After wildfires near the California Coast, human and animal fecal bacteria in urban and wildland areas end up in coastal waters. 

Scoping review suggests drinking water is often contaminated with arsenic following wildfires in the region, especially when mining, agricultural, or urbanized areas were burned. 

A new analysis shows that, of 1,357 artificial intelligence (AI)-based medical devices authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in patient care, only three had been tested on whether they actually improve patients’ health. Rawan Abulibdeh of the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues present these findings in the open access journal PLOS Digital Health on August 19, 2026. 

A research team from the University of Innsbruck and Jinan University investigated how heat and tree emissions, together with nitrogen oxides, intensify the formation of ground-level ozone in megacities, such as Beijing — with a clear result: tree species make the difference.

The device has the potential to last an entire lifetime, reducing the risks and costs associated with replacing the devices when their batteries fail.

Lithium titanate (LTO, Li₄Ti₅O₁₂) is a well-established battery material that, in its pristine state, is a poor conductor of lithium ions. It develops high ionic conductivity only during charging, when additional lithium ions and electrons are incorporated into the material. Bernhard Gadermaier and Martin Wilkening from the Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Materials at TU Graz have now taken an entirely different approach: they transformed pure, non-lithiated LTO in its original composition, Li₄Ti₅O₁₂, into a significantly better ion conductor by deliberately introducing defects into the crystal lattice. Specifically, they removed individual oxygen atoms, thereby creating oxygen vacancies that activate a previously blocked migration pathway for lithium ions. “This diffusion pathway is already pre-formed in the LTO structure, but is only activated by the defect structure,” explains Wilkening. The results of the experimental study have been published in the journal Science Advances.

Researchers at the University of Utah and The University of Texas at Austin have demonstrated a new method of 3D printing that avoids the leaky seams that come with the layer-by-layer process. Using a nanoscale “mask” that diffracts laser light into a holographic pattern of the desired shape, it fuses its print material solid in one shot much faster than other printing methods.

Researchers have used a three-dimensional model of human brain tissue and label-free optical imaging to reveal how herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) reshapes the metabolism of neurons during infection. The study found that infected neurons rapidly enter a high-energy state, showing evidence of increased glycolytic activity and mitochondrial metabolism while producing elevated levels of lactate. Over time, the cells appeared to reuse lactate as a fuel source to meet the energy demands of infection. As the infection progressed, the researchers observed increasing signs of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, changes that have been linked to neurodegenerative disease. By tracking these metabolic shifts in living tissue without dyes or destructive testing, the work provides new insight into how persistent viral infection may affect brain health and demonstrates a powerful approach for studying early cellular changes that could contribute to neurological disorders.

The National Nuclear Security Administration, including Sandia National Labs, delivered a reentry body ahead of schedule.