The Daily Trickle

Proteasome inhibitors boost type III interferon signaling, preprint finds

This preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, is a cell study that screened about 8,640 compounds and found that proteasome inhibitors selectively strengthen type III interferon (IFN-lambda) signaling, with minimal effect on type I interferon. The authors say the compounds raise levels of a receptor subunit that limits this signaling, and that they enhanced antiviral activity.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Tuberculosis prevalence rises with age in low- and middle-income countries

This systematic review and meta-regression analysis, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, pools 82 population surveys from 30 countries on tuberculosis (TB) prevalence by age. It finds that bacteriologically confirmed TB prevalence increases with age, and that the oldest group (75+) had about 6.4 times the prevalence of the youngest (15-19). The authors also report lower notification-to-prevalence ratios among older people, which they say suggest poorer case detection.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Patients prioritize communication in patient-held AI health assistants, preprint finds

This preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, reports a study that used the nominal group technique with thirty-three patients and caregivers and ten clinicians to co-design an evaluation framework for a patient-held artificial intelligence (AI) Personal Health Assistant (AIPHA). The authors say patients prioritized the assistant's role in longitudinal care and post-visit coordination over its scribe function, with communication and respect the most critical outcome. They also say clinician trust and formal consent, rather than technical utility, are the main hurdles.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Some respiratory virus infections may alter the risk of later infections, preprint says

This preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, is a prospective cohort study of 3,560 participants aged 6 months to 49 years in Washington and Oregon, tested weekly with nasal swabs during 2022 to 2024. The authors report that recent illness with some viruses was often associated with lower short-term risk of other viral illnesses, while SARS-CoV-2 illness was associated with higher short-term risk of adenovirus and parainfluenza illness. They say these associations differed by age and symptom status.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Gut microbes shift before Alzheimer's symptoms appear, preprint finds

This preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, examined stool metagenomic sequencing and brain amyloid-beta levels in 101 asymptomatic people. The authors report that higher amyloid-beta was associated with distinct gut microbial signatures, and with lower potential to produce gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). They say these changes may identify targets for preclinical Alzheimer's disease intervention.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Shared genes link asthma with neuropsychiatric disorders, preprint says

This preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, is a genetic analysis of summary statistics from four asthma subtypes, 12 neuropsychiatric disorders and six substance use behaviors. The authors identify 178 pleiotropic genes shared across these conditions, and say asthma shares a genetic component with post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder that cannot be fully accounted for by smoking.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Climate extremes improve dengue risk forecasts in Brazil, preprint reports

This preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, uses a Bayesian spatiotemporal model of monthly dengue cases across 435 health regions in Brazil from 2010 to 2025. The authors report that drought and temperature conditions were linked to dengue risk, and that adding climate information improved predictions of case counts and outbreaks at lead times of 1, 3, 6 and 12 months.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Gender-based violence linked to mental health burden in India, preprint says

This preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, is an ecological study of state-level data in India from 2001 to 2021, linking gender-based violence rates with disease burden from mental health disorders. The authors report that higher violence rates were associated with a higher burden of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder after adjustment for social development, and that the association with overall mental health burden strengthened over time.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Proposed Medicare rule would implement three 2026 appropriations sections

The Health and Human Services Department and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) propose rules to implement three sections of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026. The proposal would adjust Medicare Part D cost-sharing reductions for low-income individuals, implement the Requiring Enhanced and Accurate Lists of (REAL) Health Providers Act, and implement section 6224 on pharmacy benefit manager accountability.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Comments close

Dec 15, 2026

How to weigh in: Comment by December 15, 2026.

Medicaid expansion raised credit card borrowing, working paper finds

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, uses data on 10 million people and staggered expansions of Medicaid across ZIP codes to estimate how social insurance affects household debt. It finds that a 1 percentage point increase in a ZIP code's Medicaid-eligible population increased credit card borrowing by 0.38%. The authors say increased credit supply, driven by households' improved financial resilience, drives this rise and contributes 30% of the net welfare gains from expanding Medicaid.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Rising global risk premia cut firms' investment, working paper finds

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, studies how global financial conditions pass through to firms' investment. It finds that increases in risk premia are followed by large investment contractions, particularly among firms with higher default risk. The authors argue that smoothing cash flows reduces firms' quantity of risk and dampens international financial transmission.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

In Kenya, purchase subsidies for induction stoves outperform usage subsidies

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, reports a randomized trial among 2,134 charcoal users in Kenya, testing purchase price subsidies, usage subsidies and access to an interest-free loan for an induction stove. The authors find that usage subsidies of 75% had a precise zero effect on adoption and usage, while purchase price subsidies generated large welfare gains. They say credit constraints raised the subsidy's efficacy.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Foreign ideas have large causal effects on innovation, working paper finds

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, builds a genealogy of technologies from the full text of 13 million patents to trace foreign inputs into innovation. It finds that 54% of U.S. technologies build on at least one foreign input. Using historical migrant settlement as a source of variation, it reports that counties more exposed to a foreign country's knowledge invent more technologies building on it.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Three- to four-fifths of aquifers are pumped faster than optimal, paper finds

