Selenium is a trace element of significant interest in biomedical and environmental research due to its dual role as an essential micronutrient and potential toxicant. In biological systems, selenium is incorporated as selenocysteine into selenoproteins, including glutathione peroxidases, thioredoxin reductases, and iodothyronine deiodinases, which are critical for redox homeostasis, antioxidant defense, and thyroid hormone metabolism. Research topics encompass selenium’s bioavailability, speciation, metabolic pathways, and its involvement in immune function, carcinogenesis, and cardiometabolic health, as well as ecological cycling, soil-plant transfer, and risk assessment related to deficiency or excess exposure in human and animal populations.
An estimated 500 million to 1 billion people worldwide are affected by selenium deficiency, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Researchers at Wageningen University & Research (WUR), working with the University ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 22, 2026
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16
Brazil nuts are an especially nutrient-rich source of food: They contain important minerals like calcium and magnesium, essential amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids. Brazil nuts are characterized by very high selenium ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 22, 2025
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68
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 ...
Environment
Apr 28, 2025
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Physicists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have achieved controlled conformational arrangements in nanostructures using a flexible precursor and selenium doping, enhancing material properties and structural ...
Nanophysics
Sep 16, 2024
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As the aging population around the world grows, metabolic diseases like osteoporosis are becoming more prevalent and placing a greater burden on health care systems. Rising to this challenge, a research team led by Prof. ...
Bio & Medicine
Nov 15, 2023
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93
Selenium is a micronutrient that plays an essential role in human health but is toxic at high levels. However, new biomedical research has shown selenium actually has anti-cancer properties when used at high doses.
Bio & Medicine
Mar 10, 2023
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