A step closer to safe-by-design material development

26-Nov-2020

Researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München together with scientists across Europe developed a novel animal-free method to predict the toxic effect of nanoparticles to the human lung. The method aims to enable the safety-by-design development of safer industrial materials. Our lungs are exposed to a ...

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Biomaterials contain up to 20.000 chemicals

21-Sep-2020

So-called “bioplastics” are marketed as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional, petroleum-based plastics. They can be made from renewable feedstock, might be bio-degradable or even both. The question is however if these biomaterials are safer than conventional plastics with ...

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Combined chemical and bioanalytical methods are able to efficiently characterise chemical mixtures

27-Jan-2020

In the past, it was sufficient to identify individual chemicals as the cause of detrimental effects on humans and the environment. But in the meantime, it has become apparent that this approach falls short of the mark. This is because the real world is marked by multiple stressors, among them ...

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Researchers analyse biological mechanisms of action and identify biomarkers

17-Dec-2019

Nanotechnology is booming, but risk assessment for these tiny particles is a laborious process that presents significant challenges to the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). To find more efficient test methods, researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) ...

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Research group detects thousands of chemicals in plastic products

19-Sep-2019

Plastic products are ubiquitous. Although considered indispensable in many areas of life thanks to their versality and practicality, are they really harmless? The PlastX research group led by the Institute of Ecological Research (ISOE) has examined everyday products made of plastic and found that ...

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Toxicity testing of microparticles and poorly soluble liquids in the water environment

15-Jan-2019

A Task Force set up by the European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC) has provided new insights into scientific testing for the impact of undissolved particles in the aquatic environment. ECETOC launched the Task Force in response to increasing concerns among the ...

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22-Nov-2018

Scientists from the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech) in Japan have developed a sustainable method to neutralize carbon monoxide, the odorless poison produced by cars and home boilers. Traditionally, carbon monoxide needs a noble metal - a rare and expensive ingredient - to convert into ...

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20-Aug-2018

Scientists have found that sunscreen from bathers releases significant quantities of polluting TiO2 (titanium dioxide) into the sea. This has the potential to harm marine life. This work, which comes from research on beaches in the South of France, was presented at the Goldschmidt geochemistry ...

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20-Jul-2018

Nanoparticles with a wide range of applying, including medicine, damage cells of microalgae Heterosigma akashivo badly. This algae species is widely spread in the Russian Far East marine area. The acute toxic effect exhibited at concentrations of 100 mg/l of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and silicon ...

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18-Jun-2018

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Aberdeen, Maryland have developed a novel “melt-cast” explosive material that could be a suitable replacement for Trinitrotoluene, more commonly known as TNT. “The Army and the Laboratory, through the Joint ...

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