Plastic is undoubtedly a problem. It has countless uses and is inexpensive to produce, but it remains an environmental scourge and requires fossil fuels for its production. To make matters worse, a…
Category: Environment
Nanoparticles disrupt placenta, potentially affecting fetal development
Nanoparticles disrupted the placenta’s secretion of biomolecules essential for blood vessel growth, hormone production, and immune function. Researchers have shown that nanoparticles found in the placenta disrupt essential tissue functions and the…
Shira Joudan, tackling PFAS and environmental contaminants with chemistry
Environmental chemistry is at the forefront of addressing today’s most pressing ecological challenges, with researchers leveraging foundational science to address real-world problems. Shira Joudan’s work epitomizes this drive to make a difference….
Antimicrobial resistance is an unwinnable arms race
Experts argue a new approach is needed so that we are less reliant on antimicrobial drugs, where less use means less resistance. Antimicrobial resistance stands out as one of the most formidable…
How education can help the “right to repair” movement
The “right to repair” movement is gaining momentum on a global scale, advocating for policies that allow consumers to repair the electronic devices they own. This movement has arisen over the past…
Tackling microplastics and water pollution with magnetic “rust”
Beyond the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and their contribution to the climate crisis, the widespread use of hydrocarbons, the fundamental components of fossil fuels, presents significant environmental challenges. “Hydrocarbons represent the…
The most intense sunlight on Earth can be found in the Atacama Desert
Forget Arizona or Florida — sun worshippers ought to head to the Atacama Desert in South America. It’s there that the sun’s rays on Earth are most intense, beating out places like…
Dust from a shrinking Great Salt Lake may be accelerating Utah’s snowmelt
Utah’s trademarked “greatest snow on earth” may be getting dirtier — and melting faster — due in part to dust blowing off newly exposed lakebed from the shrinking Great Salt Lake. Snow…
Rising groundwater threatens to spread toxic pollution on U.S. coastlines
Hidden flows of water are poised to flush toxic contamination into U.S. coastal communities. Sea level rise from climate change won’t just force shorelines to retreat — in inland areas, it will…
Surviving a drought may help forests weather future dry spells
Some forests take one-two punches surprisingly well. Researchers have shown that certain California forests exposed to two successive droughts weathered the second one much better than forests only hit by the later…