Feature Channels: Pollution

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Inhaled microplastics can pose serious health risks, so understanding how they travel in the respiratory system is essential for prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases. In Physics of Fluids, researchers develop a computational fluid dynamics model to analyze microplastic transport and deposition in the upper airway. The team explored the movement of microplastics with different shapes and sizes and under slow and fast breathing conditions. Microplastics tended to collect in hot spots in the nasal cavity and oropharynx, or back of the throat.

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New research from Florida State University published in Frontiers in Marine Science found that extreme concentrations of microplastics could increase the temperature of beach sand enough to threaten the development of incubating sea turtles.

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The sliver of sargassum seaweed 19-year-old Sofia Hoffman collected from the shoreline of Crandon Park Beach’s Bear Cut Preserve looked more like a dying clump of grass than the fresh piece of marine algae it once was.

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A study of the impact of weather variability on the design and operation of renewable energy systems for office buildings in Saudi Arabia examines the tradeoff between the conflicting objectives of reducing both lifecycle cost and CO2 emissions.

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Plastic particles less than five millimeters in size, also known as microplastics, often settle far away from their point of origin. Empa researchers have now developed a model that can be used to calculate the concentration of microplastics in Swiss lakes and rivers.

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A new study led by Columbia Engineering examines how different ways of participating in these markets affect the overall benefits of energy storage for society. The researchers used an agent-based computer framework--a model that simulates individual behaviors within complex systems--to simulate scenarios with renewable and storage capacity and market options.

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With human-induced greenhouse gases fueling global climate change, there is an urgent need to bolster emissions reductions with large-scale carbon dioxide removal.

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Plastic made from cane sugar also threatens the environment. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg have found that perch change their behaviour when exposed to so-called bioplastic.

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A team at Sandia National Laboratories is developing materials to tackle what has become one of the biggest problems in the world: human exposure to a group of chemicals known as PFAS through contaminated water and other products. Sandia is now investing more money to take their research to the next level.

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Researchers at UC San Diego have spent many years developing a biodegradable plastic alternative made from algae. This algae-based polymer has already been used to make surfboards, flip flops and walking shoes. A new book, published by Elsevier, details the basic science of creating bio-based polymers, lifecycle assessments and a techno-economic analysis.

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Corn growers seeking to increase the amount of nitrogen taken up by their crop can adjust many aspects of fertilizer application, but recent studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign show those tweaks don’t do much to improve uptake efficiency from fertilizer. That’s because, the studies show, corn takes up the majority of its nitrogen – about 67% on average – from sources occurring naturally in soil, not from fertilizer.

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Plastics transformed engineering in the past century, but they also transformed the environment in ways that will take millennia to repair. Washington University in St. Louis is leading a new effort to address the grand challenge of developing the next generation of high-performance, sustainably sourced and biodegradable plastics that advance engineering while also protecting the environment.

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A team of researchers from around the world is urging the international community to recognize the full environmental and health threat of plastics and categorize them as persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic (PBT) pollutants.

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A detailed plan to transform product packaging and significantly cut plastic production and pollution has been developed by researchers.

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Chula President pledged to move ahead with greenhouse gas reduction on the Chulalongkorn University campus targeting Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emission by 2050 and unveiled 5 pilot strategies for minimizing carbon dioxide emissions and also achieving campus sustainability.

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U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm heralded upgrades to the world’s most complete biomass preprocessing research and development facility during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Idaho National Laboratory today.

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Scientists have been worried about the potential harms of microplastics for years. These small plastic particles less than 5 mm in length have been found everywhere because of plastic pollution – from the Earth’s deep oceans to remote regions in Antarctica, and even the seafood we eat.

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Tracing volatile organic compounds is important for public safety and all “smell” related issues. To this end, in Applied Physics Reviews, Liu et al. introduce a fluid mechanics-based chamber design for an electronic nose that consistently detects VOCs at low concentrations. The strategy, which includes using a shuntlike device to control the behavior of fluid flow, is a step forward in e-nose technology development.

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Fusion energy could address pollution, climate change, and high energy prices. Berkeley Lab’s Cameron Geddes and Reed Teyber explain how researchers are trying to make it a reality.

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BETO Bioprocessing Separations Consortium spotlights projects from three-year work period.

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A fully replicated human airway system is a new experimental tool that is overcoming limitations in studying aerosol deposition in lungs at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health.The cutting-edge Mobile Aerosol Deposition Apparatus (MALDA), designed and 3D-printed by Wei-Chung Su, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology, human genetics, and environmental sciences, consists of a head airway, tracheobronchial airways, and a representative section of the alveoli, the tiny air sacs of the lungs that handle gaseous exchange.

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The never-ending demand for carbon-rich fuels to drive the economy keeps adding more and more carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere.

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Sociologists delve into the question of how national military systems impact carbon emissions

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Little is known about the ecological relationship of Vibrio bacteria with Sargassum. Evidence also is sparse as to whether vibrios colonizing plastic marine debris and Sargassum could potentially infect humans. As summer kicks off and efforts are underway to find solutions to repurpose Sargassum, could these substrates pose a triple threat to public health? Results of a study representing the first Vibrio spp. genome assembled from plastic finds Vibrio pathogens have the unique ability to “stick” to microplastics, harboring potent opportunistic pathogens.

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Sea Grant has been recommended for rapid response funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Grant Program to study the pathways of circulation in Cape Cod Bay. This study is designed to shed light on the possible fate of 1.1 million gallons of radioactive wastewater from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, which the plant’s owner, Holtec, has proposed to release into Cape Cod Bay.

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Skin cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer in the United States, with over 5 million cases diagnosed annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that melanoma alone accounts for more than 8,000 deaths each year. Thankfully, skin cancer is highly preventable, making it crucial to prioritize protection. Below are some of the latest headlines in the Dermatology channel.

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Giving people at high risk of PFAS exposure the opportunity to easily self-test could improve access to testing for these “forever chemicals” and lead to the early detection of detrimental health conditions, according to a new Michigan State University study. The study tested an improved approach for people to collect their own blood samples to test for PFAS without being part of an academic research study.

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The light pollution caused by coastal cities can trick coral reefs into spawning outside of the optimum times when they would normally reproduce, a new study has found.

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Researchers from Kyushu University and Asahi Kasei Corporation have developed a new way to estimate the age of microplastics found in the upper oceans.

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Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major greenhouse gas emitted through various types of human activities. In an effort to decrease humanity’s carbon footprint, scientists and policymakers across the globe are continuously trying to explore new methods for reducing atmospheric CO2 emissions and converting them into useful forms.

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Title 42, the United States pandemic rule that had been used to immediately deport hundreds of thousands of migrants who crossed the border illegally over the last three years, has expired. Those migrants will have the opportunity to apply for asylum. President Biden's new rules to replace Title 42 are facing legal challenges. Border crossings have already risen sharply, as many migrants attempt to cross before the measure expires on Thursday night. Some have said they worry about tighter controls and uncertainty ahead. Immigration is once again a major focus of the media as we examine the humanitarian, political, and public health issues migrants must go through.

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As the northern hemisphere heads into summer, we may be in for a COVID-19 reprieve. Not because the pandemic is over; the Omicron subvariant ‘Arcturus’ is still creeping upward and causing new symptoms. But two new studies from the University of Illinois add evidence supporting a seasonal pattern in the behavior of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

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Today, the EPA announced its proposed rule to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from power plants. Power plants, account for a quarter of all U.S. GHG emissions and is the largest stationary point source of such pollutants.