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, estimates a dynamic model of groundwater extraction for each of the world's aquifers, using remote sensing and economic data. It finds that three- to four-fifths of aquifers are extracted more rapidly than is optimal, reducing their present value and creating welfare losses in the trillions of dollars. The authors also find that policies guaranteeing constant water quantities generate larger welfare costs.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

New screening technologies could split credit markets into lender segments

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, is a model of lenders competing for borrowers with new screening technologies. The authors find that when screening errors are correlated, perhaps because of similar AI systems, lenders specialize into distinct segments with different interest rates. They say technological and regulatory changes, such as open banking, affect financial access unevenly and can help or harm financially excluded borrowers.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

U.S. monetary tightening raises global price of risk, paper argues

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, proposes a general equilibrium model in which U.S. monetary policy revalues the wealth of currency-mismatched arbitrageurs and so affects global risk premia. The authors quantify the macroeconomic spillovers this creates abroad and the role of policy responses in other countries. They say that in a potential future with higher dollar interest rates, these spillovers would be dampened.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Great Recession lowered mortality by about 2 percent, working paper estimates

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, uses a dynamic factor time series model to estimate the national mortality impact of the Great Recession. It estimates that the recession reduced the average annual, age-adjusted mortality rate by about 2 percent, with effects persisting for at least a decade. The authors say the welfare gain from this mortality decline is quantitatively significant relative to the welfare loss from lower consumption.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Medical spending could overwhelm federal budget, working paper warns

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, presents scenarios for future medical spending, ranging from rapid growth in expensive new treatments to cost-reducing technology. Medical spending has nearly tripled as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) since 1970 but has barely exceeded GDP growth since 2010. The author argues that even modest increases in spending relative to GDP would overwhelm the federal government's ability to pay for medical care with current tax instruments.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Immigration matching recent skill mix raises native welfare in 14 of 17 economies

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, is a general equilibrium model of the labor market and fiscal effects of immigration, calibrated to 17 countries over 2015-2019. For inflows matching the skill composition of 2019-2024 arrivals, the authors find native welfare rises in 14 of 17 economies, and in most cases both lower-skilled and higher-skilled natives gain through different channels. Lower-skilled natives gain mainly from higher pre-tax earnings, while higher-skilled natives gain mainly from lower labor-tax burdens.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Efficient coal plants in China raised emissions under carbon market, paper finds

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, uses plant-level data from satellite imagery and machine learning to study China's nationwide, rate-based carbon market, launched in 2021. It finds that high-efficiency power plants increased electricity generation and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by approximately 5% relative to low-efficiency plants, and that air quality worsened downwind of them. The authors say that if China's goal is to reduce emissions, benchmarks will need to be tightened or an alternative system adopted.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Multilateral export controls reduce adversaries' imports more than unilateral ones

This working paper, a preprint not yet reviewed by other scientists, combines new data on U.S. export control classifications and licensing outcomes with a quantitative general equilibrium model. It finds that multilateral controls reduce adversaries' imports of controlled products far more than unilateral U.S. controls, with only 7% of the reduction replaced by other countries, compared with 28% under unilateral U.S. policy. The authors say multilateral controls cut adversaries' real military expenditure, and that the two approaches impose a similar civilian cost.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

UK rules set out protection from detriment for taking industrial action

These UK regulations, made on October 15, 2026, prescribe the detriments that a worker is protected from for taking industrial action, under section 236A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. They come into force on October 30, 2026.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Made

Oct 15, 2026

Effective

Oct 30, 2026

UK regulations govern trade union officials' access to workplaces

These UK regulations are part of a package providing for access agreements between trade unions and employers. Under those agreements, trade union officials can enter workplaces or communicate with workers, including by providing information by any means. The regulations were made on October 15, 2026 and come into force on October 30, 2026.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Made

Oct 15, 2026

Effective

Oct 30, 2026

UK order grants consent for Steeple Renewables solar and battery project

This UK statutory instrument, made on October 9, 2026, is a development consent order that grants consent for, and authorises the construction, operation and maintenance of, a solar generating station and battery energy storage facility, together with associated development. It also imposes requirements and authorises compulsory purchase of land, including rights in land, and the right to override easements and other rights. It comes into force on October 31, 2026.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Made

Oct 9, 2026

Effective

Oct 31, 2026

Proposed rule would lower meat maturation temperature for foot-and-mouth regions

The Agriculture Department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) proposes to lower the minimum maturation temperature for fresh boneless beef and ovine meat from regions affected with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) from 4 degrees Celsius to 2 degrees Celsius. The proposal would leave all other existing import mitigations for beef unchanged, and it aims to align the rules with the World Organization for Animal Health's standards while continuing to protect the United States against the introduction of FMD.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Comments close

Dec 21, 2026

How to weigh in: Comment by December 21, 2026.

Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery closed for rest of October-November period

This temporary rule, in effect from October 17, 2026, closes the General category fishery for Atlantic bluefin tuna for the rest of the October through November period. Restricted-fishing days are waived for that period, so vessels with General category or Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permits may tag and release bluefin tuna of all sizes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the fishery will reopen automatically later.

Published

Oct 20, 2026

Effective

Oct 17, 2026

How to weigh in: No comment period: this is a final rule.

Draft UK rules would give consumers rights to cancel subscription contracts

This draft UK statutory instrument has been laid before Parliament and would become law only if approved and made. It would be the first made under Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, giving consumers rights to cancel subscription contracts if traders breach specific duties, and during specific cooling-off periods. Section 254 of that Act explains what a subscription contract is for these purposes.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Draft UK rules would make consequential changes to subscription contract law

This draft UK statutory instrument has been laid before Parliament and would become law only if approved and made. It would amend primary and secondary legislation in consequence of the coming into force of Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and of the Consumer Subscription Contracts (Cancellation and Information) Regulations 2026.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Global study models profitability of smart farming innovations

This peer-reviewed study in the journal PNAS models where smart farming technologies, such as precision agriculture, autonomous weeding machines and autonomous irrigation, are profitable across croplands worldwide. It combines a survey and a meta-analysis of adoption locations with remotely sensed and statistical data, using an ensemble of geospatial machine learning models. Simulations of future pathways suggest that the potential of smart farming will grow over time, especially in middle-income countries.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Existing power plants could host large new solar, wind and storage capacity

This peer-reviewed study in the journal PNAS uses satellite imagery to assess solar and wind potential near 3,890 U.S. fossil and renewable power plants. The authors estimate that by 2030, existing fossil plants could host up to 597 gigawatts (GW) of economically viable solar and wind without exceeding each site's existing interconnection capacity. They say realizing this potential depends on regulatory reforms and on coordinating the operational constraints of colocated resources.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Catalytic membrane may break down six chemicals of regulatory concern, study says

This peer-reviewed study in the journal PNAS reports a hydrogen-based catalytic membrane that, under ambient conditions, captures and defluorinates six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) of regulatory concern. The authors say GenX, which has an ether linkage, was harder to remove and defluorinate than the other compounds, though it was still converted. In continuous tests over 58 days, the system removed up to 96% of the PFAS.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Larger clusters of similar buildings linked to cooler cities

This peer-reviewed study in the journal PNAS analyzes 233,844 observations across 101 cities worldwide. It finds that larger contiguous clusters of functionally similar buildings are associated with lower daytime surface urban heat island (UHI) intensity, with every 100-meter increase in cluster scale corresponding to a 4.5% decrease. The authors report that in low-income regions, larger building area and volume weaken this cooling more than in wealthier regions.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Groundwater depletion clusters near borders in shared aquifers

This peer-reviewed study in the journal PNAS examines groundwater use and depletion across all 426 known transboundary aquifers (TBAs), combining about 116,000 well observations with global irrigation data. It finds no evidence of greater average depletion in these shared aquifers, but depletion is more strongly concentrated toward international borders. The authors argue that transboundary groundwater governance should follow the geography of groundwater use rather than treating shared aquifers as uniform units.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Injectable antisense approach prevents obesity in mice, preprint reports

This preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, is a study in mice in which once-weekly injections of an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) against a lipid regulatory protein prevented diet-induced obesity and reduced fat mass. The authors say the approach also improved glucose tolerance and steatotic liver disease, with no change in lean mass, and that the effect appears to come from adipose tissue rather than the liver.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Female microglia show stronger responses to aging and amyloid pathology

This preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, reports that in mice, females show greater disease-associated microglial responses to aging and amyloid-beta pathology than males. The authors say similar sex-biased responses are conserved in microglia from people with Alzheimer's disease, and they highlight amyloid precursor protein (APP) as a central part of the shared network.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Deleting a gene linked to chronic inflammation extends lifespan in mice

This preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, reports that mice with genetic deletion of stimulator of interferon genes (STING) had longer median lifespans. The authors say these mice were also resistant to age-related liver decline, and they conclude that targeting STING is a promising therapeutic target for extending healthy lifespan.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Pew Research Center announces work on Americans' mobile device use in 2026

Pew Research Center's announcement says it explores the latest patterns, trends and statistics in Americans' use of mobile devices in 2026. It gives no specific findings in the announcement itself.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Pew Research Center announces work on Americans' internet and broadband use

Pew Research Center's announcement covers patterns, trends and statistics of internet and home broadband adoption in the United States. It describes the internet as a fundamental shift in how Americans connect with one another, gather information and conduct their day-to-day lives.

Published

Oct 19, 2026

Pew says one in five Americans regularly get news on TikTok

Pew Research Center reports that 1 in 5 Americans regularly get news on TikTok. Among adults under 30, 39% say they regularly get news from TikTok, up from 9% in 2020.

Published

Oct 19, 2026