Gleanings of the Week Ending May 30, 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.

05/18/2026 Washington Post EPA wants to repeal limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water - The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed repealing limits on four types of “forever chemicals” in drinking water, while delaying regulations on two others. Beyond the six compounds in question, there are hundreds of PFAS being used in manufacturing today that are also toxic and demand to be regulated together as a chemical class, an idea the EPA has so far resisted.

5/16/2026 Science Daily Scientists warn that the world’s rivers are running out of oxygen - Rivers around the world are quietly running out of oxygen — and climate change is emerging as the main culprit. A sweeping global analysis of more than 21,000 river systems found that nearly 80% have been steadily losing dissolved oxygen over the past four decades, threatening fish, biodiversity, and the overall health of freshwater ecosystems. Surprisingly, tropical rivers are being hit the hardest, even more than rivers in rapidly warming polar regions.

5/11/2026 Planetizen New Orleans sea level rise is at 'point of no return' - Since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost 2,000 sq miles of land to coastal erosion, equivalent to the size of Delaware, with a further 3,000 sq miles set to vanish over the next 50 years. The rate of land loss is so rapid that a football pitch-sized area is wiped out every 100 minutes.

5/4/2026 BBC Food labels have far-reaching effects on our health - Many leading experts say the food environment – such as the way food is produced, marketed and sold – itself is "obesogenic" (creating the conditions for weight gain) and this influences consumers to make unhealthy choices. To combat the growing levels of obesity, we need to change what we eat – and emerging research shows that behavioural interventions as well as policy change could make a meaningful difference.

5/14/2026 NPR The MAHA movement is coming to school cafeterias. Here's what that means for kids - Exactly how the government's new dietary guidelines will impact schools is unclear. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it is still working to update the nutrition standards it requires of institutions taking part in the National School Lunch Program, which fed 30 million children last year, and the School Breakfast Program.

5/13/2026 Modern Met Haunting and Hopeful Images Win the 2026 Environmental Photography Award - Selected from roughly 10,000 submissions, this year’s winning images span five categories—Changemakers, Forests, Humanity vs Nature, Ocean, and Polar Regions. Together, they document everything from wildlife trafficking and climate disasters to moments of breathtaking beauty in the natural world.

5/15/2026 Archaeology Magazine Mysterious Ancient Tunnel Discovered Beneath Jerusalem Streets – “Usually we have explanations for the discoveries we uncover, but sometimes, as in this case, we stand astonished and amazed.”

5/14/2026 Yale Environment 360 Restoring the Flow: A Milestone in the Revival of the Everglades - In Picayune Strand State Forest, the state and federal governments have been working for more than two decades to undo the damage wrought by that failed development. It’s been a huge undertaking across 55,000 acres. Recently, though, the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers put the finishing touches on the most critical part of the work: restoring the natural flow of water across the land. How well this hydrological restoration leads to wider ecological recovery remains to be seen. But the transformation is already underway.

5/11/2026 NASA Color Off the Mid-Atlantic Coast - Starting in early April, NASA satellites began to detect a patch of brownish, blue-green water lingering off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The colors and patterns were most intense in the shallow coastal zone where the waters of Raritan Bay, Delaware Bay, and Chesapeake Bay merged with the Atlantic Ocean—an area known as the Mid-Atlantic Bight. 

5/14/2026 National Parks Traveler What to Expect on The Grand Canyon's North Rim This Summer -Visitors need to be self-sufficient as they encounter burned landscapes, limited services, no potable water, portable toilets and ongoing construction tied to rebuilding facilities, utilities and infrastructure destroyed by the wildfire that started last July 4 and exploded out of control under strong fanning winds. 

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 16, 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.

5/1/2026 Science Daily A hidden brain “cleaning” effect triggered by movement - Every time you tighten your abdominal muscles—even slightly—your brain may gently sway inside your skull. This subtle motion, triggered by pressure changes in connected blood vessels, appears to help circulate cerebrospinal fluid around the brain, potentially flushing out harmful waste.

4/30/2026 NWF Blog Fighting Toxic “Forever Chemicals” on Our Farms - The Department of Defense has identified over 4,000 high-risk or already-contaminated agricultural sites across the U.S.  The PFAS contamination often came from ‘biosludge’ from local wastewater treatment plants that was spread of field as cheap fertilizer before the PFAS danger was understood. But we know how to fix this: ban PFAS at the source, regulate what’s left, and clean up what’s left without leaving the people who have already suffered to pay.

4/30/2026 Clean Technica The Petroleum System Is Entering Its Volatile Decline Phase - he UAE’s decision to leave OPEC+ is not just another Gulf oil story. It is an early signal of what happens when a producer with low-cost barrels, spare capacity ambitions, and a long view of electrification decides that flexibility may be worth more than cartel discipline. Oil demand is beginning to bend under the weight of EVs, electric trucks, efficiency, remote work, substitution, and changing logistics. The petroleum system is more likely to become less stable as it declines, because the institutions, companies, states, supply chains, and fiscal bargains built around oil were built for growth. A declining oil market does not just reduce demand. It changes incentives.

4/29/2026 NPR Baby teeth hold clues to the harms of toxic metals for infants — and older kids – A study of the baby teeth shed by 500 children in Mexico City…. s the children reached adolescence, the researchers also took detailed behavior assessments for some of the kids and MRI scans of their brains. The researchers looked at exposures to nine metals common in the environment. It's not just how much of these metals babies are exposed to that matters, but when that exposure happens. Exposure to this metal mixture during this critical period of around 6 to 9 months of development was strongly associated with negative changes in behavior in these adolescents including inattention and hyperactivity. They also found a strong link to changes in the brain, including a decrease in overall brain volume and changes in the way different areas of the brain connect with each other. They also found abnormalities in the brain's white matter, which is important to the speed and efficiency of thought.

4/30/2026 Archaeology Magazine Skeleton Study Reveals Life on the Frontier After the Fall of Rome – 250 sets of human remains in Southern Germany from between AD 400-700. After the Roman Empire fell in A.D. 476, the study suggests that life expectancy rose to 43.3 years for men and 39.8 years for women. Women are thought to have had a lower life expectancy due to the risks of childbirth, but the overall rise in life expectancy may have been due to fewer violent conflicts in the region. The study also determined that in the late fifth century, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, northern Europeans mixed with diverse Roman provincial groups as people migrated north into southern Germany and away from Roman territory. By the seventh century A.D., the population living in the area had become genetically similar to today’s Central Europeans.

5/1/2026 National Parks Traveler Climate Change Is Altering When Water Is Available - In the Upper Midwest and New England, streamflow has already become more evenly spread throughout the year due to climate change. In contrast, patterns in the western United States are more complex. I n snow-dominated regions of the U.S. West, warmer years tend to produce a wider distribution of streamflow across the year—conditions that may benefit senior water users while disadvantaging junior users. In non-snowy parts of the region, the opposite pattern emerges: warmer years are associated with more concentrated flows, potentially offering a relative advantage to junior water users.

4/29/2026 Yale Environment 360 How the Next El Niño Could Lock in a Hotter Climate - In a world already superheated by greenhouse gases, a strong El Niño during the next 12 to 18 months could permanently push the planet’s average annual temperature past the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold. The potential for more destructive physical impacts raises deeper concerns about how societies that developed under relatively stable climate conditions will function in a world with shifting baselines and sharper swings between droughts and floods, more intense tropical storms, expanded fire seasons, and long-lasting unseasonal extreme heat.

4/29/2026 Smithsonian Magazine Video of a Sumatran Orangutan Crossing a Human-Made Wildlife Bridge in the Treetops - The human-made treetop overpass stretches across the Pakpak Bharat district’s Lagan-Pagindar road, which runs through the habitat of about 350 wild orangutans and separates the Siranggas Wildlife Reserve from the Sikulaping Protection Forest.

4/28/2026 The Conversation A probe into ‘forever chemicals’ in activewear lays bare fashion’s greenwashing problem - While most major brands promised to phase out PFAS by 2020, follow-up testing shows they still appear in leggings and sports bras across the sector. The transition has been slow because finding safer alternatives that perform just as well is both expensive and technically complex. Until we move from a system of voluntary promises to one of legal requirements, “sustainable” will remain a marketing choice rather than a guarantee.

4/29/2026 Science Daily Earth is splitting open beneath the Pacific Northwest - Scientists have, for the first time, clearly captured a subduction zone in the act of breaking apart. These zones form where one tectonic plate sinks beneath another, and they are responsible for some of the most powerful geological events on Earth.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 25, 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.

4/9/2026 Yale 360 A More Troubling Picture of Sea Level Rise Is Coming into View - Sea levels are much higher than we thought. Real-world oceans are making a mockery of flood-risk forecasts based on crude global modeling. And to make matters worse, coastal lands almost everywhere are subsiding faster than anyone realized — often many times faster than the seas are rising. 

