In 1957, a polished metal sphere no larger than a beach ball hurtled into the dark unknown, its four antennas emitting a relentless, hypnotic “beep… beep… beep” that sliced through the static of the Cold War. That satellite, Sputnik 1, was more than a technological marvel; it was a psychological thunderclap. Americans, glued to their radios, felt the humiliating sting of being outpaced by their Soviet rivals, and the so-called “space race” was launched in earnest. It proved that a rival superpower could pierce the heavens and, by extension, shatter the fragile illusion of Western invincibility. More than half a…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s advertising watchdog has issued a sharp rebuke to a pharmaceutical company over promotional materials for an experimental depression treatment. The agency’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) sent an untitled letter to Alar Pharmaceuticals, taking issue with claims made at a medical conference about its investigational drug ALA-3000, a novel form of ketamine designed for treatment-resistant depression. The FDA’s enforcement action stems from materials displayed at the company’s booth and distributed as brochures during the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in May 2026, where a representative from the agency observed what they considered to…