Science Advances · 16 October 2026 · From issue 52
Radical-induced autoxidation dominates squalene oxidative aging under environmental conditions
A reactive air molecule, not ozone alone, mainly breaks down oily skin residue indoors.
Xinke Wang, Jillian P. Downey et al.
An oily substance in human skin breaks down indoors. Scientists long thought ozone in the air caused most of this breakdown. New tests show a different gas, a very reactive molecule, actually drives most of the breakdown through a chain reaction. This chain reaction makes more harmful byproducts and matches what shows up in real indoor air.
Shows the main cause of indoor skin-oil breakdown based on lab and real-room air tests.
Lab and a few real rooms only, not large-scale testing.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 20 October 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Science Advances). Read the source
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