Bunsen burners make poor air-cleansers

Bunsen burners’ reputation for sterilizing workplaces flames out

Bunsen burners, long used to cleanse airspaces and surfaces in labs of bacteria-laden particles, aren’t actually very effective at doing so, and might even make contamination worse. Researchers seeded the air above lab benches with the bacterium Gordonia rubripertincta and opened two Petri dishes — one near a lit Bunsen burner and one near an unlit one. They found that in several trials of differently sized burners, bacterial levels in dishes beside lit burners were as high as or higher than the other ones.

https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.01028-26

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02758-0?utm_source=Live+...

Xanthelasma and its association with developing major cardio-cerebrovascular events

A Warning Sign of Heart Attack And Stroke May Show Up on Your Face

Atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fatty plaques in the arteries that causes restricted blood flow, is responsible for most heart attacks and strokes – but it often builds up slowly and silently, without symptoms, before causing a major medical emergency.

That's why researchers are looking for warning signs of atherosclerosis that might help doctors spot it earlier.

A new study, published in Atherosclerosis, looks at a condition called xanthelasma, where yellow patches appear around the eyes.

Those patches puff up when immune cells called macrophages get stuffed with cholesterol and other fats. The condition is often (but not always) associated with higher cholesterol in the blood, too.

As fatty clumps also play a role in atherosclerosis, researchers thought there might be a link.
A few studies have supported the association between xanthelasma and an increased risk of cardiovascular events, while others debate that it may not be an independent risk factor once traditional risk factors are accounted for.
The study analyzed health data from 17,925 people diagnosed with xanthelasma and the same number of matched controls – people with presbyopia, a condition that leads to farsightedness, chosen because it would have involved an eye examination, ensuring the controls didn't have xanthelasma.
Across the first year of data, 1 percent of those with xanthelasma (178 patients) suffered a heart attack compared to 0.35 percent (or 63) of the controls.

For strokes, the respective figures were 0.95 percent and 0.3 percent, and for transient ischemic attack (TIA) or a 'mini-stroke', it was 0.6 percent and 0.19 percent.
Those are all low percentages, but the risk was several times larger for the xanthelasma group.

The gap between the two groups narrowed slightly over time, but at the 5- and 10-year time points, the risk was still substantially higher for those with xanthelasma.

Xanthelasma is associated with higher short- and long-term incidence of MACCEs up to 10 years, highlighting its value as a clinical marker for cardiocerebrovascular risk stratification and preventive management," write the researchers.

Incidence rates of these cardiac events were similar in the xanthelasma group whether or not they had abnormally high levels of fat in their blood – suggesting this isn't the only underlying factor at play.

While the pale, puffy patches that characterize xanthelasma are seen as harmless in themselves, the findings are more evidence that they could signify something else, and perhaps future cardiovascular problems.
This new study study suggests that xanthelasma can be considered as a risk factor for future MACCEs.
Xanthelasma patches are easy for doctors to spot, and for these people at least, may be a useful warning sign so that lifestyle changes or medications could be put in place early – before MACCEs are triggered.

https://www.atherosclerosis-journal.com/article/S0021-9150(26)00013-4/fulltext

A Mold Living in Your Gut May Help Protect Against Radiation Damage

Mold isn't typically something you want growing inside your body.

But in the case of Mucor racemosus, there may be compelling reasons to make an exception.

That's because this symbiotic fungus that lives inside the human gut appears capable of protecting us from radiation, according to a new study in PNAS.

It might sound a bit hard to believe, but this isn't the first time we've seen fungi doing weird things with radiation.

We know that there are different kinds of radiation-resistant fungi, including species that survive being blasted with up to 200 times the fatal human dose of X-rays.

There's also the funky world of radiotrophic fungi, which use radiation as an energy source – like the bizarre fungus living its best life in the radioactive remains of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

M. racemosus has a different kind of parlor trick for radiation, but it's no less impressive.
In their research, a team of scientists found the fungus can confer protection from radiation to its host through a couple of different mechanisms, suggesting M. racemosus may be a beneficial presence in the gut.

In experiments with mice exposed to radiation, the researchers found that animals administered M. racemosus experienced less weight loss, inflammation, and oxidative stress than control mice that weren't given a fungal dose, suggesting M. racemosus provided the treated animals with a radioprotective effect.

This radioprotective effect was boosted when the researchers preadapted the fungus to the oxygen-poor conditions of the gut.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2608386123

We saw the results, we looked at ourselves, we said, 'this can't be correct'!

Arctic Rivers Are Breaking The Rules of Erosion

And scientists formed a new theory around Arctic erosion

Arctic landscapes are eroding much faster than previously thought, according to new SFU research. Fueled by climate change and extreme weather events, Arctic erosion is leading to the creation of new river systems as ice in frozen riverbeds melts. Earth scientists previously believed that the ice acted as a sort of glue, holding the landscape together and slowing down erosion. But surprising new findings suggest thawing ice in the ground can actually increase erosion rates up to 10 times compared to unfrozen rivers. SFU researchers explain how they carried out their research and what impact it could have.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-03468-1

Newly mapped brain circuit offers clues to how slow nasal breathing eases anxiety

A slow breath in and out does the trick for many people when calming their nerves and dealing with anxiety, a disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Pranayama, Taoism and meditation have long used slow nasal breathing to ease a negative mood. How this simple act works its magic, however, has been tickling the gray cells of scientists curious to unravel the biological pathways behind it. Now, scientists may have found a clue.

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discovered a nose-to-brain circuit that may help explain how the rhythm of nasal breathing can influence anxiety.

Researchers mapped a specific neural highway running directly from the nose into the brain's emotional network. This circuit begins with olfactory sensory neurons in the nasal cavity and continues to mitral cells in the olfactory bulb, the brain's smell-processing center. It then connects to a specific type of neuron, parvalbumin-positive interneurons (PV⁺), in a nearby brain region called the perirhinal cortex, which in turn links to the amygdala, the brain's fear and anxiety hub.

The frequency of nasal stimulation appeared to steer anxiety in different directions. Slow, low-frequency stimulation eased anxiety and boosted high-gamma brain waves in the perirhinal cortex, while faster stimulation had the opposite effect, increasing anxiety.
Breathing happens largely on autopilot, with the brainstem setting its rhythm. The breath, however, also sends information back to the brain. The same nasal neurons that detect odours can sense the movement of air, and the rhythm of that airflow can synchronize activity in brain regions involved in emotion. Humans have used slow breathing for ages to influence emotional states, even without conscious control.
Despite its widespread use, researchers didn't know whether simply changing the pace of this nasal sensory signal could directly shift anxiety, nor had they pinpointed the exact brain pathway connecting nasal airflow to emotional states. In this study, researchers identified that missing link, exposing the brain pathway that could explain why slow, deliberate breathing feels so calming.
Part 1

The researchers mapped a specific four-step neural highway originating at olfactory sensory neurons in the nose and ending at glutamatergic neurons in the amygdala that translate physical air movement in the nose into emotional states.
They found that the speed of sensory signals from nasal airflow can directly push anxiety in opposite directions. Slow airflow at 2 Hz acted as a calming signal, reducing anxiety-like behavior in the mice, while fast airflow at 7 Hz had the opposite effect, increasing anxiety-like behavior. Airflow at 4 Hz, meanwhile, produced no significant change in anxiety.

Slow nasal stimulation activates PV⁺ interneurons in the perirhinal cortex, which in turn inhibit anxiety-promoting glutamatergic neurons in the basolateral amygdala. When the researchers silenced the connection between the olfactory bulb and the perirhinal cortex, this breathing-dependent control of anxiety disappeared completely.
Mice that received two hours of slow 2 Hz nasal airflow daily for two weeks showed restored normal high-gamma brain wave activity and reduced anxiety-like behaviors. These calming effects held strong for at least a week after the treatment stopped.

Together, these findings offer a more detailed view of how the nose and brain communicate, a pathway explaining how slow breathing calms anxiety. With anxiety disorders affecting more people worldwide than any other mental disorder, understanding this connection could open the door to effective, noninvasive ways of dealing with the issue.

