Collaborate Disseminate
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?
Microplastics are a growing environmental problem, but a new study could help cut out a decent chunk of them. The authors showed that silk could be a biodegradable replacement for microbeads and plastic particles that are often added to cosmetics, pain… Continue reading MIT’s silk capsules aim to take a bite out of microplastic pollution
Scientists in the Netherlands studying the spread of plastic waste have turned their eye to meat and dairy products, and discovered high rates of contamination in farm animals. The findings shed new light on the way microplastics move through the food … Continue reading Microplastics found in the meat, milk and blood of farm animals
There is a lot for us still to learn about the dangers microplastics pose to the environment and the health of living organisms, but one thing is clear, their presence is widespread and only becoming more-so. Scientists have come up with a novel cleanu… Continue reading Light-activated fish-shaped robot soaks up microplastics from the water
The ongoing discovery of microplastics in remote, seemingly pristine corners of the world continues to add important detail to a troubling picture of widespread pollution, and the latest finding takes the threat into new terrain. In freshly fallen snow… Continue reading First microplastics discovered in freshly fallen Antarctic snow