
Exposure to microplastic makes animals want to eat it more
18 July 2025
Over multiple generations, small nematode worms began preferring microplastic-contaminated food over cleaner options, which could have consequences for ecosystem health
18 July 2025
Over multiple generations, small nematode worms began preferring microplastic-contaminated food over cleaner options, which could have consequences for ecosystem health
7 May 2025
The average human brain contains around 7 grams of plastic, but it’s unclear how this affects us. Now animal studies are revealing links to poor cognition and weird behaviour
14 February 2025
A UK start-up is producing dyes made by bacteria and yeast rather than fossil fuel-derived chemicals, which could help clothes manufacturers cut energy use and pollution
16 January 2024
The salt we spread to keep roads safe in winter is damaging ecosystems and threatening water supplies. Do alternatives, from coffee grounds to cheese brine, work?
25 May 2023
Around half of all wetlands in the contiguous US will now lose their protections under the Clean Water Act, exposing them to pollution and development
4 May 2022
Clouds of foam containing toxic chemicals are floating through a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Bogotá, and residents say they it is making them sick
9 February 2022
A sustainable future means using less stuff more wisely – but politicians aren’t yet grasping the nettle, says the head of the UN International Resource Panel
9 February 2022
We hack almost 100 billion tonnes of stuff from Earth’s surface every year, and most of it goes to waste. Changing that means a complete overhaul of how we live
16 December 2021
Gold mining in the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira would drive deforestation and increase mercury pollution, say ecologists
21 July 2021
Thousands of synthetic substances have leaked into ecosystems everywhere, and we are only just beginning to realise the devastating consequences