Controlled experiments are impossible in astronomy, as are direct measurements of physical properties of objects outside our solar system. So how do astronomers know so much about them?
Comet Hale-Bopp was visible from Earth in 1997.
E. Kolmhofer, H. Raab; Johannes-Kepler-Observatory, Linz, Austria
Desert dust storms are increasingly picking up materials like sewage, herbicides and other human-made waste and transporting them on tiny particles that are easy to inhale.
Levels of trace metals inside can be higher than the sources of contamination outside. It underscores the need for households to take care to prevent those contaminants being brought indoors.
Exposed lakebed at the Salton Sea on Dec. 29, 2022.
RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Fifty years ago, the Salton Sea was a draw for boaters and fishermen; today it’s an ecological time bomb. Two water experts who served on a state review panel describe its proposed rescue plan.
How to entangle the universe in a spider/web?, 2022, Tomás Saraceno. Courtesy the artist with thanks to Arachnophilia, neugerriemschneider, Berlin and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles.
Photo Credit: Mona/Jesse Hunniford Image Courtesy Studio Tomás Saraceno and MONA Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
It’s impossible to escape exposure to microplastics and a new study confirms they’re in household dust around the world. But the health risks appear surprisingly low, and vacuuming makes a difference.
This is a transcript of The Conversation Weekly podcast episode published on January 27 2022.
Uyghurs and other Muslims pray at a mosque in Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region during a state-organised visit by foreign journalists in April 2021.
Wu Hong/EPA
The Centers for Disease Control has announced a new, stricter standard for lead poisoning in children, which will more than double the number of kids considered to have high blood lead levels.
Australians have been sending their dust to our DustSafe program for us to analyse. Here’s what we’ve learned so far — and what you can do to reduce your dust risk.
Toxic dust hung in the air around ground zero for more than three months following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Anthony Correia/Getty Images
Those directly exposed to toxic dust and trauma on and after 9/11 carry with them a generation of chronic health conditions, which are placing them at higher risk during the pandemic and as they age.
More 9/11 responders died from physical and mental health issues after the terrorist attacks than on the day itself. And survivors are still suffering 20 years later.
We analysed the dust in 32 homes across Sydney, and found significant levels of microplastics. But having hard, non-varnished floors and vacuuming at least weekly might help.
Research Director, Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP); Honorary Senior Research Fellow, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University