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 a Scottish university have found a new way to remove a common pollutant from water using controlled waves of ultrasound, without the use of additional chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ultrasound-common-plastic-pollutant.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 06 Aug 2025 06:53:18 EDT news673681992 The European Union has banned the use of bisphenol A (BPA). This came into effect with Regulation 2024/3190 in late 2024, but it took over 20 years of scientific study to cut out this silent toxin. BPA slowly enters our bodies at low concentrations, meaning its health effects are not usually discovered until they are serious. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-eu-bpas-common-toxic-compound.html Environment Thu, 01 May 2025 12:32:21 EDT news665321539 Bisphenol compounds (BPs), crucial ingredients in the production of various polymers, are ubiquitous in our daily lives and industrial processes. Bisphenol A (BPA), a prevalent BP in the environment, has been extensively studied for its impacts on diverse species, yet its specific mechanisms of action in marine appendicularians remain largely unknown. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-potential-impacts-bisphenol-contaminants-marine.html Ecology Tue, 10 Sep 2024 12:23:03 EDT news645189781 A team of microbiologists and chemists at the Center for Sustainable Catalysis and Engineering, working with colleagues from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research and Rheology and Technology (SMaRT), KU Leuven, all in Belgium, has developed a replacement for bisphenol A, a compound used to make plastics. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-lignin-catalyst-alternative-bisphenol-bpa.html Polymers Fri, 08 Sep 2023 10:10:01 EDT news613385024 Epoxy resin monomers used in industry can result in severe contact allergies. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have now developed a new type of epoxy resin monomer that is far less allergenic and is based on a renewable material. The epoxy resin monomers used today contain residues of the endocrine disruptor Bisphenol A (BPA). The new monomer derived from ordinary sugar is not based on BPA. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-health-epoxy-resin-monomer.html Polymers Wed, 12 Apr 2023 13:33:41 EDT news600525210 Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical widely used to make hard, clear plastics. It is an endocrine disruptor that has been linked to many negative health effects, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. In 2013, the U.S. government banned its use in baby products that come into contact with food, like bottles or the packaging of infant formula. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-bpa-plastic-products.html Polymers Thu, 23 Jun 2022 10:04:03 EDT news575197441 Bisphenol A (BPA) is an anthropogenic chemical used as a raw material for plastics such as polycarbonate and epoxy resins, and for the inner coating of canned foods. BPA has been detected in human specimens, including fetuses. In addition, BPA contaminates soil, water, air, and wildlife. https://phys.org/news/2022-04-bisphenol-bpa-impacts-rat-offspring.html Plants & Animals Wed, 13 Apr 2022 12:41:37 EDT news569072493 Ocean pollution is unfortunately becoming more commonplace, raising concerns over the effect of chemicals that are leaching into the water. In a new study, researchers have discovered how these chemicals can affect the reproduction in common anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-chemical-pollutants-disrupt-reproduction-anemonefish.html Ecology Sat, 04 Dec 2021 01:37:29 EST news557804236 As part of a laboratory experiment, Rebecca Holmes examined water bottles that had been acquired from abroad expecting to find bisphenol A (BPA), a human-made component commonly found in polycarbonate plastics used to make consumer products. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-bpa-free-bottles-dishwasher.html Materials Science Thu, 29 Apr 2021 10:10:25 EDT news538909799 BPA is an organic compound made from fossil fuel sources. The industrial chemical has been used to make plastics and resins since the 1950s, and products made with it are cheap to make, clear, flexible and strong. BPA can be found in a variety of products, including water bottles, storage containers and sports equipment. It's also widely used in the linings of food and beverage cans and in sales receipt paper. It's one of the most commonly synthesized chemicals today with more than six million tons created in 2018 alone. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-bio-based-fossil-fuel-plastics.html Materials Science Thu, 14 Jan 2021 09:33:14 EST news529839189 Once found in bottles, food containers, cash register receipts and electronics, bisphenol A (BPA) has been phased out of many products because of health concerns and government regulations. As a result, the production and use of BPA analogs, which are unregulated and poorly understood, have increased. Now, by analyzing urine samples and wastewater, researchers report in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology how human exposure to bisphenols has changed over time in an Australian population. https://phys.org/news/2020-07-bisphenol-exposures-australian-population.html Environment Wed, 29 Jul 2020 08:00:02 EDT news515218639 The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has developed a bio-polycarbonate which has been monopolized by Japan, and has opened up the possibility of bio-polycarbonate commercialization. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-potential-alternative-petroleum-polycarbonate-environmental.html Materials Science Mon, 28 Oct 2019 13:22:25 EDT news491487736 Water filtration is essential to maintaining public health. The ability to see how persistent contaminants like harmful bacteria, micropollutants, and microplastics behave at the atomic scale can enable engineers to make improved filters for more effective water treatment methods. https://phys.org/news/2019-03-scientists-ess-swedish-ornl-vision.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 05 Mar 2019 14:08:10 EST news471017279 Rice University scientists have developed something akin to the Venus' flytrap of particles for water remediation. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-reusable-water-treatment-particles-effectively-bpa.html Materials Science Fri, 05 Oct 2018 09:49:51 EDT news457951787 Although the U.S and other countries have banned or restricted the use of bisphenol A (BPA) because of environmental and health concerns, it is still used in thermally printed receipts and labels. Now researchers report in a study in the ACS journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research that they have developed potentially safer polymers that could replace BPA for printed papers.  https://phys.org/news/2018-01-register-receipts-bpa.html Materials Science Wed, 17 Jan 2018 16:33:59 EST news435429225 Carnegie Mellon University chemist Terrence J. Collins has developed an approach that quickly and cheaply removes more than 99 percent of bisphenol A (BPA) from water. BPA, a ubiquitous and dangerous chemical used in the manufacturing of many plastics, is found in water sources around the world. https://phys.org/news/2017-08-catalysts-efficiently-rapidly-bpa.html Materials Science Wed, 02 Aug 2017 12:00:03 EDT news420890001 From your phone case to airplane windows, polycarbonates are everywhere. Several million tons of polycarbonate are produced every year around the world. However, worries about the dangers of this material are increasing because of the toxicity of its precursors, especially bisphenol-A, a potential carcinogen. https://phys.org/news/2017-07-life-lemons-bioplastics.html Materials Science Mon, 17 Jul 2017 05:32:25 EDT news419488338 Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that is used in a variety of consumer products, such as food storage containers, water bottles and certain resins. In previous studies, Cheryl Rosenfeld, an investigator in the Bond Life Sciences Center, along with other researchers at the University of Missouri, Westminster College and the Saint Louis Zoo, determined that BPA can disrupt sexual function and behavior in painted turtles. Now, the team has identified the genetic pathways that are altered as a result of BPA exposure during early development. https://phys.org/news/2017-05-exposure-bpa-potentially-permanent-reprogramming.html Ecology Wed, 17 May 2017 16:07:47 EDT news414256057 Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely used industrial chemical found in many household items, including resins used to line metal storage containers, such as food cans. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that short-term feeding of canned dog food resulted in a significant increase of BPA in dogs. Scientists believe that because of shared environments, dog exposure to BPA through canned foods could have human health implications. https://phys.org/news/2016-12-bisphenol-canned-dog-food-bpa.html Plants & Animals Mon, 19 Dec 2016 12:52:40 EST news401374350 Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in many consumer products including water bottles, metal food storage products and certain resins. Often, aquatic environments such as rivers and streams become reservoirs for BPA, affecting turtle habitats. Last year, a team of researchers led by the University of Missouri determined that BPA can disrupt sexual function in painted turtles, causing males to develop female sex organs. Now, the team has shown that BPA also can induce behavioral changes in turtles, reprogramming male turtle brains to show behavior common in females. Researchers worry this could lead to population declines in painted turtles. https://phys.org/news/2016-08-bpa-disrupt-turtles-brain-population.html Ecology Tue, 23 Aug 2016 16:21:17 EDT news391188063 Many human-made pollutants in the environment resist degradation through natural processes, and disrupt hormonal and other systems in mammals and other animals. Removing these toxic materials—which include pesticides and endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A (BPA)—with existing methods is often expensive and time-consuming. https://phys.org/news/2015-07-nanomaterials-uv-chemicals-easy-soil.