4/10/2026 BBC The air throughout our homes is infused with microplastics. But there are things you can do to breathe less of them - Scientists believe the majority of our exposure to microplastics happens when we're indoors. To solve the microplastic pollution crisis will take a lot more than changes within the home – there are plenty of broader sustainability concerns too. If moving to replace synthetic fibers in your home with natural fibers, for instance, there's also the greater water and land use from organic cotton use to think about. Or if choosing to ventilate your home more to usher away microplastics, that pollution is only being pushed outdoors. Short of systemic change and a global reduction from the 460 million tons of plastic made each year, there's only so much individuals can do. 

4/9/2026 National Parks Traveler Deer Test Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease at Catoctin Mountain Park – We enjoyed Catoctin when we lived in Maryland….I’m sad that the deer there and in nearby parks have tested positive for CWD.

4/08/2026 Smithsonian Magazine See the 2,000-Year-Old Ancient Roman Cargo from an Accidental Shipwreck Discovered at the Bottom of a Lake in Switzerland - Roughly 2,000 years ago, an ancient Roman ship sailed across a large lake in what is now Switzerland, transporting supplies ranging from olive oil to chariot wheels. For some unknown reason, the vessel scattered its cargo across the lakebed. The cargo is in good condition, but researchers are concerned it may become damaged or destroyed by erosion, boat anchors, vandals and looters. As a precautionary measure, they decided to bring the most vulnerable pieces up from the depths.

4/10 2026 Artnet How a Hopi Potter Named Nampeyo Became a 19th-Century Art Star - Born in 1859 in the village of Hano, a Tewa village on First Mesa, in modern-day Arizona, Nampeyo (1859–1942) is believed to have learned the art of pottery making from her paternal grandmother. By the 1870s, Nampeyo was selling her works at trading posts throughout the region. Nampeyo’s legacy is a complex one, shaped by ancestry, archaeology, and the shifting trade systems of the still-expanding United States as it entered the 20th century.

4/11/2026 Science Daily Unusual airborne toxin detected in the U.S. for the first time - Scientists searching for air pollution clues stumbled onto something unexpected: toxic MCCPs drifting through the air for the first time in the Western Hemisphere. Although these pollutants have previously been detected in places like Antarctica and Asia, scientists had struggled to measure them in the air over the Western Hemisphere until this study. These chemicals are commonly used in industrial processes, including metalworking fluids and the production of PVC and textiles. They frequently appear in wastewater and can end up in biosolid fertilizer, also called sewage sludge, which is produced during wastewater treatment. The researchers believe the MCCPs they detected in Oklahoma likely originated from nearby fields where this type of fertilizer had been applied.

4/8/2026 My Modert Met Winners of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2025 Celebrate Scotland’s Wild Beauty - The winning photos span 10 primary categories, including Environmental, Natural Abstract, Scottish Botanical, and Scottish Wildlife Portrait, among others. I appreciated the beauty among so many other blog posts that were somber….depressing.

4/3/2026 NWF Blog How to Grow More - Conservation outreach professionals are tasked with the challenge of not only clearly explaining conservation programs but also personally connecting with farmers. This combination of technical skills and personal communication skills is rare, since the skills are seldom taught in school and professional development opportunities are uncommon or unsupported.

4/3/2026 The Conversation Toxic dust from California’s shrinking Salton Sea is harming children’s lung growth - As the lake shrinks, wind blowing across the exposed lake bed kicks up toxic dust left by years of agriculture chemicals and metals washing into the lake. That dust makes its way into the lungs of the children of the Imperial Valley. The study began to show that higher levels of dust exposure, especially among those children living closer to the sea, are linked to poorer lung function, as well as reductions in children’s lung growth over time. Reduced lung function increases the risk for chronic respiratory disease, such as COPD, or more frequent respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, as adults.

3/19/2026 Mongabay Should potentially harmful chemicals be appraised by class, not one at a time? - Some scientists and health advocates are pushing for a “Six Classes” framework that evaluates entire groups of chemicals, or chemically related subgroups, together, flagging them for scrutiny before harm is documented rather than after. The framework targets six broad categories of chemicals that share many common traits: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), flame retardants, phthalates and bisphenols, antimicrobials, certain solvents, and certain metals.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 07, 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.

2/20/2026 BBC How ultra-processed foods affect our gut microbiome - The additives added to processed food to keep it fresher for longer might be having an unexpected effect on the health of the microbes in our guts. Research carried out on both animals and humans appears to pinpoint a direct link between emulsifiers and ill health. One French study of more than 100,000 adults in 2024 found those who were more exposed to emulsifiers had a greater risk of type 2 diabetes. Another study of more than 90,000 adults found a potential link between emulsifiers and breast and prostate cancers.

2/20/2026 Smithsonian Magazine Researchers Retrieve the Deepest-Ever Rock Core from Beneath Antarctica’s Ice. It Holds Clues About the Earth’s Past—and Future - The 748-foot-long sediment core contains a record of roughly the past 23 million years, including periods when the planet’s surface temperature was hotter than it is today.

2/20/2026 National Parks Traveler Tidal Basin Gets Hundreds of New Cherry Trees - Paid for by a generous donation from the nation of Japan, the trees represent the most recent chapter in this remarkable cultural exchange dating back to Japan's original gift of cherry trees in 1912.

2/19/2026 Science Daily New sodium ion battery stores twice the energy and desalinates seawater - Being able to use sodium vanadate hydrate in salt water is a really exciting discovery, as it shows sodium-ion batteries could do more than just store energy -- they could also help remove salt from water. In the long term, that means we might be able to design systems that use seawater as a completely safe, free and abundant electrolyte, while also producing fresh water as part of the process.

2/18/2026 The Guardian Hazardous substances found in all headphones tested by ToxFREE project - Bisphenol A (BPA) appeared in 98% of samples, and its substitute, bisphenol S (BPS), was found in more than three-quarters. Synthetic chemicals used to stiffen plastic, BPA and BPS mimic the action of estrogen inside organisms, causing a range of adverse effects including the feminization of males, early onset puberty in girls, and cancer. Previous studies have shown that bisphenols can migrate from synthetic materials into sweat, and that they can be absorbed through the skin. Given the prolonged skin contact associated with headphone use, dermal exposure represents a relevant pathway, and it is reasonable to assume that similar migration of BPA and its substitutes may occur from headphone components directly to the user’s skin.

2/17/2026 The Conversation Air pollution may directly contribute to Alzheimer’s disease – U.S. researchers tracked nearly 28 million older adults over six years nationwide. They found that those exposed to higher levels of fine particulate air pollution were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. The US study used Medicare insurance claims to confirm Alzheimer’s diagnoses and area data by postcode for fine particle pollution levels. It also looked at other factors that could explain the link, such as the proportion of smokers or overweight people living in more or less polluted areas.

1/15/2026 Science Daily Scientists question the safety of BPA-free packaging - BPA-free is an incredibly misleading label. It usually means one bisphenol has been swapped for another, and there are more than 200 of them. Some may be just as harmful, or even worse. We need to test these compounds before they're widely adopted, not after.

2/11/2026 Archaeology Magazine What Caused Ancient People to Abandon a Fruitful Bison Hunting Site? - For around 700 years, Native people of the American Great Plains hunted bison at a site in central Montana that archaeologists call Bergstrom. Then, around 1,100 years ago, humans abandoned the site even though bison remained abundant in the area. Researchers discovered that drought caused the water supply to process the animals at the site dried up…forcing the hunters to move away.

2/23/2026 Planetizen California Seals 21 Urban Oil Wells in South LA After Decades of Activism – There are too many stories like this – why do we ever trust the oil companies to not walk way and leave a toxic mess? I’m glad the state is stepping in…but the companies that made money from the site over the years need to be held financially accountable.

2/23/2026 Science Daily Babies exposed to far more “forever chemicals” before birth than scientists knew - By using advanced chemical screening on umbilical cord blood, scientists detected 42 different PFAS compounds, including many that standard tests do not routinely check for. These long lasting chemicals are found in common products like nonstick cookware, food packaging, and stain resistant fabrics, and they can build up in the body over time. The study helps show that prenatal PFAS exposure is more complex and widespread than earlier studies suggested

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 14, 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.

12/18/2025 Ozark Public Television Wild Ozarks: A Legacy of Conservation – Very well done. I am recommending it to be part of the core training for the next group of Springfield Plateau Missouri Master Naturalists!

2026 Million Marker Test Kit – I’m going to do as much as I can to reduce microplastics…then do this test….probably next summer. It is advertised as the only mail-in test for BPA, BPS, BPF, phthalates, parabens, and oxybenzone.

