Almost half a century ago, a maverick event marked the course of medical history into a new and revolutionary phase. The birth of Louise Brown on 25th July 1978 marked the world's first baby born through a process of In-Vitro Fertilization or IVF. With Louise Brown, hope for millions of infertile couples dawned across the globe and massive debates followed regarding the ethics of assisted reproduction.

The new drama for Netflix is titled Joy after Louise's middle name, takes viewers back to the great journey of pioneers for this groundbreaking achievement. Louise, 46 now and working at a bakery in Bristol, has heard more than her share of thanks from strangers. She's quick to say, however, that it is her parents and the triumvirate of British visionaries-physician Robert Edwards, embryology nurse Jean Purdy, and gynecologic surgeon Patrick Steptoe-who faced incredible obstacles to make her existence possible.

“I still get people come up to me saying, ‘Oh, you’re amazing.’ And I’m like, ‘I didn’t do anything, it was Mum and Dad and the three doctors.’ It’s lovely people who want to thank them,” told The US Sun.

Netflix drama Joy looks at the sacrifices made by the team to create IVF. Dr. Robert Edwards started his research into fertilization in 1955, but in 1968, he was the first to fertilize a human egg. However, the success did not attract encouraging support from the medical fraternity, and Edwards did not get any funds for continued research. He, along with nurse Jean Purdy and surgeon Patrick Steptoe, planned a clinic in an abandoned ward of Royal Oldham Hospital.

The couple had personal and professional challenges. Edwards was away from his family and children for 170 miles, Purdy had conflict with her religious mother, and Steptoe was putting off his retirement dreams. Public opposition further tested their strength, and opponents referred to their work as unnatural and even vandalized their clinic with the word "Frankenbabies."

Their diligence paid off after years of trial and error. A breakthrough came when Edwards decided to use a naturally produced egg instead of stimulating the ovaries through hormones. This new approach proved successful with Louise's mother, Lesley, who had been trying to conceive for a decade.

A Miracle Amidst Controversy

Lesley Brown and her husband, John, decided they would like a child even though the odds were completely stacked against them. Diagnosed with blocked fallopian tubes, Lesley was told that her chances of conceiving were one in a million. Lesley approached Steptoe for assistance after a gynecological operation she was obliged to pay for herself, thanks to a win on her football pools. The Browns were entered in the experimental IVF procedure.

Lesley’s faith in the team was unwavering. Louise recounted, “If they had said, ‘Go into Trafalgar Square and stand on your head naked and you’ll get pregnant,’ she would have”, as reported in The US Sun.

The process worked on the 101st attempt. A single egg fertilized in a petri dish with John's sperm was successfully implanted in Lesley's womb. Nine months later, Louise was delivered via Caesarean section, with the world's media waiting outside the hospital.

Although successful, the aftermath of birth for Louise was far from smooth. Her family received death threats and vile messages - once even a smashed test tube through the post with a foetus-like object inside - and Louise herself was subjected to over 100 tests as a newborn to dispel doubts about her health.

While her birth was a scientific success, it was also an intensely personal one. "When I had my sons, I realized how good those people were,"* Louise said, speaking of the sacrifices of her parents and the scientists."

The film Joy honors the work of the trio, especially Jean Purdy, who died at 39 years of age in 1985. Although she played a critical role, the historical accounts of her work were often overlooked. Her name wasn't put on the plaque celebrating the team's triumph until 2022.

It was Dr Robert Edwards, who continued to keep in touch with Louise even up to his death in 2013, who was rewarded with the Nobel Prize in 2010 for his work on IVF. Jean and Patrick were both deceased by then.

Louise summarizes, "They have done it for 12 million of us. I owe them my life. I'd do anything for any of them, my parents, and the three scientists.

Today, over 12 million babies worldwide have been born through IVF-a testament to the vision and perseverance of Edwards, Purdy, and Steptoe. Louise Brown's story, now immortalized in Joy, is as much a story of medical innovation as it is about human resilience and the power of hope.

The Long-Term Effects of IVF on Modern Health Care

Birth of Louise Brown was more than a medical milestone; it led to revolution in reproductive healthcare. Successive decades have changed millions of lives through IVF technology with hope for individuals and couples wanting a child. Beyond the origins, the field of ART has evolved into a wide research sector that pushes beyond the frontiers of science and redefines possible interventions in human reproduction.

Success in IVF has led to research on related techniques, such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), vitrified eggs, and preimplantation genetic testing. These all granted the power of reproductive control, allowing even in defiance of age, genetic conditions, or cancer treatments, to plan a family.

