toxic

A Toxic Fungus Could Be Contributing to Some People’s Irritable Bowel Disease

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Some strains of yeast in the human gut can produce toxins that could contribute to irritable bowel disease (IBD), according to new research. These “high-damaging” Candida albicans yeast strains aren’t usually a problem when they are kept in balance, but in the guts of those with IBD, the fungi appear to proliferate, triggering inflammation.   The … Read more

AI Helps Small City Pull Toxic Lead Water Service Lines from the Ground Faster

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Benton Harbor, Mich.—This is a city in crisis. “You can’t drink the water. You can’t brush your teeth with the water. You can’t cook with the water…. You can’t make baby formula with the water,” says Reverend Edward Pinkney, president of the Benton Harbor Community Water Council. The community’s water is not safe to drink … Read more

U.S. Forces Are Leaving a Toxic Environmental Legacy in Afghanistan

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As U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban immediately rushed in, and it recently took over the country’s major cities in just a few days. The end of the two-decade American occupation has not only produced a fraught political situation; it has also created an environmental one. Some of the military bases the U.S. handed … Read more

First gene-editing treatment injected into the blood reduces toxic protein for up to 1 year | Science

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The first team to disable a disease gene directly in a person through an infusion of the genome editor CRISPR reported yesterday that levels of the toxic protein made by the gene dropped as much as 93% for up to 1 year. The researchers hope the long-term reduction means patients in the clinical trial will … Read more

Invisible Air Pollution in The Country May Be Just as Toxic as The Smog of The City

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It’s easy to see air pollution when it settles as smog over a city. Yet even in rural areas, where the air looks clearer, researchers have found unhealthy particles floating in the atmosphere.   That sweet country air may not be as invigorating as we once thought. Fine particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in … Read more

This Extremely Toxic Lake Could Show Us How Life May Have Survived on Mars

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The search for life on Mars is not an easy one. Not only is the red planet difficult to get to, it’s deeply inhospitable to life as we know it. However, there are places on Earth that could show us how life may have been able to survive on Mars – if not now, then … Read more

Illegal gold mines flood Amazon forests with toxic mercury | Science

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At first glance, the Amazon rainforest of Peru’s Los Amigos Conservation Concession might seem like a pristine wilderness. Brightly colored birds flit through the jungle. A dense canopy of trees echoes with the cries of howler monkeys. Jaguars pad quietly through the shadows. Giant otters swim in Cocha Lobo Lake. But the forest is hiding … Read more

The Doomsday Clock Is About to Tick, And We’ve Never Been So Close to Midnight

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In less than 24 hours the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will update the Doomsday Clock. It’s currently at 100 seconds from midnight – the metaphorical time when the human race could destroy the world with technologies of its own making.   The hands have never before been this close to midnight. There is scant … Read more

Wildfires Are Fueling a Toxic Combo of Air Pollutants

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Unseen dangers accompanied deadly flames in the record-breaking wildfire season that raged across the U.S. West in 2020. In addition to the millions of acres burned by the blazes, the thousands of structures they destroyed and the dozens of people they killed, the 2020 fires brought some of the worst air quality conditions ever observed … Read more