Ecotoxicology is the scientific discipline that studies the fate and effects of chemical, physical, and biological stressors on organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems in the environment. It integrates toxicology, ecology, environmental chemistry, and risk assessment to quantify exposure, dose–response relationships, and adverse outcome pathways under realistic environmental conditions. Ecotoxicology addresses contaminant transport, transformation, bioavailability, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification across trophic levels, and evaluates sublethal endpoints such as endocrine disruption, behavioral changes, and reproductive impairment. The field underpins environmental quality criteria, ecological risk assessment, and regulatory decision-making for pollutants including pesticides, metals, pharmaceuticals, and emerging contaminants.
Each year, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is responsible for an estimated 1.1 to 1.4 million deaths worldwide. Now, scientists have found evidence that the spread of AMR isn't always driven by bacteria evolving to resist ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 24, 2026
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1689
Recent data showing an increase in lead exposure and deaths among critically endangered California condors seems to fly in the face of decades of conservation measures, including bans on lead bullets and public-education ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 18, 2026
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19
A new study from the University of British Columbia has found that artificial turf fields across Metro Vancouver leach 6PPD-quinone, a chemical known to kill coho salmon, into municipal stormwater systems—and the contamination ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 18, 2026
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62
Plastic trash has reached the world's most remote locations, from the bottom of the Mariana Trench to the summit of Everest. Hundreds of plastic-eating microbes that could help us clean up have been discovered over the past ...
Evolution
Mar 18, 2026
1
354
Cigarette butts are the most common form of litter worldwide. Trillions are discarded every year in cities, parks, beaches, along railway tracks and roadside environments. Despite their small size, these remnants of smoked ...
Ehime University investigators measured 34 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in 100 commercial dog and cat foods sold in Japan and detected PFAS across many products, with higher concentrations in fish-based foods and dry ...
A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology has revealed the toxic "forever chemical," PFOS, can accumulate in exposed honeybee colonies and transfer to their honey, threatening pollinator viability, ...
Environment
Feb 26, 2026
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66
Plastic contamination in freshwater ecosystems continues to rise, resulting in micro- and nanoparticle accumulation in the aquatic environment. A new study by an aquatic ecology group at the University of Eastern Finland ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 23, 2026
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9
New research shows a single year of warmer-than-average Arctic temperatures can cause malnutrition in Arctic seals, intensifying risks to Inuit food security and northern ecosystems already under pressure from environmental ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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185
Imagine someone has chronic pain. One doctor focuses on the body part that hurts and keeps trying to fix that single symptom. Another uses a more comprehensive brain-body approach and tries to understand what's keeping the ...
Environment
Feb 17, 2026
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22
