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Papers
149 resultsShowing papers from University of Alberta
ClearLife-history stage determines the diet of ectoparasitic mites on their honey bee hosts
Researchers discovered that parasitic Varroa mites switch their diet depending on their life stage, feeding on the fat body of adult honey bees but primarily consuming hemolymph (blood) from bee pupae. While not directly about microplastics, this study matters because understanding threats to bee health, including parasites and environmental pollutants like microplastics, is essential for protecting pollinators that support our food supply.
Microplastics affect the ecological stoichiometry of plant, soil and microbes in a greenhouse vegetable system
Researchers added polyethylene microplastics to greenhouse vegetable soil at different concentrations and found significant disruption to the balance of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the soil, soil microbes, and the plants themselves. Higher concentrations of microplastics altered the soil chemistry and shifted microbial communities, which could affect nutrient cycling and crop health. This matters for human health because microplastic-contaminated agricultural soil may impact the nutritional quality of the food we eat.
Effects of weathering on the properties and fate of secondary microplastics from a polystyrene single-use cup
Scientists studied how UV light from sunlight changes the properties of polystyrene microplastics from disposable cups. Weathering made the particles denser and less water-repellent, causing them to sink faster in water and absorb more chemical pollutants. This means older, sun-exposed microplastics in the environment may be more effective at carrying harmful chemicals into sediments where bottom-dwelling organisms live.
Impacts of microplastics on terrestrial plants: A critical review
This review examines how microplastics affect land-based plants, finding that they can alter soil structure, disrupt beneficial soil microbes, and reduce plant growth. Microplastics also carry toxic chemicals like plasticizers and heavy metals that can be taken up by plant roots and enter the food chain. The findings raise concerns about human health since contaminated crops could be a hidden source of microplastic and chemical exposure in our diets.
Advances in Catchment Science, Hydrochemistry, and Aquatic Ecology Enabled by High-Frequency Water Quality Measurements
This review covers advances in high-frequency water quality monitoring technology for streams and rivers, including automated sensors that measure pollutants in real time. While not focused on microplastics specifically, these monitoring tools are increasingly being adapted to track particulate pollutants including microplastics in waterways. Better real-time water monitoring could help communities identify and respond to microplastic contamination in their drinking water sources.
Form and Function: The Factors That Influence the Efficacy of Nanomaterials for Gene Transfer to Plants
This review discusses using nanoparticles to deliver genes into plant cells for crop improvement, covering factors like particle size, cell wall barriers, and potential toxicity concerns. While focused on agricultural biotechnology rather than microplastics directly, it highlights how nanoscale particles interact with plant biology. Understanding how tiny particles enter and affect plant cells is relevant to research on how nanoplastics may similarly penetrate food crops.
Microplastic interactions with co-existing pollutants in water environments: Synergistic or antagonistic roles on their removal through current remediation technologies
This review examines how microplastics interact with other pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals in water, often making each contaminant harder to remove during treatment. The interactions between microplastics and co-existing pollutants can produce unpredictable combined toxic effects that are worse than either pollutant alone. Understanding these interactions is important because real-world water contamination involves mixtures, not single pollutants, and current treatment methods may not adequately address these combinations.
Nanoplastics induce molecular toxicity in earthworm: Integrated multi-omics, morphological, and intestinal microorganism analyses
Researchers used multi-omics analysis to study how even low concentrations of nanoplastics affect earthworms, important indicators of soil health. They found that nanoplastics accumulated in the earthworms' intestines, damaging their digestive and immune systems and disrupting gut microorganism communities. The study demonstrates that nanoplastics can cause molecular-level harm to soil organisms at concentrations that might be considered environmentally realistic.
Biodegradable and re-usable sponge materials made from chitin for efficient removal of microplastics
Researchers developed biodegradable sponges made from chitin, a natural material, that can effectively remove tiny microplastic particles smaller than 3 micrometers from water. The sponges achieved removal rates of up to 92% and could be reused for multiple cycles while remaining safe for aquatic organisms. This green approach offers a promising, environmentally friendly method for cleaning microplastics from water systems.
Effects of aging of polyethylene microplastics and polystyrene nanoplastics on antibiotic resistance gene transfer during primary sludge fermentation
This study found that aged (weathered) microplastics and nanoplastics promoted the spread of antibiotic resistance genes during sewage sludge treatment more than fresh plastics did. The weathering process changed the surface properties of the plastics, making them better carriers for drug-resistant bacteria and their genes. This is concerning because sludge from treatment plants is often applied to farmland, potentially spreading antibiotic resistance through soil and into the food supply.
Sorption Behavior of Trace Organic Chemicals on Carboxylated Polystyrene Nanoplastics
Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics with a surface coating absorb various chemicals, including pesticides, a common antidepressant, and industrial pollutants. The nanoplastics effectively picked up all the chemicals tested, with absorption rates varying based on the chemical properties of each compound. This is important because it shows nanoplastics in the environment can concentrate a wide range of harmful chemicals on their surfaces, potentially delivering them in higher doses to organisms that ingest them.
Analysis of ultraviolet and thermal degradations of four common microplastics and evidence of nanoparticle release
Researchers studied how UV light and elevated temperature break down four common plastics and found that weathering releases nanoscale plastic particles. Polystyrene and polypropylene were particularly susceptible to UV degradation, generating significant numbers of nanoparticles. The findings confirm that environmental conditions actively fragment microplastics into even smaller, potentially more harmful nanoplastics.
