Ebola update, World Cup heat risks, dad brains

Summary

Science Quickly – “Ebola Update, World Cup Heat Risks, Dad Brains”

Episode Date: June 22, 2026
Host: Rachel Feltman | Scientific American
Main Guests: Andrea Thompson (Senior Desk Editor, Life Science), Tanya Lewis (Senior Desk Editor, Health & Medicine), Dr. Devika Bhushan (Pediatrician & Public Health Physician)

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Episode Overview

This episode of Science Quickly delivers a concise weekly news roundup, focusing on three key science stories:

1. The growing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa and challenges in containing it.
2. The health risks posed by extreme heat during the FIFA Men’s World Cup.
3. New research on how fatherhood changes the brain ("dad brains"), with particular attention to mental health in new fathers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ebola Outbreak Update

[01:15–02:25]

• Current Situation:

  • The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda is “caused by a species called the Bundibugyo virus, which is more rare than other species in its family.”
    — Rachel Feltman [01:18]
  • As of June 18, there were 894 confirmed cases and 204 deaths.
  • Existing treatments and vaccines are unlikely to be effective; Moderna is working on a targeted vaccine, but it will be months before it's available.
  • Neighboring countries are considered at high risk, but the global threat is low according to the World Health Organization.

• Memorable Quote:

  • “Moderna is already working on a targeted vaccine, but even at breakneck speed, the development process is expected to take months.”
    — Rachel Feltman [01:32]

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2. World Cup: Extreme Heat Risks

[02:25–06:16]

A. Why More Heat This Year?

• Setting:
  • Hosting matches across North America contributes to higher-than-usual temperatures.
    “Some of that is because of where we're having it...But in general, we have been seeing extreme heat increase everywhere in the world.”
    — Andrea Thompson [03:13]
• Comparison:
  • The Qatar World Cup was held in winter to avoid extreme summer heat.
    “They had to move it because it would have been just impossible to have it in the summer with the heat there.”
    — Andrea Thompson [03:44]

B. Impact on Players & Gameplay

• Adaptations:
  • Climate-controlled stadiums in some cities (Atlanta, Houston, Dallas) help reduce risk.
  • “FIFA has instituted hydration breaks... at the midpoint of each half... for players to make sure that they drink water and do other things to cool their body temperature down.”
    — Andrea Thompson [04:20]

C. Spectator Safety

• Recommendations for Fans:
  • Acclimatization is key—people from cooler climates are at greater risk.
  • Hydration and personal cooling measures (e.g., hand fans) are encouraged.
  • Original bans on bringing water into stadiums were reversed for safety.
  • Certain groups (children, people on specific medications, those with heart conditions) are more vulnerable.
    “If you're a parent bringing your child, you can't gauge your child's comfort based on your own comfort, because they can't regulate their body temperature as well.”
    — Andrea Thompson [05:18]

D. Seasonal Outlook

• June trending warmer and above average across western and northern US, with unpredictable acute heat waves possible in any region.
  — Andrea Thompson [05:43]

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3. Dad Brains: How Fatherhood Changes the Brain

[06:16–11:12]

A. Research Focus

• Generalization Note:
  • Recognizes most studies focus on birthing mothers and non-birthing fathers, but acknowledges family diversity.
    — Rachel Feltman [06:52]
• Personal Connection:
  • “I recently became a parent last year and so I am very intimately familiar with the changes that occur in a parent's brain.”
    — Tanya Lewis [07:24]

B. Mental Health in New Fathers

• Awareness Gap:
  • “Fathers are often kind of left out of these conversations about what happens to the brain of a parent.”
    — Tanya Lewis [07:40]
• Screening Tools:
  • Validated tools for maternal depression exist, but not for fathers.
  • “Postpartum depression looks pretty different in dads than in moms.”
    — Devika Bhushan [08:17]
  • For dads, often presents as irritability, substance use, or social withdrawal rather than sadness.

C. Brain Changes in Fathers

• Structural Changes:
  • The cortex “become[s] kind of pruned,” with gray matter shrinking but the brain becoming more specialized for caregiving.
    — Devika Bhushan [08:46]
• Functional Changes:
  • Increased connectivity in emotional-processing areas.
  • A 2014 study showed “fathers had more activation in the mentalizing network...whereas mothers had more activation in that sort of emotional regulation network.”
    — Tanya Lewis and Devika Bhushan [09:44]

