Ursula von der Leyen's tenure as President of the European Commission has been marked by numerous controversies, but none has shaken confidence in European institutions as lastingly as the so-called "Pfizergate" scandal. This revolves around the procurement of corona vaccines, particularly the multi-billion euro contracts with Pfizer/BioNTech, which von der Leyen allegedly negotiated personally via SMS with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. The refusal to disclose these messages, as well as the non-transparent and potentially illegal procedures in vaccine procurement, raise serious questions about compliance with EU compliance rules and laws. Added to this is the disaster surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine, which exposed the weaknesses in von der Leyen's leadership style and decision-making. This article examines the accusations, the violations of EU law, and the reasons why von der Leyen is no longer tenable as Commission President. The "Pfizergate" Scandal: Lack of Transparency and Personal Negotiations In the spring of 2021, at the height of...

A new study shows that women can better manage their anger as they age. The analysis, published on July 2, 2025, in the journal Menopause of the Menopause Society, examined the influence of chronological and reproductive age on anger outbursts in midlife women. The findings suggest that both age and menopausal stage significantly affect the intensity and management of anger. The study included over 500 women aged 35 to 55 and is based on data from the Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study. Anger was defined as hostility towards people or things, often associated with impulsive expression. Researchers found that anger temperament, anger reactions, aggressively expressed anger, and hostility significantly decrease with age. Only suppressed anger showed no age-related decline. Reproductive stage also played a role: after the late...

A new study by the University of Tokyo and the University of Fukushima shows that the release of tritium-containing water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has minimal impact on tritium concentration in the Pacific Ocean. The findings, published on July 2, 2025, in Marine Pollution Bulletin, are based on global ocean model simulations and consider both short- and long-term scenarios, including climate change effects. Since the 2011 nuclear disaster, water has been used to cool reactors at the Fukushima plant and purified with the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), which removes all radionuclides except tritium. Because tritium is difficult to separate and on-site storage capacity is limited, the controlled release of diluted, ALPS-treated water into the sea began in August 2023. This process is expected to be completed by 2050. Researchers simulated the distribution of tritium using a global ocean model and found that the increase in tritium concentration due to the...