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 at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), together with Wismut GmbH and scientists from the University of Granada in Spain, have demonstrated for the first time that bacteria can convert uranium dissolved in water into a stable chemical compound when they have access to glycerol as a food source. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bacteria-dissolved-uranium-stable-compound.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:20:10 EDT news702888774 In 1989, the Soviet nuclear-powered attack submarine Komsomolets sank to the bottom of the Norwegian Sea, along with its nuclear reactor and two nuclear warheads onboard. Komsomolets was constructed with a titanium alloy exterior that allowed it to reach far greater depths than any other submarine at the time. Now, it has stayed at these depths for over 30 years, slowly leaking radioactive materials and creating ongoing concerns about radioactive contamination. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-sunken-soviet-submarine-ongoing-radioactive.html Environment Tue, 24 Mar 2026 11:40:06 EDT news693569329 A research team led by Prof. Luan Fubo from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has uncovered a novel mechanism involving a ternary surface complex on titanium dioxide (TiO₂) that improves the simultaneous removal of arsenic (As) and uranium (U) from contaminated groundwater. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-tio-nanoparticles-simultaneous-arsenic-uranium.html Nanomaterials Tue, 25 Mar 2025 10:32:03 EDT news662117522 A research team led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has discovered "berkelocene," the first organometallic molecule to be characterized containing the heavy element berkelium. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-scientists-heavy-metal-molecule-berkelocene.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 11 Mar 2025 12:09:04 EDT news660913741 As the climate warms and Arctic permafrost thaws, some of the toxic elements locked away in it are starting to emerge and could contaminate the water supplies that many northern communities rely on. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-northern-toxic-metals-permafrost.html Earth Sciences Wed, 30 Oct 2024 16:26:15 EDT news649524364 An international team of scientists has uncovered toxic metals in mineral phosphate fertilizers worldwide by using a new tool to identify the spread and impact of such contaminants on soil, water resources, and food supply. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-scientists-geochemical-fingerprint-contaminants-fertilizer.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 17 May 2024 14:10:08 EDT news635173801 A new technique developed by researchers in Germany can measure ionization states of this element more precisely than before, with implications for its detection and remediation in radioactive waste. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-probing-neptunium-atomic-laser-spectroscopy.html General Physics Thu, 09 May 2024 10:13:56 EDT news634468432 When designing repositories for high-level radioactive waste in deep geological layers, various factors must be carefully considered to ensure their long-term safety. Among other things, natural communities of microorganisms can influence the behavior of the waste, especially when it comes into contact with water. The microorganisms interact with released radionuclides and influence their mobility. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-uranium-immobilizing-bacteria-clay-exploring.html Earth Sciences Tue, 16 Apr 2024 15:26:24 EDT news632499982 A research team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has managed to purify water containing uranium using a special kind of bacteria known as magnetotactic bacteria. The name derives from their ability to react to magnetic fields. They can accumulate dissolved heavy metal in their cell walls. These research findings also shed new light on the interaction between uranium and bioligands. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-magnetic-bacteria-microorganisms-dangerous-heavy.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 09 May 2023 09:53:17 EDT news602844794 A new research study describes a previously unknown chemical process for removal of uranium from groundwater. Deep down in the bedrock, in an oxygen-free environment, microbes assist in the process of turning uranium "into rock." This finding might be an important tool for inhibiting the spread of toxic uranium in groundwater. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-subsurface-microbes-capture-toxic-uranium.html Earth Sciences Fri, 21 Apr 2023 09:55:48 EDT news601289743 Among domestic mushroom pickers in Germany it goes without saying that many edible mushrooms in our forests are still contaminated with radionuclides as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Less well known is that mushrooms can also accumulate other heavy metals. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-mushrooms-alike-fine-underground-braids.html Plants & Animals Wed, 21 Dec 2022 15:19:51 EST news590858388 A team of scientists at the Tufts University School of Engineering has developed a new filtering technology. Inspired by biology, it could help curb a drinking water-related disease that affects tens of millions of people worldwide and potentially improve environmental remediation, industrial and chemical production, and mining, among other processes. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-filtering-method-safer-industrial-production.html Polymers Mon, 06 Sep 2021 15:00:06 EDT news550148258 For decades, scientists suspected that bacteria known as Geobacter could clean up radioactive uranium waste, but it wasn't clear how the microbes did it. https://phys.org/news/2021-08-sponge-bacteria-geobacter-uranium.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 12 Aug 2021 07:25:58 EDT news547971949 Some kinds of water pollution, such as algal blooms and plastics that foul rivers, lakes, and marine environments, lie in plain sight. But other contaminants are not so readily apparent, which makes their impact potentially more dangerous. Among these invisible substances is uranium. Leaching into water resources from mining operations, nuclear waste sites, or from natural subterranean deposits, the element can now be found flowing out of taps worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2021-08-graphene-foam-filter-toxins.html Materials Science Wed, 04 Aug 2021 15:35:16 EDT news547310111 Uranium contamination of soils and groundwater in the United States represents a significant health risk and will require multiple remediation approaches. https://phys.org/news/2021-05-environmental-microbes-uranium-groundwater.html Earth Sciences Thu, 06 May 2021 08:22:17 EDT news539508134 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have developed a new method for 3-D printing living microbes in controlled patterns, expanding the potential for using engineered bacteria to recover rare-earth metals, clean wastewater, detect uranium and more. