Collaborate Disseminate
Microplastics are a growing environmental problem, but now researchers in Korea have developed a new water purification system that can filter out these tiny fragments, as well as other pollutants, very quickly and with high efficiency.Continue Reading… Continue reading High-efficiency water filter removes 99.9% of microplastics in 10 seconds
While we know much of the plastic waste we generate winds up in bodies of water, what happens to it from there is still a large unknown. A new study documenting the accumulation of microplastic particles on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea has shed s… Continue reading Amount of microplastics on Mediterranean Sea floor triple in 20 years
The more scientists hone their techniques when it comes to studying plastic pollution, the more we understand about the way it moves through the environment, and it can often make for some uncomfortable reading. Researchers in Auckland have used advanc… Continue reading 3 million bottles worth of microplastics falling on Auckland each year
While the purification of wastewater once just involved the removal of traditional pollutants, it now also entails the removal of microplastic particles. A new powder reportedly does the job much quicker and more thoroughly than has previously been pos… Continue reading “Nanopillared” material removes microplastics from water via magnetism
As microplastics pollution and potable water scarcity both worsen, it’s becoming increasingly important to find efficient ways of filtering and desalinating seawater. A new aerogel definitely holds some promise, and it’s made from egg whites.Continue R… Continue reading Egg whites used to produce a cheap, effective, water-purifying filter
We know that marine animals of all sizes are inadvertently consuming plastics as they move through the ocean, but what does this diet look like for the largest of them all? To answer this question, scientists at Stanford University have analyzed the fo… Continue reading Study finds blue whales eat some 10 million microplastic particles a day
Imagine if there were a robotic fish that filtered microplastic particles out of the water as it swam. Well, now there is one, and it’s the physical version of the winning concept in the first-ever Natural Robotics Contest.Continue ReadingCategory: Rob… Continue reading Student-designed plastic-gulping fish wins bioinspired robotics contest
A significant percentage of waterborne microplastic pollution takes the form of synthetic microfibers, which are shed by our clothes as they’re being washed. A new device known as Gulp lets homeowners filter those fibers out of their wash water, keepin… Continue reading Gulp captures microfibers from eco-conscious users’ washing machines
Though we have much to learn about the health impacts of exposure to tiny plastic particles, studies continue to shed important light on how they might behave in the human body. The latest findings in this space center on liver and lung cells, which la… Continue reading Study shows plastics disrupting metabolism of lung and liver cells
Plastic pollution is a grave and growing concern, but the biggest problems that it poses may just come from its smallest forms. Tiny fragments of the stuff are now strewn across the entire globe and are beginning to show up in different parts of the hu… Continue reading What do we really know about microplastics and human health?