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Plastic is in our clothes, cars, mobile phones, water bottles and food containers. But recent research adds to growing concerns about the impact of tiny plastic fragments on our health. A study from the United States has, for the first time, found microplastics in human brains. The study, which has yet to be independently verified by other scientists, has been described in the media as scary, shocking and alarming. But what exactly are microplastics? What do they mean for our health? [...]

The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest is filled with the ear-piercing 'screams' of a tiny amphibian in distress, but until now, we humans have been oblivious to their cries. For the first time, researchers have recorded South American frogs crying out at a frequency that totally bypasses the human ear – but which would be quite unpleasant to animals with the right kind of receivers. The leaf litter frog (Haddadus binotatus) is the most abundant species of frog in the forest [...]

A search for the first stars that winked into existence at the dawn of the Universe has yielded one of the oldest stars we've found yet, right next door to our own galaxy. It's not quite a member of the first stellar generation. This glimmer in the darkness, known as LMC 119, was spotted in the Large Magellanic Cloud that orbits the Milky Way, and it's the first star from the Universe's second generation that's been found in another galaxy. "This star provides a [...]

All that glitters is not gold. Actual glitter, for instance, can be a surprisingly harmful environmental pollutant, as a new study demonstrates. Despite its association with fun and frivolity, glitter has a dark side. Flecks of glitter reduce the amount of sunlight that penetrates into bodies of water, the new study shows, potentially impairing the ability of some aquatic plants to photosynthesize. Glitter is essentially a microplastic in disguise, whose whimsical nature distracts from [...]

The Amazon rainforest is facing a barrage of pressures that might tip it into large-scale ecosystem collapse as soon as 2050, according to new research Wednesday warning of dire consequences for the region and the world. The Amazon, which holds more than 10 percent of the world's biodiversity, helps stabilize the global climate by storing the equivalent of around two decades of emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide. But stress from deforestation, drought, fire and rising [...]

The large size variation among cetacean species, including dolphins, whales, and porpoises, is largely explained by the activity of specific gene regions, according to a recent study by scientists from Brazil's University of Campinas Institute of Biology (IB-UNICAMP). Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), for example, can grow up to a giant 30 meters (98 feet) long while the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) usually doesn't get longer than 3.5 meters. Not only does the new [...]

Few places on Earth shape our impression of a pristine environment like the heart of the Amazon. For 6.7 million square kilometers, virtually every patch of soil, every leaf, every pool of water bustles and blooms with a wilderness that defies taming. Yet amid the weave of tree roots and rotting vegetation, hidden by layers of dirt and the chaos of greenery, there is mounting evidence of human influence that dates back thousands of years. In a new study, remote-sensing scientist Vinicius [...]

Our immune system is made up of multiple smart defenses built into our bodies – but if those defenses go haywire, it can lead to diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Scientists may have found a new way to control potentially dangerous autoimmune responses. A team from Harvard Medical School at Brigham and Women's Hospital in the US developed a special probiotic that was able to regulate the activity of dendritic cells. These cells play a crucial role in managing immune cell [...]

Working on your muscles could help delay the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms, researchers have revealed. Researchers from the Federal University of São Paulo and the University of São Paulo in Brazil have uncovered strong evidence that resistance training – where muscles are worked against a weight or a force – could have significant consequences for the brains of dementia patients. Before you hurriedly renew your gym membership or break out [...]