contamination Archives

Phytocleaning our planet

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Life on Earth has multiple forms. Humans make up only 0.01% of Earth’s total biomass, while plants total a whopping 82.4%. Yet the value of plants is often neglected. Humans have thrived on this planet because of the other life that Earth protects. Advances in human civilisation, such as industrialisation, have polluted the planet, thereby affecting all living organisms. Efforts […]

Soil and groundwater contamination: An old and new issue needs to be solved

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Industrial and agricultural waste contaminate the soil and groundwater.

Dr Ming Zhang is an innovation coordinator at Geological Survey of Japan, AIST. Alongside his research group, he is advocating the importance of using interdisciplinary tools for sustainable remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater. Their research has shown that cost-effective and environment-friendly technologies such as the use of microorganisms to degrade organic contaminants and the use of minerals to immobilise […]

That’s disgusting! How primates decide what not to eat

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Many species either avoid food contaminated with faeces or thoroughly handle the food, trying to clean it before eating.

All animals need to find a way to avoid contact with pathogens when they are eating. For primates, Dr Cécile Sarabian, based at Kyoto University Primate Research Institute in Japan, shows that many species either avoid food contaminated with faeces or thoroughly handle the food, trying to clean it before eating. For the researcher, this is proof that this behaviour […]