Pollution

It's possible that someday in the future, sunlight-powered robots may be able to swim across marine oil spills, soaking up the oil as they go. A tiny prototype has already been created, and it was inspired by both the steam engine and an insect.

Wastewater treatment plants generally aren't known for their nice smell, and they have to be monitored in order to ensure that they're not becoming too stinky. An experimental new system uses an "e-nose" and a drone to do the job better.

Because many cyclists ride all over town, they encounter a wide range of air quality – more so than could be monitored by stationary sensors. The bar-mounted Air was designed with that in mind, as it measures the air quality while its user pedals.

Even though it's vitally important to check drinking water sources for pollutants, some places lack the facilities for performing such tests. A new system could help, as it uses a smartphone camera to check up on tiny aquatic organisms.

We've been hearing a lot lately about how disintegrated waterborne trash is one of the main sources of ocean microplastics pollution. A new study, however, suggests that aging maritime rope could also be making a significant contribution.

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.

While wearable sensors can detect airborne toxins in the user's environment, any one device can usually only identify a few such substances. A potentially much more useful new sensor, however, can reportedly detect over 100 at once.

MIT researchers have found yet another use for the over-achieving wonder material graphene, by making a reusable filter out of graphene oxide foam that acts like a magnet for uranium, effectively pulling the radioactive element out of drinking water.

Municipalities regularly have to check for pollution in local waterways, often utilizing crews of workers in boats. The new Nixie system is intended to make things much quicker, simpler and ultimately cheaper, using a water-sampling drone instead.

New research led by the University of California Riverside has identified a relatively simple catalyst that can remove common pollutants called perchlorates, helping reduce water and soil pollution not just on Earth but potentially on Mars one day.

A new sponge-like material likened to a Swiss Army knife could help scientists tackle the problem of phosphate pollution and algae blooms, with the ability to not just capture phosphate from water sources but allow it to be collected for reuse.

The problem of microplastics pollution is getting worse, so it's important to monitor the amount of such plastic waste currently present in the world's oceans. According to a new study, a simple sea creature may better allow scientists to do so.