Xinsong Guo et al, A nose-to-brain circuit underlies anxiety regulation by nasal afferent frequency in mice, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2603853123

**

Part 2

The 'costly son' hypothesis: Why bigger sons may make births riskier across species

A new comparative review, published in The Anatomical Record, examines factors that may lead to birth complications among humans and other mammals. The study suggests that faetal sex may play an important role in risky births in humans and several other species.
It's often thought that human childbirth is unusually difficult among mammals. The idea is that an evolutionary "obstetrical dilemma" arose because of our bipedal pelvic anatomy and increasing brain size over time. Larger babies passing through a narrow birth canal can increase the chance of obstructed labour, affecting mortality for both the baby and mother. Yet difficult births, including cases in which a faetus is too large for the birth canal, occur across many placental mammals.

Some research has suggested that the obstetrical dilemma was solved by relatively earlier births, but other studies found no evidence that humans have shorter gestations than other apes, even after controlling for body size. Furthermore, researchers involved in the new study say there is a maximum fetus size compatible with safe delivery, and when it is exceeded, obstructed birth results. In other words, birth size and weight are known to be associated with difficult delivery.

The new study suggests, however, that because male babies also tend to be larger, male births tend to be riskier. The team says this pattern is not restricted to humans.

"Most taxa, including humans, displayed a bias toward larger male fetuses. Fetal sex has nonetheless not been incorporated in evolutionary perspectives of childbirth, perhaps because it is often assumed that the sex of each baby is determined at random, since most mothers are likely to produce both sons and daughters," the study authors write.

"Every mother has the potential to gestate both offspring through the reproductive career. Hence, it might be assumed that selection has acted on offspring size in general to resolve the obstetrical dilemma. As we show, however, the risks of birth complications are not equal for sons and daughters."

Researchers compiled sex-specific birth-weight data for 140 placental mammal species across 11 mammal orders and compared sex differences among newborns with adult body-size differences and developmental style. They then searched for reports of difficult birth by offspring sex.

This analysis led the authors to propose the "costly son" hypothesis, which states that larger male offspring may raise birth risks for both mothers and babies. They found that male newborns were more often larger than female newborns across many species. In humans, boys are, on average, heavier by around 3% to 4%, have bodies that are around 1% to 1.7% longer and have bigger heads at birth.

In particular, larger male newborns were common in species in which adult males are larger than adult females. Species with male-biased adult size differences were about six times more likely to have larger male newborns than species in which adult females are larger.

The team says evidence from humans, livestock and some other mammals suggests male fetuses are more prone to difficult births (referred to as dystocia), especially when newborns are relatively large compared with the mother. They note that data on birth complications by offspring sex are scarce outside humans and domesticated animals, leading to a focus on humans and domesticated animals rather than wild animals.

"Where sufficient evidence exists—principally in precocial domesticated species and some other ungulates—larger male fetuses are associated with an elevated risk of dystocia. In several primate species where dystocia is reported, male neonates have larger average anatomical dimensions than females," the researchers write.

Part 1

"Therefore, we expect greater risk of obstructed labor, likely cephalopelvic disproportion, with male offspring in several taxa, but it has not yet directly been shown. We cautiously interpret this as support for the 'costly son' hypothesis: male offspring disproportionately contribute to fetopelvic disproportion and obstructed labor owing to their larger average size at birth."

The researchers also point out that the results identify a small average shift in risk for male births, not a prediction for any individual pregnancy. Because this is a comparative review and analysis, it doesn't prove that fetal sex directly causes difficult birth, but it does provide a testable prediction.
Evolutionarily speaking, larger sons often have more offspring because of male-male competition, and thus more grandchildren for the mother, ultimately meaning reproductive "success." The Trivers–Willard hypothesis used this argument to explain why mothers might be more likely to produce sons or daughters, depending on their physical condition. The mother expends more energy on large male babies, and on male babies in general. This increases birth risk but also increases the chance of reproductive success later on.

The study authors explain, "In humans, male fetal sex imposes a double burden on mothers, combining increased obstetric risk with elevated metabolic investment. Mothers of sons expend more energy during pregnancy and lactation, and this higher energetic investment contributes to enhanced fetal growth and larger birth size. In turn, this increased size elevates the risk of obstructed labor and adverse birth outcomes."

The new study does not find that mothers are more or less likely to produce sons or daughters, but the researchers do say that younger mothers seem to produce smaller newborns to partition energetic resources, regardless of sex. They also say it remains unknown whether females can adaptively adjust offspring sex to mitigate obstetric risk. Future work could systematically test whether younger or first-time mothers adjust offspring sex ratios or mainly produce smaller babies.

Nicole D. S. Grunstra et al, The "costly son" hypothesis: Sons exacerbate obstetrical dilemmas in humans and other mammals, The Anatomical Record (2026). DOI: 10.1002/ar.70331

Part 2

Could quantum protocols make electronic voting more secure?
Photon-based GHZ entanglement enabled proof-of-principle quantum voting protocols that anonymously encode votes and permit public result verification without a trusted central authority. Demonstrations involved up to 16 candidates and small voter groups. Scalability, efficiency, remote deployment, and resilience to real-world threats remain unresolved.

Nicolas Laurent-Puig et al, Experimental Quantum Electronic Voting, Physical Review Letters (2026). DOI: 10.1103/scjl-5ygh

F. Joseph Marcellino et al, Experimental Quantum Voting Using Photonic Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger States, Physical Review Letters (2026). DOI: 10.1103/jlvb-t2xl. On arXiv: arxiv.org/abs/2512.03659

Does thin air slow the mind? New research on skiers' mental reactions

In mogul skiing, a fraction of a second can make all the difference. A momentary lapse in attention, a misjudged turn or a delayed decision can turn a smooth sequence into a mistake or even a disaster.

This is of particular concern to the coaches at Ski Acro Québec, the provincial governing body for freestyle skiing. During high-altitude training camps in Tignes in the French Alps, they noticed a marked increase in fatigue among their athletes, ages 16–21.

To understand why, they turned to Giorgio Varesco, a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Montréal's Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, working under Guido Simonelli, a professor in the Department of Medicine.

Together with François Bieuzen and Nicolas Bourrel of the Institut national du sport du Québec, Varesco launched a study in 2025 to explore the interplay between sleep, fatigue and athletic performance. A key aim was to develop simple, field-ready methods for measuring cognitive fatigue—right on the mountain.

At 3,500 m, where oxygen saturation fell to 88%, young elite skiers showed slower reactions (363 to 375 ms) and increased errors (one to three) on brief mobile cognitive tests of attention and inhibitory control. Altitude-related cognitive fatigue may reflect hypoxia, sleep disruption, travel stress and training load.
In a controlled laboratory environment, assessing cognitive function is relatively straightforward. Researchers have access to a wide array of instruments and ample time to run tests.

On a European glacier, however, conditions are far from ideal. Equipment must be flown in and operated under often-challenging conditions. Tools need to be compact, rugged, user-friendly and, above all, fast. Athletes aren't keen to spend an hour a day on a battery of cognitive tests when they're there to train.

In a recent study published in the journal PLOS One, Varesco and his team used tablet- and smartphone-based tests that deliver reliable measurements of cognitive performance and fatigue-related decline while keeping time demands to a minimum.

They focused on two cognitive functions essential to elite performance: inhibitory control (the ability to override automatic impulses and distractions) and sustained attention.

Early results are encouraging, even with very short test durations. The tests were able to show that, in young elite athletes, cognitive performance declines at an altitude of 3,500 meters (11,500 feet), where blood oxygen saturation drops to 88%. Exposure to this altitude increased reaction times from 363 to 375 milliseconds and more than doubled error rates, from one to three mistakes.
Part 1

Ultimately, the results of this study could pave the way for incorporating cognitive assessments into routine athlete monitoring. Coaches could then better detect early signs of overtraining or altitude-related strain, which can increase the risk of technical errors and injury.

"The brain is also a key factor in athletic performance," said Varesco. "Even in sports that seem primarily physical, athletes must constantly make decisions: adjusting pace, reading the environment, reacting to the unexpected or following their coach's instructions. In mogul skiing, where movements follow one another at high speed, a split-second lapse in attention can have serious consequences."

A reliable, rapid cognitive test could allow coaches to gauge an athlete's cognitive readiness before or even during a training session, helping them decide when to dial back the intensity or steer clear of high-risk situations.
In Tignes, athletes sleep at 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) and train at elevations up to 3,400 meters (11,200 feet). While these are not considered extreme altitudes, they are enough to trigger a series of physiological adaptations.

