Committed chocoholics, be warned. A health-robbing heavy metal, cadmium, lurks in the velvety recesses of your favorite indulgence.
Ecology
Feb 02, 2022
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429
Some might say you look a little green when you are sick. Leafy greens actually turn purple—although not obvious to the human eye, it can be seen through advanced hyperspectral imaging (different than purple varieties of ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 19, 2022
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163
Three out of four Queensland green turtle populations risk harmful effects from cadmium found a Griffith University-led study using a new tool to determine chemical exposure limits for marine animals.
Plants & Animals
Aug 20, 2021
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258
An international group of leading fertiliser and soils experts have published a major review of the status of the toxic heavy metal cadmium in agricultural systems around the world.
Environment
Feb 16, 2021
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7
When most people hear "food contamination," they think of bacteria present on unwashed fruits or vegetables, or undercooked meat. However, there are other ways for harmful contaminants to be present in food products.
Environment
Feb 03, 2021
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9
A research breakthrough from the University of Virginia School of Engineering demonstrates a new mechanism to control temperature and extend the lifetime of electronic and photonic devices such as sensors, smart phones and ...
Nanophysics
Dec 09, 2020
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81
Chocolate is almost universally adored. But few know the complicated process of how cacao beans become chocolate. Did you know cacao tree farming is done mostly by small-scale low-income farmers in Latin America, particularly ...
Environment
Oct 06, 2020
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10
Waste pickers exposed to discarded electronics, aluminum and metal cans have up to four times higher levels of the toxic heavy metal cadmium in their blood than the wider population, a study has found.
Environment
Sep 07, 2020
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8
Higher frequencies mean faster data transfer and more powerful processors—the formula that has been driving the IT industry for years. Technically, however, it is anything but easy to keep increasing clock rates and radio ...
Optics & Photonics
May 19, 2020
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12
A recent research paper published in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry describes an alternative strategy to reduce cadmium (Cd) exposure.
Environment
Mar 27, 2020
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4
Cadmium ( /ˈkædmiəm/ kad-mee-əm) is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Similar to zinc, it prefers oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds and similar to mercury it shows a low melting point compared to transition metals. Cadmium and its congeners are not always considered transition metals, in that they do not have partly filled d or f electron shells in the elemental or common oxidation states. The average concentration of cadmium in the Earth's crust is between 0.1 and 0.5 parts per million (ppm). It was discovered in 1817 simultaneously by Stromeyer and Hermann, both in Germany, as an impurity in zinc carbonate.
Cadmium occurs as a minor component in most zinc ores and therefore is a byproduct of zinc production. It was used for a long time as a pigment and for corrosion resistant plating on steel while cadmium compounds were used to stabilize plastic. With the exception of its use in nickel–cadmium batteries and cadmium telluride solar panels, the use of cadmium is generally decreasing in its other applications. These declines have been due to competing technologies, cadmium’s toxicity in certain forms and concentration and resulting regulations. Although cadmium has no known biological function in higher organisms, a cadmium-dependent carbonic anhydrase has been found in marine diatoms.
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