Bottled

The average litre of bottled water has nearly a quarter million pieces of ever-so-tiny nanoplastics, detected and categorized for the first time by a microscope using dual lasers.Scientists long figured there were lots of these microscopic plastic pieces, but until researchers at Columbia and Rutgers universities did their calculations they never knew how many or what kind.Looking at five samples each of three common bottled water brands, researchers found particle levels ranged from 110,000 to 400,000 per litre,…

This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.Mississippi’s Water Crisis | Extreme EarthAt this point, it’s common knowledge that bottled water contains microplastics — fragments of the insidious material that can be as small as a bacterial cell. But the problem is much worse than previously known: It turns out that bottled water harbors hundreds of thousands of even tinier pieces of the stuff.A paper published Monday used a novel technique to analyze one-liter samples of bottled…

Using advanced imaging technology, researchers have ascertained the number of nanoplastics – bits of plastic smaller than a micrometer – in bottled water, finding that, on average, a liter contains 240,000 detectable fragments. The study provides invaluable information to address rising concerns about micro- and nanoplastic toxicity.Microplastics – ranging from less than a quarter inch (5 mm) down to a micrometer – are formed when plastics break down into progressively smaller bits. And, in recent years, concerns have…

As scientists urgently call for studies on the potential health effects of microplastics that make their way into our bodies, we still don't have any easy and effective way of detecting and identifying the smallest of these polluting particles.So Columbia University environmental chemist Naixin Qian and her colleagues have developed a new imaging technique to expose the insidious petrochemical fragments for all to see."People developed methods to see nanoparticles, but they didn't know what they were looking at," says…

It seems anywhere scientists look for plastic, they find it: from the ice in Antarctica, to the first bowel movement produced by newborn babies. Now, researchers are finding that the amount of microscopic plastics floating in bottled drinking water is far greater than initially believed. Using sophisticated imaging technology, scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty laboratory examined water samples from three popular brands (they won’t say which ones) and found hundreds of thousands of bits of plastic per…

Nitrate is commonly found in tap water and bottled water as a result of agricultural fertilizers and intensive livestock farming. Consuming nitrate through water consumption over a lifetime may increase the risk of prostate cancer, especially in younger men and with aggressive tumors., according to new research published in Environmental Health Perspectives.Nitrate is present in tap water and bottled water, largely due to the use of fertilizer in agriculture and the manure produced by intensive livestock farming.The…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeWill Smith has spoken out about his controversial Oscars moment and has attributed his actions to long-repressed rage. The actor slapped Chris Rock during this year’s Academy Awards ceremony after Rock made a controversial joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Since then, the shocking moment has been one of the year’s biggest talking points, while Smith’s position in…

Will Smith has spoken out about the “horrific night” of his now infamous Oscars slap incident on his first late-night US talk show appearance since the incident.Smith, 54, told Trevor Noah there were “many nuances and complexities” behind his actions, but also said: “I just lost it.”At the 94th Academy Awards in March, Smith took to the stage and slapped presenter Chris Rock across the face, in response to a joke Rock made about Smith’s wife’s shaven head. It is not known if Rock knew Jada Pinkett Smith suffers from…

Every now and again I catch an ad for miracle spring water, which promises to cure everything from laryngitis to debt. It’s fairly obviously a scam seeking to separate people from their hard-earned money. Then again, the same goes for the plastic water bottles people buy at the convenience store every day, or the box of water or can of water that promises to be more environmentally friendly but isn’t especially. If you live in the United States, chances are that the water coming from your faucet is perfectly fine to…

One of India’s earliest tech entrepreneurs talks about the contribution of NASSCOM, the impact of the IT Revolution, and the influence of Jain teaching What made you write this book?India’s economy has ballooned in the last few decades, and the seminal role played by the IT industry, which contributes almost 10% of the country’s GDP, has not been properly acknowledged. Noted professionals, industrialists and even bureaucrats have written books but none mentioned its contribution, or the contribution made by NASSCOM in…