The rarefied atmosphere is the obvious culprit, but according to Varesco, the story is more complicated than that. The body is reacting to more than just reduced oxygen supply to the brain.

Upon arrival at high altitude, the body activates a host of adaptive mechanisms, particularly in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Changes also occur in brain function and neurotransmitter regulation. All of these adjustments can affect sleep, performance and cognitive function.

"During some phases of sleep, breathing can become less regular and blood oxygen levels can fluctuate more," said Varesco. "We've observed that these fluctuations are more pronounced at the beginning of stays at high altitude, before the body gradually acclimatizes."

Poor sleep quality, in turn, affects the next day's performance. Fatigue at altitude is rarely due to a single factor. Altitude, travel, jet lag, stress and the accumulation of training sessions can all contribute.

Giorgio Varesco et al, Assessment of cognitive performance and fatigability in elite athletes: Short and portable protocols for field monitoring under hypoxia, PLOS One (2026). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0353673

Part 2

Anemia in pregnancy linked to differences in babies' brain development

Maternal anemia during pregnancy was associated with ~4% smaller infant total brain volume and reduced putamen, caudate, and corpus callosum volumes by 12 months. Corpus callosum differences increased to 6% by 24 months, including among predominantly mild anemia exposures. Portable low-field MRI detected these differences comparably to conventional MRI.

The observed differences in regional brain volumes were still evident despite most of the mothers in this cohort having only mild anemia. The researchers say these findings identify antenatal maternal anemia as a strong risk factor for altered child brain structure and highlight the importance of preventing and treating anemia before and during pregnancy.

Jessica E Ringshaw et al, Antenatal maternal anaemia and infant brain structure: high-field (3 T) and ultra-low-field (64 mT) MRI findings from South Africa, Brain Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcag318

Engineered antibodies offer broad protection against deadly cobra toxins

Each snake species produces a distinct cocktail of toxins that attack nerves, blood or tissues, making it difficult to develop a unified treatment. Current animal-derived antivenoms also have drawbacks, such as batch-to-batch variability, side effects and limited species coverage. Their production is costly and outdated, relying on venom milking and animal immunization, with low yields of active antibodies.

A research team has developed a recombinant, nanobody-based antivenom that offers broad protection against venom from geographically diverse cobra and king cobra species in India. The study is published in Science Translational Medicine
A five-nanobody recombinant cocktail neutralized neurotoxic venoms from diverse Indian cobra and king cobra species in mice. It prevented toxin–receptor binding and protected animals, including when administered 30 minutes after envenomation. Recombinant production could reduce reliance on animal-derived antivenoms and enable region-specific formulations.
Antibodies are usually Y-shaped, with both heavy- and light-chain proteins. The researchers used a portion at the tip of the Y shape, which is made up of heavy-chain proteins that can specifically bind to venom toxins.
They isolated a cocktail of five such antibody fragments, called nanobodies, that could bind to toxins in the various cobra species they tested. They found that this cocktail could neutralize venom activity and prevent the venom from binding to its target receptor.

The team then tested the antibody cocktail in mice injected with venom and found that it protected the animals against toxins from spectacled cobras, monocled cobras and both Indian king cobra species. It was also able to save mice from death even 30 minutes after venom injection.

Unlike conventional antivenoms, these recombinant antibodies can be manufactured using microbial and humanized expression systems without repeatedly immunizing animals such as horses. Additional antibody components can be added to expand protection to other medically important snakes, allowing future recombinant antivenoms to be tailored for different regions or species.
This work provides a blueprint for how recombinant antivenoms can be tailored to different regions of the world by targeting the toxin families that drive disease in local snake species.

Arpan Samanta et al, Oligoclonal nanobody-based recombinant antivenom protects mice challenged with venom from cobras and king cobras from India, Science Translational Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aed4290

Mimicry: A fake spider at the tip of this snake's tail helps it lure birds

Lots of animals use mimicry to survive. Some copy the appearance of threatening predators, and others have evolved to resemble plants or rocks so they can blend into the background and avoid being attacked. But a viper from Iran has found an even stranger strategy. The tip of this snake's tail looks like a spider, complete with a bulbous body and long dangling legs. And when a bird swoops in to try to eat this "spider," the snake springs into action and eats the bird.

A spider-tailed horned viper. Credit: Omid Mozaffari.

The elusive spider-tailed horned viper is a relatively recently discovered species, and until now, scientists only knew what the outside of this snake's unusual tail looked like. But in a new study published in the journal The Anatomical Record, researchers used XCT scanners to get a glimpse of the inner workings of this snake's spidery tail—and found that its tail bones are bizarrely normal.

Scientists first collected a specimen of this snake in 1968, and when they brought it back to the Field Museum, people thought that it had some sort of deformity at the tip of its tail, like a tumour. It sat on the shelves of the museum for decades, but it wasn't until another specimen with a similar tail was found in 2003 that people revisited it.

In 2006, scientists described the snake as a new species, Pseudocerastes urarachnoides, the spider-tailed horned viper. When the researchers described the species, they used the specimen in the Field Museum's collections as the holotype, the specimen that serves as a standard-bearer for the physical characteristics of the species.

Soon after, researchers captured a video of the snake using the spider-like appendage at the tip of its tail to lure in birds and eat them.

Vertebral morphology and intracolumnar variation of the iconic and bizarre viperid snake Pseudocerastes urarachnoides (Serpentes, Viperidae), The Anatomical Record (2026). DOI: 10.1002/ar.70308

The brain keeps its options straight at decision time

A new study by neuroscientists shows how the brain encodes information throughout the decision-making process to keep options clearly in mind and ensure that chosen and unchosen options are remembered.
The key, the researchers show in the journal iScience, is that the brain convenes ensembles to produce coordinated patterns of electrical activity that distinctly represent and sort options, both during consideration and after a choice.

It keeps different neural ensembles, different thoughts, distinct from one another, preventing interference between them.

The brain doesn't just hold information statically. Throughout the decision process, the brain flexibly reorganizes information representation to meet the changing task demands.
The researchers found that the neurons acted in functional ensembles whose collective activity clearly indicated decision-related information, including the distinct target directions and their assigned values.
The researchers' key finding was that before the values were assigned and a decision was made, the neural ensemble patterns consistently represented options based on their order of presentation. For example, on the graphs, each "target 1" plane was nicely parallel with the others. Similarly, each "target 2" plane was parallel with its brethren, but the target 2s were more orthogonal, or more perpendicular, to the target 1s, showing that they were represented as entirely distinct from one another.

Then, after the decision, new ensembles provided new representations. Now the "chosen" options, whether they had been presented first or second, had parallel representations. The unchosen targets were also represented as parallel with one another, but as orthogonal to the chosen ones.

In other words, before the decision, the brain convened ensembles of neurons to distinguish targets by their presentation order and then, after the decision, gathered ensembles to sort them by whether they were chosen. This consistent way of representing chosen options, Li and Miller wrote, could aid decision-making by essentially packaging it for downstream circuits responsible for converting the decision into action (in this case, directing the animal's gaze in the chosen target direction).

"The observed alignment of chosen target representations could allow downstream areas to read out the location of the chosen target with a single decoder, regardless of its initial presentation order," the authors wrote, in their research paper based on this study.
Notably, the researchers also found that from round to round of the game, individual neurons could often be recruited into different ensembles. A neuron that in one round seemed "selective" for option 2 could end up being selective for option 1 in the next. The ensembles were therefore not permanent circuits of specialized neurons, but instead were assembled ad hoc among multifunctional neurons.

In another study, they have found that the brain uses brain waves to rapidly and flexibly accomplish this goal of ensemble recruitment.
Another clear implication of the data is that the brain maintained distinct memories of each option, whether it was chosen or not. This could be important for assigning credit down the line to facilitate learning. For instance, remembering that choosing target 2 in round 3 earned a reward.

"Our results illustrate the dynamic subspace reorganization supporting option maintenance and selection in economic decisions," the authors wrote.

