It’s no secret that per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals, are now well-established in the human body, with their presence detected in blood, umbilical cords and human milk. And while experts have linked PFAS exposure to health concerns like elevated cancer risks, endocrine disruption, developmental disruption and reduced immune system response, their impacts on the human brain remain relatively unknown.

However, a team led by researchers from the University at Buffalo has now identified 11 genes that could clear the way to better understanding how these chemicals affect brain tissue, and their level of neurotoxicity.

“Our findings indicate these genes may be markers to detect and monitor PFAS-induced neurotoxicity in the future,” G. Ekin Atilla-Gokcumen, lead co-corresponding author of the study and a chemistry professor at University at Buffalo, said in a statement.

The team exposed six types of PFAS to neuronal-like cells and lipids for a 24-hour period and found that these chemicals caused different expressions in 721 genes. These changes affected oxidative stress, protein synthesis, hypoxia signaling and amino acid metabolism, according to the study. They published their findings in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.

Out of all the PFAS tested, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) led to the widest spread changes in gene expression, affecting nearly 600 genes. By comparison, no other compound in the test affected expression of more than 147 genes. In July 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated PFOA as a hazardous substance under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

In total, 11 genes were impacted to express in the same way after exposure to all six compounds. Some of these differently expressed genes were important for neuronal cell survival, the study found.

“Each of these 11 genes exhibited consistent regulation across all PFAS that we tested. This uniform response suggests that they may serve as promising markers for assessing PFAS exposure, but further research is needed to know how these genes respond to other types of PFAS,” Atilla-Gokcumen explained.

The study results may help scientists further determine how these accumulative chemicals impact human brains, but as of right now, there are no known, safe and effective methods for removing PFAS from the human body. Even determining the level of exposure to PFAS is complicated, with testing costing up to $500, Verywell Health reported. While PFAS blood testing costs are required to be covered by insurance in New Hampshire, coverage varies or may be unavailable in other states.

G. Ekin Atilla-Gokcumen’s lab found 11 genes that are consistently affected by PFAS exposure, either expressing more or less, regardless of the type of PFAS. Meredith Forrest Kulwicki / University at Buffalo

In February 2024, a separate study found that the cholesterol medication cholestyramine was effective at reducing PFAS levels in plasma. However, the study included a small sample of subjects, and the researchers determined that the medication was not suitable for widespread, long-term use for the purpose of lowering PFAS levels because of the risk of side effects, Medical Xpress reported.

For now, medical experts will continue researching how PFAS affect human health alongside ways to reduce the accumulation of these compounds in our bodies, including through alternative materials that could provide the same benefits, such as water- and stain-resistance, with lower risks to human health.

“If we understand why some PFAS are more harmful than others, we can prioritize phasing out the worst offenders while seeking safer substitutes,” Atilla-Gokcumen explained. “For example, alternatives like short-chain PFAS are being explored, as they tend to persist less in the environment and accumulate less in biological systems. However, their reduced persistence may come at the cost of effectiveness in certain applications, and there are concerns about potential unknown health effects that require further investigation. Further research is needed to ensure these substitutes are genuinely safer and effective for specific applications. This research is a major step towards achieving this goal.”

In the meantime, the EPA has recommended reducing exposure by checking PFAS levels in your public water supply or private well, installing filters that reduce PFAS in water and avoiding consumption of fish from PFAS-contaminated waterways.

Further, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) recommended reducing exposure to forever chemicals by limiting consumption of food in takeout packaging or paper board packaging, skipping non-stick cookware in favor of materials like stainless steel and cast iron, and avoiding clothing with aftermarket waterproofing or stain-resistant treatments.

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In a new study, scientists from University of Southampton, University of the West of England Bristol, University of Exeter, University of Cambridge, University of Leeds and University of Bath have developed a way to make smart, electronic textiles that are also sustainable and biodegradable. 

The researchers have created ‘Smart, Wearable, and Eco-friendly Electronic Textiles’ (SWEET), technological fabrics with features like sensors or lights that are designed to biodegrade after they reach the end of their lifespan.

“Integrating electrical components into conventional textiles complicates the recycling of the material because it often contains metals, such as silver, that don’t easily biodegrade,” explained Nazmul Karim, lead author of the study and a professor at the Winchester School of Art at University of Southampton. “Our potential ecofriendly approach for selecting sustainable materials and manufacturing overcomes this, enabling the fabric to decompose when it is disposed of.”

To make a biodegradable e-textile, the researchers created a three-layer fabric with a Tencel-fabric base, an interface layer, and the sensor layer. The Tencel is a wood pulp-based fabric, and the team used graphene and a type of conductive polymer known as PEDOT:PSS for the electronic elements. 

From there, they were able to use inkjet printing to adhere these materials to the fabric, as this process used less water and energy and produced no material waste, according to the researchers.

The researchers tested the fabric by attaching it to gloves, which five humans wore in the study. The fabric was able to effectively measure the humans’ electrocardiogram (ECG) signals and skin temperature, just like many smart wearables on the market today.

Gloves with swatches of e-textile attached inside and wired for sensing testing. Marzia Dulal

“Achieving reliable, industry-standard monitoring with eco-friendly materials is a significant milestone. It demonstrates that sustainability doesn’t have to come at the cost of functionality, especially in critical applications like healthcare,” Shaila Afroj, a co-author of the study and associate professor of sustainable materials at the University of Exeter, said in a statement.

After testing how the fabric performed in tracking human physiology metrics, the team put SWEET to its bigger test — whether it was biodegradable. The fabric was buried in soil with a 6.5 to 6.8 pH in an incubator with a temperature of around 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit) and a relative humidity of around 90%.

