Gleanings of the Week Ending June 27, 2026
/The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.
06/17/2026 Science Daily Scientists say most of what’s in your food is still a mystery - Most chemicals in food are invisible to us in terms of research. We consume them every day, but we have little idea what they do. Projects such as the Foodome Project are now attempting to catalogue this hidden chemical universe. More than 130,000 molecules have already been listed, linking food compounds to human proteins, gut microbes and disease processes. The aim is to build an atlas of how diet interacts with the body, and to pinpoint which molecules really matter for health.
06/17/2026 The Conversation Levels of ‘forever chemicals’ in dolphins and whales are rising globally - Whales and dolphins inhabit some of the largest and seemingly most pristine environments on Earth, from tropical coastlines to Antarctic waters. Yet even they cannot escape PFAS – persistent “forever chemicals” that leak from our homes, factories and waterways into the sea. Whales and dolphins inhabit some of the largest and seemingly most pristine environments on Earth, from tropical coastlines to Antarctic waters. Yet even they cannot escape PFAS – persistent “forever chemicals” that leak from our homes, factories and waterways into the sea. Some dolphin studies have reported changes in immune-related markers associated with PFAS exposure. The highest concentrations tended to be found in coastal dolphins and porpoises, suggesting animals living near urban and industrial areas face greater exposure.
06/15/2026 Smithsonian Magazine Venus Flytraps Snap Their Traps Shut in Less Than a Second - A team reports that the chomping motion happens when rigid walls of cells on the leaves’ outer surface suddenly soften. The findings provide new insights into plant biology and could inspire new robotic designs.
6/16/2026 The Conversation Microplastics are everywhere in Pennsylvania’s water – but the tide may be turning - Microplastics are nearly everywhere, their concentration in sediment has been doubling every 20 years, and some of the most common types are among the most toxic. More than 80% of mismanaged plastic waste - plastic that’s littered, dumped or otherwise not properly contained - is estimated to be transported by rivers to coastal environments. What can you do to decrease your exposure to microplastics and help decrease their spread? You can stay informed about which plastics carry the greatest health risks and check the recycling number on the bottom of containers before you buy. You can also swap out single-use plastic cups, straws and food containers for alternatives, such as glass, stainless steel or unbleached paper.
06/11/2026 NASA Air Pollution’s Daily Pulse Over the Northeast - More than 35 million people live along the New York–Washington corridor and breathe the region’s air. While air quality has improved significantly in recent decades, outbreaks of ground-level ozone remain common, particularly in the warm summer months, when the chemical reactions that produce the pollutant accelerate and stagnant air allows ozone to accumulate. A reminder of this seasonal phenomenon came earlier than usual in 2026, when a mid-May heat wave prompted the New York State Department of Health and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to issue a health advisory on May 17 over concerns about ozone.
06/13/2026 Clean Technica Solar & Storage Provide Over 90% of All New Power Added to the U.S. Grid in Q1 - The United States added 7.8 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity in the first quarter of 2026, surpassing 6 million cumulative installations as solar remained the leading source of new power added to the grid. Despite changing tax policy and regulatory actions targeting clean energy, solar and energy storage represented 91% of new capacity installed in Q1 as utilities, homeowners and businesses seek energy security amid global gas and gas turbine supply disruptions.
03/17/2026 National Geographic To study microplastics, Cassandra Rauert first had to build a plastic-free lab. It wasn't easy - An air-locked, 250-square-foot facility built almost entirely from stainless steel and nicknamed “the submarine”—though it feels less like a sub and more like a starship from a galaxy where plastic never took over modern life. Known as the Minderoo Plastics and Human Health Laboratory
06/09/2026 Science Daily An invisible forever chemical rain is falling across the planet - Researchers found that refrigerants and certain anesthetic gases have generated more than 335,000 tons of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a highly persistent "forever chemical," that has been deposited across Earth's surface since 2000. The pollutant is now showing up everywhere from rainwater to remote Arctic ice, and scientists expect levels to keep rising. Scientists are still working to fully understand the long-term effects of TFA. The European Chemicals Agency classifies the chemical as harmful to aquatic life. Researchers have also detected TFA in human blood and urine. In addition, the German Federal Office for Chemicals recently proposed classifying TFA as potentially toxic to human reproduction.
06/09/2026 National Wildlife Federation Data Centers are Driving Up Your Energy Bill - Clean energy has become the cheapest form of energy, but wind and solar still only account for 17 percent of the country’s energy generation. The biggest barrier to deploying clean energy is usually transmission. Without enough transmission to deliver cheaper clean energy to where it’s needed, over 900 GW of solar and wind projects sit waiting in queue, and utilities often default to more expensive fossil fuel generation instead. We can double down on outdated systems that pollute our air and water and drive up prices, or we can invest in the resilient energy solutions that have proven to be the cheapest, build the grid needed to deliver them, and ensure the largest electricity users pay their fair share of the costs they trigger.
06/08/2026 National Parks Traveler Young Mountains, Old Rocks: A Geological Overview of the Teton Range - The Tetons continue to grow. The tectonic forces that built the range are still active, and stress continues to build even if the Teton Fault has not experienced major movement in recorded history. Evidence of ongoing stress appears east of the Teton Range, where the Snake River does not flow down the center of its riverbed. Instead, the river flows preferentially along the western side of its banks as the extensional stress builds and the eastern block of the fault (the block underlying Jackson Hole) tilts more westward.
