/ en-us Â鶹ŇůÔş internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ŇůÔşics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers at the University of Adelaide have developed a sunlight-activated material that can degrade per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water, breaking down the pollutant into harmless components, including fluoride. The work is published in the journal Small. /news/2025-08-sunlight-material-pfas-harmless-fluoride.html Materials Science Fri, 08 Aug 2025 08:56:03 EDT news673862161 Researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) have analyzed various bodies of water in Berlin for traces of nicotine. They detected nicotine in all of the samples, with concentrations ranging from 7 to about 1,500 nanograms per liter. /news/2025-08-nicotine-berlin.html Environment Wed, 06 Aug 2025 10:52:03 EDT news673696321 A water contamination scandal has gripped a leafy corner of southern Belgium, causing anxious residents to queue up for blood tests to confirm potential exposure to so-called forever chemicals. /news/2025-07-belgian-region-grapples-chemical-scandal.html Environment Sat, 26 Jul 2025 05:27:16 EDT news672726426 The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has this week released new data which tells us about the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Australians' bodies. /news/2025-05-pfas-blood.html Environment Thu, 29 May 2025 10:29:04 EDT news667733341 The 120-mile Tijuana River flows from Baja California into the United States and discharges millions of gallons of wastewater—including sewage, industrial waste and runoff—into the Pacific Ocean every day, making it the dominant source of coastal pollution in the region. /news/2025-05-pollution-tijuana-river-affects-air.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 28 May 2025 14:00:05 EDT news667641962 An electrochemical sensor designed to address a global health issue that particularly impacts people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has been created by a multidisciplinary team at KAUST. The sensor detects low vitamin D levels in blood samples, providing early warning of an essential vitamin deficiency that can have severe health consequences if left untreated. /news/2025-05-mxene-antibody-sensor-enables-accurate.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Wed, 14 May 2025 14:25:04 EDT news666451501 The European Union has banned the use of bisphenol A (BPA). This came into effect with Regulation 2024/3190 in late 2024, but it took over 20 years of scientific study to cut out this silent toxin. BPA slowly enters our bodies at low concentrations, meaning its health effects are not usually discovered until they are serious. /news/2025-05-eu-bpas-common-toxic-compound.html Environment Thu, 01 May 2025 12:32:21 EDT news665321539 Nankai University researchers have found that plant leaves can directly absorb microplastics (MPs) from the atmosphere, leading to a widespread presence of plastic polymers in vegetation. Concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS) were detected in leaves collected from multiple environments, including urban areas and agricultural sites. The study is published in the journal Nature. /news/2025-04-airborne-microplastics-infiltrate-environmental.html Environment Tue, 15 Apr 2025 06:30:01 EDT news663841321 On January 9, approximately a full day after the Eaton fire devastated the foothill area of Altadena, north of the Caltech campus in Pasadena, California, several specialized scientific instruments in a shipping container in Pico Rivera, about 11 miles to the south, detected a spike in atmospheric concentrations, particularly of chlorine and lead—both known to be toxic at low levels. When at their maximum that day, chlorine levels reached about 40 times the normal amount, and lead peaked at more than 100 times the usual level. /news/2025-01-aerosol-site-aftermath-urban-firestorm.html Environment Tue, 28 Jan 2025 15:44:05 EST news657301441 A type of "forever chemical" linked to health problems and birth defects has been found in the tap water of many French cities and towns including Paris, according to a study released on Thursday. /news/2025-01-french-cities-contaminated-chemicals-reveals.html Environment Thu, 23 Jan 2025 09:53:05 EST news656848378 Imagine a glacier. Are you thinking "glittering snow" or "plastic pollution?" A new study underscores the pervasive nature of plastic pollution, even in such remote and apparently pristine areas. /news/2025-01-mountaineers-scientists-nanoplastics-remote-glaciers.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 20 Jan 2025 12:40:03 EST news656599201 On the Pic du Midi in the Pyrenees, ETH researchers have analyzed particulate matter, clouds and rainwater for traces of arsenic. Using newly developed measurement methods, they have elucidated the transport pathways of the environmental toxin in the atmosphere. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications. /news/2025-01-arsenic-atmospheric-journey-methods-reveal.html Environment Thu, 09 Jan 2025 15:37:03 EST news655659421 Spiders have always lived alongside humans, so it's surprising how much we still don't know about them. One long-standing mystery was related to how spiders detect smells. Now, our latest research has finally uncovered the secret. /news/2025-01-spiders-legs.