研究チームが、世界各地の都市、農村、森林の空気サンプルから、シリコーン化合物の一種であるメチルシロキサンが高濃度で検出されたことを明らかにした。この研究では、汚染の多くがエンジンオイル添加剤に由来する自動車の排ガスと関連付けられている。専門家は、人間が日常的にこれらの物質を吸入することによる曝露量は、PFASなどの他の既知の汚染物質を上回る可能性があると警告している。
この調査結果は、ユトレヒト大学とフローニンゲン大学の研究チームによるもの。研究チームは、オランダ、リトアニア、ブラジルの各地点で化合物を測定した。濃度はサンパウロで1立方メートルあたり98ナノグラムに達し、リトアニアの森林では0.9ナノグラムまで低下した。これらの汚染物質は、テストされたサンプル中の全有機エアロゾルの2から4.3パーセントを占めていた。
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A study published in *Nature Health* reports a statistical link between environmental exposure to mixtures of agricultural pesticides and higher cancer risk in Peru. Using modeled pesticide dispersion from 2014 to 2019 and cancer registry data from 2007 to 2020 covering more than 150,000 cases, researchers found that people living in high-exposure areas faced, on average, about a 150% higher likelihood of cancer, with Indigenous and rural farming communities among those most exposed.
Researchers at the University of Vienna have determined that land releases more than 20 times as many microplastic particles into the atmosphere as the oceans, challenging prior assumptions. Their study, published in Nature, used global measurements to correct overestimated emission models. The findings highlight land as the dominant source, though uncertainties persist.
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Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that common nitrile and latex lab gloves release particles resembling microplastics, potentially inflating pollution estimates. The study, led by Madeline Clough and Anne McNeil, traced contamination to stearates in the gloves during sample preparation. Switching to cleanroom gloves could reduce false positives significantly.
A research team has outlined a fluorescence-based strategy designed to make microplastics and nanoplastics visible inside living organisms, potentially enabling real-time tracking of how the particles move, change and break down in biological systems.
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Researchers at NYU Langone Health reported detecting microplastics in prostate tumor tissue from a small group of men undergoing prostate removal surgery, with average concentrations about 2.5 times higher in tumor samples than in nearby noncancerous tissue. The team says the findings, scheduled for presentation Feb. 26, 2026, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, add early evidence that microplastic exposure could be relevant to prostate cancer but do not establish cause and effect.
In recent days, rumours circulating online have suggested that the haze over Delhi could be linked to smoke or chemical fallout from refinery strikes in Iran, even claiming that 'petrol rain' in the region was responsible for the unusual atmospheric conditions. An expert provides answers to these claims.