Exposure to wildfire smoke may be linked to increased risk of developing several cancers
Long-term exposure to wildfire smoke, measured by PM2.5 and plume-day counts, was significantly associated with increased risks of lung, colorectal, breast, bladder, and blood cancers, with risk rising linearly with higher exposure levels. No significant associations were found for ovarian cancer or melanoma. The findings suggest that even low levels of wildfire smoke may elevate cancer risk.

https://www.aacr.org/meeting/aacr-annual-meeting-2026/

Antibiotics save babies' lives but affect their gut, lungs, and ability to fight infection

Antibiotics save newborns every day, but new research shows they also leave a lasting mark on a baby's developing immune system. Medicine scientists found that early antibiotic exposure disrupts babies' natural gut bacterial balance and that the disruption "travels" to the lungs, fundamentally rewiring how lung immune cells are programmed and influencing lung repair and the ability to fight infections.

Early-life antibiotic exposure disrupts the gut microbiome in newborns, leading to long-lasting alterations in lung immune cell programming. These changes shift lung immune cells from a pathogen-responsive state to a tissue-repair-focused state, reducing antiviral defenses and persisting into young adulthood. The findings highlight a gut-lung axis influencing immune development and respiratory health.
Scientists found antibiotic-driven changes shifted newborns' lung immune cells from offense, where they are primed to respond aggressively to foreign threats, to defense, where they are focused on damage control and repair. The changes lasted over time and may help explain why children who got antibiotics as newborns sometimes have more respiratory issues as they grow older.

The research in no way suggests doctors should hesitate to use antibiotics in babies when necessary, as they are one of the most important tools in preventing serious illness and even death, say the scientists. But we're learning more about how disrupting babies' gut bacteria in early life can change immune cells in ways that persist long after infancy, they say.
They hope these findings will ultimately guide new approaches, whether that means protecting the microbiome during antibiotic treatment or developing targeted therapies to support babies whose early immune programming may have been altered.

Madeline Bonfield et al, Single cell atlas of lung-resident innate lymphoid cells shows impact of age and dysbiosis on epigenetic and transcriptomic programming, Mucosal Immunology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.01.004. www.mucosalimmunology.org/arti … (26)00004-8/fulltext

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