https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) have traced the atmospheric journey of industrial mercury emissions from Asia into the open ocean food web. The new study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, shows that more than half of the gaseous mercury emitted from Asian sources oxidizes into Hg²⁺, a reactive and bioavailable form of the pollutant. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-industrial-mercury-emissions-asia-ocean.html Environment Tue, 02 Sep 2025 12:11:03 EDT news676033861 Climate change is melting glaciers and permafrost in the mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado, exposing rocks and freeing up minerals containing sulfate, a form of sulfur, to flow downstream into local watersheds. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-elevated-mercury-colorado-mountain-wetlands.html Earth Sciences Fri, 16 May 2025 14:35:04 EDT news666624901 What if counteracting mercury contamination in waterways could be as simple as adding selenium? That proposition has gained traction among some scientists and governments, but new research from Cornell and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) suggests the idea is likely too good to be true. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-mayflies-retain-mercury-adults-selenium.html Environment Mon, 28 Apr 2025 10:20:02 EDT news665053880 A study found that invasive zebra mussels significantly alter aquatic ecosystems, and are associated with elevated mercury concentrations in fish. Mercury, a potent neurotoxin, poses a serious threat to both aquatic life and human health. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-invasive-zebra-mussels-elevated-mercury.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 Nov 2024 11:44:04 EST news651325442 Bacteria are a valuable source for the discovery of natural products that can be used for the development of new drugs. A HIPS research team has now identified two new classes of active substances with antimicrobial properties from bacteria that live in symbiosis with a toxic bird. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-source-drugs-toxic-birds.html Plants & Animals Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:06:34 EDT news647514391 In the search for ways to fight methylmercury in global waterways, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered that some forms of phytoplankton are good at degrading the potent neurotoxin. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-microalgae-detoxify-methylmercury.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 09 Aug 2023 10:11:57 EDT news610794712 A potent neurotoxin that has long been associated with mass die-offs of marine mammals during harmful algal blooms has been detected in bottlenose dolphins from the Indian River Lagoon estuary. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-algal-bloom-neurotoxin-non-bloom-periods.html Plants & Animals Mon, 24 Feb 2020 08:10:05 EST news501753825 It's billed as a health booster and healing agent, but it may be the source of cognitive defects and other severe ailments. A new Stanford-led study reveals that turmeric—a commonly used spice throughout South Asia—is sometimes adulterated with a lead-laced chemical compound in Bangladesh, one of the world's predominant turmeric-growing regions. https://phys.org/news/2019-09-turmeric.html Environment Tue, 24 Sep 2019 10:32:53 EDT news488539966 Adventurous fans of the sushi delicacy fugu – or pufferfish – already know the food's intoxicating tingle comes from tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin that's deadly beyond small doses. What these diners and others didn't know, until now, is the toxin is found in organisms living out of water. https://phys.org/news/2014-06-biologists-deadly-ttx-toxin-terrestrial.html Plants & Animals Wed, 25 Jun 2014 17:00:03 EDT news322923591 Microbes that live in rice paddies, northern peat bogs and other previously unexpected environments are among the bacteria that can generate highly toxic methylmercury, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center have learned. https://phys.org/news/2013-09-toxic-methylmercury-producing-microbes-widespread.html Environment Thu, 12 Sep 2013 15:00:24 EDT news298216813 (Phys.org) -- Environmental scientists at Harvard have discovered that the Arctic accumulation of mercury, a toxic element, is caused by both atmospheric forces and the flow of circumpolar rivers that carry the element north into the Arctic Ocean. https://phys.org/news/2012-05-toxic-mercury-accumulating-arctic-hidden.html Earth Sciences Mon, 21 May 2012 06:25:12 EDT news256800283