Huidi Li et al, Neural subspace reorganization reflects value-based decision-making, iScience (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117492

Shrinking Planet
Even planets develop wrinkles as they age. As the planet Mercury shrinks, more “wrinkles” (in the form of hills and ridges) emerge, and scientists are trying to measure them. A new study focused on the planet’s surface roughness, such as craters and debris, and found that particularly rough areas have made the wrinkles harder to see. The analysis revealed that the planet has shrunk up to 14.5 miles in its history, 30 percent more than scientists previously thought.
​

Drinking very hot tea and coffee is linked to a greater risk of esophageal cancer

A study of almost 1 million tea and coffee drinkers has linked very hot drinks to a threefold greater risk of developing one type of esophageal cancer.
This isn't the first time hot beverages have been linked to cancer. Earlier studies in Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East found an association, but there has been far less evidence from Western populations. However, this research showed that temperatures typical of U.K. drinking habits were also linked to an increased risk.
But how much difference could everyday drinking habits actually make? To find out, scientists turned to a vast health data set. Researchers analyzed data from 977,282 adults who were asked about their hot drink consumption habits, whether they preferred their drinks warm, hot or very hot, and how many cups of tea and coffee they drank daily.

They then tracked participants' health data through NHS (National Health Service) records for more than a decade. In particular, they were on the lookout for new diagnoses of esophageal cancer while taking into account lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol intake and body weight.

During the study period, 2,348 participants developed esophageal cancer, which affects the esophagus, the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach. However, the data revealed an important difference. When the team separated the cases and looked at the different types of esophageal cancer, they found that higher drink temperatures were not linked to them equally, as they write in their paper published in the International Journal of Cancer.

Drinking very hot beverages, as opposed to warm beverages, was linked to a threefold higher risk of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a type of esophageal cancer that forms in the thin, flat cells lining the inside of the esophagus. People who preferred their drinks hot also faced an elevated risk, though not nearly as steep as those who preferred them very hot.

But temperature wasn't the only thing that mattered. The number of drinks consumed daily was also a factor. People who drank six or more cups of tea or coffee a day saw their risk of SCC jump significantly compared with those who drank fewer cups. The association was similar regardless of whether people primarily drank tea or coffee, suggesting that the risk came from the temperature of the liquid rather than any specific ingredient.
Because the cancer risk was linked to temperature, the scientists offer straightforward advice. "These findings suggest that reducing drink temperature in populations where tea and coffee are frequently consumed could offer an important means of SCC prevention."

Keren Papier et al, Hot Drinks and Oesophageal Cancer: Prospective Analyses in Around 1 Million UK Adults, International Journal of Cancer (2026). DOI: 10.1002/ijc.70654

**

Regular use of eyelash extensions linked to skin mites, eye irritation and blocked glands

Eyelash extensions are an extremely popular cosmetic procedure among young women because they provide the appearance of longer and fuller eyelashes without the need for mascara. At the same time, there is growing evidence suggesting that this procedure may create problems on the surface of the eye, including irritation, dry eye symptoms, and meibomian gland dysfunction.

A study among young women who regularly have eyelash extensions has found most have tiny mites, called Demodex folliculorum, living on their lashes. These mites can cause a painful skin reaction called demodicosis.

The research, presented last week at the 44th Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), also shows that many of the women have symptoms of eye irritation and most have problems with the tiny glands near the eyelashes, called meibomian glands, that produce an oily substance to prevent the eyes from drying out.
Among the women who had had eyelash extensions at least 10 times, researchers found most (85%) had signs of meibomian gland dysfunction. This means the glands were blocked or not producing the right oil to keep eyes hydrated.

It was also found that samples of eyelashes from 25 women who regularly had eyelash extensions, harboured Demodex folliculorum skin mites. In 18 of the women, there were signs of skin irritation typically caused by skin mites, including itching and irritation around the eyelids, redness, swelling, eyelashes sticking together, and scaly skin at the base of the lashes.

Researchers say that some simple hygiene steps, such as cleaning the eyelashes and treating mite infestation when needed, could make eyelash extensions much safer.
The findings do not suggest that people should completely avoid eyelash extensions. However, they highlight the importance of proper eyelid hygiene, awareness of symptoms and timely assessment when symptoms arise. For optimal care of eyelash extensions, the use of a preservative-free, hypoallergenic gel designed for therapeutic eyelid hygiene may be recommended twice daily using an eyelash cleansing brush. In individuals with confirmed Demodex infestation, a course of antiparasitic treatment may be considered.

https://www.escrs.org/channels/news/regular-use-of-eyelash-extensio...

How western consumption becomes the Global South's environmental nightmare

Exports of used textiles and electronics from industrialized countries often shift disposal, pollution and health burdens to Global South regions with limited waste-management capacity. Although reuse and repair create economic value, unsellable goods and hazardous e-waste concentrate harms locally. Circular economy systems require cross-border producer responsibility, funding and protections.

original article.

What's carving active gullies on Mars? It's not water!

Spectral observations at Sisyphi Cavi show no springtime water-ice signature near active gullies, while salts and clays occur elsewhere. CO2 geyser activity peaks before gully formation. The gullies are therefore most consistent with CO2 frost fluidization, in which sublimating gas lubricates debris-rich dry-ice flows that erode slopes.

Apolline Leclef et al, Properties of Seasonal Ice at Sisyphi Cavi and Implications for Current Modification of Martian Gullies, arXiv (2026). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2609.03885

Watch 'Conversations' Between Cells Across Organ Systems

Demonstrations of the WHOLISTIC imaging technique reveal real-time cellular signalling across the body of a zebrafish larvae.

Scientists Found an Animal That Fixes Its Shattered DNA Across Generations

In the mosses and lichens of the world – the in-between places, where living conditions rapidly fluctuate – lives a tiny animal with an extraordinary survival skill.

No, not tardigrades – it's their much weirder housemate, the bdelloid rotifer.

Just like tardigrades, bdelloid rotifers can dry out almost completely and spring back to life when water returns. They can be blasted with radiation hundreds of times greater than what would kill a human, and live to tell the tale, even while their chromosomes are shattered.

And now, scientists have discovered, one bdelloid rotifer can do something never before documented in any other living organism, even tardigrades: A species called Adineta vaga can reproduce without putting its chromosomes back together after radiation damage – and its offspring will continue fixing the damage over generations.

What's really exceptional in this discovery is that somehow they stabilize the ends of the chromosome; they stabilize these DNA pieces, and then they can transmit it to the next generation and then continue the repair.
That's never been shown, that you have this repair across generations.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aee0891

Common antibiotic linked to possible higher death risk

Cefepime is a fourth-generation antibiotic widely used to treat serious bacterial infections and febrile neutropenia—a fever in patients with abnormally low white blood cell counts. Unlike many antibiotics that are falling prey to antimicrobial resistance, cefepime is relatively stable against AmpC β-lactamases, giving it an advantage against bacteria that produce these enzymes. However, scientists are concerned that this widely effective antibiotic may increase the risk of death, a concern first brought to light by a 2007 meta-analysis.
In a recent study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers re-examined data from a series of clinical trials and studies to investigate whether patients treated with cefepime were more likely to die than those treated with other β-lactam antibiotics.

After analyzing more than 100 randomized trials involving 22,608 patients, researchers found a 94.4% probability that cefepime was associated with higher odds of death than other β-lactam antibiotics. Across all the trials screened, death occurred in 6.6% of cefepime-treated patients and 6.2% of comparison-group patients.

Cefepime was approved for medical use in 1994, but a study raised concerns about its safety only after it had been in clinical practice for a decade. In 2007, a meta-analysis by Yahav et al. found that patients treated with cefepime had a 26% higher relative risk of death than those treated with other β-lactam antibiotics.

Further studies suggested two possible mechanisms, both related to drug exposure rather than cefepime itself. The first is underexposure, in which a lower-than-required dose is prescribed, leading to inadequate treatment. The other is overexposure, which could cause neurotoxicity, especially when kidney function is impaired or dosing is not adjusted.

Later, the FDA released data showing no significant increase, but doubts about the drug's safety still linger because the meta-analysis included some unpublished, industry-sponsored data.

Cefepime remains the first line of defense against life-threatening conditions such as febrile neutropenia and severe bacterial infections, especially those caused by multidrug-resistant microorganisms, as it provides targeted activity against both aggressive gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens. Thus, establishing whether it is safe is essential to guiding its use in clinical practice.

