滨鈥檓 terrified by how fast weather extremes are ramping up as the world heats up, and there鈥檚 much, much worse to come unless we leave fossil fuels in the ground. The only way to do that is to end our dependency on oil and gas 鈥� and all the fuss about whether the UK will allow more drilling in the North Sea is a distraction from this.

Some people talk about the UK government鈥檚 current policy of not approving more licences for exploration in the North Sea as if it will reduce the amount of oil and gas that is burned, and thus help limit how much more carbon dioxide ends up in the atmosphere. But it won鈥檛. All it will do is change where the oil and gas that gets burned comes from.

What does matter is burning less fossil fuel. That means things such as getting more electricity from renewable sources, and more vehicles and heat pumps running on that electricity.

So I won鈥檛 be judging the climate credentials of the UK鈥檚 new prime minister, Andy Burnham, on whether or not his government decides to in the North Sea. It鈥檚 what is done to further reduce our use of fossil fuels that鈥檚 crucial in climate terms. And here Burnham has already made a good start by cutting the value-added tax (VAT) on electricity, which will make .

滨鈥檓 not saying bans on drilling are a complete waste of time 鈥� they have a part to play in protecting vulnerable environments, such as the Amazon rainforest. But I don鈥檛 see how they will ever help limit emissions.

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At this point, you might be thinking, 鈥渂ut if enough countries ban drilling, it will make a difference鈥�. There are already nearly 60 restrictions on fossil fuel production in 25 countries, . But many of these are regional restrictions to protect places such as the Arctic, or bans on production methods such as fracking. And 15 have already been repealed. No major producers are planning to completely stop producing oil and gas, and the known reserves of fossil fuels are way more than enough to trash the climate. The bottom line is that some countries will keep on churning out fossil fuels as long as they can sell them, so the key is to reduce demand, not supply.

That said, most of the arguments used by supporters of further North Sea gas and oil exploration . For starters, more drilling is not going to bring down energy prices in the UK. North Sea oil and gas is sold at global market prices, and there鈥檚 not enough oil or gas left in the North Sea to make a dent in those prices.

Going all out on renewables, by contrast, would break , and help bring down energy bills. This is what is Spain .

Another dubious claim is that more drilling is going to make oodles of money for the UK. But production in the North Sea already has to be supported by tax breaks and subsidies, and is declining year on year. of the oil and gas has already been extracted, so further drilling will, at most, slow the rate of decline. And what remains is harder to get out, so costs are higher. If the wars pushing up oil prices come to an end, it might not even be profitable 鈥� until recently, the world was building up .

Then there鈥檚 the exaggerated claim that North Sea gas is 鈥渇our times cleaner鈥� than imported liquid natural gas, or LNG. The emissions associated with producing LNG are around four times higher than those for North Sea gas, because of the energy required to liquefy it. But what matters are the total emissions, including those from burning the gas, and on this count .

LNG now accounts for . If that could be reduced by more North Sea gas production, there should be a little less CO2 emitted. It would also mean less money going to countries that obstruct climate action 鈥� the UK now gets 37 per cent of its gas from the US, for instance.

But the UK also gets gas from Norway via pipelines, and the production emissions of this are even lower than those of North Sea gas. So in climate terms, buying more Norwegian pipeline gas would be better than increasing North Sea production.

Overall, then, what happens in the North Sea just doesn鈥檛 matter much in the grand scheme of things 鈥� more drilling is neither a climate catastrophe, nor an economic panacea. Instead, the UK and other countries need to focus on what really matters 鈥� much more drastic action to replace fossil fuels or discourage their use. You only need to look at to see why it鈥檚 so vital.

The best treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) might be antivirals that target the Epstein-Barr virus. Pharmaceutical companies are now being called on to develop such drugs after researchers studied the immune responses of people with and without the condition.

鈥淭here aren鈥檛 good Epstein-Barr virus drugs currently available, but they can be developed,鈥� says at Harvard Medical School. 鈥淭hat might be the most useful specific therapy for MS in the future.鈥�

MS is caused by an immune attack on myelin, a fatty sleeve that wraps around nerves. The loss of myelin reduces their ability to transmit signals and can cause a wide range of symptoms, including muscle weakness. Drugs that suppress the immune system can slow the progression of the condition.

There is strong evidence that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which causes mononucleosis, or glandular fever, is also the cause of MS. 鈥淚 think most MS researchers now would agree that EBV plays a major role in the development of the disease,鈥� says team member at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

But exactly how remains a mystery. Almost everyone is infected with EBV during their childhood or teen years. It mainly infects immune cells known as B-cells, where it can remain dormant for the rest of a person鈥檚 life. But in some cells, the virus can reactivate.

The big question is why only around 1 in 1000 people develop MS when nearly everyone gets EBV. This suggests there is something different about the immune response to EBV in people who go on to develop MS, says team member at Massachusetts General Hospital. 鈥淥ur question for this study was: in people with MS, what parts of EBV does the immune system respond to? And do those responses look different from people who don鈥檛 have MS?鈥�

The team focused on immune cells known as CD4 T-cells, which circulate in the body. Although these aren鈥檛 the cells that directly attack myelin, there are multiple lines of evidence suggesting they play a role in MS, says Drosu.

The team found that, in 30 people with MS, most of the CD4 T-cells targeting EBV were specifically targeting viral proteins produced when the virus is actively replicating, rather than the proteins associated with its dormant stage. What鈥檚 more, people with MS produced twice as many of these cells, on average, as 30 people without the condition.

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The researchers then looked at CD4 T-cells in 60 people with MS before and after they began drug treatments that reduce their number of B-cells. They found these treatments reduced the T-cell response to EBV almost to the levels seen in people without MS.

