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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Rising carbon dioxide levels will make us stupider

If allowed to soar unchecked, greenhouse-gas emissions will interfere with people’s ability to think.
Young woman and young man in a lecture with a female student sleeping in the row behind them.

Indoor carbon dioxide levels rise in sync with atmospheric levels, and could affect human cognition. Credit: Getty

Carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels isn’t just bad for the planet — it’s also bad for your brain.

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Nature 580, 567 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-01134-w

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