Part 1

To assess whether cefepime carries a higher risk of patient death than other β-lactam antibiotics, researchers conducted a systematic review of 110 randomized clinical trials with available mortality data, comparing cefepime with alternative β-lactams in both adults and children.

Using a statistical tool called Bayesian random-effects meta-analysis, the team pooled patient outcomes across studies and calculated the statistical probability of increased mortality associated with cefepime.

The data revealed an increased mortality risk associated with cefepime, which was concentrated entirely in adult patients, with children showing no increased risk of death.

Across all patients, the researchers estimated a number needed to harm of 227, meaning that for every 227 patients treated with cefepime, approximately one additional death would occur. However, when they focused only on the 15,411 patients in published, peer-reviewed trials, the probability that cefepime increases mortality rose to 98.6%, with the number needed to harm reduced to 111.
The highest probability of harm was seen in patients treated for febrile neutropenia, at 96.1%. They also found that standard and high doses, 2 grams every 12 hours or more, had a greater than 93% probability of harm, while lower doses still carried an 80.5% probability of harm.

The researchers stress that the results should not be interpreted as a call for abandoning cefepime. Instead, cefepime's potential link to increased mortality established in this study should be taken into consideration when framing its role in clinical practice guidance.

Future studies could explore whether tailoring cefepime dosing and closely tracking factors such as kidney function and bacterial susceptibility can improve safety.

Zahra N. Sohani et al, Cefepime and Mortality, JAMA Network Open (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.33017

Daniel Z. Uslan et al, Cefepime and Mortality—A Dosing Problem, Not a Drug Problem, JAMA Network Open (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.32904

Part 2

**

No cities on the moon—there isn't enough water, scientists say

The discovery of water in dark craters at the moon's poles has sparked a "moon rush" to establish bases there, followed by villages, cities and heavy industry. How sustainable is this rush?

Soon after the moon was formed, asteroids bombarded it, creating its pockmarked topography. Near the moon's poles, there are dozens of crater floors that have not seen direct sunlight in about 4 billion years. Many of these cryogenically cold "pits of eternal darkness" are below a temperature of 110K, forming "cold traps" in which water ice won't sublimate away by more than a millimeter in a billion years, even in the vacuum at the moon's surface. And there is water to freeze: Some of those asteroids brought it along with them.

Since 2013, we have known that water is still there, possibly as much as 1 billion tons (910 million tonnes), thanks to a succession of moon-orbiting missions that have mapped likely locations in increasing detail.

The presence of water at the lunar poles changes everything about human visits to the moon. Suddenly, it is practical to envision a "moon village" where people could survive without importing every last bit from Earth. They could grow their own food and have showers and functional toilets, unlike the astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). This possibility has sparked ambitions from people like Jeff Bezos to move heavy industry to the moon and Elon Musk's ambition to have "self-growing cities" there. These are enticing visions, but are they attainable?
Lunar polar water ice could support small settlements for centuries, aided by near-continuous solar power on crater rims. Even with 98% water recycling, a million-person city would exhaust optimistic ice estimates within about a century; lower current estimates reduce this to years or decades. Larger settlements require improved recycling, imports, reduced demand, or deeper water reserves.

This is the conclusion of scientists!

No Cities on the Moon: a Billion Tons of Water is not enough for Sustainability, Frontiers in Space Technologies (2026). DOI: 10.3389/frspt.2026.1894104

Researchers identify rubber-related chemicals in milk
Rubber-related chemicals were detected in raw milk from 7 of 17 Swiss farms; none were found in three remote alpine samples. Dairy equipment contained 14 such compounds, indicating material migration as a potential source. Concentrations were generally low, but exposure pathways and human health risks remain uncertain.

Florian Breider et al, Rubber-related chemical contamination in milk: Implications for dairy production systems, Food Chemistry: X (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.fochx.2026.104373

Scientists target gum disease with bacteriophage virus

Scientists have shown that a naturally occurring virus can dismantle complex bacterial communities responsible for severe gum disease, offering a potential alternative to traditional antibiotics. In the first study to demonstrate this effect, researchers found that the FNU1 virus selectively attacked Fusobacterium polymorphum, a bacterial species that helps other disease-causing bacteria stick together and thrive.
The virus reduced total bacterial levels by 94%, leaving only about 6% of the original disease-causing plaque intact. Despite targeting just one bacterial species, the treatment dramatically reduced the size and density of the plaque, with levels of three other bacteria linked to gum disease falling by more than 85%.

The findings 're important because gum disease affects more than half the world's population and remains a leading cause of tooth loss.

The research, published in the Journal of Oral Microbiology, focused on bacteriophages, or phages, viruses that infect bacteria but are harmless to humans.

Siti Saleha Binte Mohamed Yakob Adil et al, Fusobacterium bacteriophage FNU1 disrupts complex periodontal pathogenic biofilms comprising Fusobacterium polymorphum , Porphyromonas gingivalis , Tannerella forsythia and Prevotella intermedia, Journal of Oral Microbiology (2026). DOI: 10.1080/20002297.2026.2726627

Six ways people have used magic to protect their homes throughout history—from witch bottles to 'hag stones'
Across cultures, homes were protected from perceived natural and supernatural threats using plants, symbols, architectural features, concealed witch bottles, stones, and religious objects. These practices often targeted entrances, chimneys, hearths, and beds, reflecting anxieties about illness, misfortune, witchcraft, fire, and harmful spirits.

 original article.

Scientists pinpoint two brain regions that battle it out when deciding whether to take a risk
Every day, your brain runs the same calculation: Take a risk or play it safe? Your gas tank might be low, but there's just enough to make it to work on time. Do you stop and risk being late? Talk to a stranger at the park or stay quiet?
Scientists have discovered the exact spot in the brain where decisions like these take shape—and they can see each result coming half a second before a person acts.

Their study, published in Nature Neuroscience, recorded brain activity directly from the orbitofrontal cortex, a region just behind the eyes. By working with patients who already had electrodes implanted there for surgical evaluation of epilepsy, the team found two neighbouring patches of the brain that signal in opposite directions: one pushing toward "do it," the other toward "don't."

The discovery could reshape how doctors treat psychiatric conditions characterized by an imbalance between risk-taking and caution, from depression and OCD to addiction and gambling disorders. Patients with OCD, which gives rise to intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors, and those with depression demonstrate excessive avoidance. This pattern may reflect an imbalance in this neural circuitry that is playing out in everyday decision-making.

Researchers found that a region near the middle of the eyebrow, called the medial orbital sulcus, increased its activity just before patients took a risk, such as going down a bomb-lined hallway. A patch about two centimeters (0.8 inches) over, toward the side of the eyebrow, did the opposite. Its activity spiked before patients avoided a risk, like skipping the bomb-lined hallway. The two signals moved in exact opposition to each other, down to the millisecond.

To understand how these two signals might produce a single decision, the researchers built a computer model of their interactions. Their model proposed that the circuit behaved like a tug-of-war: One side's signal would shoot up as the other dropped, and vice versa, with one side eventually winning out.

On easy decisions the "go for it" signal won almost instantly. On harder calls, with a more even mix of risk and reward, the two signals flickered back and forth several times before settling on a final answer. Using the pattern of brain activity alone, the researchers could tell which way a patient was about to decide before they moved.
What the researchers clearly saw was more like a switch flipping back and forth, oscillating between two extremes until one held.

Intracranial recordings in humans reveal differential contributions of medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex to approach–avoidance decision-making, Nature Neuroscience (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02444-4

Rust prevention coating uses nanotech to self-repair and conquer corrosion

A single application of a "smart" self-repairing coating is being developed to dramatically extend rust protection for buildings, bridges, cars and other steel components.
Nanomaterials experts have engineered powder-like particles that can turn water-based paint into self-repairing corrosion shields with the potential to slow rusting by more than 600 times compared with existing high-performance coatings.
The particles were effectively tiny containers that released rust-inhibiting molecules to protect damaged areas of the coating.

All rustproof coatings inevitably wear down over time; there is no stopping that.
What the researchers have now created is a barrier that is constantly sensing if something is wrong so it can patch any scrapes and cracks itself, greatly extending the duration of protection.
To create the coating, the researchers encased the common rust inhibitor benzotriazole in an intricate nanostructure that, when added to waterborne polyurethane coatings, creates a composite that is highly responsive to changes in acidity.

