All pollution articles
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News
A 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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News
Tire-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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News
Loss 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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Features
Metabolomics: 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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News
Researchers 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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News
Scientists 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.
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News
Biosurfactants may offer green solution for tackling oil spills
Researchers investigating whether biosurfactants could increase microbiological oil degradation in North Sea seawater say there is potential for a more effective and environmentally friendly oil spill response.
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Careers
World Youth Skills Day 2023 - the inspirational young scientists who are going places
We’re celebrating the upcoming generation of young microbiologists on World Youth Skills Day 2023 by highlighting some of the inspirational student winners of the Grand Awards of Regeneron ISEF 2023.
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News
Planting choices nurture microbes that break down petroleum contamination
Planting grasses or adding fertilizer, or a combination of both, to a contaminated site has surprisingly persistent effects on the microbes associated with local vegetation, a study has found.
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News
Two biological cleaners break down ‘forever chemicals’
Scientists have identified two species of bacteria found in soil that break down a class of stubborn ’forever chemicals’, giving hope for low-cost biological cleanup of industrial pollutants.
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News
Decades of conflict in Iraq fuel ‘catastrophic’ rise in antimicrobial resistance
Decades of wars and conflict in Iraq have led to a “catastrophic” rise in antimicrobial resistance in the country, with serious implications for the entire region and the world, international experts have warned.
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News
Biorefinery uses microbial fuel cell to upcycle resistant plant waste
Researchers have developed a sustainable, inexpensive two-step process that can upcycle organic carbon waste - including lignin - transforming it into antioxidant flavonoids for nutrition and medicine. .By processing waste through a microbe-driven biorefinery, the researchers turned lignin into carbon sources that could be used in high-value, plant-derived pharmaceuticals and ...
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News
Novel strain of Shigella in gut of bottom-dwelling fish beats off competition with help of T2SS
A novel strain of Shigella isolated from the gut of a bottom-dwelling fish exposed to high loads of heavy metals and antibiotics has been found to have the first Type 2 secretion system fully documented in the bacterium.
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News
Plankton may reveal ocean history - and even predict trends in chronic human illness
Tapping an almost century-long survey, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers say marine plankton may offer way to monitor historical marine pollution trends; and perhaps be used to predict trends in childhood and adult chronic illnesses.
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News
Common fungus eradicates toxic mercury from soil and water
Researchers have found that the fungus Metarhizium robertsii removes mercury from the soil around plant roots, and from fresh and saltwater, and have genetically engineered the fungus to amplify its mercury detoxifying effects.
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News
Bacteria can be programmed as fast-responding pollution sensors
Scientists and engineers at Rice University have engineered living bioelectronic sensors based on bacteria that can quickly sense and report on the presence of a variety of contaminants.