The principles developed by the original IVF team have paved the way for better understanding of reproductive biology, innovation in treating problems like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and endometriosis. The existence of IVF has raised awareness about infertility and helped reduce the stigma around seeking medical help.

Still, with every medical discovery, IVF has its unique share of hurdles. Many issues concerned with accessibility and affordability ensue and take center stage in the ART discourse, and along with the potential to transform lives, IVF is still expensive for many people, a challenge for global health organizations to equitably access.

Health care providers emphasize the value of education and support provided to patients at every step of the IVF process. IVF often requires multiple attempts and is often physically, emotionally, and financially stressful. Support for psychological well-being has increasingly been an essential element of treatment through counseling and stress management in IVF clinics.

Your DNA, or more specifically your genes, have fascinating interactions with your diet. These interactions are often bidirectional and form the basis of personalized nutrition through genomic biohacks.

This has impressive applications in solving some of the most stubborn health related challenges, including undesirable weight gain and obesity.

Here are the five ways by which your DNA could positively shape your diet:

Nutrigenomics

Nutrigenomics is the mechanism by which your diet affects your genes, and not the other way round. The process has massive implications for your health, and especially over how you can use specific dietary components to protect yourself against serious killer diseases like cancers and issues like faster aging.

Deficiency in key nutrients like Vitamin B9 or folate, Vitamin B12, choline & methionine can cause genomic instability and increased cancer risk.

In contrast, specific foods like curcumin, resveratrol, green tea, broccoli, Brussels sprouts etc can help with genomic stability and help fight inflammation, oxidative stress and cancers.

Nutrigenetics

These are the processes by which your genes affect your diet or consumed food and hence central to our theme here. At times, nutrigenetics is referred to by the wider umbrella term nutrigenomics.

Your gene variants determine how you process specific nutrients, which explains why the same diet works differently for different people. Genetic tests like Eplimo can easily find this out.

For instance, presence of certain variants of the SGK1 gene make those individuals more prone to high blood pressure from salt intake.

Similarly, variants in the FTO gene are strongly linked to obesity risk. Other very common examples are variants in the CYP1A2 gene that determine how fast you metabolize caffeine and mutations in the LCT gene that determines whether you are at risk of lactose intolerance.

Hunger & Satiety Hormones

Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, is produced mainly in the stomach and stimulates appetite, increases food intake as well as promotes fat storage.

The production of ghrelin hormone is governed by the GHRL gene, and a common variant in this gene called RS696217 is associated with unnecessary hunger and higher obesity risk.

Similarly, leptin is a hormone produced by the body’s fat tissues and regulates satiety or the feeling of fullness with regard to food.

Production of leptin is governed by the LEP gene, while its utilization is controlled by the LEPR (leptin receptor) gene. Variants in either, especially LEP, can cause severe, early-onset obesity.

Metabolic Pace

Genes play a significant role in determining your metabolic pace. Studies show that genes account for up to 60 percent of the variations seen in the Resting Metabolic Rate between individuals.

RMR is basically a measure of how much calories are burnt while you are sitting or doing light activities.

It is different from Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) that requires fasting and bed rest. Hundreds of genetic variants work together to set your RMR.

These include variants in the UCP1 gene governing thermogenesis or heat production, the MC4R gene that influences how the body burns nutrients for energy, and genes governing mitochondrial efficiency.

Building more muscles is a proven way to counter the negative impact of such variants and boost RMR.

Gut Microbiome

Does your gut microbiome impact your genes more, or does your genes impact your gut microbes more? Definitely, it is the former, which is also a better known mechanism due to that greater impact.

But that doesn’t mean that the reverse impact, from your DNA to your microbiome which accounts for around 10 percent of its composition, is insignificant in any way.

For instance, your specific gene variants determine which bacteria thrive by influencing immune responses, metabolism, and food preferences.

Specific genes, such as the LCT gene, directly correlate with the abundance of beneficial bacteria like Bifidobacterium. Genetics also influence how you digest food and your dietary preferences, which in turn feeds specific bacterial species.

Other genetic factors too have been identified as having strong links to microbial diversity, which is a great marker for not only gut health, but overall health, performance and longevity.

The impact of social media on adolescents’ well-being is significant, said the World Happiness Report 2026 today, warning that the scale of harm is significant enough to affect entire populations.

The annual report, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, points to overwhelming evidence of both direct and indirect harm.

Direct harms include exposing them to videos of graphic pornography and real-life violence, facilitating cyberbullying and deepfakes, promoting dangerous “challenges”, connecting them with sexual predators, and facilitating the purchase of illegal drugs.

The indirect harms involve rising levels of depression, anxiety, and reduced life satisfaction.