D. Timing and Physiology

• Hormonal Shifts:
  • “Dad's testosterone levels drop... [and] another hormone called prolactin... increases in men as well.”
    — Devika Bhushan [10:14]
• Onset of Postpartum Depression:
  • Peaks in fathers around 3–6 months after birth, later than in mothers, often due to shifting caregiving responsibilities.
    — Devika Bhushan [10:28–10:38]
• Importance of Screening:
  • “We probably need better tools for screening things like depression in fathers specifically because that affects the mental health of everyone in the family and is very impactful on the development of the child as well.”
    — Tanya Lewis [11:00]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the challenge of new Ebola outbreaks:
  “Currently available treatments and vaccines are not expected to have much effect. Moderna is already working on a targeted vaccine, but even at breakneck speed, the development process is expected to take months.”
  — Rachel Feltman [01:28–01:32]

• On coping with World Cup heat:
  “At the midpoint of each half, [FIFA is] having a three minute hydration break for players to make sure that they drink water and do other things to cool their body temperature down for a little bit.”
  — Andrea Thompson [04:20]

• On unique risks to children:
  “Very young children cannot regulate their body temperature as well as adults. So if you're a parent bringing your child, you can't gauge your child's comfort based on your own comfort.”
  — Andrea Thompson [05:18]

• On “Daddy Brain”:
  “It's not like your brain is less effective. It's actually becoming more specialized for the tasks of caregiving.”
  — Devika Bhushan [08:46]

• On gender and brain adaptation:
  “Men or fathers had more activation in the mentalizing network ... mothers had more activation in that sort of emotional regulation network.”
  — Tanya Lewis and Devika Bhushan [09:44]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:15]– Ebola outbreak update and context
• [02:25]– Introduction to World Cup health risks
• [03:04]– Andrea Thompson on rising heat and seasonal context
• [04:20]– Heat adaptations for World Cup players (hydration breaks)
• [04:29]– Heat safety for spectators; special risks for children
• [05:42]– Andrea Thompson on national heat trends
• [06:16]– Introduction to “dad brain” segment
• [07:24]– Tanya Lewis discusses personal and scientific perspective on parent brain changes
• [08:13]– Dr. Devika Bhushan on depression in fathers
• [08:46]– Structural and functional brain changes in new parents
• [09:44]– Differences in brain specialization between fathers and mothers
• [10:14]– Hormonal and psychological changes timeline for fathers
• [11:00]– Importance of screening for paternal postpartum depression

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Additional Resources

• For more on World Cup Science:
  “We'll have a link to our World Cup landing page in today’s show notes.”
  — Rachel Feltman [06:13]
• Need mental health support?
  “You can call or text 988 from within the US... or visit 988lifeline.org. For non-US listeners: findahelpline.com”
  — Rachel Feltman [11:16–11:28]

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Closing

The episode underscores both the urgency of timely adaptations in healthcare and public health, as seen in responses to Ebola and climate-driven risks at major events, and the growing understanding of mental health for parents of all genders. Expect a shift in future episodes, with coverage of summer reading and an upcoming roundtable on GLP-1s.

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Summary prepared for listeners seeking a rich, content-focused overview of Science Quickly’s June 22, 2026 episode.

Transcript

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[Rachel Feltman]

Happy Monday listeners.

[Host/Interviewer]

Happy pride and happy nixon 5 for scientific american science quickly, I'm rachel feltman.

[Rachel Feltman]

You're listening to our weekly science news roundup. Let's start with an update on Ebola. Earlier this month, a study published in the Lancet estimated that the outbreak currently surging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda could become the largest on record. As of June 18, the official case count was 894, with a death toll of 204. The outbreak, which was first declared in May, is caused by a species called the Bundibujo virus. This virus is more rare than other species in its family that cause Ebola, and currently available treatments and vaccines are not expected to have much effect. Moderna is already working on a targeted vaccine, but even at breakneck speed, the development process is expected to take months. In a disease outbreak news bulletin published on June 13, the World Health Organization said that countries sharing land borders with DRC and Uganda were at high risk, but that risk of transmission was low for the rest of the African continent and the world at large. Speaking of the world at large, and

[Host/Interviewer]

on a somewhat lighter note, the FIFA

[Rachel Feltman]

Men's World cup is now in full swing. Now, as we explained in our June 8 episode, Public Health authorities are keeping close tabs on disease transmission as players and spectators flock to packed stadiums and visit far flung cities. But there's a potential health crisis related to these games that won't show up

[Host/Interviewer]

in wastewater testing, heat related illness, and

[Rachel Feltman]

frankly, that's something we all have to

[Host/Interviewer]

worry about, even if we're not lucky enough to be watching a World cup game in person.

[Rachel Feltman]

So let's have a quick chat about that with Andrea Thompson, SIAM's senior desk editor for Life Science.

[Host/Interviewer]

Thanks for joining us, Andrea.

[Andrea Thompson]

Thanks for having me.