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-lab-d-microbes-biomaterials.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:58:48 EST news531651524 While studying legacy contaminated soil samples from the Plutonium Finishing Plant waste crib at the Hanford Site (Richland, WA), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers located and extracted tiny crystals containing plutonium. How, they wondered, had the crystals formed? https://phys.org/news/2020-10-crystal-reveals-nuclear-materials.html Materials Science Thu, 22 Oct 2020 08:02:43 EDT news522572559 New research by University of Alberta scientists on the risks for metal contamination at an inactive mining site in northwestern Saskatchewan could help inform a strategy for a safe long-term reclamation of the site. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-metal-contamination-inactive-reclamation-efforts.html Earth Sciences Thu, 17 Sep 2020 08:00:02 EDT news519548219 Most people are familiar with uranium as a fuel for nuclear power plants. And while that's the most common application, this element is also used in many other fields, such as dyes, medical devices, and weapons. Scientists at EPFL's Environmental Microbiology Laboratory (EML) have recently made an important discovery about uranium that could have major implications for soil and groundwater remediation as well as radioactive waste management. Their research has just been published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-uranium-reveals-true-nature.html Materials Science Fri, 14 Aug 2020 08:27:06 EDT news516612423 According to some experts, nuclear power holds great promise for meeting the world's growing energy demands without generating greenhouse gases. But scientists need to find a way to remove radioactive isotopes, both from wastewater generated by nuclear power plants and from the environment in case of a spill. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed tiny, self-propelled robots that remove radioactive uranium from simulated wastewater. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-microrobots-radioactive.html Nanophysics Wed, 30 Oct 2019 12:54:52 EDT news491658886 The presence of uranium in groundwater can lead to severe health problems, from renal failure to cancer. Standard methods to detect uranium involve time-consuming processes and expensive, non-portable equipment. Measurements are therefore rarely performed in-field, which adds time between the moment of contamination and the moment of detection, delaying remediation efforts. https://phys.org/news/2018-11-paper-based-lateral-device-uranium-groundwater.html Nanomaterials Fri, 02 Nov 2018 10:29:42 EDT news460373375 Groundwater contamination is increasingly recognized as a widespread environmental problem. The most important course of action often involves long-term monitoring. But what is the most cost-effective way to monitor when the contaminant plumes are large, complex, and long-term, or an unexpected event such as a storm could cause sudden changes in contaminant levels that may be missed by periodic sampling? https://phys.org/news/2018-08-algorithm-early-tracking-groundwater-contamination.html Environment Mon, 13 Aug 2018 13:14:36 EDT news453384866 A new Duke University-led study has found widespread uranium contamination in groundwater from aquifers in 16 Indian states. https://phys.org/news/2018-06-widespread-uranium-contamination-india-groundwater.html Environment Thu, 07 Jun 2018 14:26:51 EDT news447600400 Sewage treatment may be an unglamorous job, but bacteria are happy to do it. Sewage plants rely on bacteria to remove environmental toxins from waste so that the processed water can be safely discharged into oceans and rivers. https://phys.org/news/2018-04-swamp-microbe-pollution-munching-power.html Environment Wed, 11 Apr 2018 16:37:29 EDT news442683437 Uranium, the radioactive element that fuels nuclear power plants and occurs naturally in the Earth's crust, is typically mined from large sandstone deposits deep underground. The uranium in these deposits, which are called roll fronts, has long been thought to form over millions of years via chemical reactions of sulfur and other non-biological compounds. https://phys.org/news/2017-06-uranium-story-csu-scientists.html Earth Sciences Thu, 01 Jun 2017 05:00:03 EDT news415509505 Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a material that holds the key to cheap, fast and portable new sensors for a wide range of chemicals that right now cost government and industries large sums to detect. The innovation could lead to major public health gains, as it holds the potential to drastically reduce the costs associated with cleaning-up accidental chemical spills, remediating old industrial sites, detecting radioactive contamination in drinking water, and operating medical and research imaging devices. https://phys.org/news/2017-04-material-money-medical-imaging-environmental.html Materials Science Thu, 13 Apr 2017 12:00:05 EDT news411276713 Decades after a uranium mine is shuttered, the radioactive element can still persist in groundwater at the site, despite cleanup efforts. https://phys.org/news/2017-02-uranium-chemistry.html Materials Science Fri, 03 Feb 2017 07:07:37 EST news405328047 Researchers at Rice University and Kazan Federal University in Russia have found a way to extract radioactivity from water and said their discovery could help purify the hundreds of millions of gallons of contaminated water stored after the Fukushima nuclear plant accident. https://phys.org/news/2017-01-carbon-radioactive-elements.html Materials Science Thu, 19 Jan 2017 13:46:26 EST news404055977 A microbial protein fiber discovered by a Michigan State University scientist transports charges at rates high enough to be applied in manmade nanotechnologies. https://phys.org/news/2016-03-newly-nanowires-manmade-technologies.html Nanophysics Thu, 24 Mar 2016 10:22:59 EDT news378033762 Knowing how a chemical in soil reacts and transforms over time in response to neighboring elements, weather and heat is essential in determining whether that chemical is hazardous. This is especially important when that chemical is radioactive. https://phys.org/news/2015-06-analysis-elements-nature-previously.html Environment Tue, 16 Jun 2015 08:05:47 EDT news353660658