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 22 Jul 2015 06:50:01 EDT news356765159 Over the course of the last half century, BPA has gone from miracle to menace. Its popularity soared after the 1950s, when scientists discovered that it could be used to make polycarbonate plastic—a hard, durable, and transparent material perfect for everything from water bottles to medical devices. https://phys.org/news/2015-07-degrading-bpa-visible-hybrid-photocatalyst.html Nanomaterials Tue, 21 Jul 2015 11:00:03 EDT news356692552 Water contamination by hormone-disrupting pollutants is threatening water quality around the world. Existing research has determined that harmful concentrations of Bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical used in consumer products such as plastic food storage and beverage containers, have been deposited directly into rivers and streams by municipal or industrial wastewater. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have assessed Missouri water quality near industrial sites permitted to release BPA into the air. As a result, scientists now believe that atmospheric releases may create a concern for contamination of local surface water leading to human and wildlife exposure. https://phys.org/news/2015-05-atmospheric-bpa-nearby-waterways.html Environment Tue, 19 May 2015 12:42:06 EDT news351258108 Many pollutants with the potential to meddle with hormones—with bisphenol A (BPA) as a prime example—are already common in the environment. In an effort to clean up these pollutants found in the soil and waterways, scientists are now reporting a novel way to break them down by recruiting help from nanoparticles and light. The study appears in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. https://phys.org/news/2014-11-bpa-similar-pollutants-sunlight-nanoparticles.html Materials Science Wed, 05 Nov 2014 10:12:51 EST news334404764 Bottled water sold in Spain is practically free of constituents given off by plastic packaging or glass bottle lids. They are only detected in some cases, albeit in quantities much lower than limits found harmful for health. This was revealed by the analysis of more than 130 types of mineral water by researchers at the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). https://phys.org/news/2014-08-quality-glass-plastic-bottles.html Other Fri, 22 Aug 2014 07:39:38 EDT news327911912 The Columbia River basin in the Pacific Northwest offers great potential for water power; hydroelectric power stations there generate over 20 000 megawatts already. Now a simulation model will help optimize the operation of the extensive dam system. https://phys.org/news/2014-07-simulation-optimize-power.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 31 Jul 2014 08:00:10 EDT news326009923 Numerous studies have linked exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) in plastic, receipt paper, toys, and other products with various health problems from poor growth to cancer, and the FDA has been supporting efforts to find and use alternatives. But are these alternatives safer? Researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Chemistry & Biology have developed new tests that can classify such compounds' activity with great detail and speed. The advance could offer a fast and cost-effective way to identify safe replacements for BPA. https://phys.org/news/2014-05-technology-safe-alternatives-bpa.html Biochemistry Thu, 22 May 2014 13:16:12 EDT news319983341 A waste product from making paper could yield a safer, greener alternative to the potentially harmful chemical BPA, now banned from baby bottles but still used in many plastics. Scientists made the BPA alternative from lignin, the compound that gives wood its strength, and they say it could be ready for the market within five years. https://phys.org/news/2014-03-potentially-safer-greener-alternative-bpa.html Materials Science Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:21:42 EDT news314212887 (Phys.org)—Today's Risk Bite brought to you by the University of Michigan School of Public Health: Does wearing a hat keep you warm when the rest of your body is exposed? https://phys.org/news/2012-12-u-m-professor-hunger-online-bite-size.html Social Sciences Mon, 24 Dec 2012 06:30:01 EST news275552040 (Phys.org)—Sometimes orange, sometimes white, dog trainers often use plastic fetching batons called bumpers to teach dogs how to retrieve. But researchers at Texas Tech University have discovered that the dogs also may fetch a mouthful of potentially dangerous chemicals at the same time. https://phys.org/news/2012-12-high-estrogen-mimicking-chemical-dog-batons.html Other Tue, 11 Dec 2012 09:04:22 EST news274439052