[Rachel Feltman]

So the World cup is generally a

[Host/Interviewer]

summer thing, so why does it feel

[Rachel Feltman]

like we're hearing more about heat this year?

[Andrea Thompson]

So some of that is because of where we're having it. It's across North America. So a large chunk of the games are in places that get pretty hot in June and July. But in general, we have been seeing extreme heat increase everywhere in the world in the summer. So any World cup is going to contend with this more. But they're also happening in some places that tend to be on the hotter side in the summer.

[Host/Interviewer]

Right. The World cup in Qatar was actually held in the winter for that reason, if I'm remembering correctly.

[Andrea Thompson]

Yes, they had to move it because it would have been just impossible to have it in the summer with the heat there.

[Host/Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Rachel Feltman]

So is this impacting gameplay at all?

[Andrea Thompson]

So some locations have just luckily not had super hot weather. A few locations, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas, have climate controlled stadiums. So it's not really an issue what's happening outside. But also FIFA has instituted hydration breaks. So because of the potential for heat, extreme heat, or so they said, at the midpoint of each half, they are having a three minute hydration break for players to make sure that they drink water and do other things to cool their body temperature down for a little bit.

[Rachel Feltman]

And what about the fans? You know, what are these venues doing to protect spectators and what can spectators do to protect themselves?

[Andrea Thompson]

Right. So acclimatization is a really big factor in heat stress and heat illness. Someone who's from the Southeast, from Florida, is a lot more used to humid heat than someone from Seattle. And then even things like, you know, what time of day is the match, is your seat going to be in sunlight? Because that raises the temperature quite a bit, making sure you drink water. Originally there was a ban on bringing water bottles into the stadium, but that was reversed. There are things you can do to keep cool, like having a hand fan to fan yourself. Now, if you're getting into really extreme heat temperatures, that's when you really need to think about being very cautious. Maybe taking breaks in the shade. That barrier will also lower depending on certain personal factors. Certain medications can make you more susceptible to heat illness. Certain conditions, especially heart conditions, very young children cannot regulate their body temperature as well as adults. So if you're a parent bringing your child, you can't gauge your child's comfort based on your own comfort because they can't regulate their body temperature as well?

[Rachel Feltman]

Well, we've already had a few really

[Host/Interviewer]

like blockbuster days in terms of heat.

[Rachel Feltman]

So how are things looking in terms

[Host/Interviewer]

of what kind summer we're in for?

[Tanya Lewis]

Yes.

[Andrea Thompson]

So right now for June, it's basically all of the western part of the country and the northern part is trending more towards likely having warmer than average temperatures. The Southeast is sort of a toss up. But even within, you know, an outlook like that, you can have an acute heat wave in any place, which also makes it a little hard to plan.

[Host/Interviewer]

Thanks, Andrea.

[Rachel Feltman]

Listeners, you can find more stories on the science behind this year's World cup on our website. We'll have a link to our World

[Host/Interviewer]

cup landing page in today's show Notes.

[Rachel Feltman]

We'll wrap up with something seasonally appropriate. Research on How Fatherhood Changes the Brain

[Host/Interviewer]

now, if you're thinking, oh crap, is

[Rachel Feltman]

Father's Day coming up already?

[Host/Interviewer]

I'm sorry to tell you that it was in fact yesterday. But if you've got a father figure

[Rachel Feltman]

you want to celebrate, I'm sure they'll

[Host/Interviewer]

agree that late is better than never.

[Rachel Feltman]

Here to tell us what science says about Daddy Brain is Tanya Lewis, senior

[Host/Interviewer]

desk editor for health and medicine at Scientific American. Thanks for being here, Tanya.

[Tanya Lewis]

Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

[Host/Interviewer]

So you recently wrote about the science of fatherhood and how it changes the brain.

[Rachel Feltman]

I would love to hear a little bit more.

[Host/Interviewer]

But first, I do want to acknowledge for our listeners that we're going to be using the words mother and father a lot in a very generalized way because most of the research we're talking about focused on women who identified as mothers who were the birthing parents and men who identified as fathers who were non birthing parents. But just want to make clear that we understand there are many ways to exist as a human and many ways to make a family. So, Tanya, could you tell us a little bit about this piece that you wrote?

[Tanya Lewis]

Yeah. So I'm really fascinated by this topic because I recently became a parent last year and so I am very intimately familiar with the changes that occur in a parent's brain. And you and I maybe know sort

[Devika Bhushan]

of what the mother's experience is, but

[Tanya Lewis]

fathers are often kind of left out

[Devika Bhushan]

of these conversations about what happens to the brain of a parent.

[Tanya Lewis]

I actually spoke with Devika Bhushan and she's a pediatrician and public health physician and she has been very interested in

[Devika Bhushan]

this topic for a long time, starting

[Tanya Lewis]

from her days as a pediatrician where she would see oftentimes dads, you Know,

[Devika Bhushan]

really struggling with the stresses of early parenthood.

