We’ve all been told to wear face masks to reduce the spread of coronavirus, but it turns out the material your mask is made of may affect your risk, a new study suggests. An N95 mask, which filters out nearly all particles both large and small, reduced the odds of contracting COVID-19, the disease caused … Read more
Even with good ventilation, only a small fraction of the novel coronavirus may be filtered out from a room, a new study suggests. Researchers have been looking at how the virus spreads indoors and how aerosol particles, which are expelled though breathing and talking, flow through three settings: classrooms, elevators and supermarkets. In one classroom, ventilation … Read more
Tiny microplastic particles can be absorbed through plant roots and end up in the wheat and vegetables we eat, study shows Researchers studied ways microplastics are able to enter the human food chain They found that some particles were entering the roots of human edible food Plastic pieces reached the plants after accumulating in soil … Read more
Tiny pieces of plastic, known as microplastics, are filling the Earth’s atmosphere and have been discovered raining down on US national parks like the Grand Canyon. Researchers from Utah State University used high-resolution equipment to discover samples of this plastic pollution that had rained down from the atmosphere. More than 1,000 tons of microplastics were … Read more
A new antibody, that spots the toxic particles that destroy healthy brain cells in dementia patients, could be used to diagnose and monitor the disease. Researchers from Cambridge University designed a way to recognise these particles – called amyloid-beta oligomers – which are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. The creation of the antibody could lead to … Read more
Professor Lucy Yardley, from the University of Bristol, sounded the alarm today, saying evidence shows ‘viral load’ plays a big role in how sick someone will become People exposed to a higher dose of coronavirus are more likely to fall critically ill, a scientist part of Number 10’s SAGE panel has warned. Professor Lucy Yardley, … Read more
Children face around three times more air pollution during the morning drop-off than throughout the rest of the day, due to cars idling outside the school gates. Levels of ultra-fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, which are emitted from the exhaust pipes of vehicles lined up to drop off children in the morning, were found to … Read more
Emissions Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the biggest contributors to global warming. After the gas is released into the atmosphere it stays there, making it difficult for heat to escape – and warming up the planet in the process. It is primarily released from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and … Read more
Scientists ‘cure cancer in mice’ by injecting lung and bowel tumours with tiny toxic copper particles and super-charging the animals’ immune systems Researchers used tiny amounts of a metal which is known to be toxic to cells They injected it into tumours and boosted the immune system for a double effect When tumour cells were … Read more
Stunning microscope images released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal the new killer coronavirus in unprecedented detail. Shown as blue dots, the virus, now dubbed SARS-CoV-19, can be seen roving around and invading human cells. The sample is the first of its kind capture using a transmission electron microscope by CDC … Read more