Environmental

Exposure to phthalates, a chemical used to manufacture thousands of everyday products, has been linked to an increased risk of childhood cancer. The findings add to research suggesting this chemical may have various deleterious health effects in humans.

Striking new research estimates lead exposure, primarily from car exhaust in the 1960s and 1970s, has negatively affected the IQ of more than half the population of the US, and resulted in the loss of up to six IQ points in some people.

Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas – and now it looks like we may have underestimated how much is being released. A new study has identified the thawing Siberian permafrost as a huge, previously unknown source of nitrous oxide emissions.

Glitter spruces up everything from makeup to craft projects, but one thing it doesn’t improve is the environment. A new biodegradable glitter swaps out the plastic and aluminum for plant-based cellulose, which can be produced at scale.

A new study is reporting half of US children under the age of six have detectable levels of lead in their blood. The study tracked data from over a million children and is the first of this scale to analyze small traces of lead in blood samples.

Agriculture is a huge environmental issue in many ways, but one that’s often overlooked is livestock urination. Researchers from Germany and New Zealand have now demonstrated a potential way to reduce that problem – by toilet-training cows.

The James Dyson Award is an international competition to encourage students to get creative to solve the world's pressing problems. The national finalists have been announced for 2021, showcasing ideas that help people and the environment.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere attracts most of the attention in environmental concerns, but much of that ends up in oceans, making them more acidic. Now scientists have created nanojars that can easily capture this and other pollutants from water.

Climate change can feel inevitable, but we’ve stepped up to the challenge before. New modeling shows how bad things would be if CFCs hadn’t been banned decades ago – depleted ozone would've increased UV exposure and stopped plants capturing carbon.

Many renewable energy technologies require metals that are mined through environmentally destructive processes. Now, Oxford scientists are investigating a new way to mine valuable metals trapped in hot brines beneath volcanoes.

The Greenland Ice Sheet is associated with a range of environmental issues, but now researchers have discovered a surprising new problem. Glacial meltwater was found to be unexpectedly high in mercury, which could end up in ecosystems and seafood.

Most plastics don’t break down easily – and when they do, they create problematic microplastic particles. A new type of compostable plastic is embedded with enzymes that, when triggered, quickly break the material down to its constituent molecules.