Today in Science: Inflammation may be the key to heart disease

Medicine may finally be solving one of its deadliest mysteries ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

April 14, 2026—Chronic inflammation may fuel heart disease. Plus, a camera catches a rare "cloud jaguar" and a new study shows how the brain makes decisions. Let's go.   —Andrea Gawrylewski Chief Newsletter Editor TODAY'S NEWS A healthy male jaguar captured on camera in Honduras’ Sierra del Merendón mountain range. Panthera-Honduras A forest cam spotted a rare, and imperiled, "cloud jaguar" in Honduras. It's the first one seen in the region for 10 years, scientists say. | 2 min read  The Pokémon franchise, including its recent game Pokémon Pokopia, is inspired by real animals and their ecology. It’s no surprise that so many scientists love to try and “catch ’em all.” | 5 min read Much of the East Coast will see summer-like temps this week. Here's why. | 2 min read  After decades in development, Dream Chaser—a commercial U.S. space plane—may one day dock with the International Space Station. | 5 min read A new study shows how the brain weighs evidence to make two different kinds of decisions. | 4 min read  Scientists just discovered 5.6 million bees under a New York State cemetery, and it's one of the largest and oldest ever recorded. | 2 min read The humble ham sandwich inspired a theorem which explains how to fairly divide food—even sandwiches with all sorts of fillings. | 3 min read After failed attempts to relocate and sterilize them, Colombia will euthanize nearly half of Pablo Escobar’s invasive "cocaine hippos." | 3 min read  More News Fuel your curiosity and feed your inner scientist with a subscription to Scientific American.  TOP STORIES A Heart Inflamed For decades, four big risks for heart disease have been the focus of cardiology: hypertension, smoking, high levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. But now, research is shifting to study the role of chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation, or the prolonged and damaging state of immune system activation, may accelerate cardiovascular problems. In 2023, the FDA approved an existing drug for gout, colchicine, for the treatment of heart disease; a clinical trial showed that those who took it had 30 percent less chance of cardiac incidents, especially when combined with statins. Why this matters: Nearly a quarter of people admitted to hospitals for heart attacks don’t have any of the four classic risk factors. In fact, a 2023 analysis found that hospitalized acute coronary patients without any of the four hazards were 57 percent more likely to die compared to those who had at least one. This medical mystery means that for more than 200,000 people who die of cardiac disease every year, doctors don’t know why.  How it works: Inflammation is the body’s built-in alarm system, and activates when the immune system senses that something untoward is happening. The body recruits immune cells to the scene, where they launch an all-out attack against any unwelcome intruders and cells they’ve infected. Sometimes this process doesn’t wane or shut off and starts harming the body’s healthy tissues. Doctors measure someone’s level of inflammation by blood levels of C-reactive protein, which is a molecule that signals inflammation. Cholesterol, a fatty compound produced primarily in the liver (above), can form jagged, needlelike crystals that tear artery walls and trigger an inflammatory reaction, blocking the flow of blood. Steve Gschmeissner/Science Source New treatments: Colchicine, a treatment for gout, reduces inflammation, but is not without its skeptics (results of several clinical trials have been mixed). And several other trials are underway to test if blocking other immune system responses that drive inflammation can improve heart outcomes. One is a treatment that stymies interleukin-6, another of the immune system’s chemical messengers which can drive harmful vascular processes. Join a special online event this Thursday. Our health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman will be discussing the shifting focus on inflammation in cardiology. Learn more and register here.

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PUZZLER Challenge your logic and arithmetic with today's 6x6 KenKen puzzle: In this 6x6 grid, fill each row and column with numbers 1 through 6, while making sure the inner calculations are correct. For example in the top left box, the resulting computation should equal 20 and result from multiplying all the numbers together. More KenKen Thank you to all of you who told me about your experiences with the "overview effect"—that all-encompassing sensation of awe and wonder at the grandness of the natural world, and our tiny place inside it. Some of you have felt it while venturing to wild places like Antarctica, the middle of the Pacific Ocean, or the top of a mountain. Others, while simply watching the waves off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Reader Jenelle put it beautifully: "Somehow you don't mind feeling small in comparison because everything is connected." I love feeling connected to our community of science-lovers. Reach out to me anytime about it by emailing: newsletters@sciam.com. Until tomorrow!   —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

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