Each tiny particle is basically a nanocontainer that releases repair molecules only when the conditions demand it.
Electrochemical testing indicates this self-healing coating can restrict corrosion to 37 nanometers per year, 600 times more effectively than many existing "high-performance" rust-protection products that report an ability to restrict annual corrosion to 0.025 mm.

It is not a coating that will last forever, but coatings that contain this technology will have a greatly expanded lifetime, meaning far less maintenance and a much longer time between applications.

Asep Sugih Nugraha et al, Micelle‐Assisted Encapsulation Strategy in Metal‐Organic Framework Nanocontainers Enables Durable Corrosion Protection, Small Science (2026). DOI: 10.1002/smsc.70367

Chatty chatbots can mislead users, but verification tools help, researchers find

Researchers found in a recent study that the more conversational an AI chatbot is, the more likely users are to trust it—even when it shares misinformation. The team said verification options may help rebuild needed skepticism.

More conversational AI chatbots were judged more credible than less conversational versions, even when providing clearly false health information. In 477 participants, skepticism increased only when users actively used verification buttons; passive warning cues did not reduce trust.

Mengqi Liao et al, Chat but verify: Combating misinformation in conversational Generative AI with verification affordance, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (2026). DOI: 10.1093/jcmc/zmag012

A pathogen turns flowers into leaves

Scientists have found how a protein produced by bacteria disrupts the mechanism that controls flower development in plants, turning reproductive organs into leaf-like structures. These findings shed light on a plant disease that is expected to spread as climate change expands the range of its insect vectors in northern latitudes.
Phytoplasmas are bacteria that are transmitted to plants by insects. Symptoms of the pathogen can range from triggering dwarfism in the plant to essentially reprogramming plant development: Instead of flowers, all floral organs—sepals, petals, stamens and carpels—are converted to leaves, affecting diverse crops such as sunflowers, sesame and grapevines.

This effect can have economic consequences, as food might not be as readily available from damaged crops.

The phytoplasma protein PHYLOY binds multiple MADS-box transcription factor combinations through structural mimicry, disrupting complexes that specify floral organ identity. This interference converts sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels into leaf-like structures. Mutational analyses identified features enabling or preventing these interactions.

Antonin Galien et al, The phytoplasma effector, phyllogen, structurally mimics host plant MADS transcription factors, Journal of Biological Chemistry (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2026.113449

Planting trees in the wrong places is not a climate solution
Tree planting benefits climate mitigation only where it restores naturally forested ecosystems. Afforesting drylands, grasslands and savannas can reduce water availability, biodiversity and surface reflectivity, offsetting carbon gains. Restoration should prioritize ecosystem-specific measures such as natural regeneration, soil conservation and native vegetation protection.

 original article.

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Skipping showers is the latest trend. But is there any science to 'pheromone' maxxing?

Humans have no confirmed pheromones or functional sensory anatomy known to mediate pheromone responses. Fresh sweat is largely odorless; bacterial growth during infrequent washing produces body odor. Evidence that MHC-related body odor influences human attraction is inconsistent, with meta-analysis showing no overall effect.

original article.

How myth-busting science changed cerebral palsy
Most cerebral palsy cases arise from factors during pregnancy or early infancy rather than birth trauma or oxygen deprivation. Genetic analyses identified an underlying cause in at least one quarter of affected individuals, often present from conception. These findings have informed diagnostic practice and reduced unsupported obstetric litigation.
This also reduced cesarean  births.

Alistair Maclennan, How cerebral palsy litigation based on myth and non-expert opinion adversely affected obstetric practice worldwide, South Australian Journal of Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.66861/ofzz1318

Stable frontal signals, flexible hippocampal ones: How the brain preserves context as goals change

While humans are completing a task, they can temporarily store information in their minds while also manipulating and adapting it based on changing circumstances. To support this capability, known as working memory, the brain needs to hold onto important context about a task, updating it when rules, goals or circumstances change.
Researchers recently carried out a study aimed at better understanding how neurons preserve context over time as the goals of an ongoing task change. Their findings, published in Nature Human Behaviour, suggest that the brain can represent the same information through different patterns of neuronal activity that vary in stability and flexibility.
Researchers were inspired by the remarkable ability of an individual to relentlessly pursue a goal over long periods of time, while still remaining flexible and encoding information about a changing environment. No other animal can encounter an arbitrary set of rules or behavioural constraints, immediately internalize them, and adhere to them without continuous reminders or a massive amount of conditioning or reinforcement. So the researchers wanted to study how different structures in the brain perform computations in support of these uniquely human behaviours.
This study offers valuable new insights into how the human brain represents context as people complete tasks. Specifically, it suggests that neurons in the medial frontal cortex can maintain a stable pattern of activity to represent a rule for several minutes, even when reminders of this rule are no longer present.

This mechanism could explain how we are able to continually remember what behaviour to engage in long after the associated instructions or cues for that behaviour are gone.
They also demonstrated that the hippocampus forms a uniquely flexible rule representation whose format changes over time depending on what kind of behaviour the person needs to exhibit. These findings are notable because they draw attention to the utility of rule representations that are stable across time and across incoming stimuli, which is thought to enable the human ability to rapidly generalize behaviour to new contexts.

Hristos S. Courellis et al, Neural dynamics underlying minute-timescale persistent behaviour in the human brain, Nature Human Behaviour (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-026-02537-x.

First-of-its-kind preventive phage therapy provides promising results against Salmonella
The mammalian gut microbiome teems with a delicate balance of bacteria and the viruses that keep them in check, called bacteriophages, or phages. Each bacterial species usually has its own set of phage partners.
When bad bacteria enter this ecosystem, there are typically no phages present, allowing them to cause mayhem. By the time the host is sick, it is too late for phages; they'll simply reach a balance with the bad bacteria.

But what if the phages in the gut could prepare for the orally ingested pathogen and strike it down as it enters the gut, negating the need for a battle?
Researchers recently demonstrated that this prophylactic approach, using an engineered, nonpathogenic E. coli bacterium, successfully protected mice from an oral Salmonella infection.

Engineered nonpathogenic E. coli produced a modified Salmonella-specific lytic phage in the gut, creating high local phage densities before pathogen exposure. Prophylactic administration protected mice from oral Salmonella infection by enabling phage amplification and bacterial lysis.

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses of bacteria and do not infect humans or animals. Phage therapy, the use of phages to treat bacterial infections, is particularly hard to make successful for treating intestinal pathogens.

It's challenging, especially in the gut, because phages and bacteria tend to coexist for long periods of time.

This coexistence makes establishing the high phage-to-bacteria ratio needed to treat intestinal infections hard to achieve.

That's extremely challenging to achieve in your gut.
And then once you have a bacterial infection in your gut, a lot of times it's just not even accessible to phages. It's already hidden away in the mucosa or cells of your body; it's not just free-flowing to where the phages would be able to access the bacteria.
Part 1

To work around these impediments, the team engineered a nonpathogenic E. coli bacterium to carry a phage that only infects Salmonella. This ensures that when the phage is produced, it can specifically target the pathogen.

Usually, this type of Salmonella phage remains dormant in the Salmonella bacterial genome, but researchers of this study made several genetic modifications so that it is carried by E. coli, and, once it is released into the gut, it automatically kills Salmonella in a process called lysis. This process rapidly increases the number of phages to fight the bacteria. The researchers coined this new type of phage-bacterial combination a "lytic phage-producing lysogen," or "lyto-lysogen."
Salmonella can typically detect phage DNA produced by non-Salmonella bacteria and prevent it from replicating. But in this case, the researchers were able to disguise the phage.
They were able to trick the Salmonella bacteria into thinking the phage from E. coli was 'not foreign' by adding a Salmonella gene into the E. coli genome.
A phage that comes from their E. coli can infect Salmonella, can propagate easily in Salmonella, lyse it, and then all the phages that are produced from Salmonella can just keep replicating."

This rapid reproduction eventually leads to the eradication of the infection from the gut.
What happens is that this good bacterium, the E. coli, produces all this antipathogen phage, and there is now a protective lining so that when Salmonella comes in, just after passing through the stomach and at its weakest point, it meets this high, killer density of phages.
The researchers say they targeted Salmonella due to its high global disease burden, as it can kill the elderly, children and those with HIV; it has a high prevalence of antibiotic resistance; and it has been upgraded to a high-priority pathogen.

