UC Irvine's Scott Bartell, PFAS expert, available to comment on new federal regulations on chemicals on waterways
University of California, Irvine
Sandia National Laboratories engineers have developed a standardized screening method to determine the most important radioactive isotopes produced by an advanced nuclear reactor in the unlikely event of an incident.
Scientists converted post-consumer high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic products into fully recyclable and potentially biodegradable material with the same desirable properties of the starting single-use plastic.
The first evidence that exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) ozone limit is associated with substantial increases in hospital admissions for heart attack, heart failure and stroke is published today in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Even ozone levels below the WHO maximum were linked with worsened health.
In the first step toward understanding how dogs – and perhaps humans – might adapt to intense environmental pressures such as exposure to radiation, heavy metals, or toxic chemicals, researchers at North Carolina State, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, and the National Institutes of Health found that two groups of dogs living within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, one at the site of the former Chornobyl reactors, and another 16.5 km away in Chornobyl City, showed significant genetic differences between them.
Tibet is known as the “Water Tower of Asia,” providing water to about 2 billion people and supporting critical ecosystems in High Mountain Asia and the Tibetan Plateau, where many of the largest Asian river systems originate. This region is also one of the areas most vulnerable to the compounding effects of climate change and human activities. Michigan State University researchers are identifying policy changes that need to happen now to prepare for the future impacts projected by climate models.
Johns Hopkins University has been selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation to lead a new University Transportation Center focused on solutions aimed at preserving the environment.
The nitrate ingested over the course of a person’s adult lifetime through the consumption of tap water and bottled water could be a risk factor for prostate cancer, particularly in the case of aggressive tumours and in younger men.
Research shows connection between hospitalization rates for cardiovascular disease and proximity to fracking, providing evidence that exposure to airborne pollutants from unconventional natural gas development may impact human health
Most studies on the effects of heavy metals on bacteria living in these environments have only focused on one metal at a time. In this study, researchers found that exposing bacteria to a mixture of metals caused their metabolism to change and led them to act as if they were starved for iron.
Conifers are generally better than broadleaved trees at purifying air from pollutants.
A Rutgers-led team of scientists studying virus-host interactions of a globally abundant, armor-plated marine algae, Emiliania huxleyi, has found that the circular, chalk plates the algae produce can act as catalysts for viral infection, which has vast consequences for trillions of microscopic oceanic creatures and the global carbon cycle.
Sea level rise this century may disproportionately affect certain Asian megacities as well as western tropical Pacific islands and the western Indian Ocean, according to new research that looks at the effects of natural sea level fluctuations on the projected rise due to climate change.
The research team of Dr. Yong-sang Ryu at the Brain Research Institute of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) used an electro-photonic tweezer along with metal nanoparticles to concentrate ultrafine nanoplastics within a short period, and they reported the development of a real-time detection system using light.
Schools are among the most notable settings people associate with picking up viral infections such as the common cold, various types of the flu or other respiratory viruses.
Led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with funding from the Global Environment Facility, and executed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), the Eliminating mercury skin lightening products project will work to reduce the risk of exposure to mercury-added skin lightening products, raising awareness of the health risks associated with their use, developing model regulations to reduce their circulation, and halting production, trade, and distribution across domestic and international markets.
The Red Tide Respiratory Forecast — www.RedTideForecast.com — is a beach-level risk forecast activated during red tide conditions that tells beachgoers what red tide impacts are expected to be at individual beaches at different times of the day. The Forecast is also available in Spanish at www.PronosticoMareaRoja.com.
Sewage can provide information on potentially harmful compounds, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), that get released into the environment. Now, researchers in Environmental Science & Technology Letters report an unexpected source of these substances in wastewater — toilet paper.
In the last decade, growing numbers of researchers have studied plastic pollution, one of the world’s most pressing environmental hazards. They have made progress but still face challenges, such as the comparability of results, especially with regard to microplastic particles.
UC Davis researchers have been awarded $1.35 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to study the health impacts of wildfire smoke on pregnant people and children.
Not all pollution comes from people. When global temperatures increase by 4 degrees Celsius, harmful plant emissions and dust will also increase by as much as 14 percent, according to new UC Riverside research.
What are scientists learning about long COVID? Does climate change affect our physiology? These questions and more will be addressed during eight exciting game-changer sessions at the American Physiology Summit.