Toxicity mechanisms of polystyrene microplastics in marine mussels revealed by high-coverage quantitative metabolomics using chemical isotope labeling liquid chromatography mass spectrometry
Scientists used an advanced metabolomics technique to study how polystyrene microplastics affect marine mussels at the molecular level, identifying nearly 3,600 metabolic compounds. The study found that microplastics at environmentally realistic concentrations disrupted amino acid metabolism, leading to oxidative stress and immune system effects. Encouragingly, after a week-long recovery period, the mussels largely returned to normal, suggesting these toxic effects may be reversible.
Potential risk of microplastics in processed foods: Preliminary risk assessment concerning polymer types, abundance, and human exposure of microplastics
This review compiles data on microplastic contamination across 11 types of processed foods, including beverages, canned goods, and packaged items, and conducts a preliminary risk assessment of human exposure. Researchers found that processing and packaging steps introduce additional microplastics beyond what is present in raw ingredients. The study estimates daily intake levels and identifies sugar, salt, and honey as food categories with particularly high microplastic counts.
Transport and clogging of microplastic particles in porous media: Microscale experiments and statistical analysis
This study used microscale experiments to observe how microplastic particles move through and clog porous materials like sand and gravel, which are commonly used in water filtration systems. The researchers found that the size of microplastic particles relative to the pore openings is the main factor determining whether clogging occurs. These findings matter because they help predict how microplastics travel through soil and water filters, affecting whether they reach drinking water sources.
Microplastic pollution: Phytotoxicity, environmental risks, and phytoremediation strategies
This review examines how microplastics harm plants through oxidative stress, interference with photosynthesis, and DNA damage, and explores whether plants could be used to clean up microplastic pollution. Plants can absorb tiny microplastics through their roots and leaves, and the plastics accumulate along the food chain, making health risk assessment difficult. The authors discuss phytoremediation strategies where specific plants could help remove microplastics from contaminated soil.
Contrasting effects of food waste and its biochar on soil properties and lettuce growth in a microplastic-contaminated soil
This study tested how food waste compost and biochar affect lettuce growth in soil contaminated with polystyrene microplastics. While microplastics alone did not change soil chemistry much, combining them with organic amendments altered soil pH and nutrient availability in unexpected ways. The findings suggest that how we manage contaminated farm soil matters, since common soil improvement practices may interact with microplastic pollution to affect crop health.
Transcriptomic and metabolic responses of earthworms to contaminated soil with polypropylene and polyethylene microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations
Researchers studied how environmentally realistic concentrations of polypropylene and polyethylene microplastics affect earthworms at the molecular level. They found that both plastic types triggered oxidative stress, damaged digestive and immune systems, disrupted lipid metabolism, and altered the earthworms' ability to regulate water balance. The study suggests that even at concentrations commonly found in the environment, microplastic-contaminated soil poses measurable health risks to earthworms.
Microplastic pollution destabilized the osmoregulatory metabolism but did not affect intestinal microbial biodiversity of earthworms in soil
This study investigated how microplastic pollution affects the ability of aquatic organisms to regulate their internal salt and water balance. Researchers found that microplastic exposure disrupted key metabolic pathways involved in osmoregulation, though it did not significantly affect overall survival rates in the short term. The findings suggest that even when animals appear healthy, microplastics may be causing hidden physiological stress.
The Anthropocene: Comparing Its Meaning in Geology (Chronostratigraphy) with Conceptual Approaches Arising in Other Disciplines
This article compares how the term "Anthropocene" is used in geology versus other academic disciplines like social sciences and humanities. In geology, the Anthropocene is proposed as a formal epoch beginning in the mid-twentieth century, marked by measurable changes in the geological record from industrialization and globalization. Other fields use the term more flexibly, often extending it much further back in time and applying it without reference to specific geological markers.
Transformation of microplastics during UV-LED based water disinfection: Mechanistic insights and environmental implications
Researchers investigated how UV-based water disinfection treatments transform the physical and chemical properties of common microplastics like polystyrene, polyethylene, and PVC. They found that treatment created surface cracks, reduced water repellency, and generated various breakdown compounds, some of which showed toxicity to aquatic organisms. The study highlights that while UV disinfection effectively treats pathogens, it may inadvertently create new environmental risks by altering microplastics in the water supply.
Takeaway food consumption and depressive symptoms in Chinese university students: mediating effects of physical activity
A study of Chinese university students found that frequent takeaway food consumption was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. The research also suggests that physical activity may help counteract these negative mood effects, pointing to lifestyle interventions that could support student mental health.
Degradable film mulching increases soil carbon sequestration in major Chinese dryland agroecosystems
Researchers compared biodegradable and conventional plastic film mulches used in farming and found that biodegradable films increased carbon storage in soil while traditional plastic mulch reduced it, suggesting that switching to biodegradable alternatives could help fight climate change while cutting plastic pollution.
Soil metabolomics: Deciphering underground metabolic webs in terrestrial ecosystems
Researchers reviewed how studying the chemical building blocks (metabolites) in soil can reveal how nutrients cycle through ecosystems and how soil health responds to pollution and climate stress. This approach helps scientists better understand the invisible underground networks that keep soils fertile and functioning.