Two new aquatic insect species discovered from the Middle East and Caucasus

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The newly described Hydropsyche hindrajab caddisfly.

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Credit: Dr. Halil Ibrahimi

The newly described aquatic insects, belonging to the genus Hydropsyche, help close substantial knowledge gaps regarding the biodiversity of Azerbaijan, Iran, and Türkiye. Caddisflies (order Trichoptera) are vital components of freshwater ecosystems, and the Hydropsyche genus is among the most diverse and ecologically important, comprising more than 8% of all Trichoptera species recorded in the Western Palaearctic region The findings were recently published in the open-access peer-reviewed Biodiversity Data Journal.

The two new species

Both new species were found in habitats characterized by stone, pebble, and fine sediments with sparse riparian vegetation. Hydropsyche fitesa was discovered in Iran, specifically near the Shalmash Waterfalls on the Chamyaman River, a tributary originating in the Zagros Mountains; the epithet fitesa honors the first author's wife, in recognition of her lifelong support of caddisfly research. Hydropsyche hindrajab was found across multiple river localities in Azerbaijan, Iran, and Türkiye, and was named in honor of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl whose life was lost amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

An Integrative Approach to Discovery

Authored by Halil Ibrahimi (University of Prishtina, Kosovo) and Dora Hlebec (University of Zagreb, Croatia), the study highlights the challenges of identifying morphologically similar species. Because both new insects belong to the Hydropsyche guttata species cluster - a group whose members look strikingly alike - the team employed an integrative taxonomic approach.

By combining traditional morphological examination with advanced DNA analysis (specifically, sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, or COI gene), the researchers confirmed that H. hindrajab represents a distinct evolutionary lineage. H. fitesa was distinguished based on unique morphological differences in its physical structure compared to its closest relatives.

Future Explorations

The discovery underscores how much of the region's aquatic life remains undocumented. The authors note that the type localities in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran, are known for harboring rare aquatic insects, and they believe the area likely holds additional undescribed species yet to be found. Currently, 23 Hydropsyche species are known in Iran, 67 in Türkiye, and 12 in Azerbaijan, but the potential for new discoveries remains high.

Original study:

Ibrahimi H, Hlebec D (2026) Two new species of the genus Hydropsyche Pictet, 1834 (Trichoptera, Hydropsychidae) from the Middle East and Caucasus ecoregions. Biodiversity Data Journal 14: e191076. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.14.e191076

The newly described caddisfly Hydropsyche fitesa

Credit

Dr. Halil Ibrahimi

 

Distribution of Hydropsyche hindrajab sp. nov. (red squares), Hydropsyche fitesa sp. nov. (green square), Hydropsyche sciligra (yellow squares) and Hydropsyche tigrata (green squares), based on data used for the current study.

Credit

Ibrahimi and Hlebec, 2026

Journal

Biodiversity Data Journal

DOI

10.3897/BDJ.14.e191076 

Article Title

Two new species of the genus Hydropsyche Pictet, 1834 (Trichoptera, Hydropsychidae) from the Middle East and Caucasus ecoregions

21ST CENTURY ALCHEMY

New gold-palladium catalysis mechanism could advance bio-based chemical manufacturing

Lehigh University researchers show how separating oxidation and reduction reactions boosts efficiency and stabilizes catalysts, opening new pathways for renewable chemical manufacturing

Lehigh University

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The building-block chemicals behind everyday products—like shampoo bottles, food containers, and kitchen spatulas—are largely derived from oil. Researchers are now working to replace those fossil-fuel-based inputs with materials sourced from renewable biological systems, a shift with implications for health, economic resilience, and national security.

These bio-sourced molecules begin as renewable feedstocks such as plants and algae. 

“Through a series of chemical steps, these molecules can be transformed into platform chemicals that industry uses to make a wide range of products,” says Steven McIntosh, Zisman Family Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Lehigh University.

But many of those reaction pathways remain poorly understood. In a paper recently published in Nature Catalysis, McIntosh and his collaborators report findings that advance understanding of how these transformations occur and how they might be made more efficient. The study’s co-authors include Bohyeon Kim, a PhD student advised by McIntosh, as well as Cardiff University (Wales) researchers Dr. Graham Hutchings, Dr. Samuel Pattisson, and PhD student James Spragg.

Gold-palladium interaction reveals new catalytic behavior

At the center of the work is a newly observed interaction between two common catalyst metals: gold and palladium.

