Latest news with #UtrechtUniversity
Time of India
6 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
27 million tons of nanoplastics found in the North Atlantic Ocean, capable of devastating marine life and penetrating the human body
A study by the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) and Utrecht University has revealed that the North Atlantic Ocean contains approximately 27 million tons of nanoplastics — microscopic plastic particles smaller than one micrometer. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now These tiny plastics, invisible to the naked eye, pose serious threats not only to marine ecosystems but also to human health. The particles can penetrate deep into organisms, including humans, potentially causing unknown biological harm. This discovery sheds light on a previously hidden form of pollution that is far more pervasive and damaging than larger plastic debris. 27 million tons of nanoplastics saturate the North Atlantic The research team collected water samples during an expedition aboard the research vessel RV Pelagia, traveling from the Azores to the European continental shelf. By filtering particles smaller than one micrometer and analyzing their chemical signatures with advanced mass spectrometry techniques, scientists were able to quantify the sheer volume of nanoplastics floating in the ocean. This study marks the first-ever accurate measurement of nanoplastics in the marine environment, revealing that these particles outnumber larger microplastics and macroplastics in the North Atlantic alone. Pathways into the ocean and ecosystem impact Nanoplastics enter marine ecosystems through multiple routes. They often result from the breakdown of larger plastic debris exposed to sunlight, but can also be carried by rivers or transported through the atmosphere, falling into oceans via rain or settling directly on the surface. These microscopic plastics can infiltrate all levels of the ocean food chain, from bacteria to fish and even top predators such as humans. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Scientists are particularly concerned about their ability to penetrate tissues, including brain tissue, raising urgent questions about their effects on health and ecosystems. The urgent need to prevent further pollution Despite the massive quantity of nanoplastics already present, experts warn that cleanup is virtually impossible due to their tiny size and widespread distribution. The study emphasizes the critical need to prevent further plastic pollution entering marine environments. Ongoing research aims to understand the full impact of different types of nanoplastics and to determine if similar levels exist in other oceans worldwide. This discovery calls for stronger global action to reduce plastic waste and protect both ocean life and human health from the silent but pervasive threat of nanoplastics.
Gizmodo
22-07-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
You Don't Want to Know Where Scientists Just Found 27 Million Tons of Plastic
Despite the hundreds of millions of metric tons of plastic floating in our oceans—not to mention the microplastics in our saliva, blood, breast milk, and semen—researchers have been unable to account for all the plastic ever produced. A new study has just tracked down a large portion of it. Researchers from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) and Utrecht University claim to be the first to provide a real estimate of ocean-polluting nanoplastics. Their research indicates that the North Atlantic Ocean alone hosts 27 million tons of floating plastic particles less than 1 micrometer (μm) in size. 'Plastic pollution of the marine realm is widespread, with most scientific attention given to macroplastics and microplastics. By contrast, ocean nanoplastics (<1 μm) remain largely unquantified, leaving gaps in our understanding of the mass budget of this plastic size class,' they explained in a study published earlier this month in the journal Nature. 'Our findings suggest that nanoplastics comprise the dominant fraction of marine plastic pollution.' To reach these conclusions, Utrecht graduate student and study co-author Sophie ten Hietbrink collected water samples from 12 locations while working aboard a research vessel traveling from the Azores to the continental shelf of Europe. She filtered the samples of anything larger than one micrometer and conducted a molecular analysis on what was left behind. The team then extrapolated its results to the entire North Atlantic Ocean. 27 million tons is 'a shocking amount,' Ten Hietbrink said in a NIOZ statement. 'But with this we do have an important answer to the paradox of the missing plastic.' Namely, that a large part of it is floating in our oceans, invisible to the naked eye. Unfortunately, there are a number of ways nanoparticles can end up in the oceans. While some likely arrive via rivers, others fall out of the sky with rain or on their own as 'dry deposition.' (Yes, we've even found plastic pollution in the sky). Nanoparticles can also form when large pieces of plastic already in the ocean are broken down by waves and/or sunlight, according to the researchers. The question now is how this pollution is impacting the world and its creatures—including us. 'It is already known that nanoplastics can penetrate deep into our bodies. They are even found in brain tissue. Now that we know they are so ubiquitous in the oceans, it's also obvious that they penetrate the entire ecosystem; from bacteria and other microorganisms to fish and top predators like humans,' said Helge Niemann, a geochemist at NIOZ and another co-author of the study. 'How that pollution affects the ecosystem needs further investigation.' The missing plastic paradox, however, is not completely solved, because not all plastics were represented in the samples. The team didn't find polyethylene or polypropylene, for example. 'It may well be that those were masked by other molecules in the study. We also want to know if nanoplastics are as abundant in the other oceans. It is to be feared that they do, but that remains to be proven,' Niemann added. 'The nanoplastics that are there, can never be cleaned up. So an important message from this research is that we should at least prevent the further pollution of our environment with plastics.'
