In the context of substances, “particulate” refers to discrete solid or liquid particles suspended within a continuous medium, typically air or liquid, characterized by their size distribution, morphology, and chemical composition. Particulate substances range from nanometers to hundreds of micrometers in diameter and can be composed of inorganic materials (e.g., metals, salts, mineral dust) or organic matter (e.g., soot, biological fragments, organics). Their physicochemical properties, including surface area, hygroscopicity, and reactivity, govern processes such as aggregation, sedimentation, and interaction with radiation or surrounding phases, and are critical parameters in fields like aerosol science, toxicology, and materials research.
More than 170,000 respiratory cases were recorded in regions affected by haze in Indonesia, a Health Ministry official said Tuesday, as the country has battled for weeks to control fires that caused the toxic smog.
Environment
Sep 22, 2026
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8
With Western wildfires increasing in size, duration and intensity, millions of Americans are now exposed to wildfire smoke each year. In California, 2020 and 2021 were particularly challenging, with a 10-fold increase in ...
Environment
Sep 11, 2026
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15
Cleaner engine standards and a gradual uptake of electric vehicles have been credited with helping improve Auckland's air quality in recent years.
Environment
Sep 9, 2026
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8
Aerosols have a profound influence on air quality, human health, clouds and climate, but new particle formation in the atmosphere has remained a scientific conundrum. Large fractions of airborne fine particulate matter consist ...
Environment
Aug 31, 2026
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8
What does a clean room smell like? Many people say citrus, pine, or flowers because these fragrances are common in cleaning products. A research team led by Brandon Boor found that scent compounds in cleaning products—conventional ...
Bio & Medicine
Aug 27, 2026
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As wildfire smoke plumes travel thousands of miles, sunlight and atmospheric chemistry bleach their color, strip away their campfire aroma and add them to the mix of urban smog.
Environment
Aug 25, 2026
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8
New research from Purdue University demonstrates how organic aerosol molecules can influence one another's behavior in ways that existing atmospheric models do not fully capture.
Environment
Aug 19, 2026
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8
NASA has released a report recommending an initial health standard for the Martian dust that astronauts could inhale during future missions. Although sending people to Mars is still years away, NASA needs to establish safety ...
Space Exploration
Aug 18, 2026
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21
An air pollution monitoring network has provided one of the most detailed long-term views yet of the role of black carbon, or soot produced by fires, diesel vehicles and other combustion sources, in Ethiopia's capital, Addis ...
Environment
Aug 18, 2026
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7
Taiwan's air has gotten measurably cleaner over the past decade, yet in many towns the hazy, milky-white sky that blurs mountains and city skylines has not cleared at the same pace. A research team led by Prof. Ta-Chih Hsiao ...
Environment
Aug 12, 2026
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