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The Analysis of the Effects of Smoke and Water Vapor on Insect Pheromone Communication and Physical Condition: An Investigation of the Causes of Colony Collapse Disorder

Delatorre et al. | May 20, 2015

The Analysis of the Effects of Smoke and Water Vapor on Insect Pheromone Communication and Physical Condition: An Investigation of the Causes of Colony Collapse Disorder

The cause of insect colony collapse disorder (CCD) is still a mystery. In this study, the authors aimed to test the effects of two environmental factors, water vapor and smoke levels, on the social behavior and physical condition of insects. Their findings could help shed light on how changing environmental factors can contribute to CCD.

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Investigating the effects of PVC microplastics on the growth of Chlorella vulgaris

Beaubien et al. | Oct 13, 2026

Investigating the effects of PVC microplastics on the growth of <i>Chlorella vulgaris</i>

This study examined the effect of varying PVC microplastic concentrations on the growth of Chlorella vulgaris in freshwater, utilizing six PVC levels and identical culture conditions. Cell counts revealed that higher PVC concentrations consistently reduced algal growth, and a Spearman correlation test detected a significant negative monotonic association between PVC concentration and viable cell density. These results support the hypothesis that PVC microplastics impair algal growth, underscoring their ecological risk in freshwater environments.

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Mitigating microplastic exposure from water consumption in junior high students and teachers

Chow et al. | May 10, 2024

Mitigating microplastic exposure from water consumption in junior high students and teachers
Image credit: Pixabay

Microplastics (MPs) are inorganic material that have been observed within items destined for human consumption, including water, and may pose a potential health hazard. Here we estimated the average amount of MPs junior high students and teachers consumed from different water sources and determined whether promoting awareness of microplastic (MP) exposure influenced choice of water source and potential MPs consumed.

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