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 07 Jan 2025 11:57:03 EST news655473421 Getting places in space quickly has been the goal of propulsion research for a long time. Rockets, our most common means of doing so, are great for providing lots of force but are extraordinarily inefficient. Other options like electric propulsion and solar sailing are efficient but offer measly amounts of force, albeit for a long time. /news/2024-12-antimatter-propulsion.html Space Exploration Mon, 16 Dec 2024 10:49:04 EST news653568541 When responding to a hazardous spill, every second counts—and Purdue University researchers have found a way to maximize that time. /news/2024-12-faster-hazardous-response-method.html Environment Thu, 12 Dec 2024 16:32:05 EST news653243521 Researchers have shown that optical spring tracking is a promising way to improve the signal clarity of gravitational-wave detectors. The advance could one day allow scientists to see farther into the universe and provide more information about how black holes and neutron stars behave as they merge. /news/2024-12-dynamic-tracking-technique-noise-gravitational.html Astronomy Wed, 04 Dec 2024 15:10:44 EST news652547438 A new study has revealed there may be a significant underestimation of a specific type of PFAS "forever chemical" in the environment. /news/2024-11-firefighting-foam-pfoa.html Environment Mon, 25 Nov 2024 08:37:37 EST news651746064 Residential garden produce grown near the Fayetteville Works fluorochemical plant can expose those who consume it to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), according to a new study conducted by researchers from North Carolina State University, East Carolina University and the Colorado School of Mines. /news/2024-11-garden-grown-fayetteville-fluorochemical-genx.html Agriculture Wed, 20 Nov 2024 09:40:53 EST news651318047 While photos of littered beaches and floating garbage patches are unsettling, perhaps the most problematic plastic is barely visible to the naked eye. Called microplastics—chunks less than 5 millimeters across—these bits have been detected everywhere from Arctic sea ice to national parks. /news/2024-11-experts-microplastics-pose.html Ecology Tue, 19 Nov 2024 14:51:06 EST news651250261 Scientists and engineers are developing new ways to destroy per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) efficiently and sustainably. This class of chemicals is known as "forever chemicals" because PFAS persist and accumulate in the environment, animals and our bodies. /news/2024-10-technologies-destroy-persistent-chemicals.html Materials Science Mon, 14 Oct 2024 12:28:04 EDT news648127681 Per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, known commonly as PFAS, could take over 40 years to flush out of contaminated groundwater in North Carolina's Cumberland and Bladen counties, according to a new study from North Carolina State University. The study used a novel combination of data on PFAS, groundwater age-dating tracers, and groundwater flux to forecast PFAS concentrations in groundwater discharging to tributaries of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. /news/2024-10-years-flush-pfas-groundwater.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 10 Oct 2024 14:46:03 EDT news647790361 A study on Hampstead Heath shows that ponds where dogs are allowed to swim contain levels of two pesticides harmful to invertebrate life. /news/2024-10-dogs-contaminate-london-ponds-parasite.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Tue, 08 Oct 2024 10:59:05 EDT news647603942 In a significant advancement for point-of-care medical diagnostics, a team of researchers from UCLA has introduced a deep learning-enhanced, paper-based vertical flow assay (VFA) capable of detecting cardiac troponin I (cTnI) with high sensitivity. The innovative assay holds the potential to democratize access to rapid and reliable cardiac diagnostics, particularly in resource-limited settings. /news/2024-10-paper-based-sensor-rapid-cardiac.html Bio & Medicine Sun, 06 Oct 2024 12:37:06 EDT news647437014 A new study documents how Southern Californians are chronically being exposed to toxic airborne chemicals called plasticizers, including one that's been banned from children's items and beauty products. /news/2024-10-southern-california-high-airborne-plasticizers.html Environment Tue, 01 Oct 2024 17:11:03 EDT news647021461 The spatial distribution of ambient aerosol particles plays a huge role in aerosol–radiation–cloud interactions; however, not enough sampling has been done from the atmospheric boundary layer and lower free troposphere. This leaves large gaps in predictions of anthropogenic changes in the atmospheric energy balance. /news/2024-09-approach-reveals-aerosol-properties-hard.html Environment Fri, 27 Sep 2024 12:32:02 EDT news646659121 RIKEN researchers have discovered how the structure of drugs for treating epilepsy allows them to interact with a key protein found in synapses at the junctions of neurons. This knowledge could help to design even better drugs for the condition. /news/2024-09-scientists-uncover-secrets-antiepileptic-drugs.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 27 Sep 2024 11:10:10 EDT news646654202 In October 2021, thousands of dead and dying crabs and lobsters washed up along 45 miles (70km) of coastline in north-east England. This mass-mortality event coincided with the redevelopment of one of the UK's largest ports at Teesside. /news/2024-09-toxic-chemical-blamed-thousands-teesside.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 17 Sep 2024 15:16:04 EDT news645804961 The Australian parliament will conduct a national inquiry into the dangers of "forever chemicals." /news/2024-08-chemicals.html Environment Sat, 24 Aug 2024 12:30:01 EDT news643627349 In 1971, English mathematical physicist and Nobel-prize winner Roger Penrose proposed how energy could be extracted from a rotating black hole. He argued that this could be done by building a harness around the black hole's accretion disk, where infalling matter is accelerated to close to the speed of light, triggering the release of energy in multiple wavelengths. /news/2024-08-professor-black-hole-orbit-planet.html Astronomy Astrobiology Fri, 23 Aug 2024 11:44:03 EDT news643632241 A large sample of European drinking water has detected a substance linked to "forever chemicals" used in pesticides and refrigeration, a coalition of non-governmental organizations said Wednesday. /news/2024-07-europe-contaminated-chemical-ngos.html Environment Wed, 10 Jul 2024 10:19:46 EDT news639825581