CTV News
16-07-2025
- Science
- CTV News
It's not just humans – chimpanzees also like to follow trends, study shows
Chimpanzees living in a sanctuary in Africa have developed a 'fashion trend' for dangling blades of grass or sticks from their ear holes and their behinds, a new study shows. In 2010, researchers working at Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust chimpanzee sanctuary in Zambia observed how a female chimp started to dangle objects from her ear, and the behaviour was soon copied by other members of her group, study lead author Ed van Leeuwen, an assistant professor of behavioural biology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, told CNN on Wednesday. There was no evidence that the chimpanzees were using the grass or sticks to deal with pain or itches, and they were 'very relaxed' when they did it, Van Leeuwen said. The behaviour is more of a 'fashion trend or social tradition,' he added. Interestingly, chimpanzees in a different group at the sanctuary started demonstrating the same behaviour more than a decade later, with some also inserting objects into their rectums. As this group lived around nine miles from the first group, they couldn't have copied it from them, prompting Van Leeuwen to ask whether the chimpanzees' caregivers could have influenced them. As it turns out, the staff in one area of the reserve had developed a habit of cleaning their ears with matchsticks or twigs, while those on the other side didn't. Van Leeuwen believes the behaviour was picked up by chimpanzees from caregivers in the first area, before it was passed on to other members of their group. The caregivers then also influenced the behaviour in the second group, which they were looking after years later, before this group also developed the practice of inserting sticks and grass into their rectums. 'This is a trend that goes viral by means of social learning,' he added. Van Leeuwen also cited the example of a group of chimpanzees at a zoo in the Netherlands in which one female started walking as if she were carrying a baby even though she wasn't. Soon, all of the females had adopted this walking style, he said. In addition, when two new females were brought into the group, the one that adopted the style swiftly was integrated quickly, whereas the one that refused to walk in the group style took longer to be accepted. For Van Leeuwen, these behaviours are about fitting in and smoothing social relationships, just as with humans. The grass behaviour was mostly observed at leisure time, when the chimpanzees congregate to groom and play. Living in the sanctuary, the chimpanzees don't have to worry about predators or competition with other groups, meaning they have more leisure time than their wild counterparts. 'They have a lot of time to just hang out,' said Van Leeuwens. Nonetheless, wild chimpanzees are probably capable of developing such behaviour, he said, adding that it just might not have been documented yet. Next, Van Leeuwens plans to study whether chimpanzees can repeatedly innovate new foraging techniques, to examine whether they can develop cumulative culture in the same way as humans. Elodie Freymann, a post-doctoral affiliate at the University of Oxford's Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, who was not involved in the study, told CNN that these kinds of observations are key to advancing our understanding of the origins and transmission patterns of cultural behaviours in chimpanzees and other non-human animals. 'This study's finding that there may have been interspecies copying between chimps and their human caretakers is pretty mind blowing,' she said. 'If chimps can copy humans, could they be learning from and copying other non-human species as well? It's an exciting moment in primatology,' Freymann added.
Al Jazeera
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israeli technology 'amplifies the scale and speed' of attacks
Jessica Dorsey, an assistant professor at Utrecht University, says Israel faces little accountability for its use of high-tech arms, after a drone killed 10 Palestinians at a water collection point in Gaza. The Israeli military said a 'technical error' with the strike missed its target.
Calgary Herald
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Experts puzzled as chimps reportedly getting extra cheeky with grass fad
Chimpanzees are cheeky trendsetters and a new study of their behaviour proves they're more human than we realize. Article content The apes at a Zambian wildlife sanctuary have been going viral, but it's not for the typical shenanigans like escaping or throwing feces. Rather, it's their bizarre behaviour that has left experts puzzled. Article content Article content A new study published July 4 in the journal Behavior reveals the last primate pastime, which involves wedging grass into their rectums and letting it hang out like a tail. Nobody is sure why the animals have started doing this. Article content Article content More than a decade ago, a female chimp named Julie started the grassy ear craze. She died in 2013 and her son and a few others kept the tradition alive. However, it wasn't until 2023 that the butt-branch group started up. Article content Juma – a male chimp – debuted the rear-end version of the fad and within a week his entire group of following him with the grass manoeuvre. Article content Researchers, who watched the apes closely for more than a year, said the trend isn't about hygiene or comfort. It's about clout. Article content 'In captivity, they have more free time than in the wild,' said study lead author Ed van Leeuwen, an assistant professor of behavioural biology at Utrecht University in Netherlands. 'They don't have to stay as alert or spend as much time searching for food.' Article content 'It could also serve a social purpose,' van Leeuwen added. 'By copying someone else's behaviour, you show that you notice and maybe even like that individual. So, it might help strengthen social bonds and create a sense of belonging within the group, just like it does in humans.'
