Early loss of empathy is a hallmark symptom of frontotemporal dementia. It often manifests as diminished warmth and concern for others, which can profoundly unsettle the loved ones of those suffering from the disease. A recent study has shed light on what is happening in the brain to cause this loss of empathy. During an experiment in which subjects alternately saw images of hands being pricked by needles and touched by q-tips, they found that the anterior insula, anteria cingulate and thalamus – brain regions that monitor bodily signals such as pain – became active in healthy people but not so in patients. The study’s authors write that their next step “is to explore if and how the in-flow of the bodily signals necessary for the brain to create an inner self is altered in frontotemporal dementia – and how this relates to empathy”.

As people around the world continue to reflect on the legacy of Pope Francis, we’ve been looking at his efforts to change the Catholic church for women, including by opening up leadership roles to them in the Vatican. We also offer an article that maps how Francis influenced the global climate movement beyond the 2015 publication of his well-known encyclical, Laudato Si’.

As US President Donald Trump’s second term nears the 100-day mark, his executive orders seeking to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the federal government and to diminish the rights and visibility of transgender people in the military, schools and sports are still facing legal challenges. The orders, as well as Trump’s presidential campaign rhetoric, have coincided with a business-sector shift that has seen some companies pull back from DEI-related policies and activities. But this might actually be a bad financial decision.

The International Monetary Fund just published its world economic outlook, which forecasts global GDP growth of 2.8% in 2025. That figure is down by 0.5% from the IMF’s forecast in mid-January. Sergi Basco, an economics professor at the University of Barcelona, points to Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs as the driver of an uncertainty that can make planning far more difficult for companies and consumers buying products from abroad. “The end result… is that the best course of action, for consumers and businesses alike, is inaction,” he writes.

A recently published study has confirmed that iron deficiency, which can lead to fatigue and poor concentration, is common among teenage girls, and it also finds that girls who eschew meat and eat a plant-based diet are at higher risk. The heavy periods that, for years, can follow the onset of menstruation, as well as adolescent dietary shifts away from red meat, underlie the study’s findings – and dietary changes are therefore potentially part of the solution.