It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Could your oral health be affecting fertility?
Chronic oral inflammation may undermine female fertility, new study finds
Chronic oral inflammation may impair female fertility by triggering a systemic immune response that affects the ovaries. A new study shows this leads to oxidative damage, reduced egg quality, disrupted follicle development and reduced live birth rate. These findings point to a potential biological link between oral health and unexplained infertility, opening new directions for future treatments.
[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]– A new study led by Prof. Michael Klutstein at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Prof. Asaf Wilensky at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical center and spearheaded by the students Dr.Paz Kles and Stephen Ameho has uncovered a striking biological link between chronic oral inflammation and female fertility, suggesting that conditions in the mouth may have far-reaching effects on reproductive health.
Published in the Journal of Dental Research, the study shows that persistent inflammation in the oral cavity can impair ovarian function, reduce egg quality, and ultimately lower fertility rates.
Researchers examined in a mouse model inflammation associated with dental implants, a common clinical scenario, and tracked how immune signals spread throughout the body. Their findings reveal that inflammation does not remain confined to the oral cavity but triggers a systemic immune response that reaches the ovaries.
The consequences were significant. Chronic oral inflammation in the animals was linked to increased levels of inflammatory cytokines in the ovaries, along with shifts in immune cell populations. This was accompanied by oxidative damage to ovarian tissue, impaired development of follicles, and reduced quality of oocytes.
These biological changes translated into measurable reproductive outcomes, with markedly reduced birth rates observed under inflammatory conditions in the animals.
The study also identified deeper cellular effects. Oocytes exhibited DNA damage and epigenetic alterations resembling those seen in reproductive aging, pointing to a possible mechanism by which inflammation accelerates the decline in fertility.
“Inflammation is often thought of as a localized response, but our findings show that it can have systemic consequences that extend as far as the reproductive system,” said Prof. Michael Klutstein. “This work suggests that chronic oral inflammation may be an underrecognized factor in female infertility, potentially contributing to cases that currently have no clear explanation.”
The findings add to growing evidence that oral health is closely linked to overall health. Chronic oral inflammatory conditions such as periodontitis are widespread and have already been associated with a range of systemic diseases.
The researchers note that further investigation in clinical settings will be essential to determine how these findings translate to patient care. If confirmed, the work could open new avenues for diagnosis and treatment, including the use of anti-inflammatory or antioxidant approaches to improve fertility outcomes.
A deadly combination of fungal, parasitic and bacterial infections could push certain species of snakes toward extinction, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
The study found that some pathogens are more prevalent across snake species than previously thought. Certain native snake species, such as pygmy rattlesnakes, are at risk for serious illness and death.
Snakes play a key role in the environment. They serve as both predators and prey, helping to maintain environmental balance and biodiversity. But they aren’t always seen in the most positive light, particularly the venomous ones.
“We often fear what we do not understand. Rattlesnakes are dangerous, as are many wild animals, but it is critical for the public to be educated on their value in our ecosystems and to learn how to safely coexist, ” said Corinna Hazelrig, corresponding author of the study and a doctoral graduate from the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine and the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study. Hazelrig is currently pursuing her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. “Rattlesnakes deserve to live peacefully and unharmed as any animal does.”
Disease risk for snakes varies by state, species
The researchers swabbed and analyzed more than 500 snakes from Georgia, Florida and South Carolina over four years. The researchers tested individuals from 29 species for seven pathogens, including those that can cause skin, gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. Some were more harmful than others.
Previous research cited Ophidiomyces ophidiicola as the cause for Snake Fungal Disease, a highly contagious skin infection that is sometimes fatal. The present study found that the fungus disproportionately affects pygmy rattlesnakes, with more than one in three rattlers testing positive.
This is concerning for the pygmy’s future, as the fungus has already been linked to localized population crashes in other rattlesnake relatives like the endangered eastern massasauga rattlesnake.
“A snake can carry a pathogen and still appear completely healthy. What matters is understanding what pushes infection into something deadly,” Hazelrig said.
"We often fear what we do not understand … but it is critical for the public to be educated on their value in our ecosystems and to learn how to safely coexist."
