Imagine thousands of kids playing on plastic sports courts and synthetic turf fields. Sounds fun, right? But what if these seemingly safe surfaces are hiding a secret? The dust released from these facilities contains higher levels of toxic metals like lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and even cadm
Have you ever thought about how to quickly and efficiently check for harmful metals in the water where seafood grows? Scientists are exploring a method called Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films, or DGT for short. They tested it in coastal aquaculture waters by using scallops named Argopecten irradian
You know those heavy rainstorms Texas is famous for? Well, they're doing more than just making a splash. They're also playing a big role in how much E. coli, a nasty bacteria, shows up in the state's recreational waterbodies. This isn't just a problem in one spot; it's happening all over. And guess
Imagine a hidden battle playing out in the rivers of Curitiba, Brazil. The culprits? Three drugs—azithromycin, ivermectin, and hydroxychloroquine—used widely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists dove into this issue, finding alarming levels of these medicines in both water and sediment from urba
Oral exams are like a game of chance—they can be fair or unfair, depending on who's asking the questions. In India, a team aimed to fix this by structuring oral exams for first-year med students. They made sure all questions were equal in number, time, and difficulty. Afterward, they asked students
Hey there! You might want to check your fridge. Cucumbers shipped to lots of places in the US and Canada are getting recalled due to a salmonella scare. SunFed Produce said they're pulling back whole fresh cucumbers sent to stores and restaurants between mid-October and late November. You'll find th
Have you ever thought about what happens to all the plastic we throw away? A lot of it ends up in the air we breathe as microplastics. These tiny plastic pieces, less than 5 millimeters in size, are everywhere, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains. They come from things like old tires, f
Emerging contaminants (ECs) are pollutants that have started to show up in our waterways. They come from things like personal care products, antibiotics, painkillers, hormone disruptors, and even psychiatric medications. Scientists have gotten better at finding these pollutants, but we still need mo
Hey there! If you're a fan of raw milk, listen up. Health officials in LA County are raising the alarm about some raw milk from Raw Farm Milk, LLC that might be carrying the bird flu virus. This isn't some ordinary milk, it's the cream top whole milk sold in half and quarter gallons with a certain l
Fresh veggies might seem like a healthy choice, but they can hide some nasty surprises. In Northeast Thailand, where the weather is hot and humid, and farming is big, these surprises come in the form of intestinal parasites. These tiny critters can make you sick, which is a real problem for people l