In addition, the team found low levels of EBV in the saliva of these people before they were treated to reduce their number of B-cells, which shows that the virus was replicating in their bodies. After treatment, viral levels dropped below detectable levels in most people.

The thinking has been that B-cells help drive the harmful immune response in people with MS, says Levy, and this is why drugs that reduce B-cell levels are effective. But the results suggest these drugs also work by eliminating B-cells infected with EBV, he says, thereby reducing the immune response caused by active viral replication. 鈥淲e鈥檙e thinking that depleting B-cells is also depleting the reservoir of the Epstein-Barr virus.鈥�

If so, targeting EBV directly with antivirals might be just as effective as B-cell-depleting drugs, but without the undesirable side effects of treatments that weaken the immune system, such as an increased risk of infections. 鈥淚 think a lot of patients would prefer a specific drug,鈥� says Bjornevik. 鈥淚f we can show that an antiviral had a similar effect as the most effective MS drugs, I think there will be a big market for that drug.鈥�

Another approach already being trialled for treating MS is using modified immune cells called CAR T-cells. While existing drugs merely reduce B-cell levels, CAR T-cells can temporarily eliminate them altogether. Dozens of people with MS have gone into remission after CAR-T treatment, says Levy.

Strongest evidence yet that the Epstein-Barr virus causes lupus

Lupus has been linked to the Epstein-Barr virus 鈥� which causes glandular fever, or mono 鈥� before, but we now have evidence of how it can bring about the autoimmune condition

But EBV might linger in some other cell types and reinfect B-cells as they slowly recover in the years after the CAR T-cell treatment, he says. 鈥淭hen we would need the antivirals鈥� so we just have to wait and see.鈥� CAR T-cells can also have serious side effects, says Bjornevik, so antivirals could be safer as well.

There are also vaccines against EBV under development. 鈥淚f people don鈥檛 get infected with EBV, their risk of MS would be virtually zero,鈥� says Drosu. 鈥淪o I think vaccines are [a] very promising strategy to eradicate MS.鈥�

But 1000 people would have to be vaccinated to prevent just one case of MS, Levy points out. However, EBV causes many other problems, including a number of cancers, and has also been linked to other autoimmune conditions, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. 聽

There鈥檚 one scent to rule them all 鈥� and we now know what it is. A series of experiments has shown that a single molecule released by the queen of naked mole rat colonies prevents all the other females in a colony from breeding.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a super-contraceptive, if you鈥檙e a mole rat,鈥� says at the Max Delbr眉ck Center in Berlin.

Naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) have a social structure like that of bees and ants, with colonies made up of soldiers and workers, and a single queen ruling each colony. Only the queen can breed, but how she maintains her long reign 鈥� Lewin鈥檚 team鈥檚 oldest queen is 39 鈥� hasn鈥檛 been clear.

鈥淭he theory was that the queen is larger and more aggressive than the other animals, exerting her dominance through pushing and shoving,鈥� says Lewin. 鈥淏ut we never found that very satisfying as an explanation.鈥�

So team member , also at the Max Delbr眉ck Center, proposed identifying the mole rat bouquet 鈥� the molecules in the air around them that create their scent. Comparing the scents of hundreds of animals revealed that only the queens produce a molecule called isopropyl myristate.

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鈥淚t鈥檚 made in the reproductive organs, basically the vagina of the reproductive female,鈥� says Lewin.

When the team sprayed isopropyl myristate daily into cages containing male and female pairs, none of the females became pregnant. Without it, almost all the females became pregnant.

Next, the team removed a queen from a colony and applied isopropyl myristate daily. There were no fights for succession and no females started breeding during the three months this was done. 鈥淲e produced peacefulness,鈥� says Lewin. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 probably the most dramatic experiment.鈥�

When the team stopped applying isopropyl myristate, the high-ranking females started fighting within a week. After around three weeks one became pregnant: the new queen.

The team also showed that exposure to isopropyl myristate changes the levels of the hormones progesterone and prolactin. But they haven鈥檛 found out exactly how the molecule is detected and leads to these changes 鈥� that鈥檚 the next project, says Lewin.

The evidence for isopropyl myristate influencing reproduction is compelling, says at Linnaeus University in Sweden. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 an impressive and important study. And convincing.鈥�

at Queen Mary University of London is also convinced. 鈥淏ut the paper raises many questions, like any interesting research,鈥� says Faulkes. These include how animals detect it, and how behavioural interactions and queen dominance interact with the scent, he says.

There is something special about isopropyl myristate, says Lewin. Isopropyl myristate is volatile, meaning it can evaporate into the air, but it鈥檚 not highly volatile, so any traces left by the queen take time to evaporate and the scent persists for at least a day.

It鈥檚 known that a queen will patrol every part of her colony, which in the wild might extend underground for 3 kilometres. 鈥淲e think the reason she does that is to deposit this molecule around the colony,鈥� says Lewin. 鈥淭o make sure that every member of her colony is exposed to her scent.鈥�

Other experiments by the team suggest the animals can consciously detect the smell. For instance, highly ranked females with a chance of becoming queen try to avoid places where isopropyl myristate is present, whereas lower-ranked animals aren鈥檛 bothered.

The team also tested a number of other species of mole rat. They didn鈥檛 find isopropyl myristate in any solitary species but they did find it in a few species whose social structure is more like that of naked mole rats. 鈥淏ut I would be cautious about assuming that the same pathway has a comparable function across social mole rats without direct experimental evidence,鈥� says Z枚ttl.

Isopropyl myristate is also widely used in cosmetics. It is described as odourless but Lewin says some women at his lab thought they could smell something when exposed to it. A 2008 study also reported that during pregnancy and after childbirth.