Nature Microbiology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-026-02484-3

Part 2

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'Momnesia' is real—scientists find a biological explanation for temporary forgetfulness during pregnancy

Many women say the same thing during pregnancy: They walk into a room and forget why, misplace their keys or struggle to follow a conversation. This phenomenon, often called "pregnancy brain" or "momnesia," has long lacked a clear biological explanation.
Now, a new study by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions, published in Science Bulletin, identifies a specific brain circuit in an animal model that becomes disrupted under the sustained high estrogen levels present during pregnancy. The findings offer the first biological explanation of how exposure to high levels of circulating estrogen can temporarily impair memory.
The new findings suggest a possible explanation—it may not simply be a matter of "more estrogen is better" or "worse," but rather where in the brain estrogen acts and at what levels.

"Low-level, cyclical estrogen exposure appears to support cognitive function, which is part of why hormone therapy can help postmenopausal women.
But sustained, high-level estrogen exposure seems to engage a different pathway altogether, one centered in the hypothalamus rather than the hippocampus itself. That distinction may help reconcile a lot of conflicting data in the field.
Sustained high estrogen impaired task-specific memory in mice by reducing estrogen receptor-α signaling in lateral hypothalamic GABAergic neurons, increasing activity in a hypothalamus–hippocampus circuit. Silencing this pathway prevented impairment. In pregnant women, late-pregnancy memory deficits correlated with estrogen levels and appeared temporary.
To determine whether these findings translate to humans, the researchers assessed memory performance in women across different stages of pregnancy. They found task-specific memory impairments that emerged during late pregnancy and correlated with circulating estrogen levels, even after accounting for other factors that might influence cognition. These human data support the idea that the hormone-driven circuit identified in mice may underlie the memory changes many pregnant women experience.
.
Momnesia is real, it has a defined biological basis and is temporary. The memory changes observed in both mice and women were temporary and task-specific, not a sign of broader cognitive decline.

Xin Li et al, High-level estrogen impairs memory via estrogen receptor signaling in a hypothalamic–hippocampal neural circuit, Science Bulletin (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2026.08.057

Earth's atmosphere is getting less dusty: That could be adding to global warming

Atmospheric desert dust has long swirled around the globe, but a new study presents the strongest evidence yet that global dust is mysteriously decreasing. Because atmospheric dust has a slight overall cooling effect on the climate, the researchers say its decrease may have contributed modestly to recent climate warming.

Atmospheric dust declined about 10% from 2003–2023, reversing much of the 20th-century increase. Because dust exerts a small net cooling effect, its reduction likely contributed modestly to recent warming. Causes remain unclear; dust changes also affect nutrient deposition, air quality, and snow and ice reflectivity.
The study, which combined satellite observations, ground-based measurements and atmospheric models, found that the amount of dust in Earth's atmosphere decreased by about 10% from 2003 to 2023.

Most atmospheric dust originates in the Northern Hemisphere, with major desert regions such as the Sahara in North Africa and the deserts of Asia, including the Gobi, contributing much of the global dust burden.

The causes of the recent decline, however, remain unclear, according to the study, published in Science Advances.

Ashok Kumar Gupta et al, A global decline in atmospheric dust during the 21st century, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aef5691

Climate change made deadly Nepal glacier and rock collapse more likely, according to analysis
Human-caused warming likely increased instability of the Nepal Himalayan slope by accelerating glacier thinning, retreat, permafrost thaw, and higher freezing elevations. The Aug. 26 collapse, which killed over 1,300 people, may also have been influenced by earthquake-related rock weakening. Rapid failures can exceed warning-system capacity.

This disaster was not an extreme weather event, but the fingerprints of climate change are still clear to see in long-term changes, say the experts.

Advertising is coming to AI chatbots—and it could influence the answers you get
Embedding targeted advertising within AI conversations could blur sponsored and organic information, enabling commercial influence over answers and transactions. Personalized, ephemeral chats may amplify misinformation while evading fact-checking and existing regulation. Clear safeguards are needed to prevent sponsors from shaping AI-generated content beyond disclosure labels.

Carlos Diaz Ruiz et al, Advertising in AI Models: How the Zero-Click Internet Threatens Free Markets and Free Speech, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing (2026). DOI: 10.1177/07439156261436399

original article.

Driving through water is the biggest cause of death during floods—here's how it can happen
Driving through floodwater can cause vehicles to float, be swept downstream and overturn, creating a drowning risk. In a survey of 185 drivers, most recognized unsafe water depths but underestimated the danger of moving water. Dynamic LED flood warnings attracted more attention and were judged more effective than static signs.

Matthew Watkins et al, An investigation into driver's perceptions of road flooding and adherence to signage, Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2026.103639

original article.

Scientists Gave People BPA For 5 Days. Their Insulin Sensitivity Changed

A ubiquitous industrial chemical commonly used in food and beverage packaging may quietly mess with the body's insulin sensitivity when ingested.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the highest-volume chemicals produced worldwide.

Since the 1960s, it has been used to manufacture an unfathomable number of plastic packages and epoxy resins, which coat the insides of many food and beverage cans.

By some estimates, BPA is so widely consumed that it is present in the urine of more than 90 percent of the US population.

But is that safe?

US health guidelines might say yes, but the first experimental evidence in humans has now found that ingesting BPA, even at low doses, may reduce insulin sensitivity in the short term.
Reducing BPA exposure, such as using stainless steel or glass bottles and BPA-free cans, may lower diabetes risk.

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/111/9/2610/8537216?login=false

Scientists Discover Strange 4-Stranded Genetic Structures in Human Blood

If you think you know what DNA looks like, there may be a surprise hiding in your blood.

DNA instantly brings to mind its famous double helix. But genetic material does not always remain in that familiar form. Some pieces can fold into compact, four-stranded structures.

These unusual shapes have previously been seen inside cells. Now scientists say they have caught them folded in human blood plasma.

So why is DNA in our blood at all?

As cells throughout the body die, they leave behind small fragments of DNA. These enter the bloodstream like pieces of a torn message, carrying clues about what is happening inside us.
Until now, scientists have concentrated on reading the message: its genetic letters, the length of each fragment, and where in the genome it came from. A new preprint study suggests that how the message is folded could matter too.

Researchers detected four-stranded structures called G-quadruplexes, or G4s, in genetic material captured directly from human plasma.

A G4 begins when four copies of the genetic letter guanine join to form a tiny square. Several squares can stack together, creating a compact structure very different from the familiar double helix.

The mystery began when scientists noticed unusual fragments known as ultrashort cell-free DNA. At roughly 50 genetic letters long, these single strands were so small that they could slip through the nets used by standard DNA-capturing methods.
Some contained enough guanine to form G4s, and computer analyses pointed to the same possibility.

But finding a piece of string that could form a knot is not the same as finding it already knotted. The team had to catch these structures in human blood while they were still folded.
The discovery opened another mystery.

Although the investigation began with ultrashort DNA, the experiment could not reveal whether the detected G4s were made from DNA or RNA. RNA can fold into the same four-stranded shape, and the detectors recognize the structure rather than the molecule underneath it.
Scientists also do not yet know which tissues released them, or whether the structures folded inside cells or only after entering the bloodstream.
G4s often occur in parts of the genome involved in controlling genes, and elevated G4 levels have been observed in several tumor types. This raises the possibility that G4s circulating in blood could one day provide information about cancer that cannot be found by reading DNA sequences alone.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.05.747829v1

Listening to a forest before it changes forever 

In this episode, filmmaker and journalist Leah Varjacques takes us to a Bornean rainforest area, where centuries-old patterns of human and wildlife behavior are being disrupted by the construction of a new capital city. In the midst of all this change, Varjacques documents the work of Wendy Erb, a primatologist and bioacoustic scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Erb’s team, working with members of the local Balik population, placed audio recorders around the forest to capture the sounds of this diverse ecosystem before it changes forever.