Corinna Hazelrig, College of Veterinary Medicine
Pygmy rattlesnakes were also more likely to test positive for Raillietiella orientalis, otherwise known as snake lungworm. This is possibly because of the snakes’ consumption of lizards and frogs, which play a role in the parasite’s life cycle and pass the infection to snakes.
The researchers found Ophidiomyces ophidiicola was more prevalent in Georgia snakes while snake lungworm only infected Florida snakes. This discrepancy is likely due to climate and landscape differences that allow fungal infections to thrive in Georgia. Meanwhile, the lungworm was probably introduced to Florida species through the invasive Burmese python.
“Life and death for wildlife like snakes is not so simple,” said senior author Dr. Nicole Nemeth, head of UGA’sSoutheastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study’s research and diagnostic service and a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s department of pathology. “Any group or regional population of snakes is likely to be already under some level of stress, so they are primed for that fungus or bacteria to take advantage of them and become a full-blown infection.”
2 of every 5 snakes tested positive for multiple pathogens
All native snakes face risks from these infections, the researchers said. But increases in co-infections are particularly pressing.
More than 40% of the reptiles in the study tested positive for multiple pathogens, with salmonella found in over half of the snakes. Just one of these infections can compromise a snake’s immune system, making it more vulnerable to additional, potentially deadly infections.
The present study was the first to identify Mycoplasma spp. in free ranging snakes. The antibiotic-resistant bacteria can cause severe upper respiratory tract diseases in a variety of reptiles. While infection with Mycoplasma spp. can cause clinical signs like pneumonia in snakes, it frequently presents as secondary infection alongside other pathogens.
Snakes infected by fungal pathogens like Ophidiomyces ophidiicola became malnourished and experienced skin lesions and deformities of the face. Some native snakes lost up to a quarter of their body mass in a single month, leading to death.
“Most snakes carrying salmonella appeared completely healthy, but the snakes with Ophidiomyces ophidiicola and the lung parasite were more likely to be emaciated and show visible clinical abnormalities,” Hazelrig said. “Co-infections further contributed to increased prevalence of disease.”
Disease spillover may endanger threatened native species
As with many wildlife diseases, the researchers are concerned about the risks of spillover.
The more these pathogens move through wild snake species, the more likely it is that the diseases can trickle into species that are already in jeopardy.
The snake lungworm parasite, for example, doesn’t pose much risk to its original host, the Burmese python.
But native snakes don’t have the python’s protective mechanisms.
“When people first thought about Burmese pythons being invasive to Florida, I think everyone was focused on the snake itself. But it likely has brought so much more with it,” Hazelrig said.
"Understanding … pathogens is one piece of the puzzle toward understanding and better conserving snakes, as well as all of the resources they and other wildlife need to survive."
Dr. Nicole Nemeth, College of Veterinary Medicine
One in five reptiles worldwide are facing extinction. Understanding infections is the next step in preventing a massive snake die-off, the researchers said.
“Snakes are a critical wildlife group due to their ecological importance as predators and prey,” Nemeth said. “Understanding the prevalence and distribution of targeted pathogens is one piece of the puzzle toward understanding and better conserving snakes, as well as all of the resources they and other wildlife need to survive.”
Published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, the study was funded by the Morris Animal Foundation. It was co-authored by researchers from UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases. Additional co-authors come from Stetson University, University of Central Florida, University of Florida and the University of Arkansas.
Researcher Corinna Hazelrig observes a snake for possible lesions.
Credit
(Photo courtesy of Taylor Miller)
Snakes across three southeast states were analzyed.
A popular sodium-ion battery designed by the company Hina and used in cars and large-scale energy storage systems in China matches performance parameters and production quality of Tesla’s lithium-ion batteries, finds new research publishing May 28 in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports Physical Science. Once the Hina battery is tweaked to charge more effectively at low temperatures and function better at high energy densities, it could provide a cost-effective alternative for future electric vehicle batteries that depends on sodium—an abundant and easily sourced material—instead of lithium.
“The combination of good uniformity, high power capability, and strong low‑temperature performance makes these cells attractive for stationary storage, grid services, and shorter‑range or commercial vehicles where potential lower cost and resource availability matter more than maximum driving range,” says Moritz Schütte, a battery researcher at RWTH Aachen University in Germany.