“The harms and risks to individual users are so diverse and vast in scope that they justify the view that social media is causing harm at a population level,” the report said.

The harmful "experiences are so common that they should also count as ordinary use,” it added.

Notably, the report called the major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X, "dangerous consumer products that harm adolescents at a massive scale”.

“The evidence of harm – both direct and indirect – is so strong and comes from so many sources in so many countries that we believe policymakers around the world now have enough evidence to justify action to protect children and adolescents,” the report said.

In line with this, countries such as Australia and Indonesia recently introduced legislative restrictions on social media use among young people. In India, states including Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have announced bans, while Bihar is considering similar measures.

The report pointed out that social media is causing direct harms to millions of people globally. This includes:

• Addiction and problematic use
• Sleep deprivation
• Sextortion
• Sexual harassment

Impact on Youth Well-being

Research cited in the report shows a clear link between heavy social media use and lower life satisfaction among adolescents. Youth and teens who spent more time on social platforms reported poorer mental well-being compared to those who used less.

Overall, internet use was linked with negative effects, particularly among girls and in countries such as the UK and Ireland. Yet, among those who used the internet for communication, learning, news consumption, and content creation, higher life satisfaction was reported.

The report noted that negative emotions are becoming more common across all regions. Worry increased among young people, while the frequency of anger declined across both younger and older populations.

Despite these trends, positive emotions still occur about twice as often as negative ones globally.

Global Happiness Rankings

Finland has been ranked the world’s happiest country for the ninth consecutive year, followed by Iceland, Denmark, and Costa Rica. Other countries in the top 10 include Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.

In contrast, when measuring changes in happiness among people under 25, countries in the NANZ region -- the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand -- rank much lower, placing between 122 and 133 out of 136 countries.

Hormonal changes during menopause can significantly increase Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in women, according to Dr Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist and women’s brain health specialist.

In a new The Journal of Clinical Investigation review, the renowned AD expert noted that menopause can change brain biology and metabolism and may contribute to amyloid plaques and tau tangles, which are key biological markers of AD.

Alzheimer disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting over 55 million individuals worldwide, with projections exceeding 150 million by 2050 . Out of the reported cases, nearly two-third are made up of women, with the majority being postmenopausal women

Estrogen protects the brain by lowering inflammation, increasing neuronal survivals supporting non-amyloidogenic processing, and reducing amyloid-beta-related neurotoxicity, all of which are factors contributing to the development of AD.

However, when estrogen levels drop during menopause and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) rise, the brain becomes more likely to develop AD-related damage.

Previous research has also shown that early menopause, especially before age 45, is linked with increased risk of dementia and the removing the ovaries before natural menopause could increase long-term dementia risk, with the greatest excess risk seen at younger ages, especially before 45.

READ MORE: Simple Blood Test Can Predict Dementia Risk in Women 25 Years Before Symptoms

What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common forms of dementia and mostly affects adults over the age of 65.

About 8.8 million Indians aged 60 and above are estimated to be living with Alzheimer's disease. Over seven million people in the US 65 and older live with the condition and over 100,00 die from it annually.

Alzheimer's disease is believed to be caused by the development of toxic amyloid and beta proteins in the brain, which can accumulate in the brain and damage cells responsible for memory.

Amyloid protein molecules stick together in brain cells, forming clumps called plaques. At the same time, tau proteins twist together in fiber-like strands called tangles. The plaques and tangles block the brain's neurons from sending electrical and chemical signals back and forth.

Over time, this disruption causes permanent damage in the brain that leads to Alzheimer's disease and dementia, causing patients to lose their ability to speak, care for themselves or even respond to the world around them.

While there is no clear cause of Alzheimer's disease, experts believe it can develop due to genetic mutations and lifestyle choices, such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and social isolation.

Early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease include forgetting recent events or conversations. Over time, Alzheimer's disease leads to serious memory loss and affects a person's ability to do everyday tasks.

There is no cure for this progressive brain disorder and in advanced stages, loss of brain function can cause dehydration, poor nutrition or infection. These complications can result in death.

Can You Detect Alzheimer's Early On?

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of a blood test which can help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in adults aged 55 and above.

The blood test, known as Lumipulse, can detect amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease and has proven to be a “less invasive option” that “reduces reliance on PET scans and increases diagnosis accessibility.”

FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary said of the landmark decision, "Alzheimer’s disease impacts too many people, more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

"Knowing that 10 percent of people aged 65 and older have Alzheimer's, and that by 2050 that number is expected to double, I am hopeful that new medical products such as this one will help patients."

It remains unclear when this test will be available for commercial use across the world.