2/3/2026 Yale 360 China to See Solar Capacity Outstrip Coal Capacity This Year - By the end of 2026, wind and solar will account for nearly half of China’s power capacity. Including hydro and nuclear power, clean energy will amount to nearly two-thirds of total power capacity, while coal will amount to a third. Competing with cheap solar and wind, a large share of coal plants are now operating at a loss.

2/1/2026 Cool Green Science Catching Sharks for Science - On Long Beach Island, volunteer anglers help researchers uncover the hidden journeys of sharks in threatened salt marsh ecosystems.

2/3/2026 Science Daily Even remote Pacific fish are full of microplastics - Even in some of the most isolated corners of the Pacific, plastic pollution has quietly worked its way into the food web. A large analysis of fish caught around Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu found that roughly one in three contained microplastics, with Fiji standing out for especially high contamination. Reef and bottom-dwelling fish were most affected, linking exposure to where fish live and how they feed.

2/1/2026 National Parks Traveler New York Art Teacher Earns 30 National Park Resident Artist Spots In 10 Years – Artist-in-residence at National Park Service sites. Many of the programs are funded by nonprofits, grants, or donations made directly to the Park Service. Categories are broad and include writers, painters, photographers, musicians, dancers, sculptors, and animators. 

1/30/2026 My Modern Met Society of Photographers 2025 Contest Announces Its Astounding Winners – Chosen from over 6,000 photographs submitted!

1/29/2026 BBC From bad omen to national treasure: The rare bone-swallower stork saved by a female army - Known locally as the hargila (or "bone-swallower") for its scavenging ways, greater adjutant storks are unique birds. Roughly 5ft (1.5m) tall, they aren't only imposing but also play a vital role in maintaining the health of a wetland ecosystem. As scavengers that consume and clean up carcasses, they prevent the spread of disease and break down decaying organic matter, recycling essential nutrients back into the soil. They were feared, reviled and in some communities, hunted for their meat which was once widely used in folk medicine as a cure for leprosy or antidote to poison.

1/28/2026 Archaeology Magazine Study tracks wild potato across the Southwest - People carried a small, wild potato known as the Four Corners potato (Solanum jamesii), across the southwestern United States some 10,000 years ago.

1/27/2026 Super Age Wellness Is Finally Admitting It Got the Last Decade Wrong – The article lists 10 trends from the 2026 Global Wellness Report. One of the 10 is “Microplastics are at threat to healthspan.”

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 24, 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.

1/3/2026 The Scientist Polio Vaccine History: The Shot That Saved Millions - On April 12, 1955, when the Salk polio vaccine was declared “safe and effective,” church bells rang out, kids were let out of school, and headlines around the world celebrated the victory over polio. When asked whether he was going to patent the vaccine, Salk told journalist Edward R. Murrow it belonged to the people and would be like “patenting the sun.”

1/8/2026 Smithsonian Magazine Hundreds of Flowering Species Bloomed Across Britain and Ireland Last Winter - Citizen scientists in the British Isles documented more than 300 native plant species blooming in early 2025, a phenomenon likely caused by climate change. While it’s lovely to see so many wildflowers in bloom … it’s also a sad reflection of the way our climate is changing and the knock-on effects this might have for all the wildlife—bees and other pollinators, butterflies and all the larger creatures further up the food chain—that depend on plants. If flowering times are increasingly out of sync with insect hatching times, the consequences could be very serious.

1/8/206 People in Brazil are living past 110 and scientists want to know why – Brazil’s highly diverse population harbors millions of genetic variants missing from standard datasets, including rare changes linked to immune strength and cellular maintenance. Brazilian supercentenarians often remain mentally sharp, survive serious infections, and come from families where multiple members live past 100. Together, they reveal aging not as inevitable decline, but as a form of biological resilience.

1/7/2026 The Conversation Surprising number of foods contain microplastics. Here’s how to reduce the amount you consume - While eliminating plastics entirely from our diets may be impossible, making these swaps should help to reduce your exposure.

1/6/2026 Nature Defossilize our chemical world - Achieving net zero means eliminating fossil fuels, not carbon — the chemical element has a crucial part to play in powering the modern world. Defossilization means finding sustainable ways to make carbon-based chemicals. Alternative sources of carbon include the atmosphere and plants, as well as carbon in existing biological or industrial waste, such as used plastics or agricultural residue. In some cases, these chemicals will eventually return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere through burning or biodegradation. In principle, this will occur as part of a circular process, rather than one that has added greenhouse gases.

1/5/2026 Planetizen The Child Population in These Cities is Dropping Fast - The proportion of young children in western U.S. metros is falling faster than in other parts of the country. Lower birth rates can sometimes ease immediate pressure on housing and schools but also lead to challenges in supporting economic growth and elder care, as the ratio of working adults to retirees declines.

1/4/2026 Washington Post What we learned about microplastics in 2025 - For many scientists, 2025 was the year of microplastics. It’s only in the past year or so that we have begun to understand that the tiny plastics — including some that are impossible to see with the naked eye — are in our bodies and food as well.

1/9/2026 Science Alert Study Finds Microplastics Are Widespread in Popular Seafoods - In the Pacific Northwest – a region of North America renowned for its seafood – researchers have found particles from our waste and pollution swimming in the edible tissue of just about every fish and shellfish they collected.

12/18/2025 Yale Environment 360 After Ruining a Treasured Water Resource, Iran Is Drying Up - Iran is looking to relocate the nation’s capital because of severe water shortages that make Tehran unsustainable. Experts say the crisis was caused by years of ill-conceived dam projects and overpumping that destroyed a centuries-old system for tapping underground reserves. 

1/8/2026 BBC The animals saved in Greece's ancient accidental 'arks' - Shielded from development and agriculture, many archaeological sites have now become inadvertent safe harbors for plants and animals. In Italy, rare orchids flower around an Etruscan necropolis. In the ancient Greek religious centre of Delphi, researchers found what they believe is a new species of snail – just 2mm (0.08in) long – suspected to live only in that area. In recent years, two new species of lizard were identified in Machu Picchu that may have once had a wider range and today enjoy the relatively undisturbed conditions of the ancient sanctuary. To better understand the connection between historical sites and nature, in 2022 the Greek government launched the Biodiversity in Archaeological Sites research project. Over two years, 49 specialists in all kinds of plants and animals surveyed 20 archaeological sites that spanned Greek history. 

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 03, 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. (Note: I have changed the format to include the date and source of the article.)

9/15/2025 NIH National Library of Medicine Microplastics in Drinking Water: A Review of Sources, Removal, Detection, Occurrence, and Potential Risks - Microplastics in drinking water systems exhibit multi-source input characteristics, originating from environmental infiltration into water sources; leaching from materials in water distribution systems; migration from bottled water packaging interfaces; and re-release during water treatment processes. The potential hazards of MPs remain a critical concern. Future work needs to integrate research from environmental science, toxicology, and public health to clarify the dose–effect relationships of MPs, improve risk assessment systems, and promote technological innovation and policy regulation to effectively ensure drinking water safety and public health.

12/21/2025 Plantizen Winter Road Salt is Making Waterways Toxic to Wildlife - Salt used to keep roadways free of ice and snow is accumulating in waterways, causing dangerously high salinity levels in water bodies in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware - well above the healthy accepted drinking water standard for people on a low-salt diet.

12/22/2025 ScienceDaily This fish-inspired filter removes over 99% of microplastics - Washing machines release massive amounts of microplastics into the environment, mostly from worn clothing fibers. Researchers have developed a new, fish-inspired filter that removes over 99% of these particles without clogging. The design mimics the funnel-shaped gill system used by filter-feeding fish, allowing fibers to roll away instead of blocking the filter. The low-cost, patent-pending solution could soon be built directly into future washing machines.

12/24/2025 The Prairie Ecologist Photos of the Year – From Chris Helzer: “Well, we’ve almost made it through 2025. To say it has been an eventful year seems like a massive understatement. As I’m sure is true for many of you, I tried to manage stress and anxiety by spending time in nature – exploring with curiosity and wonder and giving myself a break from the rest of the world for a little while. It helped.”

12/24/2025 ScienceDaily Scientists reverse Alzheimer’s in mice and restore memory - The damaged brain can, under some conditions, repair itself and regain function. )ne drug-based way to accomplish this in animal models in the study, and also identified candidate proteins in the human AD brain that may relate to the ability to reverse AD and opens the door to additional studies and eventual testing in people. The technology is currently being commercialized by Glengary Brain Health, a Cleveland-based company.

12/22/2025 The Conversation Everyday chemicals, global consequences: How disinfectants contribute to antimicrobial resistance - During the COVID-19 pandemic, disinfectants became our shield. Hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes and antimicrobial sprays became part of daily life. They made us feel safe. Today, they are still everywhere: in homes, hospitals and public spaces. But….The chemicals we trust to protect us may also inadvertently help microbes evolve resistance and protect themselves against antibiotics.

