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Former US President Joe Biden has thanked the public for their support following the announcement of his prostate cancer diagnosis, calling the experience a reminder of shared resilience.

“Cancer touches us all,” he wrote. “Jill and I have learned we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up”, BBC reported.

His office confirmed the former president was diagnosed Friday with aggressive, high-grade prostate cancer that has spread to his bones but remains hormone-sensitive and treatable.

Support has poured in from global figures, including Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and King Charles, who sent a private message of encouragement, according to BBC.

One-year-old Sabin Mahat (name changed) was taken to a local eye hospital when his mother noticed a white glow in his right eye which was more prominent in the evening time. He was immediately referred to Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology where he was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, a type of eye cancer that starts in the retina.

Retinoblastoma represents three percent of all childhood cancers in the world, and is the most common intraocular malignancy in children below five years of age. It is 99 percent fatal if left untreated. Early detection and prompt treatment can save life and eye. Worldwide prevalence is 1:15000 to 1:20000 live births. Exact prevalence in Nepal is not known but a recent survey done in multiple hospital records suggests that around 50 new cases are detected in Nepal each year. Among them, the Ocular oncology department of Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) sees 35 to 45 new cases per year with around 15 of them having bilateral diseases. 

Treatment for Retinoblastoma is long (takes about two years to five years depending on the laterality and severity of disease), expensive and psychologically challenging to the parents and children. Stage one and two diseases require at least six months of systemic chemotherapy along with four weekly evaluations under general anesthesia along with needful treatment like laser in eye (transpupillary thermotherapy), cryotherapy and local chemo in the eye until the tumor resolves completely. If the eye is not salvageable, enucleation with implant surgery (removal of eyeball and placement of artificial eye) is done. Even after completion of treatment, the child needs to be followed up under anesthesia for five years. For stage three and four disease, treatment is prolonged (12 cycles of high dose chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy) and even with treatment, life prognosis is not good. 

As for Sabin, after a detailed evaluation, he was diagnosed as having Stage zero disease with non salvageable Group E disease in the right eye and Group C in the left eye. He was referred to Kanti Children Hospital for six cycles of chemotherapy. Since Sabin’s family was from a low income background, he was helped by Open Eyes Nepal, a non-government organization focused on creating awareness and providing financial support to Retinoblastoma patients, for treatment at Tilganga Hospital. After completing 6 cycles of chemotherapy, his right eye was surgically removed (enucleation with implant surgery) and provided a custom fit prosthetic eye which was also provided free of cost by Open Eyes Nepal. As for the left eye, it was saved after 8 cycles of laser therapy. After being disease free for two years, Sabin still comes to Tilganga Hospital every six months for follow-up.

However, sometimes this favorable case scenario is not present. When patients come to hospital very late into the disease of Retinoblastoma, the tumor comes out of the eye and presents with a fungating mass. Hence, it is important to identify the disease in the early stage by parents as well as health care personnel, so that with appropriate management, eye and life can be saved with Retinoblastoma.

The first international gathering of summiteers of Sagarmatha (Mt Everest) will be taking place in Nepal on May 27.

The event named ' Everest Summiteers Summit' aims to bring together the climbers, provide them a forum for sharing experiences with each other and promote adventurous tourism, according to organiser the Everest Alliance Nepal. 

Alliance Chair Sudarshan Nepal has said that so far 177 climbers from 16 countries have confirmed the registrations for participating in the Summit. A total of 500 climbers who have already reached the top of the world's tallest peak are expected to attend the event. 

They will represent India, China, the United States of America, Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Iran, Singapore, Australia, Lebanon, Morocco and the UAE. 

There will be the presence of those who climbed Mount Everest seven decades ago to share their experiences with the gathering. Those who have reached the peak, including individuals with different abilities, will also give presentations.

Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the historic 1953 expedition to Mount Everest, will be honored at the event. He was part of the team alongside Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, who made history as the first people to reach the summit.

The Summit will include extensive discussions on the impacts of climate change on mountain ecosystems, with panel discussions featuring representatives from organizations such as WWF, ICIMOD, IUCN, and others.

The event is supported by several prominent organizations, including the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents, the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), the Nepal Mountaineering Association, and the Hotel Association of Nepal, among others.

Microsoft announced Microsoft Discovery, a new platform that uses agentic AI to speed scientific research, at its Build 2025 conference on Monday.

According to the company, the platform is extensible and capable of managing science-related tasks from start to finish. Microsoft described it as an enterprise-level tool that supports the entire research process — from reasoning and hypothesis creation to candidate testing, simulation, and analysis, according to Xinhua..

Microsoft stated that the platform enables researchers to collaborate with specialized AI agents, increasing the pace, scale, and accuracy of scientific discovery through the use of powerful AI and supercomputing technology.