Chemicals

The European Food Safety Authority has reclassified food coloring E171 after an expert panel concluded it “can no longer be considered safe as a food additive.” The announcement comes after years of research indicated the additive may be unsafe.

A striking new study testing a number of over-the-counter weight loss and sports supplements has found they contain many combinations of stimulants that have either previously been prohibited by the FDA or never approved for human consumption.

A study is questioning the safety of a food preservative found in hundreds of products that is suspected of impairing immune system activity. The research calls for greater surveillance of the immunological effects of food additives.

A study is demonstrating a new screening method developed to better identify human-made chemicals in people. The proof-of-concept research discovered more than 100 chemicals, including 55 that have never been reported found in humans before.

Rice University researchers have happened upon a powerful new tool they say can neutralize the threat posed by dangerous pollutants known as "forever" chemicals, offering a new catalyst that can destroy them in a matter of hours.

New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is adding weight to a growing body of evidence suggesting the food additive titanium dioxide, also known as E171, can disrupt the gut microbiome, leading to colonic inflammation.

New research from an international team of scientists is suggesting that instantly recognizable earthy smell after rain is released by bacteria trying to attract a particular arthropod as a way to spread its spores.

Research from a team of US scientists is again raising doubt over the safety of “BPA-free” plastic products. The animal studies described in a new article suggest bisphenol S (BPS) “causes almost identical changes in gene expression” compared to BPA.

Adding chlorine is a common method of disinfecting drinking water, but just how safe is it? Johns Hopkins scientists have found evidence that reactions between chlorine and natural compounds in water may produce previously-unknown toxic byproducts.

Research has confirmed chemicals in sunscreen can be detected in the blood of users after just one application. But experts urge people continue using sunscreen as there is no evidence to suggest these findings point to negative health consequences.

Pulegone, a compound banned as a food additive by the FDA due to carcinogenic properties, has been found in high levels in a number of e-cigarette liquids.

Researchers from the Eindhoven University of Technology have fine-tuned an artificial leaf design and used it to produce drugs for the first time.