Aerosols have a profound influence on air quality, human health, clouds, and climate, but new particle formation in the atmosphere has remained a scientific conundrum. Large fractions of airborne fine particulate matter consist of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) formed by gas-to-particle conversion of organic precursor molecules in the atmosphere. The growth rates of these atmospheric nanoparticles, however, have remained enigmatic: they are often smaller and less dependent on condensable vapor concentration than expected. Growth rates observed in field measurements are fairly uniform around 1–10 nanometers per hour. This growth is only weakly dependent on vapor concentrations that can vary by multiple orders of magnitude.

About the Study: This cross-sectional study suggests that seeking emotional support from generative AI is a unique marker of psychological distress in children and adolescents, independent of mattering or loneliness. Clinical frameworks and digital literacy programs should distinguish between functional AI assistance and the use of algorithmic interfaces as a digital refuge for emotional needs.

A new study in Nature Health suggests that delays are no longer necessary, offering the opportunity to assess whose health is most at risk, take protective measures, and test whether interventions are working while the heat season is still underway. 

Bridging the gap between public health professionals, policymakers, and disease modelers was the focus of the Workshop on Public Health Policy, Risk Perception, and Infectious Disease, held Aug. 10-12, 2026, at the Essex Resort & Spa in Essex, VT. 

 

Lifestyle factors can worsen the effects of genetic causes of male infertility, finds new research that could help explain why men carrying similar genetic mutations often experience different levels of fertility impairment.

Scientists at INRAE are using an artificial intelligence method that can draw from larger and more complex datasets to analyse epidemiological parameters much more quickly. This method, applied for the first time to genetic data from an Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone, paves the way for real-time management of epidemics and epizootics. The findings have been published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.