The menace of “forever chemicals” is wreaking havok on our natural world. While the impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on human health is well-documented, a recent study has revealed the alarming toll these toxic compounds are taking on wildlife across the globe. PFAS: An Unseen Peril What are PFAS? PFAS, or per- and […]
Tag: forever chemicals
Blood, guts and suspiciously mangled fins: inside a porpoise autopsy
The corpse lies on the stainless steel table. Next to it, a tray of sharp blades, pliers and what look like garden implements. The body – dark-skinned above, but pale underneath – was found on the beach at Barmston, Yorkshire, in March, with its dorsal fin mysteriously missing. It’s a harbour porpoise – and I’m […]
How birds of prey are exposing a toxic time bomb
Rui Lourenço first started collecting eagle-owl feathers because they were beautiful. Below the birds’ cliff-side nests in rural Portugal, he would find their shed feathers and bring them back to his ecology lab at the University of Évora. “It was just the typical curiosity of a naturalist,” he says. “Especially the flight feathers, they’re large, […]
‘Forever chemicals’ are now found not only in whales but also in human lungs!
Scientists detected a strange effect on the stress hormones of North Atlantic right whales in the aftermath of 9/11. Ships are abundant in our oceans, yet there was a huge slowdown in traffic throughout the North Atlantic eastern seaboard immediately after the planes flew into the twin buildings, lowering undersea noise. While the rest of […]
Dead Baby Orca Shows Harmful Chemical Levels
An autopsy of a 10-day old orca found in Norway in 2017 revealed high levels of chemicals, according to a new study. Live Science reported that the young killer whale was one of eight orcas tested in the study. Seven of the tested orcas had levels of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) high enough to cause health […]