Australasian Science: Australia's authority on science since 1938

Articles related to pollution

Browse: Coal Shipping Threat to Great Barrier Reef
Credit: CSA-Printstock/iStock
conSCIENCE: Our Human Right not to Be Poisoned
Julian Cribb
Thousands of new chemicals are released each year, and the toxic effects are mounting. What can we do about it?
Browse: Oats Clean Nuke Contamination Browse: Common Chemicals Linked to Chronic Disease in Men
Browse: Broken Hill Playgrounds Contaminated
Frogs have to adjust their calls in order to be heard in noisy urban environment
Feature: Sex in a Changing World
Bob Wong
Sex isn’t always easy, but it’s becoming a lot more complicated due to human-induced changes to the natural environment.
Browse: Orange Peel Mops Up Mercury Pollution Browse: Smelting Emissions Escape Regulation
Browse: Motorboat Noise Helps Marine Predators Browse: Antarctic Mercury Threatens Fish and Birds
Credit: Artem_Egorov/iStockphoto
Cover Story: The Big Picture on Nanoparticle Safety
Laurence Macia & Wojciech Chrzanowski
Nanoparticles are found in our food, cosmetics and tattoo inks, but regulations for their use aren’t keeping up with new research questioning their safety.
The Davis Station wastewater outfall. Photo: J. Stark
Feature: Sewage in Antarctica: A Drop in a Frozen Ocean?
Jonathan Stark
Human activities are impacting Anatarctica’s once-pristine environment, with evidence of antibiotic resistance genes and sewage-related contaminants entering its food chain.
Credit: Eraxion/iStock
Feature: Probiotics for the Planet’s Polluted Plumbing
Matthew Lee & Mike Manefield
Imagine a world where billions of tiny creatures were deployed in the environment to degrade industrial pollutants that contaminate the world’s crucial groundwater reserves.
Feature: Swimming in a River of Drugs
Erinn Richmond & Emma Rosi
A study finds that more than 65 pharmaceuticals accumulate in aquatic invertebrates and riparian spiders, and can then spread through the food chain to birds and other terrestrial animals.
Browse: Adults Make Heavy Traffic of Asthma
Stephen Luntz
Wood smoke and heavy traffic fumes contribute to the severity of asthma symptoms in adults, researchers at the University of Melbourne have confirmed.
 Browse: Marine Microbes Munch on Plastic Waste
Browse: Penguins on a Slippery Slope Browse: Corals Eat Plastic
Browse: A Flood of New Toxins
Staff
Browse: Air pollution linked to brain alterations and cognitive impairment in children
Browse: Balloons the Number 1 Marine Debris Risk of Seabird Mortality Browse: Coal Power Stations Disrupt Regional Rainfall
conSCIENCE: Your Nitrogen Footprint Has Far-Reaching Consequences
Xia Liang
Australia’s reliance on coal and taste for beef is contributing to nitrogen pollution as far away from our population centres as the Great Barrier Reef.
 Eureka!: Dung Beetles Navigate Using the Milky Way
Magdeline Lum
Dung deetles navigate using the Milky Way, and scientists analyse a dead whale’s ear wax to reveal its exposure to hazardous chemicals.
Expert Opinion: Organic Pollutants Linked to Early Menopause
Australian Science Media Centre
A new study has found that women who are exposed to high levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals begin menopause 2–4 years earlier.
 Expert Opinion: The Persistent Killer of Killer Whales
AusSMC
Killer whales are at risk due to PCB contamination despite a near-global ban more than 30 years ago. The threat affects more than half of the world’s orcas, and whale populations near industrialised regions and at the top of the food-chain are at a high risk of population collapse over the next 100 years.
Lowe Tech: White Washing Energy Policy
Ian Lowe
The draft energy white paper would have looked out of date 25 years ago, when we already knew about the problems of “peak oil” and climate change.