All pollution articles
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NewsAlkali waste dumped in the Pacific Ocean created alkalophilic microbial ecosystems
Barrels filled with industrial waste that were dumped in the sea near Los Angeles more than 50 years ago are creating new microbial ecosystems adapted to highly alkaline conditions.
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NewsStudy exposes sewage contamination locations threatening West Hawai’i coral reefs
New research reveals the extent to which sewage pollution threatens the fragile coral reef ecosystems of West Hawaiʻi Island. Researchers pinpointed locations where high levels of fecal bacteria associated with populated coastal areas are driving worsening contamination.
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News‘Major leap in bioelectronic sensing’: researchers turn bacteria into tiny pollution detectors
Researchers have engineered E. coli to act as living multiplexed sensors, allowing these genetically modified cells to detect and respond to multiple environmental toxins simultaneously by converting their biological responses into readable electrical signals.
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NewsTiny soil microbes turn detective to uncover the timeline of oil spill contamination
Scientists in Belfast and Nigeria have developed a diagnostic tool that deploys microbes to uncover the timeline of crude oil contamination in soils.
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NewsInhaled agricultural dust disrupts gut health
Inhaling agricultural dust may pose significant risks to gut health for workers in animal agriculture, a new study has found. Inhaling hog farm dust alters the gut microbiome and impairs intestinal function, including increased “leaky gut” or intestinal permeability.
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NewsWhen sunscreen meets plastic: a newly discovered threat to marine ecosystems
The chemical Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate - found in sunscreen - could be slowing the degradation of discarded plastic in our seas, and may be helping biofilm bacteria – which have a greater protection from harsh conditions – to thrive.
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NewsSulfate-reducing bacteria drive elevated levels of mercury in Colorado mountain wetlands
Climate change is melting glaciers and permafrost in mountains, freeing up minerals containing sulfate to flow downstream into local watersheds. Elevated sulfate levels can increase methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin that accumulates up the food chain.
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NewsClimate change is turning coastal lagoons into ‘salty soup’
The impacts of human activity and climate change are coalescing to make coastal lagoons saltier, changing the microbial life they support and the function they play in their ecosystems, according to new research.
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NewsDesigner microbe shows promise for reducing mercury absorption from seafood
Scientists who inserted DNA-encoding methylmercury detoxification enzymes into the genome of an abundant human gut bacterium found it detoxified methylmercury in the gut of mice and dramatically reduced the amount that reached other tissues.
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NewsMicrobes used to mine magnesium from waste heaps
Researchers have pioneered a microbially driven process that utilises low-value waste products, such as magnesium mine waste and sulfur from desulfurisation plants, to leach the wastes and generate a stream of solubilised magnesium.
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NewsMicrobes in Brooklyn Superfund site teach lessons on fighting industrial pollution
Researchers discover unprecedented pollution-fighting genetic adaptations in tiny organisms inhabiting Brooklyn’s highly contaminated Gowanus Canal, revealing a potential new approach for cleaning contaminated waters and recovering valuable resources.
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NewsScientists blame climate change for spread of infectious diseases and unleashing of ice-locked microbes in Arctic
Climate change is creating new pathways for the spread of infectious diseases like brucellosis, tularemia, or E. coli in the Arctic, according to a broad international consortium of scientists.
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NewsBacteria and minerals work together to detoxify arsenic in contaminated soils
New research shows that the interaction between arsenic-oxidizing bacteria and goethite, a common Fe mineral, significantly accelerates the conversion of arsenic from its highly toxic form, arsenite [As(III)], into the less harmful arsenate [As(V)].
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NewsToxic chemical pollutants detected in lichens and mosses in the Irati forest
Scientists used a species of lichen (Parmelia sulcata) and a species of moss (Hypnum cupressiforme) from Irati Forest as sentinels or biomonitors to determine the organic pollution in the atmosphere.
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NewsA Sustainable Development Goal for space?
Scientists have called for the designation of a new United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) with the aim to conserve and sustainably use Earth’s orbit, and prevent the accumulation of space junk.
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NewsTire-wear particles disrupt gut-liver function in aquatic organisms
Researchers have uncovered the adverse health effects of tire-wear particles (TWPs) on aquatic organisms. The study focused on the hepatotoxicity of TWP leachates, revealing significant impacts on the gut-liver axis and oxidative stress levels in test organisms.
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NewsLoss of ‘nitrogen fixers’ threatens biodiversity and ecosystems
A new study reveals that increased nitrogen deposition from human activity is reducing the diversity and evolutionary distinctiveness of nitrogen-fixing plants, leading to simplified plant communities with fewer species of nitrogen fixers.
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FeaturesMetabolomics: decoding the chemical language of life
Imagine if we could explore the entire molecular universe in our bodies, interpreting the intricate chemical changes related to health and disease at its most fundamental level.
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NewsResearchers discover an effective and environment-friendly disinfectant
Researchers have discovered a promising alternative to chloroxylenol that works more effectively in combating certain common bacteria, fungi and viruses, and can be rapidly degraded and detoxified in receiving waters.
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NewsScientists probe ‘superpower’ that allows soil bacteria to protect rice roots from pollution
Scientists have lifted the lid on how changes in cell surface hydrophobicity of a strain of soil bacterium may help to stave off heavy metal-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pollution from entering rice plant roots.