Building on earlier work, the team examined how gold and palladium interact when used together as catalyst particles. They found that the two metals couple through an electrochemical mechanism, altering each other’s behavior in ways that change how reactions proceed. 

“Every reaction consists of two half-reactions, oxidation and reduction,” says McIntosh. “In conventional catalytic reactions, both occur on the same catalytic particle. But in our design we couple separate gold and palladium nanoparticles, forcing those reactions separate, and making  the overall system more efficient.”

In effect, the pairing creates a nanoscale electrochemical reactor, increasing reactivity so that more molecules can react per second at a given temperature.

Separating reactions improves efficiency in catalyst systems

“If you want to scale a chemical process to produce platform chemicals, it has to be as efficient as possible,” he says. “That means maximizing reaction rates while minimizing energy input and the use of expensive catalysts.”  

The team also showed that this coupling stabilizes the palladium. Under typical reaction conditions, palladium would dissolve. In the presence of gold, however, it remains in a metallic state.

“Through this electrochemical crosstalk between the metals, we’re not only increasing reaction rates, but also stabilizing the system,” he says. “That allows the catalysts to operate under conditions they normally couldn’t, and it’s the first time this has been shown.”

The researchers also found that this stability breaks down under highly alkaline conditions. While gold continues to drive the oxidation reaction, palladium begins cycling between dissolved and metallic states, a process called homogeneous and heterogeneous coupling.

“This cycling becomes part of the reaction itself,” he says. “We’ve effectively enabled an entirely new reaction mechanism that hasn’t been previously observed.”

New mechanism expands possibilities for catalyst design

Ultimately, the work points toward the development of more effective catalysts, and, in time, more practical approaches for producing bio-based chemicals at scale. For now, the findings offer something more foundational: a new framework that could reshape how catalysis researchers think about these reactions.

“We’re driven by innovation in basic science,” says McIntosh. “This is one of the most fundamental projects I’ve worked on, providing a foundation for further innovation in this space and future application”

Together, the findings suggest that even well-studied catalytic systems may behave in fundamentally different ways than previously understood, which opens the door to new strategies for designing more efficient chemical processes.

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Journal

Nature Catalysis

DOI

10.1038/s41929-026-01547-2 

Article Title

The pH-dependant stabilization and interphase coupling of Pd species during alcohol oxidation

Article Publication Date

4-Jun-2026

 

Rising seas could ‘drown’ mangroves and release carbon

University of Exeter

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Mangroves – like this one at Cispata Bay – are efficient carbon sinks, but they may drown and lose their ability to store carbon under sea-level rise. 

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Credit: Luisa Gomez Vargaz

Mangroves could store less carbon – and even begin releasing it – as sea levels rise, new research suggests.

Mangroves are made up of salt-tolerant plants that grow in coastal areas. They cover less than 1% of Earth’s surface but store about 15% of all ocean carbon, most of it in their soils. This ability to store carbon makes them important in efforts to limit climate change.

Previous research has suggested rising seas could increase carbon storage in mangroves, but the new study challenges this.

The research team, led by the University of Exeter with partners in Colombia and the United States, developed a new model to assess how sea-level rise will affect carbon storage across entire mangrove forests.

The findings show that, while carbon storage might increase in localised spots as sea levels rise, storage at the scale of whole forests is likely to decline over the next 100 years.

“Mangrove forests are efficient carbon sinks and are therefore crucial for slowing climate change,” said Dr Arya Iwantoro, who carried out the research at the University of Exeter and is now based at the University of Plymouth.

“Research about carbon storage in mangroves is usually based on field observations, and such studies have found that carbon storage can increase as sea levels rise.

“But this may not reveal the wider picture of what is happening across the forest as a whole.

“To investigate this, we developed a new model that links water flow and sediment transport, mangrove growth and dieback, and carbon storage while keeping track of changes in the composition of muddy beds where mangroves grow.

“In effect, we created three models in one to assess the way these complex ecosystems may respond to rising seas.”

The results suggest that sea-level rise will initially trigger more carbon accumulation in some locations, but will reduce carbon storage in the forest as a whole.

“Mangrove plants are highly specialised, and they require a certain duration of flooding with each tide,” said Luisa Fernanda Gómez Vargas, also from the University of Exeter.

“If this period is exceeded, a location will no longer be suitable – the plants will ‘drown’ and mangroves will die back.

“Mortality and erosion of carbon-rich soils can turn mangroves from a carbon sink (storing carbon) into a source (releasing it).”

The study assessed the impact of different sea-level rise scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and found that greater sea-level rise leads to stronger negative impacts on mangrove carbon storage.

Dr Barend van Maanen, who leads the mangrove and carbon project at Exeter, said: “Mangroves face an uncertain future due to climate change and other human impacts on rivers and coasts.

“As well as being vital carbon stores, mangroves protect coasts from storms, provide livelihoods to coastal communities and habitats for a wide range of species.

“Our findings emphasise that understanding the coastal landscape as a whole is crucial when predicting how mangroves might respond to climate change, and how we can protect them.”

The study was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.

The paper, published in the journal Earth’s Future, is entitled: “The importance of scale in the future of mangrove blue carbon under sea-level rise.”

Channels are a typical feature of mangrove landscapes, but they can expand and erode carbon-rich soils as sea levels rise. Cispata Bay mangrove

Credit

Luisa Gomez Vargaz

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Journal

Earth s Future

DOI

10.1029/2025EF006984 

Article Title

The importance of scale in the future of mangrove blue carbon under sea-level rise.

Article Publication Date

3-Jun-2026

Air pollution may be harming your brain’s ‘encyclopedia’

Particulate air pollution and domain-specific cognition among Black adults

Fine air pollution (PM2.5) is linked to lower semantic memory — the type of memory used for facts, words and general knowledge

University of California - Davis Health

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(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A new study by researchers at UC Davis Health and Kaiser Permanente found that higher exposure to very small air pollution particles (PM2.5) over a 17-year span was associated with lower semantic memory. Semantic memory acts like the brain’s “encyclopedia” for things like facts, words and long-term general knowledge.

“Semantic memory is essential for communication, comprehension and navigating everyday life,” said senior author Kathryn Conlon, an associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Public Health Sciences. “Our findings suggest that long-term exposure to air pollution doesn’t just affect physical health — it may also shape how the brain ages, particularly in ways that matter for independence and quality of life.”

Two other measures of cognitive function — executive function and verbal episodic memory — did not show an impact related to the pollution.

The findings were published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging.

Reducing air pollution may reduce dementia burden

The data for the research comes from the Kaiser Permanente Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR). Launched in 2017, the ongoing study aims to identify factors that impact healthy brain aging among Black adults.

Black adults in the United States experience 1.5 to 2 times higher rates of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias compared with non-Hispanic White adults.

In the new study, the researchers focused on particulate matter (PM), a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (about 1/30th of a human hair) are referred to as PM2.5, or fine particulates.

Previous research has linked PM2.5 to cardiovascular disease and mortality; however, a growing area of study is focused on the role of fine particulate exposure in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Methods and findings

The researchers analyzed data from 740 adults, aged 53 to 94, who were participants in the STAR study. Individual-level long-term average PM2.5 exposures were computed by averaging daily estimates of PM2.5 levels at the participants’ residential addresses.

Cognitive performance was assessed for semantic memory, verbal episodic memory and executive function. They evaluated associations with 5-, 10-, and 17-year average PM2.5 exposure.

The researchers found:

• People who were exposed to higher levels of PM2.5 pollution over many years scored noticeably lower on semantic memory tests than those exposed to lower levels of pollution.
• The association with PM2.5 pollution persisted even after accounting for other factors such as age, education, income and marital status.
• The effect of long-term PM2.5 exposure on semantic memory was greater than what researchers would expect from 10 years of normal aging.

Lowering air pollution could lower Alzheimer’s burden

Long-term exposure to air pollution has been shown to cause greater harm to under-resourced communities. In addition, studies led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have found that people who are Black, Latino or Asian are more likely to live in areas with higher levels of particulate air pollution.

“Understanding environmental contributors to cognitive decline is critical for addressing disparities in dementia risk,” said Rachel Whitmer, co-author of the study and the co-director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at UC Davis Health. “Air pollution is a modifiable exposure. That makes it a powerful target for prevention — both at the individual level and through public policy.”

How individuals can reduce exposure to air pollution

While air pollution is largely a community-level issue, there are many ways individuals can reduce their exposure to air pollution:

• Check daily air quality forecasts on AirNow. The EPA website lets you enter your ZIP code to find out about air quality, which accounts for fine particulates, in your area.
• Limit outdoor activity when pollution levels are high, especially during wildfire smoke events.
• Use high-efficiency (HEPA) air filters indoors.
• Keep windows closed on poor air quality days.
• Avoid exercising near busy roads or heavily trafficked areas.
• Use recirculated air settings in vehicles during heavy traffic or smoky situations.

Resources

• Read the study

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Journal

Alzheimer s & Dementia Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging

DOI

10.1002/bsa3.70074 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Particulate air pollution and domain-specific cognition among Black adults

 

McMaster researchers discover a new antibiotic — and a new way to kill drug-resistant bacteria

McMaster University

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Researchers at McMaster University have discovered a new antibiotic that kills some of the world’s most dangerous and drug-resistant bacteria — and does so by targeting a previously unknown vulnerability, opening the door to an entirely new class of treatments.

The new compound, called manikomycin, was identified by a team led by McMaster Professor Gerry Wright and has shown early effectiveness against priority pathogens including Salmonella, E. coli, and Klebsiella.

Unlike any antibiotic currently used in clinics, it works by blocking the exit site of the ribosome, the protein-producing machinery found inside every bacterial cell.

The discovery, published on June 3 in Nature, marks the fourth new antibiotic candidate from Wright’s lab in just over a year, underscoring a promising new approach to drug discovery at a time when antibiotic resistance is a growing global threat.

“Not a single antibiotic prescribed in clinics today does what manikomycin does,” says Wright, a member of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute of Infectious Disease Research. “Not azithromycin, not tetracycline — none of them. So, we’ve not only found a brand-new drug candidate, but we’ve also established a brand-new target in bacteria that could potentially be exploited with other new drugs.”

It’s the latter part of the discovery that has researchers most excited. Wright notes that because most antibiotics used today target the same handful of vulnerabilities on the ribosome, bacteria have evolved broad defense strategies against such attacks; however, drugs that attack a different part of the ribosome — the exit site — leave them defenceless.

“Even newly discovered drugs that attack those same old targets may quickly face resistance,” says Wright, a professor in McMaster’s Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. “But, over the history of medicine, we’ve put absolutely no selective pressure on this particular target, so bacteria have no existing resistance mechanisms for manikomycin.”

Wright likens the ribosome to a factory assembly line. Finished components, he says, must be moved off of the line before the next piece can advance. Manikomycin blocks the exit lane, causing the entire assembly process to jam and eventually grind to a halt. And, without the ability to produce proteins, bacteria cannot survive.

The discovery of manikomycin builds on work that began more than 75 years ago, when scientists first discovered that the soil bacterium Streptomyces rimosus produced oxytetracycline, a powerful new drug that would help usher medicine into the antibiotic age.

While the breakthrough was one of several like discoveries made in the mid-1900s, S. rimosus and related bacteria have long since been abandoned as a potential source of new antibiotics.

“There is an overwhelming perception in science that these bacteria have been mined completely dry — that we’ve found all there is to find,” Wright says. “Our lab has found that this is not at all the case.”

Wright’s group, working with collaborators at the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Hamburg in Germany, used an advanced laboratory technique called fractionation to uncover the new antibiotic. By filtering out oxytetracycline and other abundant compounds from the chemical mixtures produced by S. rimosus, the researchers were able to isolate scarcer molecules that had gone unnoticed over the years.

Manpreet Kaur, a postdoctoral fellow in Wright’s lab and first author on the new study, says that finding a viable new drug candidate this way signals new opportunities for antibiotic discovery. 

“There is likely so much still to be discovered through fractionation,” says Kaur. “Revisiting the extracts of even-well studied bacteria like Streptomyces may lead to similar discoveries in the future.”

Wright’s team is now advancing manikomycin toward clinical development. They have already shown that the new antibiotic is not toxic to human cells, and that it works well in a lab-controlled model of infection — both key milestones on the early development pathway.

They are now working on optimizing the drug’s “residency time” — or how long it stays active in the body — and have produced 60 different derivatives with plans to push the best one forward.

“We’re excited about this molecule’s potential,” Wright says. “There’s a clear path forward, and we may even be able to expand its spectrum so that it eventually affects even more bacteria, too.”

This research was supported by funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

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Journal

Nature

Article Publication Date

3-Jun-2026