10/14/2025 All about Vision How microplastics affect your eyes, and what you can do - Microplastics don't go away. They just get smaller and smaller over time. They can come from everyday things like bottles, tires, fabrics and personal care products. Studies have found microplastics on and even inside people's eyes.

12/25/2025 BBC The best nature photography of 2025 - From the depths of the oceans to deserts, mountains and the remote Amazon, this year's most extraordinary nature photography brings us glimpses of the diversity and awe of the natural world. This year we meet acrobatic gorillas, maritime lions and grinning bears. 

12/22/2025 Smithsonian Magazine This Mama Polar Bear Adopted a Young Cub - The bears need all the help they can get these days with climate change. If females have the opportunity to pick up another cub and care for it and successfully wean it, it’s a good thing for bears in Churchill.

12/19/2026 Artnet Inside the 6,000-Year-Old Underground Temple Where the Walls Literally Sing - Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, an ancient, underground burial complex on the Mediterranean island of Malta. Built around 4,000 B.C.E. this subterranean burial ground amplifies sound at a soothing frequency.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 13, 2025

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.

How extreme weather is making plastic pollution more mobile, more persistent and more hazardous - Rising temperatures, humidity and sunlight break plastic down, making it brittle and cracked, accelerating its disintegration into tiny fragments. A 10-degree Celsius (18 Fahrenheit) rise in temperature during an extreme heat wave could double the rate at which plastic degrades. Extreme storms, flooding and wind also hasten the breakdown of plastic, mobilize it and spread it more widely. Flooding can also help forge “plastic rocks,” created when rocks and plastics form a chemical bond and merge together. These become hotspots for microplastic generation. Wildfires release microplastics and highly toxic compounds into the atmosphere. Global annual production of plastic increased 200-fold between 1950 and 2023 and is predicted to keep increasing as the world moves toward clean energy and oil companies shift investments to plastics.

YMCA: The Swan Song of SROs and the Birth of Modern Homelessness - Single room occupancy hotels played a central role in America’s affordable housing ecosystem for decades, providing cheap, flexible accommodations without government subsidy. They are effectively large-scale boarding houses, offering small private rooms or dorm-style quarters with shared bathrooms and minimal kitchen facilities. The YMCA was the nation’s largest SRO provider, with more than 100,000 units nationwide at its peak. SROs were far from ideal, but without this form of housing or any other low-cost option, homelessness was the inevitable result. It was just as Edith Elmer Wood feared back in 1919: Housing reform had created a housing famine.

Recycling Lead-Acid Batteries Has Significant Health Risks - What happens to the old ones when they are no longer serviceable? They get melted down to recover the lead in them, which can then be used to make new batteries. In the US, that work often gets outsourced to other countries. It’s a patchwork of shoddy factories in places like Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania providing more lead for new car batteries….and where people die from lead poisoning. Car companies look the other way.

More Than 1,200 Marine Animal Species Eat Plastic. Ingesting Even a Tiny Amount Can Kill Them - Data from more than 10,000 marine animal autopsies. About half of the examined sea turtles, one-third of seabirds and one in eight marine mammals had plastics in their stomachs. The study didn’t examine other ways plastics can hurt wildlife, such as strangulation, malnutrition or toxic effects. It also didn’t look at the harms of tinier pieces of plastics—microplastics—which have been found in the deep ocean and can also affect marine life. Researchers say the best way to protect wildlife from plastic is to reduce the amount of it that enters the ocean, namely through local and national policy.

The Forgotten Roman Ruins of the ‘Pompeii of the Middle East’ – Jerash – ruins near Amman, the capital of Jordan and the country’s second most popular tourist destination after Petra. After spending more than a millennium covered by sand, Jerash has reclaimed its place as a cornerstone of both Western and Middle Eastern civilization.

Just ten species make up almost half the weight of all wild mammals on Earth – Deer and boars account for almost half the biomass of wild land animals.

New research reveals what’s really hiding in bottled water - Each sip may contain invisible microplastics that can slip through the body’s defenses and lodge in vital organs. These tiny pollutants are linked to inflammation, hormonal disruption, and even neurological damage, yet remain dangerously understudied. “People need to understand that the issue is not acute toxicity -- it is chronic toxicity.”

Beavers are Dam Good for Biodiversity, Bringing Bats, Butterflies and Other Critters to Their Neighborhoods - Beavers are famous for being ecosystem engineers, capable of transforming once-dry landscapes into lush, green wetlands that support many other land- and water-dwelling species. Now, two new studies suggest these benefits also extend to creatures who spend much of their time in the air like bats and pollinator insects.

This tiny pill could change how we diagnose gut health - Tiny ingestible spheres filled with engineered bacteria can detect intestinal bleeding by glowing when they encounter heme. Early tests in mice suggest they could become a quick, noninvasive way to monitor gut disease. The work was done by the NSF of China and other sources in China. Will China now dominate this type of research with the funding cuts in the US?

Meet the 7 Swans a-Swimming – There are 7 swan species in the world…which fits very well with The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 22, 2025

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.

Spotted Lanternfly Biology and Lifecycle – Missouri is trying to stop them from gaining a foothold in the state….but it will take a lot of vigilance. The invasive insects are already in Illinois and could move into Missouri very easily – particularly as egg masses on vehicles. In the current infestations, spotted lanternfly has shown to have one generation per year consisting of four nymphal stages, an adult stage, and overwintering as egg masses.

Could Non-Invasive Colon Cancer Screening Replace Colonoscopies? – It would be great if these could work….colonoscopies are invasive tests….but, for now, they are the only choice for a reliable screening for colon cancer.

13 Non-Toxic, Plastic Free Electric Kettles for a Healthy Cup – A plastic free electric kettle is on my wish list for this year. It will be used a lot in my office.

Reindeer Hunting Artifacts Emerge from Melting Ice in Norway - Melting ice in Norway has revealed a 1,500-year-old reindeer trap, preserved beneath centuries of snow and ice layers. Archaeologists uncovered wooden mass-capture fences, marked antlers, weapons, and a unique decorated oar from the site this year.

Why are thyroid cancer cases increasing across the world? - We're likely observing a multifactorial phenomenon that includes environmental, metabolic, dietary and hormonal influences, possibly interacting with underlying genetic susceptibility.

A Bird in Mourning Wins the 2025 European Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest – Great photos!

Anxiety is one of the world’s most common health issues. How have treatments evolved over the last 70 years? – I was surprised that no new drugs have been approved since 2004. While existing treatments can be very effective for some people — in fact, life-changing for some — we still have some way to go to develop effective treatments for everyone who struggles with an anxiety disorder, and ensure these treatments are available to them.

What a baby's first poo can tell you about their future health - T he Baby Biome study, which aims to understand how a baby's gut microbiome – the trillions of microbes living in their digestive tract – affect their future health. Babies born vaginally seem to inherit most of their bacteria from their mother's digestive tract; babies born via C-section had more bacteria associated with hospital environments.

From Ruins to Reuse: How Ukrainians Are Repurposing War Waste - Russian bombardments have generated more than a billion tons of debris across Ukraine since 2022. Now, local and international efforts are meticulously sorting the bricks, concrete, metal, and wood, preparing these materials for a second life in new buildings and roads. 

Our Plan to Restore the Gulf Coast for People and Wildlife - America’s Gulf Coast stretches over 1,700 miles and is home to 15,000 species of fish and wildlife, making it one of the most biodiverse areas in the country. It’s also one of the fastest-growing—the counties that border the Gulf are home to approximately 65 million people. Despite the challenges, including federal funding cuts to states, shifting political priorities and increasingly destructive storms and flooding, the National Wildlife Federation remains optimistic about what we can achieve in the next five years and the decades to come.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 20, 2025

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.

Fewer than half the calories grown on farms now reach our plates - The world produced enough calories in 2020 to feed 15 billion people – but only 50 per cent of those calories ended up reaching people’s plates. This proportion is now very likely to have fallen even lower because of the declining efficiency of the global food system. (This article is behind a paywall…but even the headline and first paragraphs that are freely available are thought provoking.)

Humans inhale as much as 68,000 microplastic particles daily - Every breath people take in their homes or car probably contains significant amounts of microplastics small enough to burrow deep into lungs. The smaller bits measure between 1 and 10 micrometers and present more of a health threat because they can more easily be distributed throughout the body. The concentrations indoors are higher because it is an enclosed environment with high levels of plastic in a small area, and there is generally poor ventilation. The concentration of plastic in the cars’ air was about four times higher than in homes. Researchers matched the microplastic material with that used on the dashboard, door handle, steering wheel and other components. (Makes the case for replacing plastic in home furnishings and air purifiers that remove small particles…the car is more challenging.)