Three years into a five-year pledge to completely phase out lead shot in UK game hunting, a Cambridge study finds that 94% of pheasants on sale for human consumption were killed using lead.
New research shows that a warming world is increasing human-wildlife conflicts globally: Climate shifts can drive conflicts by altering animal habitats, the timing of events, wildlife behaviors and resource availability. It also showed that people are changing their behaviors and locations in response to climate change in ways that increase conflicts.
By: Mark Blackwell Thomas | Published: February 27, 2023 | 9:33 am | SHARE: It’s been three weeks since a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio sparked an environmental disaster that is still unfolding. A federal investigators’ Feb. 22 announcement that the accident was 100% preventable, came on the same day the Ohio Department of Natural Resources announced that the deaths of 43,700 aquatic animals were tied to the disaster.
Rebecca Bart, PhD, member at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and her colleagues from Washington University in St. Louis will be featured on a global stage at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 11 at 2:30 PM at the JW Marriott, Austin Texas. SXSW is one of the most sought-after annual conferences in the world, attended by leaders and innovators in business, entertainment, and culture.
Artificial intelligence has made a giant leap into our rubbish bins, with smart bin sensors now providing useful information that can be fed into a neural model, helping authorities to make waste collection more efficient, sustainable, and healthier.
The project will host 125 field trips, which will educate as many as 3,125 socially disadvantaged middle and high school students about Florida’s natural resources and the importance of conserving them.
A new study calculated the economic cost of cancers around the world, helping policymakers allocate resources appropriately and enact policies to curb the increase in cancer-related death and disability.
Living in areas of the United States with higher levels of air pollution is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a preliminary study released today, February 23, 2023, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 75th Annual Meeting being held in person in Boston and live online from April 22-27, 2023.
Endangered great apes get malaria, just like humans. New evidence from wild bonobos shows us the infection harms them, too.
Irvine, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 – People often associate Escherichia coli with contaminated food, but E. coli has long been a workhorse in biotechnology. Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have demonstrated that the bacterium has further value as part of a system to detect heavy metal contamination in water. E.
The latest research examining proper test methods to measure levels of the manufacturing by-product 1,4-dioxane in consumer products will be highlighted in a free webinar hosted by the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) and the American Cleaning Institute (ACI).
A Yale-led study examines the potential environmental benefits of more carefully selecting patients for prostate biopsy in a way that can also spare low-yield and potentially harmful procedures
A new study shows that a 2018 California bill banning routine antibiotic use in livestock is linked with reduction in some antibiotic-resistant infections
Enhanced disinfectant is two-to-four times more effective in neutralizing pathogen threat
A compound found in cigarette and industrial smoke, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), is known to damage DNA. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have mapped these effects for the first time in human lung cells after BaP exposure, which could help predict exposures that lead to cancers.
Elevated levels of air pollutants are associated with bone damage among postmenopausal women, according to new research led by scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The effects were most evident on the lumbar spine, with nitrous oxides twice as damaging to the area than seen with normal aging.
The “metaverse” has captured the public imagination as a world of limitless possibilities that can influence all aspects of life. Discussions about the utility of completely immersible virtual environments were initially limited to a small number of tech and Sci-Fi circles until the rebranding of Facebook as “Meta” in 2021.
Below are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Chemistry news channel on Newswise.
In Journal of Applied Physics, a team of scientists fabricate sensitive nanostructured silver surfaces to detect arsenic, even at very low concentrations. The sensors make use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: As a molecule containing arsenic adheres to the surface, it's hit with a laser and the arsenic compound scatters the laser light, creating an identifiable signature. The technique is a departure from existing methods, which are time-consuming, expensive, and not ideally suited to on-site field assays.
Empa researchers have studied residues from the incineration of graphene-containing plastics. Conclusion of the study: Burned composite materials containing graphene nanoparticles can be considered harmless in case of acute exposure.
The size, strength and makeup of people’s social networks are key indicators of how they will respond to the health consequences of an environmental disaster, according to a new Cornell University study that focused on the Flint, Michigan water crisis.
An international collaboration led by Oregon State University scientists has identified 27 global warming accelerators known as amplifying feedback loops, including some that the researchers say may not be fully accounted for in climate models.
With the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework now set, attention turns to its potential for implementation and achieving its 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature.