WHO headquarters in Geneva, aims to rectify the failures experienced during the COVID-19 crisis. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the agreement as a "significant milestone" in ensuring global health security. The final discussions occurred under the weight of new health threats, such as H5N1 bird flu and measles, and amidst concerns regarding cuts to U.S. foreign aid and potential tariffs on pharmaceuticals. Delegates overcame last-minute disagreements related to technology transfers intended for developing nations, with an emphasis on mutual agreements for such transfers. The 32-page accord introduces a Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System to facilitate the rapid sharing of pathogen data with pharmaceutical companies, expediting research on pandemic-related products. The finalized text is set to be presented for official approval at the WHO's annual assembly next month.