A new single-pill HIV treatment has proved as effective as a course of up to 11 tablets a day in suppressing the virus in hard-to-treat patients. It’s “a potential breakthrough for a growing cohort of long-term HIV survivors” who are resistant to standard treatments and struggle with complex medication schedules, said the Financial Times. Along with the rollout of a twice-yearly jab to prevent HIV infection, this represents “the latest advance in a scientific ‘golden age’ for treating the virus” – even as wealthy countries cut their funding.

How effective is the new single-dose pill?
In a study spanning 15 countries, researchers recruited more than 550 people living with HIV for whom conventional therapies were no longer effective. They had a median age of 60, many had other health conditions, and their HIV treatment involved taking between three and 11 pills a day.

For the research, they were randomly assigned to continue their treatment or switch to the new single pill. Almost 96% of those who switched continued to suppress the virus, without new signs of drug resistance, according to results published in The Lancet. That was a similar rate to the control group who stayed on their more complicated multi-pill treatment. And the “switchers” found the new regimen easier to follow and experienced a decrease in some side effects, such as elevated cholesterol levels.

The findings are “game-changing” for people who have lived with the virus for decades and have conditions “associated with ageing”, said study lead Chloe Orkin, a professor of infection and inequities at Queen Mary University of London.

How do the HIV-preventive injections work?
A twice-yearly jab of lenacapavir was shown in 2024 clinical trials to be 100% effective at preventing new HIV infections. An injection like this has a clear advantage over daily prevention pills in poorer countries, where patients – particularly young women – might struggle to access clinics or feel stigmatised for seeking treatment. The World Health Organization recommended the jab last year, when director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described it as “the next best thing” to an HIV vaccine.

There was initial concern that the drug would not be affordable in poorer countries, but manufacturer Gilead then granted licences to six manufacturers to produce generic versions of the drug in 120 low- and middle-income countries, at a cost of $40 (£29) per patient per year. This is a “historic breakthrough”, said Philippe Duneton of the Unitaid global-health initiative.

A decade on, 2016 is “making a comeback”, said NBC News. Instagram and TikTok are flooded with people “reminiscing about what they viewed as an iconic year for popular culture and the internet”. Many, including celebrities, have been digging out “hyper-filtered photos of themselves a decade ago”, in the latest example of the past being romanticised “as a form of escapism”.

Pining for ‘good old days’
“Grainy images of açai bowls and sunsets” are once again doing the rounds thanks to the 2016 trend, said The New York Times. And don’t forget the skinny jeans, choker necklaces and “Snapchat filters that put flower crowns and dog noses on our faces”. This “gaze backward to the not-so-distant past” is another “acceleration of nostalgia online”, where trends can “burn bright and die fast, making the landscape of just a few years ago feel like a foreign country”.

It can all be traced back to an “ironic Gen-Z joke that turned into a sincere movement” known as the Great Meme Reset, in which TikTokers “pined for the good old days, before the web became infested with AI-generated brainrot”, said Forbes. They proposed that social media users “reset” the internet by “posting classic memes to drown out low-effort engagement bait” and spark a “comeback for forgotten trends”. And 2016 was chosen as the “golden age of memes, right before the perceived decline”.

Of course, the internet wasn’t as “bright and cheerful as it’s being remembered”. But it wasn’t “quite as gamified and monetised as it is today” either, with more casual users “posting selfies and sharing random thoughts with their followers, just for the sake of it”.

Some things don’t change
All this “Coachella-flower-crowned nostalgia” fails to show that 2016 was “chock-full of horrors, too”, said Andrea González-Ramírez at The Cut. The year brought a bevy of controversies and low points, from Brexit to US shootings and a Zika outbreak.

It was also the year that Donald Trump was first elected, signalling a major shift in the political atmosphere. The world has become a “scarier, more challenging, and more divided place over the past decade”. But with Trump “back in office pursuing his agenda more aggressively than in his first term”, and “high-profile law-enforcement shootings” still dominating US headlines, in some ways it’s like “we never left 2016”.

Giraffe calf Mumbi makes her public debut at Germany’s Opel Zoo. Born 10 days ago after a gestation of 15 months, the reticulated giraffe was given a Kenyan name to reflect her origins in Africa, where only 21,000 of the endangered species remain.

Andreas Arnold / DPA /Alamy Live News

Throngs of tourists descend on the likes of Florence, Rome and Venice year-round to marvel at the historic architecture and sample the delicious food. But for those willing to look beyond these heavyweights, Italy is home to some underrated destinations that offer all the ingredients needed for a memorable city break.

Livorno
This vibrant port city on the west coast of Tuscany is a popular spot for cruise ships, but it’s also a “winning weekend destination in its own right”, said Julia Buckley in The Sunday Times. Just 12 miles south of Pisa, bars “unfurl” along the canal, and “ghostly” Armenian and Dutch churches “quietly crumble”.

Turin
With its “majestic palazzos”, “beautiful 360-degree views of the Alps” and “world-class restaurants”, it’s hard to believe Turin (pictured above) has “flown under the radar for so long”, said Condé Nast Traveller. The capital city of the Piedmont region is the birthplace of vermouth and the “beloved Italian tradition of the ‘aperitivo’”, so you’ll find lots of bustling buffet bars here.

Genoa
The port city of Genoa (Genova in Italian) has the “character, charm, culture and culinary prowess” of destinations like Rome, said Lisa Niven-Phillips in Vogue, but without the influx of tourists. A “stylish alternative to Marseille”, Genoa offers “colourful, hilly streets” similar to those of the French city.

Bologna
Home to a “marvellous medieval centre” and “piles of perfect pasta”, Bologna ticks a lot of boxes required for a “memorable” trip, said Sarah Lane in The Telegraph. There are plenty of “treasures to be discovered”, including its world-famous porticos and “monumental statues with intriguing stories attached”. But the real draw is the city’s culinary culture.

At 66 I’ve decided to rent for the rest of my life – homeownership is a trap
Jaci Stephen in The i Paper
“It was probably Paris that changed my view of renting,” writes Jaci Stephen. House ownership, “a badge of pride” in the UK, is just “not a big deal” to Parisians. Brits argue that renting is “money down the drain”, but “from where I’m standing, that drain is an alright place to be”. I love the freedom of no longer “struggling to find mortgage payments” that suddenly escalate. “There is life beyond interest rates. Trust me. I’m living it.”

I’m convinced… I don’t know what to think
James Marriott in The Times
“Anyone whose world view has survived the past decade completely intact isn’t thinking hard enough,” writes James Marriott. Life has become “so strange and so changeable” that “never has there been a more appropriate time to keep an open mind”. By all means “take a stand” on issues, but “pause before digging in too deep”. If I’m convinced of anything anymore, “it’s that anyone who thinks they have the answers is selling snake oil”.

Life is too short for cheap wine
Lisa Hilton in The Telegraph
“Wine snobbery is due a comeback,” writes Lisa Hilton. I avoid ultra-processed food, so why pour myself the “vinous equivalent of a Big Mac”? I’m not suggesting we “go back to chuntering about terroir”, but let’s acknowledge that “slumping on the sofa with a bottle of Plonk de Plonks is a dispiriting experience”. If “we’re happy to buy less but better when it comes to organic beef or cashmere sweaters”, we should take the same attitude with wine.