The 25-Ton Stone Relic That Once Lay Hidden Beneath Mexico City - In the winter months of 1790, construction workers were busy repaving the Mexico City’s Plaza de Armas when their shovels struck upon a large, circular object buried in the ground. It was so heavy, they had to create a makeshift pulley system to remove it. Once they did, they were in for a surprise, as they had just discovered one of Aztec civilization’s most iconic artifacts: the Calendar Stone. It is a large sculpture carved into 25 ton, 4 feet-thick circular block of olivine volcanic basalt that measures 11.8 feet in diameter. It was removed from Tenochtitlan’s main square and buried face-down in the ground after the conquistadors conquered Tenochtitlan.

The Paradox of American Technological Leadership in Renewable Energy – From a journalist’s perspective, thriving in a developing nation, dependent on first-world technology.

Earliest Evidence of Indigo Processing Identified on Paleolithic Tools – From analysis of 34,000-year-old stone tools found in the Dzudzuana Cave in the foothills of Georgia’s Caucasus. The pebble grinding tools contained traces of plant matter and indigotin, the deep blue compound also known as indigo.

Global Solar Installations Up 64 Percent So Far This Year - Solar is the fastest-growing source of electricity worldwide, and the buildout continues to gain pace, year after year. In the first six months of 2025, countries installed 380 gigawatts of solar capacity, up from 232 gigawatts in 2024. China accounted for most of the growth, installing more than twice as much solar in the first half of this year as it did in early 2024. For the first time in China, solar isn’t just supplementing coal power, but replacing it. The U.S., by comparison, saw solar installations rise by just 4 percent. Through its exports of low-cost solar panels, China also drove growth in India and across much of Africa

Permitting Pollution Jeopardizes Clean Water - The PERMIT Act, will let large-scale polluters off the hook for trashing our waters, leaving the American people to pick up the tab. If it becomes law, this bill will pollute our drinking water, compromise our health, put more communities at risk of floods, and ruin many of the places we swim or fish.

How long can one RSV shot protect seniors? Study shows surprising two-year shield - A single RSV vaccine dose is proving to be a powerful shield for older adults, significantly reducing hospitalizations and severe illness over two consecutive RSV seasons. While protection is strongest in the first year and declines somewhat in the second, the findings highlight both the immediate benefits and the importance of ongoing monitoring.

84% of Chicago's Pipes Contain Lead — and They're Not Equally Distributed - Chicago has the highest number of lead water service lines in the nation, with an estimated 412,000 of about 491,000 lines at least partly made of lead or contaminated with the dangerous metal. The city’s Black and Latino communities are most impacted, but the issue is widespread across the city’s water distribution network.

How to Go Plastic Free for Beginners. Your First 10 Items! - Start with 10 items, step by step and then progress slowly to more once you feel more confident.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 30, 2025

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.

How Do Plants Know It’s Getting Hot? - Over the past decade, scientists have identified a few temperature sensors that regulate plant growth, some of which also detect light. Many of the experiments to understand the function of these sensors were done in the dark, leaving daytime temperature sensing unexplored. Now, in a recent study researchers discovered a brand-new role for sugar in daytime temperature sensing. They showed that at high temperatures, sugar acts as a thermostat to override plant-growth brakes, thus enabling heat-responsive stem elongation. These findings could pave way for breeding climate-resilient crops in the face of global warming.

Volunteers Discover 115-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Tracks Revealed in the Wake of Devastating Texas Floods - Last month’s extreme floods in central Texas have uncovered 115-million-year-old dinosaur tracks in Travis County, which includes Austin. While the discovery is overshadowed by the deaths of more than 138 people at the hands of the very same natural disaster, it sheds further light on the state’s richly preserved paleontological history.

Horseshoe Crabs Break Free from Biomedical Testing - For 40 years, researchers relied on horseshoe crab blood to catch endotoxins in drugs. Now, synthetic alternatives and updated regulations can end the practice.

Cultivating for color: The hidden trade-offs between garden aesthetics and pollinator preferences - There are native plants with colorful and interesting flowers that bloom at different times, from early spring to late fall. These plants tend to produce reliable floral signals and offer the nectar and pollen needed to support pollinator nutrition and development.

Ancient Dental Plaque Unearths Prehistoric People’s Lifestyle - Tartar on ancient teeth is the oral microbiome fossilized over time. When researchers sequenced the genetic material isolated from ancient tartar, they found it teeming with bacterial DNA. The researchers identified several pathogenic bacteria and some antibiotic resistance genes, suggesting that the potential for antibiotic resistance was present in prehistoric times. Several bacteria such as those belonging to the genera Streptococcus and Actinomyces coexisted with humans through their evolution, offering insights into microbial health and disease through the ages.

An interstellar visitor and hairy caterpillars: The best science pictures of the week – From the BBC.

One small walking adjustment could delay knee surgery for years - A groundbreaking study has found that a simple change in walking style can ease osteoarthritis pain as effectively as medication—without the side effects. By adjusting foot angle, participants reduced knee stress, slowed cartilage damage, and maintained the change for over a year. The caveat: Before this intervention can be clinically deployed, the gait retraining process will need to be streamlined.  

A 2,000-Year-Old Sun Hat Worn by a Roman Soldier in Egypt Goes on View After a Century in Storage - A Roman soldier in ancient Egypt dealt with the excruciating power of the sun roughly 2,000 years ago: by donning a felt cap.

Amazon & Brimstone Advance Lower-Carbon Cement Collaboration - Brimstone developed a breakthrough process to co-produce multiple industrial materials, including portland cement, supplementary cementitious materials, and smelter grade alumina. The company was founded in 2019 to develop next-generation industrial processes optimized for economics, efficiency, and sustainability. The companies announced they signed a commercial agreement to secure a future supply of Brimstone’s materials in the coming years, pending successful completion of testing and commercialization to scale up requirements.

As Fire Season Ramps Up, Thousands of U.S. Firefighting Positions Are Vacant - ProPublica’s review of internal agency data found that more than 4,500 Forest Service firefighting jobs — over one-fourth of all the agency’s firefighting jobs — were vacant as of July 17. The Guardian also reported that vacancy rates were highest in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain Regions, at 39 percent and 37 percent respectively. Even before all the layoffs and resignations this spring — the Forest Service sometimes struggled to get through busy fire seasons. Firefighters have been called in from Canada, Mexico, and Australia when resources are stretched too thin, and sometimes National Guard or military troops are deployed.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 23, 2025

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.

The strange-but-true origin story of the humble potato - Scientists have known that potatoes are most closely related to two groups of plants — the tomatoes and a cluster of three species called Etuberosum. Certain genes suggested that potatoes were more closely related to tomatoes, while other genes gave the impression that potatoes and Etuberosum had the closer relationship. The interbreeding event occurred some 9 million years ago, which happened to be excellent timing for the potato. This is when the Andes were forming and lots of cold and dry high elevation habitat was appearing.

Pompeii’s Secret Second Life Revealed by Latest Archaeological Finds - Shortly after Pompeii was buried in up to 20 feet of ash and pumice, people returned, some to sift opportunistically through the ruble, and others to try and restart their lives as best they could. The redevelopment had Rome’s backing. By the 5th century, life in the ruined city grew even more strained following the structural damage dealt by resurgent seismic activity, including a second eruption of Vesuvius in 472 C.E. Within 150 years, Roman life at Pompeii appears to have ended. This time for good.

Why lung cancer is a 'hidden epidemic' in this part of the world - There are almost no nerve endings in the lungs, so in the early stages, the most common symptom of lung cancer is no symptom at all. And when symptoms do appear, they are often quite generic — chest pain, coughing up blood, and difficulty breathing. So, doctors in sub-Saharan Africa often misdiagnose lung cancer patients as having tuberculosis, given the high burden in the region. Patients would go through the whole treatment regimen for tuberculosis and not really be investigated for lung cancer. Those lost six to nine months of possible treatment can be deadly, since 55% of people with lung cancer die within a year.

Should we all be taking vitamin supplements? - Evidence is starting to grow that popping a daily multivitamin could be beneficial for health, particularly for older adults. "Mega-dosing", or taking quantities of vitamins higher than the recommended daily allowance, is not recommended.

The Amazon Rainforest Approaches a Point of No Return - Under increasing threats from rampant deforestation and climate change, portions of the Amazon now emit more carbon to the atmosphere than they absorb. The southern Amazon has become hotter and drier, with less soil moisture, lowered water tables, and a higher-than-normal rate of tree mortality. Scientists now believe the Amazon could reach its tipping point — when it loses its natural ability to regenerate and will become permanently degraded — as soon as 2050. The impacts will reverberate globally.

The Many Types of Fluids That Flow in Yellowstone - Yellowstone is no doubt one of the most dynamic places on Earth. The many types of fluids that flow between the mantle and the atmosphere generate explosive volcanic and geyser eruptions, create lava flows, bubbling mud pots, and very rare sulfur flows, and they span nearly the full range of possible material viscosities.