To assess how Hina batteries compare to more advanced Tesla batteries, Schütte’s team used a non-destructive technique called impedance spectroscopy to measure the uniformity of 120 sodium-ion battery cells. Next, to map out the power and energy performances of individual cells under real-life conditions, the team tested the batteries at varying currents and at temperatures from −20 °C to 45 °C. They also used X-rays to see the battery’s internal structure, then opened up the cells to measure their electrode dimensions, compositions, and microstructures.
They found that the battery uses a tabless, a double-aluminum current collector design that reduces resistance and ensures a uniform temperature distribution—and also mirrors the current design of Tesla batteries.
“We were positively surprised by how uniform the cells are,” says Schütte.
However, the sodium-ion battery has some limitations when it comes to energy density and charging at low temperatures. “The high‑power performance was better than one might expect from an early commercial sodium‑ion product,” says Schütte. “However, for applications that require frequent charging at low ambient temperatures, appropriate thermal management or operating strategies will be important because low-temperature charging remains a clear weakness.”
The researchers also found unexpectedly high, unevenly distributed levels of copper in certain cathode regions of the battery, which “raises interesting questions about its role in performance and aging,” said Schütte. “It will be exciting to see future sodium-ion technologies that are free of nickel and copper, as well, while achieving competitive energy density.”
Since sodium is much more abundant and widely available than lithium, using it for batteries could cut raw material costs for manufacturers and reduce long-term supply chain risks. Sodium-ion batteries also perform well under load at low temperatures, making them an appealing option for both stationary power storage and mobile applications in cold climates.
“However, today’s commercial sodium-ion cells generally have lower energy density than the best lithium-ion cells, and the technology is less mature overall,” said Schütte.
Next, the authors plan to better understand and improve upon the battery’s charging capabilities at low temperatures so that they can charge more safely and efficiently below 0°C. Further research should also focus on optimizing the materials used to make sodium-ion batteries, added Schütte.
“Advances in hard‑carbon anodes and electrolyte formulations may be especially promising,” he said.
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This work was supported by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Cell Reports Physical Science (@CellRepPhysSci), published by Cell Press, is a broad-scope, open access journal that publishes cutting-edge research across the spectrum of the physical sciences, including chemistry, physics, materials science, energy science, engineering, and related interdisciplinary work. Visit: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/home. To receive Cell Press media alerts, please contact press@cell.com.
Cell Teardown and Characterization of a Hina Commercial Sodium-Ion Battery
Article Publication Date
28-May-2026
Think DEET keeps mosquitoes away? They may be learning to love it
Researchers found that yellow fever mosquitoes can learn to associate the smell of DEET with food — potentially weakening the world’s most widely used insect repellent
Every summer, millions of people spray themselves with DEET to keep mosquitoes away. But new research suggests mosquitoes may be able to learn to associate the repellent with food — and even become attracted to it.
"If someone applies DEET and the concentration fades over time, but a mosquito still manages to feed, the insect may begin associating that smell with a reward," said Vinauger, part of the Department of Biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "That's a possibility we should take seriously when we think about how repellents are used in the real world."
Yes, mosquitoes can learn
The study focused on the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, a species that spreads dengue fever, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya, which infect tens of millions of people each year.
Researchers trained the mosquitoes using a form of Pavlovian conditioning — the same learning principle behind Ivan Pavlov’s famous experiments in which dogs learned to associate the sound of a bell with food.
Mosquitoes were restrained behind fabric mesh with a bag of warm blood positioned just out of reach. After the mosquitoes began to feed on the blood, researchers introduced the smell of DEET. After repeating the experiment four times, more than 60 percent of the insects tried to feed when presented with only the smell of DEET.
Next, mosquitoes were given a choice between two human hands — one untreated and one coated with DEET at normal concentrations. Untrained mosquitoes avoided the DEET-treated hand. Trained mosquitoes were drawn to it.
The researchers also found mosquitoes could form the same association when sugar, instead of blood, was used as the reward.
“The common assumption has always been that repellents work because of their chemistry — that DEET simply smells bad to mosquitoes and they flee or that its chemistry prevents mosquitoes from smelling us,” said Vinauger, who is also an affiliate of Fralin Life Sciences Institute'sCenter for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens. “But what we are showing is that the mosquito’s brain can rewrite that response based on experience. What the insect has learned matters just as much as what the chemical does. That, I think, is a paradigm shift.”
