A young girl who was bullied for being autistic may have a higher IQ than Stephen Hawking or Albert Einstein. Adhara Maite Pérez Sánchez, an 11-year-old from Tláhuac, Mexico, is being described as a prodigy by many after recently graduating with a degree in Systems Engineering. She is now going on to study industrial engineering. The extraordinary girl has a passion for astronomy and space, expressing the dream to become the first Mexican woman to travel to space as an astronaut and has given talks about her interest and knowledge of aerospace. She intends to become an astronaut at NASA, and is currently taking courses in astronomy and gravitational waves at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), which is widely regarded as a top research university. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Adhara has also had her achievements recognised in 2021 by the Senate of the Republic, as well as being declared one of Mexico’s 100 most influential women, and appearing on the cover Marie Claire Mexico. However, life hasn’t always been easy for Adhara, who struggled with being bullied by her classmates. Often labelled as a ‘weirdo’ for her autism. Adhara was diagnosed with Asperger’s at 3 years old, but has succeeded greatly with it. Recently she has begun developing a bracelet designed to monitor the emotions of children such as herself in order to improve their communication skills. But she hasn’t let the negativity bring her down. Determined to succeed and achieve her goals in spite of what others say about her. Her inspirations include late physicist, Stephen Hawking, and Carmen Félix, a Mexican engineer currently developing a plan to launch a manned mission to Mars. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Researchers in Haiti once scanned the brains of three people believed to be long-deceased individuals returning from the dead - or zombies. In a study published in 1997, researchers investigated three such cases, using electroencephalography and DNA testing techniques to try and find a rational explanation for a Haitian Voodoo theory that the spirits of the dead can be captured by sorcerers called bokors, who use these souls to reanimate fresh corpses into zombies who walk around rural areas. One case involved a woman who had died aged 30 and was spotted three years later by family members who recognised her because of a distinctive facial mark. A local court then authorised the opening of the woman’s grave, revealing it to be full of rocks. Describing the 'zombie', the study authors explained that “she kept her head in a lowered position, and walked extremely slowly and stiffly, barely moving her arms.” She was also unable to communicate “but would occasionally murmur some incomprehensible but stereotyped words.” But the scan showed her “electroencephalogram and central nervous system examination were unremarkable” and said she may have had catatonic schizophrenia, but couldn't explain how she came back from the dead. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter They proposed that the woman might not have died at all, but may instead have been poisoned by a “neuromuscular toxin” to induce catalepsy and trick relatives into thinking she was dead. A lack of oxygen within the grave may have resulted in brain damage, thus explaining her zombie-like state when she was taken out of the grave. Next, the study described a 26-year-old man who was seen at a local cockfight 19 months after being buried. The man’s uncle was subsequently found guilty of using sorcery to zombify the man, who was then kept chained to a log at his parents’ house. But clinical examinations found nothing weird and the man was diagnosed with “organic brain syndrome and epilepsy.” And DNA testing revealed that he was not even the man who had died shortly beforehand. In a similar case, a 31-year-old woman was identified as a villager who had been dead for 13 years. Once again, however, a medical examination revealed that she was a normal human while genetic analyses showed that she was not the dead individual after all. The study authors concluded that “mistaken identification of a wandering, mentally ill, stranger by bereaved relatives is the most likely explanation.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2023--

The German government is rejecting criticism that it pushed to weaken existing commitments for phasing out natural gas at a summit of leaders from the Group of Seven major industrialized democracies

An overview of the media in Ireland, including links to broadcasters and newspapers.

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Auliʻi Cravalho

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The menopause treatment fezolinetant has been predicted as a “gamechanger” by experts for thousands of women who suffer from hot flushes. The drug, which is the first non-hormonal menopause treatment, was recently approved by America’s FDA. Experts are predicting it could be transformative for women for whom hormone replacement drugs (HRT) are not suitable. The drug was licensed in the US on 12 May and could be approved for use in the UK by the end of the year. According to a British Menopause Society survey, 79 per cent of women aged 45 to 65 experienced hot flushes as a result of their menopause transition, while 10 to 20 per cent describe the hot flushes as “near intolerable”. Here’s everything you need to know about fezolinetant: What is it used to treat? It works to target the menopause symptom of hot flushes. The drug that has been approved by the FDA is made by pharmaceutical company Astella, which advises patients to take one 45-milligram of its VEZOAH (fezolinetant) pill orally, once a day. A large clinical trial of fezolinetant published earlier this year revealed that, after 12 weeks of use, it reduced the frequency of hot flushes by about 60 per cent in women with moderate or severe symptoms, in comparison to a 45 per cent reduction in those who received a placebo. Women involved in the trial also said the drug reduced the severity of hot flushes and improved the quality of their sleep. How does it work? It works by blocking a brain protein called neurokinin-3, which plays a unique role in regulating body temperature in menopausal women. Respondents of the trial have said that the effects of the drug was experienced after taking the first tablet. By comparison, HRT, taken to alleviate menopausal symptoms, replaces the oestrogen that you lose during the menopause transition, either alone or in combination with a progestogen What are the side effects? According to the FDA, the most common side effects are abdominal pain, diarrhoea, insomnia, back pain, hot flush and elevated hepatic transaminases. What have experts said about it? “This is going to be a completely blockbuster drug,” said Prof Waljit Dhillo, an endocrinologist at Imperial College London who led a trial for the drug in 2017 toldThe Guardian. “It’s like a switch. Within a day or two the flushes go away. It’s unbelievable how well these drugs work. It’s going to be completely game changing for a lot of women.” Read More Adenomyosis: 5 things you need to know about the ‘evil twin sister’ of endometriosis ‘Suddenly, I saw Dad again’: The radical technology helping those living with dementia Naga Munchetty reveals womb condition adenomyosis: ‘I live every day on painkillers’

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