Direct link between peak air pollution and cardiac risk revealed

The risk of suffering cardiac arrest may increase on days recording high levels of air pollution in some parts of the world. This emerges from a study conducted by researchers and published in the journal Global Challenges.

Researchers analyzed 37,613 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Lombardy between 2016 and 2019 by assessing, for each episode, the daily concentrations of various pollutants (PM₂.₅, PM₁₀, NO₂, O₃ and CO) obtained from satellite data of the European Copernicus program (ESA). The study used advanced spatio-temporal statistical models to identify the relationship between pollution peaks and increased risk of cardiac events.

They observed a strong association with nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). Indeed, for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter increase, the risk of cardiac arrest rises by 7% over the next 96 hours.

Even particulate matter PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀ present a 3% and 2.5% increase in the risk rate, respectively, on the same day of exposure.

The effect is more pronounced in urban areas but significant associations are also observed in rural towns. The risk particularly marks an upswing in the warm months, suggesting a possible interaction between heat and pollutants. The association was also observed at levels below legal limits, suggesting that there is no safe exposure threshold.

The link between air quality and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a wake-up call for local health systems.

 Amruta Umakant Mahakalkar et al, Short‐Term Effect of Air Pollution on Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) in Lombardy—A Case‐Crossover Spatiotemporal Study, Global Challenges (2025). DOI: 10.1002/gch2.202500241

Neanderthals May Never Have Truly Gone Extinct

Neanderthals may have never truly gone extinct, according to new research – at least not in the genetic sense.

A new mathematical model has explored a fascinating scenario in which Neanderthals gradually disappeared not through "true extinction" but through genetic absorption into a more prolific species: Us.
According to the analysis, the long and drawn-out 'love affair' between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals could have led to almost complete genetic absorption within 10,000–30,000 years.
The model is simple and not regional, but it provides a "robust explanation for the observed Neanderthal demise, say researchers.
Once, the idea that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens interbred was a radical notion, and yet now, modern genome studies and archaeological evidence have provided strong evidence that our two lineages were hooking up and reproducing right across Eurasia for tens of thousands of years.

Today, people of non-African ancestry have inherited about 1 to 4 percent of their DNA from Neanderthals.
No one knows why Neanderthals disappeared from the face of our planet roughly 40,000 years ago, but experts tend to agree that there are probably numerous factors that played a role, like environmental changes, loss of genetic diversity, or competition with Homo sapiens.
Now researchers present a model that does not rule out these other explanations.
It does suggest that genetic drift played a strong role – even with the researchers assuming the Neanderthal genes our species 'absorbed' had no survival benefit.

If the model were to include the potential advantages of some Neanderthal genes to the larger Homo sapiens population, then mathematical support for genetic dilution may become even stronger.

Like all models, this new one is based on imperfect assumptions. It uses the birth rates of modern hunter-gatherer tribes to predict how quickly small Neanderthal tribes would be engulfed by a much larger human population, given how frequently it seems we were interbreeding.
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The results are consistent with recent archaeological discoveries and align with a body of evidence that suggests the decline of Neanderthals in Europe was gradual rather than sudden.

Homo sapiens seem to have started migrating out of Africa much earlier than scientists previously thought, and they arrived in Europe in several influxes, possibly starting more than 200,000 years ago.
As each wave of migration came crashing into the region, it engulfed local Neanderthal communities, diluting their genes, like sand pulled into the sea.
Today, some scientists argue that there is more to unite Homo sapiens and Neanderthals than there is to differentiate us. Our lineages, they say, should not be regarded as two separate species, but rather as distinct populations belonging to a "common human species.".

Neanderthals were surprisingly adaptable and intelligent. They made intricate tools, created cave art, and used fire – and when it came to communication, they were probably capable of far more than simple grunting.
Neanderthal populations and cultures may no longer exist, but their genetic legacy lives on inside of us.
These are not just our cousins; they are also our ancestors.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-22376-6

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