DEET is still the gold standard
The findings do not mean people should stop using DEET, Vinauger said. It’s still one of the most effective repellents available, particularly in regions where mosquito-borne disease is common.
"If you're in tropical regions where disease risk is real, you should use it," he said.
But the study suggests timing and concentration may matter more than previously understood.
"Instead of applying a lot at once, you may want to reapply regularly so it's always active and providing continuous protection," Vinauger said.
He added that treated clothing may also present challenges because DEET concentrations in fabric decline over time.
Better ways to outsmart mosquitoes
The study builds on years of mosquito learning and behavior research connected to Vinauger’s work. While pursuing his Ph.D. in Lazzari's lab in France, and later as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, Vinauger helped pioneer experiments showing mosquitoes can learn and remember odors associated with blood meals and defensive hosts.
At Virginia Tech, Vinauger’s lab studies how mosquitoes use sensory information to find hosts and adapt to changing environments. His team has shown that mosquitoes remember and avoid hosts who swat at them, combine smell and vision to track people with surprising precision, and gravitate toward and away from the smell of certain body soaps.
"Mosquitoes are remarkable at processing information about their environment," Vinauger said. "What we are trying to understand is not only how they detect us, but how their brains interpret those cues and turn them into behavior."
As Aedes aegypti expands into new regions and insecticide resistance grows worldwide, Vinauger said understanding mosquito behavior is becoming increasingly important for public health.
“We need to understand how mosquitoes keep outsmarting our control strategies,” Vinauger said. “And that takes understanding how they work — at the molecular level, the neural level, the behavioral level."
Lazzari and colleagues made their discovery using a bizarre twist of Pavlov’s famous experiment, where dogs learned to associate the arrival of food with a ringing bell, but first the team had to find a way of confirming when the voracious insects were attracted to something tasty.
Knowing that yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) like nothing more than a meal of warm blood, David De Luca (University of Tours) restrained the insects behind a fabric mesh before offering them a bag of warm blood placed just out of reach, to see how enthusiastically the insects stabbed at it with their proboscises in the hope of grabbing a bite.
Sure enough, the insects were keen, especially when De Luca rewarded them by lowering the bag within reach, so they could feast. However, when the team offered the insects a blood meal when surrounded by the scent of DEET, the mosquitoes steered clear.
But could the insects learn to associate the scent of DEET with the offer of dinner? The team fed the insects with warm blood for 20 s, squirting the scent of DEET into the enclosure during the final 10 s of dining, repeating the procedure three more times before checking how the insect responded to the scent of DEET alone.
This time the mosquitoes went almost wild, with more than 60% trying to take a bite when they smelled a whiff of DEET.
Finally, Charly Dufour (University of Tours) tried an alternative strategy, attempting to train the mosquitoes to associate a sugary treat with the scent of the repellent, and the mosquitoes got the idea, biting enthusiastically whenever they picked up the scent of DEET.
Mosquitoes can learn to associate the scent of DEET with the prospect of dinner, which could make people wearing DEET more attractive to biting insects under the right conditions.
‘If a mosquito bites someone who applied DEET to their skin several hours earlier and the concentration of the repellent is too low to repel the mosquito, but still strong enough for the insect to smell it, the mosquito may be more likely to bite people who smell of DEET’, says Lazzari.
The mosquitoes’ ability to learn to associate the repellent with food could also tell the researchers something about how the repellent works. ‘It is the information that DEET conveys to insects that may cause them to decide not to bite’, says Lazzari, explaining that DEET probably mimics some natural plant insect repellents, which keep insects at bay.
But, he adds that DEET is still the most effective insect repellent available, protecting people from mosquito-borne diseases. ‘It saves lives!’, he exclaims.
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IF REPORTING THIS STORY, PLEASE MENTION JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY AS THE SOURCE AND, IF REPORTING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A LINK TO:
REFERENCE: Lazzari, C. R., De Luca, D., Nally, A., Dufour, C. and Vinauger, C. (2026). Associative learning switches DEET valence from aversive to appetitive in Aedes aegypti. J. Exp. Biol.229, jeb251935. doi:10.1242/jeb.251935
DOI: doi:10.1242/jeb.251935
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