[Tanya Lewis]

There really aren't any sort of validated assessment tools for things like depression in

[Devika Bhushan]

fathers the way there are in mothers.

[Tanya Lewis]

And in fact, postpartum depression looks pretty

[Devika Bhushan]

different in dads than in moms.

[Tanya Lewis]

It's more like irritability or substance use

[Devika Bhushan]

and this tendency to kind of shut down, as opposed to just an overwhelming sense of sadness.

[Host/Interviewer]

So what do we know about what kind of changes are happening in the brain of a new dad?

[Tanya Lewis]

Yes. So, for example, the cortex, parts of

[Devika Bhushan]

the outer layer of the brain that are involved in higher level cognition and

[Tanya Lewis]

planning and motor control and things like that, become kind of pruned.

[Devika Bhushan]

So the gray matter shrinks in a lot of areas, but it's not like your brain is less effective. It's actually becoming more specialized for the tasks of caregiving.

[Tanya Lewis]

So we see this in fathers as well as mothers. We also see that there's more connectivity

[Devika Bhushan]

in brain areas that are more related

[Tanya Lewis]

to emotion and emotional processing. And there was a study in 2014, they compared, you know, caregiving mothers in

[Devika Bhushan]

heterosexual relationships with fathers who were primary caregivers.

[Tanya Lewis]

And they found that there were changes

[Devika Bhushan]

in these two different brain networks.

[Tanya Lewis]

One is this network called the mentalizing network, which is really this sort of

[Devika Bhushan]

theory of mind network where you're putting yourself in the baby's shoes. And then there's this other network, which is a deeper, subcortical network, including things like the amygdala, which is involved in emotion and, like, fear processing.

[Tanya Lewis]

And they saw that men or fathers had more activation in the mentalizing network,

[Devika Bhushan]

so, like, trying to anticipate, you know, what the baby is experiencing, Whereas mothers had more activation in that sort of emotional regulation network. So we're seeing these different specializations happening across different parents.

[Host/Interviewer]

That's really cool. Do we know anything about when these changes start in dads?

[Tanya Lewis]

Yeah.

[Devika Bhushan]

If you compare mothers who are gestational carriers versus non gestational parents, you see some of these changes earlier, like prenatally, but after birth. What's remarkable is that a lot of these changes happen in both parents.

[Tanya Lewis]

And we know that, for example, dad's testosterone levels drop, and actually there are

[Devika Bhushan]

levels of a hormone called prolactin, which is involved in lactation and is actually present in foster fathers as well, and that increases in men as well.

[Tanya Lewis]

Interestingly enough, postpartum depression in fathers peaks

[Devika Bhushan]

later than it does in mothers. Studies show that it's actually at its peak around three to six months after birth.

[Tanya Lewis]

You know, in those early days after

[Devika Bhushan]

birth, a lot of the primary caregiving responsibilities like feeding the baby historically or traditionally may have fallen on mothers. But then when mothers go back to work, as many women do, then we see additional stress placed on the non birthing parent or typically the father. So we probably need better tools for screening things like depression in fathers specifically because that affects the mental health of everyone in the family and is very impactful on the development of the child as well.

[Host/Interviewer]

Listeners, if you're struggling and you need someone to talk to either about parenthood

[Rachel Feltman]

or anything else, remember that you can call or text the number 988 from within the US to talk to a counselor at any time. That's 988. You can also go to 988lifeline.org to chat online and if you are Outside of the US you can go to findahelpline.com to get info on similar programs in more than 150 countries around the world. That's findahelpline.com that's all for today's episode. We'll be taking a break from the news episode format next week to highlight some fantastic books in celebration of SIAM's Summer Reading Challenge. And then we're planning a special Monday Roundtable episode to dive into the latest on GLP1s for the week after that. But I promise we'll get back to

[Host/Interviewer]

a more regular roundup schedule starting on July 13th. As for our next episode, it's one that I found super interesting during the interview, so you should definitely tune in.

[Rachel Feltman]

We'll be getting into the surprisingly controversial science behind Safe Sun Exposure. Science Quickly is produced by me, Rachel

[Host/Interviewer]

Feltman, along with Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff d'. Alvisio. This episode was edited by Alex Seguiera,

[Rachel Feltman]

Mariel Issa and Erin Shattuck.

[Host/Interviewer]

Fact Check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.

[Rachel Feltman]

Subscribe to Scientific American for more up to date and in depth science news

[Host/Interviewer]

For Scientific American, this is Rachel Feltman. Have a great week.

[Sam]

Sam.