Exclusive: Some scientists say many detections are most likely error, with one high-profile study called a ‘joke’
High-profile studies reporting the presence of microplastics throughout the human body have been thrown into doubt by scientists who say the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives. One chemist called the concerns “a bombshell”.
Studies claiming to have revealed micro and nanoplastics in the brain, testes, placentas, arteries and elsewhere were reported by media across the world, including the Guardian. There is no doubt that plastic pollution of the natural world is ubiquitous, and present in the food and drink we consume and the air we breathe. But the health damage potentially caused by microplastics and the chemicals they contain is unclear, and an explosion of research has taken off in this area in recent years.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
01/13/2026 - 09:20
01/13/2026 - 09:00
Australian Conservation Foundation’s analysis finds the amount of habitat approved for land clearing hit a 15-year high last year
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More than 57,000 hectares of threatened species habitat was approved for destruction by the Australian government in 2025 – the most in 15 years, according to analysis by the Australian Conservation Foundation.
The ACF’s latest annual “extinction wrapped” report has revealed that the threatened species habitat greenlit for land clearing was about 10 times the size of Sydney Harbour – more than double the 2024 figure, and over five times the 10,426 hectares approved for razing in 2023.
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01/13/2026 - 07:00
If enacted, Utah and Oklahoma measures would restrict litigation against oil companies over role in climate crisis
US lawmakers in two red states are attempting to shield the fossil fuel industry from climate liability.
In Oklahoma, a newly introduced bill would bar most civil lawsuits against oil companies over their role in the climate crisis, unless plaintiffs allege violations of specific environmental or labor laws. A similar proposal in Utah would block lawsuits over climate-warming emissions, unless a court finds the defendant violated a statute or permit.
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01/13/2026 - 02:07
Eastern region on high alert as authorities try to track animal tearing through villages in Jharkand after apparently becoming separated from herd
Forest officials in India are on the hunt for an elephant that has killed more 20 people in a days-long rampage through the eastern state of Jharkand.
Since the beginning of January, 22 people have been killed by a single-tusked elephant that has been tearing through forests and villages in West Singhbhum district of Jharkand.
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01/13/2026 - 00:00
A deadly fungus has already wiped out 90 species and threatens 500 more but Anthony Waddle is hoping gene replacement could be their salvation
Standing ankle-deep in water between two bare cottonwood trees on a hot spring day, eight-year-old Anthony Waddle was in his element. His attention was entirely absorbed by the attempt to net tadpoles swimming in a reservoir in the vast Mojave desert.
It was “one of the perfect moments in my childhood”, he says.
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01/12/2026 - 23:21
After a four-year wait, the abundant fruiting of the rimu tree could inspire the world’s heaviest parrots to boost their population
It has been four long years, but the world’s heaviest parrots, the kākāpō, are finally about to get it on again. The mass fruiting of a native New Zealand tree has triggered breeding season – a rare event conservationists hope will lead to a record number of chicks for the critically endangered bird.
Kākāpō, the world’s only nocturnal and flightless parrot, were once abundant across New Zealand. But their population plummeted after the introduction of predators such as cats and stoats, and by the 1900s they were nearly extinct.
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01/12/2026 - 19:01
‘Historic’ moment in biggest coal-consuming countries could bring decline in global emissions, analysis says
Coal power generation fell in China and India for the first time since the 1970s last year, in a “historic” moment that could bring a decline in global emissions, according to analysis.
The simultaneous fall in coal-powered electricity in the world’s biggest coal-consuming countries had not happened since 1973, according to analysts at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, and was driven by a record roll-out of clean energy projects.
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01/12/2026 - 19:01
Seven out of 10 targets have little likelihood of being met by 2030, Office for Environmental Protection says
The government will not meet its targets to save wildlife in England and Northern Ireland and is failing on almost all environmental measures, the Office for Environmental Protection watchdog has said.
In a damning report, the OEP has found that seven of the 10 targets set in the Environment Act 2021 have little likelihood of being met by 2030, which is the deadline set in law.
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01/12/2026 - 18:55
Conditions ease, with no emergency warnings in place for first time since Thursday, but communities urged to remain alert
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The bushfire threat in Victoria has eased, with no emergency warnings in place for the first time in almost a week, as the state and federal governments commit an initial $10m to help clean up more than 500 structures destroyed by the fires.
The State Control Centre (SCC) on Tuesday morning confirmed that while there were 12 major bushfires active across Victoria, many of which are expected to burn for days or weeks, there were no emergency warnings in place for the first time since Thursday.
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01/12/2026 - 17:29
Ørsted and other wind developers have faced repeated disruptions to multibillion dollar projects under Trump
A federal judge on Monday cleared Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted to resume work on its nearly finished Revolution Wind project, which Donald Trump’s administration halted along with four other projects last month.
The ruling by US district judge Royce Lamberth is a legal setback for Trump, who has sought to block expansion of offshore wind in federal waters.
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