New, Implanted Device Could Offer a Long-Elusive, Drug-Free Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis - In late July, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved an implant that uses electrical signals to control inflammation by tapping into the vagus nerve—a pair of nerves that connect the brain with important internal organs. The move marks the first time an electrical therapy has been approved for the treatment of any autoimmune disease.

Midwestern butterfly count: Big data yields bad news and clues – A study of 4.3 million observations in the U.S. Midwest from 1992–2023 to characterize changes in butterfly biodiversity. The results: 59 of the 136 species declined in abundance over the study. Both common and rare butterflies are waning.

104 Grams of Protein For $1.50? - How much ribeye steak is needed to reach 104 grams of protein? It would be about 19 ounces of ribeye steak, which costs $12–20 per pound, and premium cuts can cost more. The ribeye would cost about $14 on the low end or a bit over $20 on the high for the non-premium cuts. The black-eyed peas are only $1.50.

Historic Artifacts from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Only Skyscraper Saved by Conservancy – The Price Tower has been in the news over the past few years…controversy and renovations promised never done. Some objects from the building were sold in a breach of the easement on the building…and now they have been purchased by the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy to avoid their being dispersed; the plan is for them to be returned to the building after renovation. The post includes pictures!

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 16, 2025

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.

Fall 2025 International Student Enrollment Outlook and Economic Impact – The drop in new international student enrollment in the United States this fall could result in a 15 percent drop in overall enrollment. This drop would result in nearly $7 billion in lost revenue and more than 60,000 fewer jobs.

Woodpeckers thrive where missiles fly. How a bombing range became a wildlife refuge - A U.S. Air Force bombing range in Florida has become a sanctuary for endangered species like the red-cockaded woodpecker!

Used EV Batteries Get New Life Supporting the Texas Power Grid - In Texas, retired EV batteries are being repurposed to shore up the state’s unstable electric grid. Batteries have made significant capacity contributions within Texas’ electric grid in recent years and have been credited with helping prevent summer blackouts by bolstering grid reliability.

World Cannot Recycle Its Way Out of Plastics Crisis - The world churns out more than 200 times as much plastic today as it did in 1950, and production is only rising. Microscopic bits of plastic waste have been found nearly everywhere. Many of the more than 16,000 chemicals used in plastics — flame retardants, fillers, dyes — can harm human health, and fetuses, infants, and young children are particularly vulnerable. Without efforts to stem the use of plastic, production is on track to nearly triple by 2060.

Gorgeous, Hidden Animal Tattoos Discovered on a More Than 2,000-Year-Old ‘Ice Mummy’ by Using Digital Imaging - Tigers, stags and a leopard twist around each other, the animals’ stylized and intricate details spread in ink across a woman’s forearm. On her hand is the delicate outline of a bird with a fluffy tail. It sounds like something you might see from a tattoo artist today, but these designs appear to be preserved on a more than 2,000-year-old “ice mummy” from Siberia’s Pazyryk culture.

How do the microplastics in our bodies affect our health? - The use of plastics in society first came into being on a large scale in about the 1920s, and we see a big increase from the 1960s onwards. In a study published in 2024, scientists found that consumption of the particles has increased sixfold since 1990, particularly in various global hotspots including the US, China, parts of the Middle East, North Africa and Scandinavia. In February 2025, scientists identified microplastics in the brains of human cadavers. Most notably, those who had been diagnosed with dementia prior to their death had up to 10 times as much plastic in their brains compared to those without the condition. Because humans are consuming so many different types of plastic, it's both unlikely and impractical, without vast sources of funding, for researchers to be able to identify a direct link between ingesting microplastics and one particular disease….but there is mounting evidence that they are impacting health.

See the Faces of Two Sisters Who Toiled Away in a Neolithic Mine 6,000 Years Ago – Skeletons found in the Czech Republic chert mine.

This diet helped people lose twice as much weight, without eating less - People eating minimally processed foods lost twice as much weight as those on ultra-processed diets, even though both diets were nutritionally balanced and participants could eat freely!

A Promised U.S. Drilling Boom Has Yet to Materialize - The price of oil, the world’s most-traded commodity, is more responsive to global demand and supply dynamics than to domestic policy and politics. The economics of solar and wind are increasingly too attractive to ignore. They are now almost always the least expensive — and the fastest — option for new electricity generation.

Your sleep schedule could be making you sick, says massive new study - A global study of over 88,000 adults reveals that poor sleep habits—like going to bed inconsistently or having disrupted circadian rhythms—are tied to dramatically higher risks for dozens of diseases, including liver cirrhosis and gangrene.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 2, 2025

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.

Introduction of Agriculture Didn't Immediately Alter Japanese Diets - Agriculture, rice, and millet were introduced to the Japanese islands from the Korean Peninsula around 3,000 years ago. Researchers recently examined plant residues on Final Jomon and Yayoi-period pottery from sites in northern Kyushu. The surprising results indicated that local culinary traditions changed very little after the crops were introduced to the island, as fish and seafood remained the primary foods.

Athens Is Reviving a 2,000-Year-Old Roman Aqueduct to Deliver Water to the City Amid Prolonged Droughts - If the Hadrian’s Aqueduct revitalization proves successful, it could become a model for other major cities experiencing water shortages. There are plans to expand in the other boroughs of Athens that the Hadrian Aqueduct runs through. But also, we have started a collaboration with another five or six cities in Europe that combine cultural heritage with water heritage to make more green, sustainable and livable cities.

Photography In the National Parks: Early Summer at White Sands National Park – Some good tips for photography when there is a lot of ‘white’ around! I remember trying in June of 2013 when I visited the place.

Teen bats are spawning new viruses—here’s why scientists are paying close attention - Juvenile bats frequently host multiple coronaviruses simultaneously—offering a real-time window into how new strains might arise. These findings, while involving non-human-infecting viruses, provide a powerful model to forecast how dangerous variants could eventually spill over into humans, especially as environmental pressures bring bats closer to human habitats.

Lentils Have More Protein Than Hamburger? - or a portion size of 100 grams, dry lentils have 23.6 grams of protein, with only 1.92 grams of fat. In case you are wondering, 100 grams is about 3.5 ounces. The amount of protein in “beef, ground, 80% lean meat” is 17.5 grams for the same portion size as the lentils! I’m going to look at some lentil recipes….add them into our meal plans.

A monumental 3,800-year-old warrior kurgan discovered in Azerbaijan - The burial chamber—2 meters wide, 6 meters long, and 3 meters deep—was divided into three symbolic sections: one for the human remains and weaponry, another for ceramic vessels, and a third intentionally left empty, possibly reflecting ritual beliefs about the soul’s journey in the afterlife.

China Breaks Ground on Colossal Dam Project in Asia’s Grand Canyon - A massive dam project in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in Tibet, the longest and deepest canyon in the world. Concerns are being raised about wildlife, electricity it produces being more expensive that comparable solar project, and the Chinese ability to withhold water or flood India in timed of conflict. The article did not discuss if there would be a risk for earthquakes as the weight of the water interacts with the geology of the canyon. Isn’t that area seismically active?

Arizona’s Declining Groundwater - For more than two decades, NASA satellites have peered beneath the surface and measured changes in the groundwater supplies of the Colorado River Basin. Based on these measurements, researchers report rapid and accelerating losses of groundwater in the basin’s underground aquifers between 2002 and 2024. About 68 percent of the losses occurred in the lower part of the basin, which lies mostly in Arizona. Irrigated agriculture consumes about 72 percent of Arizona’s available water supply; cities and industry account for 22 percent and 6 percent.

Mineral v chemical sunscreen: Which one should you be using? - UV exposure can lead to skin cancer, the most common type of cancer in countries including the US and the UK. If it spreads, the deadliest type, melanoma, has only a 35% five-year survival rate. The best sunscreen, experts say, is one you are happy to use!

Meet the Tuatara: New Zealand’s Bizarre Ancient Reptile - While the tuatara is related to snakes and lizards, the two reptilian groups diverged about 250 million years ago. That’s a long time in evolutionary terms. For context, humans are more closely related to kangaroos than tuatara are to lizards.

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 19, 2025

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.

Doctors say we’ve been misled about weight and health - Doctors' advice about healthy eating and physical activity is still relevant as it may result in better health. The main goal is to offer good care irrespective of weight, which means not caring less but rather discussing benefits, harms, and what is important to the patient.

Let’s Consider a Couple of Workable Solutions to the Plastic Crisis – The first is to reduce the reliance on plastic shopping bags. Research shows that plastic bags were much less frequently found in beach litter where communities had implemented plastic bag policies. The second is green roofs in cities. Green roofs were shown to be more than capable of intercepting microplastics — at the rate of 97.5% efficiency for trapping microplastics from atmospheric deposition…..and roof areas make up 40-50% of urban impermeable areas.

