HEPA air purifiers may boost brain power in adults over 40
One month of in-home HEPA air purifier use led to a 12% improvement in mental flexibility and executive function among adults aged 40 and older, compared to a sham purifier. The cognitive benefit was similar to that seen with increased exercise. The findings suggest HEPA purifiers may help mitigate cognitive impacts of air pollution, particularly for those living near major roadways.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-48063-8

More than 600,000 seabirds killed in single marine heat wave

A marine heat wave off Australia in 2023–2024 caused the deaths of over 629,000 seabirds, with short-tailed shearwaters comprising 96% of casualties, representing more than 5% of their population. Increasing frequency and intensity of marine heat waves, driven by rising ocean temperatures, are placing unprecedented pressure on seabird populations and threatening their long-term survival.
While it's not unusual for some birds to die at sea, this wasn't just a handful of unlucky individuals. Thousands of shearwaters were washing up across the country's east coast, stretching thousands of kilometers from Queensland down to Tasmania.

With the help of concerned local residents-turned-community scientists from across Australia, a team of scientists from the Adrift Lab has managed to piece together the full picture. They linked the deaths to a marine heat wave in the middle of the shearwater breeding season when the birds are at their most vulnerable.

Their research suggests that the shearwaters washing up on the beaches were only a tiny fraction of the overall number that died during the heat wave. In total, the researchers estimate more than 629,000 seabirds died, with the short-tailed shearwater making up 96% of the casualties.
These events are happening more frequently, and while seabirds have some ability to bounce back from them, their resilience is being exhausted, say the scientists.
Before, these events happened once in a generation. Now, they're happening faster and faster, and they won't slow down. They come on top of everything else seabirds have to deal with, from pollution to persecution, and they can't cope with it.

Jennifer L. Lavers et al, Estimating the total mortality of seabirds following a marine heat wave, Conservation Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1111/cobi.70273

Tinnitus Is Linked to a Crucial Brain Chemical

The so-called ‘happy’ chemical, serotonin, has a curious connection to tinnitus.

Over the years, numerous studies have linked phantom noises, which ring, hiss, buzz, or throb in the ear, to a change in how the brain modulates serotonin.

In mice, neuroscientists have mapped a neural pathway between a serotonin-producing part of the brainstem and the auditory region.

When researchers artificially activated this pathway, mice behaved as if they were experiencing a sound only they could hear.

It's producing symptoms that we would expect to be experienced as tinnitus in humans.

The findings suggest that targeting this serotonin pathway may be a useful approach for treating tinnitus.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2509692123