TEI

A writer based in Lafayette, Indiana, has penned a ten-minute psychological and religious horror play that will receive a staged reading at Matchbox coworking studio on South 6th Street. The reading is scheduled for either October 14 or 15, with the exact date not yet confirmed. Local residents are being invited to attend the performance.

French media outlet Brut is investigating the wave of new "protein" products flooding supermarkets, asking whether they genuinely serve consumers' nutritional needs or are mainly a marketing and business opportunity. The report examines how manufacturers are adding protein claims to everyday foods to cash in on the health trend, and what the products actually deliver for shoppers.

The health and care working group of Germany's Pirate Party is calling on the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) to revise its recommendation on COVID-19 vaccination. In a statement, the group argues that broad vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 should be restored to the catalogue of recommended immunisations. The demand reopens debate over how Germany's vaccination advisory body currently weighs COVID-19 boosters for the general population.

Norway's parliament has opened an investigation into alleged connections between Jeffrey Epstein and Norwegian politicians and diplomats. The inquiry follows renewed international scrutiny of Epstein's network of powerful contacts, and is expected to examine whether any Norwegian officials had ties to the convicted sex offender or benefited from associations with him.

The campaign of Hannah Pingree has returned political donations it received from a former attorney for Jeffrey Epstein, according to Spectrum News reporting. The move appears to be a response to scrutiny over any financial or professional links to people connected to the late financier, whose network continues to draw political fallout. Further details about the donor's identity and the amount returned were not included in the available coverage.

Belgian food-tech company Those Vegan Cowboys is leading a €1.3 million project to develop animal-free casein, the milk protein, aimed at sports nutrition products. The project seeks to produce casein without dairy farming, offering athletes and supplement makers a dairy-identical protein through fermentation-based methods. It adds momentum to the growing precision fermentation sector targeting the protein market.

Men's Journal highlights high-protein foods that go well with a morning coffee, aiming at readers who want to add protein to their breakfast routine. The piece suggests simple pairings people can fit into their mornings, reflecting ongoing interest in protein-focused eating habits.

Researchers report that fruit flies fed a lower-protein diet, starting from the larval (maggot) stage, live longer than those on standard feed. The finding adds to evidence that dietary restriction of protein can influence ageing, and is drawing interest for what it may suggest about nutrition and lifespan more broadly.

Researchers have identified a protein signaling cascade that helps explain how plants sense and respond to touch, according to a report by Phys.org. The finding sheds light on the cellular mechanisms behind thigmomorphogenesis, the way plants alter growth when physically contacted. The work could inform future crop research, though detailed findings and reactions from the scientific community remain limited in the available coverage.