Use + Remix

medical conditions

Computer modelling shows Japanese seafood exports are expected to fall, affecting seafood trade with other countries. : ‘Fresh fish at wet market’ by Marco Verch Professional is available at https://bit.ly/3MmQkyr CC BY 2.0

Public opinion will dictate how Japanese seafood is received after the wastewater is disposed of into the Pacific Ocean.

Fukushima wastewater

How Fukushima wastewater will disrupt seafood trade

Public opinion will dictate how Japanese seafood is received after the wastewater is disposed of into the Pacific Ocean.

Economy
esidents in remote areas struggle with access to clean and reliable energy, despite being in areas with abundant sunshine ripe for solar power generation. : Karen and Brad Emerson via Flickr CCBY2.0

People in remote communities have survived thousands of years of weather extremes but need proper housing and clean energy for climate change resilience.

Hot house

Danger of poor housing in remote communities

People in remote communities have survived thousands of years of weather extremes but need proper housing and clean energy for climate change resilience.

Environment
Key advantages of long-read sequencing make it the technology of choice for many new scientific projects. : DNA sequence by ssalonso is available at https://bit.ly/3YaOmDL CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Cost, availability and sample preservation are the main concerns but progress is rapid.

Gene screen

The race to improve DNA sequencing

Cost, availability and sample preservation are the main concerns but progress is rapid.

Economy
New sequencing technologies bring valuable benefits but equitable access may be a challenge. : ‘Strawberries at Out Standing in the Field’ by SanFranAnnie is available at https://bit.ly/41mGl16 CC BY-SA 2.0

Advances in the field are revolutionary but require safeguards to curb misuse.

Gene screen

DNA could ensure strawberry fields forever

Economy
Science can read the DNA code, or ‘sequence’ DNA, faster and cheaper and create more raw data than ever before. But how do we interpret it? : Micah Baldwin CCBY2.0

Collecting DNA data is not much help without the key to understanding what it all means. And that key is centralised health records.

Gene screen

DNA data offers benefits many of us will never realise

Health
The darker aspects of genome science were evoked in The X Men films such as Days of the Future Past. : Elliott Brown CC BY-SA 2.0

Unless people are brought into conversations about genetic discrimination dystopian scenarios may come to pass.

Gene screen

Genetic discrimination and the ghost of the future past

Health
We’re not just swallowing water from plastic bottles but microplastics which do not degrade easily and remain in our bodies. : Girl drinks water from a plastic bottle by Wuestenigel is available at https://bit.ly/3H0F7PH CC BY 2.0

Whether microplastic particles cause long-term damage is uncertain but reducing our exposure to them will be wise.

World Environment Day 2023

Why we should not reuse plastic water bottles

Environment
Microplastics may be able to enter our bodies through skin contact but we breathe in confirmed amounts daily. : Microplastic by 5Gyres is available at https://bit.ly/3WVwL1O CC BY-SA 2.0

There is no escape from them as they are in the air we breathe and in the everyday products we use.

World Environment Day 2023

We ingest plastics every minute of the day

Environment
Microplastics enter our bodies in various ways with the top contributor being bottled drinking water. : Microbeads plastic particles by MN Pollution Control Agency is available at https://bit.ly/40lIjhC CC BY-NC 2.0

Measuring microplastics in humans is challenging but researchers already have preliminary figures.

World Environment Day 2023

How much plastic are we ingesting?

Environment