Melting Glaciers Will Lead to More Volcanic Eruptions – New research from the Chilean Patagonia. Glaciers tend to suppress the volume of eruptions from the volcanoes beneath them. But as glaciers retreat due to climate change, the findings suggest these volcanoes go on to erupt more frequently and more explosively. According to a 2020 study, 245 of the world’s active volcanoes are within three miles of ice. 

A Partnership for a Healthier Appalachian Forest - The story of the southern Appalachians – and many forests across the United States – is one of widespread logging between the early 1900s and 1940s. That was followed by the “Smokey Bear era” of fire suppression. Now active management is the strategy including thinning, herbicide application and controlled burns.

The Vienna cemetery where endangered species and biodiversity thrive – 2.4 sq km (0.9 sq miles). The cemetery is home to European hamsters, Europea green toad, Alpine longhorn beetle, European ground squirrel, and Eurasian hoopee….and many other species.

Photos: Before-and-after satellite images show extent of Texas flooding destruction – It’s hard to fathom the scope of the destruction...and how fast the water rose in the darkness.

Florida Seniors Face Rising Homelessness Risk - Florida seniors make up a growing portion of the state’s unhoused population as the housing crisis continues. Cost of housing is increasing with institutional investors buying up land and insurance costs skyrocketing.

Researchers Unearth 3,500-Year Old Peruvian City with an Illustrious History - Probably a market hub, and that once connected Pacific coast communities with those in the Andes and Amazon thriving around the same time as early Middle Eastern and Asian civilizations. The urban center is known as Peñico and was founded between 1,800 and 1,500 B.C., experts said. It is near the location where the Caral civilization, said to be the oldest in the Americas first appeared 5,000 years ago. Following eight years of research, the experts classified as many as 18 structures including ceremonial temples and residential housing complexes. Sculptural reliefs and works showing the pututu, a conch shell trumpet can also be seen on some of the walls. Researchers also found clay sculptures of human and animal figures, as well as necklaces created with beads and seashells.

Emily Sargent’s Long-Hidden Watercolors Debut at the Met – John Singer Sargent’s younger sister watercolor paintings. They were lost for decades, until some of her relatives found a forgotten trunk in storage containing hundreds of her paintings.

Blast From the Past: Arizona’s Meteor Crater - Meteor Crater (also called Barringer Meteor Crater) is located between Flagstaff and Winslow on the Colorado Plateau as seen by the Operation Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8. I’ve seen it from the ground!

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 21, 2025

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.

From Dead Dirt to Healthy Soil in 7 Simple Steps – The articles from Leaf & Limb are always full of practical suggestions. I am doing all 7 of these steps in my yard!

A Large, Invasive Lizard Was Spotted in a California Park – An Argentine black and white tego. Another invasive...probably a pet that escaped or was released. Tegus have established populations in several parts of Florida, where they’ve been declared an invasive species. The lizards have also infiltrated southeast Georgia, and they have been spotted in Alabama, Texas, South Carolina and Louisiana.

Ultra-processed foods are everywhere — and they’re quietly raising health risks - The effects of UPFs can pile up over time, adding to the risk of heart attack, stroke and other serious health issues by raising blood pressure and blood sugar levels. While ultra-processed foods include obvious culprits like potato chips, candy and frozen pizza, there are also some that people may believe are good for them, such as packaged granola bars, sports drinks and fruit-filled yogurt.

The hunt for Marie Curie's radioactive fingerprints in Paris - Marie Curie worked with radioactive material with her bare hands. More than 100 years after her groundbreaking work, the lingering radioactive fingerprints she left behind are still measurable.

5 simple (and cheap) things to make your house use less energy - Climate solutions for reducing home energy use can be extremely simple — and sometimes even free.

When Rivers Take a Weird Turn – Two examples where water (river) flows in unexpected ways…with satellite images from Landsat 9 of the two areas.

6 feel-good exercises to alleviate sore, achy feet – Some of these were new-to-me. I’m trying them all!

Is it better to neglect your garden? – Maybe…except for stepping in strategically to keep invasives from taking over. My yard is a work in progress but the goal it to make changes that mean it will require less and less intervention over time.

Sequoia And Kings Canyon National Parks' Giant Sequoia Trees - Giant sequoia trees can live to be more than 3,000 years old! Large giant sequoias often owe their size to rapid growth rather than age, so an old giant sequoia will not necessarily be the largest specimen. While these giant trees are more resistant to threats, they are not immune. Climate change influences the growth and survival of sequoias, particularly in the form of droughts with unusually high temperatures known as “hotter droughts.”

5,000-Year-Old Bread Buried in Bronze Age House - The flatbread, which measures, five inches wide and one inch thick, is among the earliest known baked items ever discovered. Analysis determined that it was made from a coarsely ground flour made of emmer, a type of ancient wheat, and lentils. A modern bakery has already begun to reproduce and sell breads based on the ancient recipe.

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 14, 2025

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.

Millions of new solar system objects to be found and 'filmed in technicolor' -- studies predict – The era C. Rubin Observatory ‘first look’ event is June 23! It is located on Cerro Pachon ridge in northern Chile. I found myself wondering how the deep funding cuts in the US will impact the facility and the scientists involved.

How electric scooters are driving China's salt battery push - Even as the rest of the world tries to close its gap with China in the race to make cheap, safe and efficient lithium-ion batteries, Chinese companies have already taken a head-start towards mass producing sodium-ion batteries, an alternative that could help the industry reduce its dependence on key raw minerals. A bigger market for sodium-ion batteries may be energy storage stations, which absorb power produced at one time so it can be used later.

Dead End: Nine Highways Ready for Retirement - This year’s nominees include Austin’s Interstate 35, which exacerbated segregation in the urban core when it was built in 1962, replacing a once-vibrant boulevard that served as a community gathering space.

The Overlooked Biodiversity of Appalachian Caves – Many of these creatures would be on the list for Missouri caves as well!

A Bauhaus-Trained Artist Wove Tapestries in the Woods for Decades. Now, Her Legacy Comes into Focus – I enjoyed the art and the biography of the artist!

Unique Silla Kingdom Crown Was Decorated with Insect Wings – Found in South Korea in a 1,400-year-old grave…a gilt-bronze crown decorated with a series of heart-shaped indentations that had been delicately inlaid with the colorful wings of the jewel beetle, some of which remained in situ after almost a millennium and a half.

Tea, berries, dark chocolate and apples could lead to a longer life span - Increasing the diversity of flavonoids within your diet could help prevent the development of health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer and neurological disease.

Experts Think the Hagia Sophia Is in Danger. They’ve Got a Plan to Protect It from Earthquakes - In light of recent earthquakes in Turkey, experts fear the 1,500-year-old mosque is structurally vulnerable, and the Turkish government has ordered a renovation. A team of government-appointed engineers, architects and art historians will begin by stripping a layer of lead that covers the main dome and looking for ways to strengthen the connections between it and the semi-domes. They’ll also look for ways to improve the main pillars and subterranean supports. Experts are also hoping that the work may reveal older murals from previous periods in the Hagia Sophia’s layered history.

Secrets of the Gobi Wall Revealed - Snaking for 200 miles across the inhospitable terrain of southern Mongolia, the so-called Gobi Wall is the least studied section of a system of medieval fortifications that once extended from China into Mongolia. The wall was primarily constructed from rammed earth, stone, and wood during the Xi Xia period (AD 1038-1227), a dynasty ruled by the Tungut tribes of western China and southern Mongolia. It was much more than a purely defensive mechanism built to repel invasions, but that it also served to regulate trade and manage frontier movements.

Why climbing the stairs can be good for your body and brain - Climbing stairs has been found to improve balance and reduce the risk of falling for older people and improve their lower body strength. Other studies also find that climbing a couple of flights of stairs can positively affect our cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, memory, and potentially creative thinking. As a "low impact" form of exercise, even short bursts of stair climbing can help improve cardiorespiratory fitness and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 31, 2025

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.

10 Ways Vincent Van Gogh Continues to Make News, Even Today – An artist that has been ‘newsworthy’ for a very long time. This post about recent instances of ‘Van Gogh mania.’

Measles vaccines save millions of lives each year – Statistics about measles and the impact of the vaccine…history and how the choices we make will have impacts on the future trajectory of the disease.

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve – It became a national park in 2020. I’ve driven through it…stopped at a visitor center…but haven’t experienced it the way I have other national parks.

Forty Years of Change in Louisiana’s Wetlands – Images from Landsat 9 from 1985 and 2024 show that much of the wetland has transitioned to open water….reshaped by storms and sea level rise.

