Wastewater treatment plants funnel PFAS into drinking water
Wastewater treatment plants in the US may discharge enough “forever chemicals” to raise concentrations in drinking water above the safe limit for millions of people
Lead pollution across the Roman Empire would have caused IQ deficits
Lead records from Arctic glaciers indicate that people all over Europe would have been affected by pollution from metal smelting during the Roman era
AI uses throat vibrations to work out what someone is trying to say
Throat vibrations made by people who find it difficult to speak, such as after a stroke, can be analysed by AI and used to create sentences
The problems with Dry January – and what you could try doing instead
Many people decide to give up alcohol during January. But is this actually helpful in the long-term and are there better, easier ways to change our drinking habits, asks Ian Hamilton
Pluto may have captured its moon Charon with a brief kiss
Simulations suggest Pluto and its largest moon may have gently stuck together for a few hours before Charon settled into a stable orbit around the dwarf planet
Secrets of velvet ant’s venom explain what makes its sting so painful
A velvet ant sting is like “hot oil spilling over your hand” – now, scientists have identified molecules in its venom that let it deliver excruciating pain to a variety of other animals
5 graphs that show how the world suddenly changed when covid-19 hit
From carbon emissions to the share price of videoconferencing firm Zoom, these graphs tell the story of how the covid-19 pandemic changed everything
Permafrost thaw beneath Arctic lakes poses surprise pollution threat
Deep sediments under Arctic lakes could release large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, adding to the threat of runaway climate change
Electric fields could mine rare earth metals with less harm
Smartphones, electric vehicles and wind turbines rely on environmentally destructive rare earth mining operations. Harnessing electric fields could make this mining more sustainable
Global treaty is failing to curb ultra-potent greenhouse gas emissions
Countries have pledged to phase out HFC-23, a powerful greenhouse gas, but atmospheric data shows that emissions are five times higher than governments are reporting