Human brain has a split origin, new research suggests

For centuries, scientists have thought of the brain as a single, unified organ. But new research reveals that what we call the brain is two distinct organs that evolved independently over hundreds of millions of years.
The discovery overturns a prevailing model of brain development. For decades, researchers have subscribed to the theory that a single progenitor cell early in development gives rise to the entire brain. This model suggested all parts of the brain shared a common developmental origin.

The new findings show that the human brain consists of two ancient nervous systems packaged together—a more primitive part that regulates our hearts' beating, breathing and other functions, and another that makes us distinctly human, capable of poetry, mathematics and wondering about our own origins.

The discovery could help explain why scientists have struggled for decades to grow certain types of brain cells in the laboratory—and it opens new avenues for studying devastating diseases that affect the brain stem, such as spinal muscular atrophy (also known as SMA) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).
Scientists have shown for the first time that the front of the brain arises from a totally different progenitor cell than the back of the brain. This discovery means that we can now grow neurons from the back of the brain, the hindbrain, in a Petri dish and study their functions.
The adult brain has three main regions: the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. The forebrain handles higher-level thinking—language, consciousness and abstract reasoning. In contrast, the hindbrain, located at the back of the skull and often called the brain stem, controls essential, automatic functions that keep us alive: breathing, sleeping and regulating our heartbeat and hunger urges. Hindbrain neurons also control the muscles of the face, tongue and throat, which affect speech and swallowing.

Despite the critical importance of the hindbrain, scientists have struggled for decades to generate human hindbrain neurons in the laboratory. This gap has hampered research into devastating diseases affecting the brain stem, including spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Part 1

SMA is a leading genetic cause of death in children under 1 year of age. ALS, which is often diagnosed between the ages of 40–70, affects both the forebrain and the hindbrain. In both disorders, certain hindbrain neurons gradually cease to function, and the patient loses the ability to swallow, which can cause pneumonia when food or liquid is inhaled into the lungs. Eventually, patients lose the ability to breathe.

The researchers' breakthrough came from studying the earliest moments of embryonic development, during a stage called gastrulation, when the body first takes shape.
Researchers discovered that the hindbrain follows a separate developmental path, running in parallel to—rather than branching off from—the pathway that creates the forebrain and midbrain.
The researchers learned this by examining developing mouse embryos. They identified two different brain progenitor cells. One, which expresses a gene called Otx2, is destined to become the forebrain and midbrain. The other, which expresses a gene called Gbx2, is committed to forming the hindbrain. They showed that these two cell populations never overlap; they are mutually exclusive from the earliest stages of development.

The team then examined the DNA packaging, or chromatin, in these cells. Chromatin is a way cells determine which genes can be easily accessed and which are bundled away out of reach. What they found was striking: The anterior neural ectoderm (future forebrain and midbrain) and posterior neural ectoderm (future hindbrain) have fundamentally different chromatin configurations. These differences essentially locked each progenitor cell into its respective fate, like travellers on parallel tracks that never cross.

Previous attempts to make hindbrain neurons likely tried to coax forebrain and midbrain progenitors into hindbrain cells, which this study shows is not possible.
This revelation explained decades of frustration in the field—scientists had been trying to turn one type of progenitor cell into another that it is fundamentally incapable of becoming.
Armed with this knowledge, the researchers for the first time successfully coaxed human pluripotent stem cells (a kind of cell that can create any cell in the human body) to become functional hindbrain motor neurons in the laboratory. These lab-grown neurons displayed all the hallmarks of authentic hindbrain cells: They exhibited waves of electrical activity called action potentials and made proteins that identify the segments of the hindbrain that control facial and swallowing muscles.

Finally, the researchers looked back over 550 million years of evolutionary time. They found the same two-origin brain pattern in chickens, zebrafish and, remarkably, acorn worms, tiny creatures living on the ocean floor that share a distant common ancestor with humans. Jellyfish, which diverged from humans about 600–700 million years ago, have two nervous systems at different ends of their bodies.

This research suggests that evolution took two existing neural systems and pushed them together spatially.
This is interesting the word 'brain' implies a contiguous organ that likely has a singular origin. But even 500 million years ago, there were these separate neural systems, which now almost operate as one, which is very cool.

Two parallel neural ectoderm progenitors contribute to the developing brain, Nature Neuroscience (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02433-7

Part 2

Eating more eggs and peanuts while pregnant does not prevent infant allergies, clinical trial finds
Millions of people around the globe might never know the taste of a PB&J sandwich or crème brûlée because of severe peanut and egg allergies. For a long time, avoiding exposure to allergy-causing foods early in life was considered the best way to prevent this, but now this notion has been turned on its head. Scientists thought exposure as early as during breastfeeding might help children build tolerance to these foods.
A team of researchers explored whether a mother consuming large amounts of egg and peanut during pregnancy and early lactation lowers the chance that her baby will develop an allergy to those foods by age 1.

The randomized trial, called PrEggNut, followed more than 2,000 pregnant mothers whose babies were at higher risk of developing allergic disease because of a family history. Half of the women were asked to eat a diet rich in eggs and peanuts, beginning before 23 weeks of pregnancy and continuing until four months after giving birth while breastfeeding.

Eating lots of eggs and peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding didn't significantly reduce babies' risk of developing those allergies. By age 1, infants had about the same risk of an egg or peanut allergy whether their mothers ate more of these foods or stuck to a normal diet.
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A few randomized trials of early infant feeding challenged existing avoidance practices and suggested that introducing allergenic foods early might build tolerance rather than trigger allergies. However, they didn't give scientists a clear timeline for how early one needs to start. Should it be as early as in the womb and during breastfeeding, when the immune system first encounters maternal antigens and dietary proteins?

Some allergy-prone babies already show immune responses to egg by 4 months of age. So current guidelines, which recommend introducing allergenic foods at 4 to 6 months, may already be too late for these babies.

During pregnancy, a fetus swallows food allergens present in the amniotic fluid, and after birth, infants encounter these same proteins again through breast milk. This natural pattern of exposure led researchers to the hypothesis that pregnancy and early lactation might be the window when a baby's immune system first learns to tolerate foods.

To explore this further, the researchers designed a randomized, single-blind trial conducted across Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, Australia. A total of 2,137 pregnant women took part in the PrEggNut trial, with their unborn babies considered at higher risk of developing allergies.

The team randomly divided the mothers into two equal groups and asked them to follow different dietary patterns. Those in the high egg-and-peanut group consumed at least six eggs and 60 peanuts each week, while mothers in the standard-diet group consumed no more than three eggs and 30 peanuts per week.
part 1

When the infants turned 1, researchers tested them for egg and peanut allergies at major children's hospitals. Each baby first got a skin-prick test. If that came back positive, they moved on to a food challenge, where doctors watched closely as the baby ate small amounts of scrambled egg or peanut butter to confirm whether a true allergy was present.

A high-allergen maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation did not result in a significantly lower risk of infants developing an egg or peanut allergy. When the researchers looked at allergy outcomes, 7.8% of infants whose mothers ate more eggs and peanuts developed an egg or peanut allergy, compared with 8.4% in the comparison group.

Egg allergy occurred in 6.2% of infants in the high-intake group versus 7.2% in the standard group, while peanut allergy rates were identical at 2.6% in both groups. Eczema rates were also comparable between the two groups.
The results make it clear that adding extra eggs and peanuts to a pregnancy diet does not protect a baby from developing allergies to them. Going forward, the focus should be on evidence-based infant feeding guidance rather than asking mothers to take on another dietary burden.

Debra J. Palmer et al, Trial of a Maternal Diet Rich in Eggs and Peanuts to Reduce Infant Allergy, New England Journal of Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa2605659

Maria C. Jenmalm, Maternal Allergen Consumption and Infant Food Allergy — Reassurance, Not Prescription, New England Journal of Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1056/nejme2610158

Part 2

To read 2,000-year-old burned scrolls, scientists burn their own
Carbonized model papyrus scrolls written with lead-containing ink showed that X-ray CT can distinguish ink from charred papyrus, with lead producing up to 25-fold greater X-ray absorption. Lead levels as low as 25 µg/cm2 were detectable by CT and handheld X-ray fluorescence. Screening ancient scrolls for lead could improve noninvasive virtual unrolling and text recovery.

Douglas Seiler et al, A model carbonized papyrus scroll opens a novel path to identifying readable scrolls of the Herculaneum Library, PLOS One (2026). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0353485