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A California outfit has used artificial intelligence to design viral genomes before they were then built and tested in a laboratory. Following this, bacteria was then successfully infected with a number of these AI-created viruses, proving that generative models can create functional genetics. "The first generative design of complete genomes." That's what researchers at Stanford University and the Arc Institute in Palo Alto called the results of these experiments. A biologist at NYU Langone Health, Jef Boeke, celebrated the experiment as a substantial step towards AI-designed lifeforms, according to MIT Technology Review. "They saw viruses with new genes, with truncated genes, and even different gene orders and arrangements," Boeke said.

"What we are seeing is compelling evidence that the climate crisis is not just an environmental emergency, it is potentially a neurological one."

Gains in cutting deaths from tuberculosis at risk as health officials warn clinics forced to ration drugs and testing

A common pesticide can increase children’s risk of poor brain development and motor skills Kids exposed to chlorpyrifos while in the womb have altered neuron development and lower blood flow to their brains This can cause problems with motor skills among children

Healthy environment a human right, UN court says in landmark climate ruling

Extreme heat ‘the new normal’, says UN chief, as authorities across the continent issue health warnings

When a small Swedish town discovered their drinking water contained extremely high levels of Pfas, they had no idea what it would mean for their health and their children’s future

A chemical that takes thousands of years to break down is found in England's freshwater fish at 1,000 times above safe levels – and could end up on our dinner tables

Repeatedly mass infecting kids with COVID is not a public health strategy. It's a fast pass to declining population health

Repeated damage from extreme heat over time seems to be a leading factor causing kidneys to fail. Repeated damage from extreme heat over time seems to be a leading factor causing kidneys to fail.

A microplastics and toxic chemicals expert says her family doesn't wear shoes at home. Microplastics from car tires and garbage, as well as street runoff, can be tracked indoors on shoes. The researcher thinks her kids' Japanese heritage helped them adopt the habit.

Springtails illustrate in new research how global warning and antibiotic resistance creates synergistic effects: warming increases pesticide toxicity, triggering antibiotic resistance which spreads through horizontal gene transfer and predation.

The exponential rise in microplastic pollution over the past 50 years may be reflected in increasing contamination in human brains, according to a new study. It found a rising trend in micro- and nanoplastics in brain tissue from dozens of postmortems carried out between 1997 and 2024. The researchers also found the tiny particles in liver and kidney samples.

Metals and metalloids are ubiquitous in soils, originating from bedrock and from human activities and infrastructure. These compounds can be toxic to humans and other organisms, and their soil distribution and concentrations at global scale are not well known. Hou et al. analyzed data from more than 1000 regional studies to identify areas of metal toxicity and explore drivers of these trends. They estimate that 14 to 17% of cropland exceeds agricultural thresholds for at least one toxic metal.

For hundreds of millions of people living in India and Pakistan the early arrival of summer heatwaves has become a terrifying reality that’s testing survivability limits and putting enormous strain on energy supplies, vital crops and livelihoods. Both countries experience heatwaves during the summer months of May and June, but this year’s heatwave season has arrived sooner than usual and is predicted to last longer too. Temperatures are expected to climb to dangerous levels in both countries this week.

Microplastics have been found for the first time in human ovary follicular fluid, raising a new round of questions about the ubiquitous and toxic substances’ potential impact on women’s fertility. The new peer-reviewed research published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety checked for microplastics in the follicular fluid of 18 women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment at a fertility clinic in Salerno, Italy, and detected them in 14.

Eat-Lancet report recommended shift to more plant-based, climate-friendly diet but was extensively attacked online [...] The report recommended that if global red meat eating was cut by 50%, the “planetary health diet” would provide nutritious food to all while tackling the harms caused by animal agriculture, which accounts for over 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. It suggested individuals – particularly in wealthy countries – should increase their consumption of nuts, pulses and other plant-based foods while cutting meat and sugar from their diets.

Several kinds of pressure can lead to the emergence of infectious diseases. In the case of zoonoses emerging from livestock, one of the most significant changes that has taken place since the mid twentieth century is what has been termed the "livestock revolution", whereby the stock of food animals, …

Bayer, the corporation behind Roundup herbicide, has paid out nearly $11 billion in lawsuits. Trump’s EPA might move to block the suits.

While NGOs and Members of the European Parliament are calling for a ban on so-called "forever chemicals" in pesticides, only a few kilometres from Brussels, in Flanders, contamination is in full swing, even affecting organic farmers. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are chemicals used mainly for their water-repellent properties. Recent studies suggest that pesticide products may contain PFAS and that some active ingredients may meet the definition of a PFAS. This group of chemicals is a known threat to human health. Once in the environment, they are extremely persistent, earning them the nickname "forever chemicals".