In healthy aging, carb quality counts - The researchers analyzed data from Nurses' Health Study questionnaires collected every four years between 1984 and 2016 to examine the midlife diets and eventual health outcomes of more than 47,000 women who were between the ages of 70 and 93 in 2016. The analysis showed intakes of total carbohydrates, high-quality carbohydrates from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, and total dietary fiber in midlife were linked to 6 to 37% greater likelihood of healthy aging and several areas of positive mental and physical health.

Wildlife Photographer Captures Mid-Air Battle of Two Birds Fighting for Dinner – The battle over a vole between a Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl in British Columbia, Canada. Dramatic photos. Both birds are over Missouri Prairies in the winter too!

How the humble chestnut traced the rise and fall of the Roman Empire - According to researchers in Switzerland, the Romans had something of a penchant for sweet chestnut trees, spreading them across Europe. But it wasn't so much the delicate, earthy chestnuts they craved – instead, it was the fast-regrowing timber they prized most, as raw material for their empire's expansion. And this led to them exporting tree cultivation techniques such as coppicing too, which have helped the chestnut flourish across the continent.

China’s Mega Dam Project Poses Big Risks for Asia’s Grand Canyon - China’s plans to build a massive hydro project in Tibet have sparked fears about the environmental impacts on the world’s longest and deepest canyon. It has also alarmed neighboring India, which fears that China could hold back or even weaponize river water it depends on.

Step Into a Painstakingly Recreated 3D Model of the Parthenon, Now Restored to Its Ancient Glory - By combining archaeology and technology, a researcher has shed light on a longstanding architectural mystery: how the ancient Greeks experienced the inside of the Parthenon, the Athenian Acropolis’ largest temple, built and dedicated to the goddess Athena in the fifth century B.C.E.

How Tikal Became One of the Greatest Mayan Cities—and Then Vanished - Nowadays, the ruins of Tikal, an ancient Maya city in northern Guatemala, have been largely reclaimed by the jungle. Howler monkeys jump from pyramid to pyramid. Bats hide in the crevices of abandoned homes. Bullet ants and tarantulas crawl along the forest floor while coatis—racoon-like animals with long, upright tails—search for fallen fruit. Many of the city’s structures remain unexcavated to ensure their preservation. Tikal began life as a series of small, unassuming hamlets. Across centuries, it grew into one of the largest and mightiest cities in the loosely affiliated network of municipalities that made up the Maya civilization. At its peak, which approximately lasted from 600 to 900 C.E., Tikal comprised an area of roughly 50 square miles, 3,000 stone structures, and a population that may at one point have exceeded 60,000 people. While other Maya settlements like Chichen Itza remained inhabited well into the 12th century C.E., Tikal is thought to have collapsed around the year 900.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 19, 2025

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.

Survey: US Public Spaces Not Meeting Community Needs – Funding for maintenance and basic improvements seems to be the key issue.

I tested some of the most popular ways of meeting new people. Here's what I found – The author engaged in 4 ‘hobbies’ and assessed their effectiveness in fostering social connection: team sports, bouldering, creative writing sessions, and a life drawing course. Evidently, they all worked for her! For me – my volunteer activities (with Missouri Master Naturalist and my county’s Friends of the Library) are the way I meet new people; I tend to like the triadic interactions (attention both to each other, and to an object or activity of mutual interest) that volunteering provides.

These Unassuming Artifacts from King Tut’s Tomb Could Tell a Remarkable Story – Originally the 4 small unbaked earthen dishes were thought to be stands for the nearly four-foot high gilded wooden staffs…but a new study proposes that the clay troughs would have held libations, most likely of water, aimed at the purification and rejuvenation of Tutankhamun in the afterlife, a rite known as the Awakening of Osiris.

Cuts to the National Weather Service May Have Serious Impacts on National Parks – And for everywhere else too. Weather impacts everybody.

New research boosts future whooping cough vaccines – My father – now in his 90s – almost died from whooping cough as a young child. Deaths have become less common since the vaccine although they are still in the double digits in the US. In 2024, several outbreaks left public health officials and hospitals scrambling to accommodate a sudden influx of patients, primarily infants, who are often too young to be vaccinated and suffer the most severe symptoms. I’m glad that a new vaccine may be more effective and longer lasting than the one we have now.

Study Reveals Mercury-Poisoned Industrial Age Child – A three- to four-year-old child died in France sometime in the 18th or 19th century. The youngster suffered from rickets and scurvy likely caused by poor living conditions during the Industrial Revolution. But there were also high levels of mercury in his bones and teeth. The study ruled out sources of mercury contamination and concluded that the child had been administered the toxic metal as a cure for his ailments, which ultimately killed him.

At 97, Endangered Tortoise Becomes Oldest First-Time Mom of Her Species with Four New Hatchlings – Four Galapagos tortoise hatchlings at the Philadelphia Zoo!

Celebrating Seeds – From The Prairie Ecologist. So many obstacles must be overcome for a seed to become a mature plant producing seeds….continuing the cycle of the species.

Antarctic Sea Ice Plunged in Summer 2025 - In 2025, summer sea ice in the Antarctic tied for the second-lowest minimum extent ever recorded in the 47-year satellite record. It’s not yet clear whether the Southern Hemisphere has entered a new norm with perennially low ice or if the Antarctic is in a passing phase that will revert to prior levels in the years to com

Global Economy More Vulnerable to Warming Than Previously Thought - By rattling supply chains, future storms and heat waves will also send ripples throughout the global economy, inflicting costs far higher than models currently show. No country is immune.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 12, 2025

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.

Doctor shortages have hobbled health care for decades − and the trend could be worsening – It does seem like it is getting harder and harder to make an appointment with my doctor…and I have yet to see the same doctor twice for my annual checkup since we moved to Missouri. This article provides some background into why the US is increasingly short of doctors.

Your neighborhood might affect your risk of dementia - Most studies of risk factors for Alzheimer's disease focus on the individual level, not the community level. Of course, intervening at the community level is challenging, but prioritizing disadvantaged communities may be an effective way to mobilize resources for older adults and provide avenues for reducing the risk of dementia for the overall community.

Mangrove Pioneers - On the ground, a team surveying tidal marshes near the Florida–Georgia border in 2024 found red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) and black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) growing 50 miles (80 kilometers) and 14 miles (23 kilometers) farther north, respectively, than their previously documented range. Landsat and other satellite imagery are valuable for monitoring marsh-to-mangrove transitions over larger areas and longer time frames. Conditions along the U.S. East Coast are conducive to mangrove territory expansion - less-frequent extreme cold events and rising winter temperatures in the region as contributing factors to the trees’ survival.

These Carnivorous Snails Slurp Earthworms Like Spaghetti – Snails in New Zealand….the short video is worth watching!

Why Norway is restoring its Cold War military bunkers - Norway is a land with many bunkers. At the peak of the Cold War, the sparsely populated, mountainous country had around 3,000 underground facilities where its armed forces and allies could hide and make life difficult for any invader. Norway is reactivating two of their most iconic underground structures of the Cold War. The role of the reactivated base which has had structural and equipment upgrades is to help the "resilience and survivability" of Norway's F-35s in the face of a Russian attack.

Are Hairstyles the Key to Unlocking Art History’s Most Famous Portraits? - Hairstyling has always been a way that women exacted agency over their self-presentation.  Paintings and sculptures can be rare visual records of these carefully chosen, and ephemeral, hairdos—which, unlike fashion garments, can’t survive and be passed down. (Although some historic wigs and clip-ins have stood the test of time and made it into museum collections.)

Making Sense of Butterfly Declines - Over the past two decades, the total number of butterflies across 554 species has plummeted by 22%. That means a loss of about one butterfly out of every five observed since 2000. This alarming trend underscores the severity of the decline, with many species experiencing drastic reductions in their populations. Three ways to help butterflies: plant native, plant native milkweed (i.e. native host plants), don’t spray.

2,000-Year-Old Wooden Houses Found in China - Houses in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, that date to the Warring States period (475–221 b.c.). The stilted and terraced wood-frame structures would have been covered with reeds and bamboo. The walls, made of interwoven wooden posts and thatch, retain numerous small holes, which archaeologists believe were left by grass ropes used to bind the structure together. Artifacts recovered from the site included primitive porcelain cups, red pottery tripods, ceramic urns, bronze drill bits, and plentiful remains of domestic animals as well as marine resources.

Retreating Arctic Glaciers Have Exposed 1,500 Miles of Coastline - Scientists tracked the movement of 1,500 coastal glaciers from 2000 to 2020, finding that retreating ice had unveiled hundreds of miles of coastline, largely in Greenland - revealing stores of precious metals…. but they warn that newly exposed coastline, which has not been cemented with ice, is vulnerable to erosion and landslides.

Listen to the First Known Recording of Shark Sounds, a ‘Weird’ Audio Clip Captured at a Marine Lab in New Zealand – Sounds from a rig shark…when it was handled between tests in the lab.