After a four-month period, the fabric had a 48% decrease in weight and 98% decrease in strength. The graphene elements also revealed a 40 times smaller impact upon decomposition compared to standard electrodes in wearables. The researchers published their findings in the journal Energy and Environmental Materials.

According to Statista, smart wearable shipments were expected to reach 543 million units worldwide in 2024, and this number is only expected to grow, reaching an estimated 612.5 million units by 2028.

Further, a report by ResearchAndMarkets.com has estimated that the global smart textiles market will increase from $4.85 billion as of 2024 to $29.1 billion by 2033.

With this increasing demand comes the risk of increasing e-waste, or electronic waste. As Earth.org reported, humans currently generate about 50 million to 60 million tons of e-waste per year, and much of this waste does not break down into the soil. Instead, the materials can corrode or react to UV rays and leach harmful substances into the environment. According to the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, e-waste is slated to increase 32% by 2030. 

With the growing demand for smart, wearable technology, advancements such as biodegradable electronic textiles will be necessary to meet demand without contributing to more e-waste. The researchers noted that their study can help further additional research into more sustainable, and ultimately fully biodegradable or recyclable, e-textiles and other materials.

“Amid rising pollution from landfill sites, our study helps to address a lack of research in the area of biodegradation of e-textiles,” Karim said. “These materials will become increasingly more important in our lives, particularly in the area of healthcare, so it’s really important we consider how to make them more eco-friendly, both in their manufacturing and disposal.”

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Chicago, Illinois is kicking off the New Year with clean energy. As of Jan. 1, all of Chicago’s 411 municipal buildings, such as its international airports, fire stations, libraries and City Hall, are now powered entirely by renewable energy.

The feat has been made possible through a 5-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Constellation signed in August 2022, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“Every Chicagoan interacts with a city-owned building, whether the cultural center, City Hall, Harold Washington Library, O’Hare and Midway (international airports) or your local library. To be able to achieve this milestone on behalf of city residents is exciting,” Angela Tovar, chief sustainability officer for Chicago, told the Chicago Tribune.

Most (70%) of the municipal buildings’ 900,000 MWh of annual power demand is now met through a new, 4,100-acre solar farm called Double Black Diamond, which was established in Sangamon and Morgan counties, about 30 miles from Springfield, Illinois. Double Black Diamond, developed and operated by Swift Current Energy, is the largest solar farm east of the Mississippi.

As explained by the U.S. Department of Energy, a PPA is when one party purchases power supply from a third-party, which handles the development and operation of the power source. This allows the power source owner and operator to reap tax benefits and generate income by selling energy, while the customer who is buying the power can access clean energy without the cost of installing the infrastructure.

Through this plan, all of Chicago’s municipal buildings now run on clean energy, which the city buys from Constellation and is supplied by renewable energy sources, including the Double Black Diamond solar farm. 

“It’s a plan that gets the city to take action on climate and also leverages our buying power to generate new opportunities for Chicagoans and the state,” Tovar said, as reported by Grist. “There’s opportunities everywhere.”

Constellation will provide the remaining 30% of clean energy for Chicago’s city buildings through renewable energy credits (RECs), where funding from the Chicago’s energy bills is put toward clean energy projects around the U.S., Chicago Tribune reported.

While the move to power Chicago’s municipal buildings entirely with renewable power is expected to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by around 290,000 metric tons — or around the same effect of taking 62,000 vehicles off the roads, Grist reported — some people have concerns over the inclusion of RECs in the plan. 

As the Chicago Tribune reported, critics have argued that these credits are a type of greenwashing that don’t necessarily contribute to local clean energy generation.

However, the city addressed concerns over RECs, noting that the plan could still encourage more renewable energy development locally. 

“That’s really a feature and not a bug of our plan,” Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer Jared Policicchio told Grist. “Our goal over the next several years is that we reach a point where we’re not buying renewable energy credits.” 

Additionally, Tovar told Chicago Tribune that securing the 30% energy from RECs will give the city the time to explore solar installation on local buildings.

The city has also collaborated with Constellation and Swift Current Energy on a $400,000 annual deal for clean energy job training, American Cities Climate Challenge reported. Chicago further set a goal to power all buildings in the city, not just municipal buildings, through renewables by 2035. If it achieves the goal, Chicago would be the largest U.S. city to power all buildings entirely with clean energy, the Sierra Club reported.

Chicago joins around 700 other municipalities in the U.S. that have committed to PPAs, totaling over 18,372 MW worth of renewable energy, or enough clean energy to power about 4 million homes per year, as of 2021, the World Resources Institute reported.

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In a message ahead of the new year, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that 2024, which is expected to soon be confirmed as the hottest year on record, is just one of many record-breaking years for high temperatures over the past decade.

“Throughout 2024, hope has been hard to find. Wars are causing enormous pain, suffering and displacement. Inequalities and divisions are rife — fueling tensions and mistrust. And today I can officially report that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat,” Guterres said. As part of his message, the secretary-general warned that the previous decade has broken records for extreme heat.

“The top ten 10 hottest years on record have happened in the last 10 years, including 2024,” Guterres continued. “This is climate breakdown — in real time. We must exit this road to ruin — and we have no time to lose.”

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A post shared by António Guterres (@antonioguterres)

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which is part of the UN, recently reported that 2024 is set to be named the warmest year ever recorded. The official global temperature for 2024 will be published in January, the organization reported.

Following this news, scientists are urging immediate action to safeguard the planet against the most catastrophic effects of climate change, especially as the world is already experiencing more intense and more frequent extreme weather events.

“This year we saw record-breaking rainfall and flooding events and terrible loss of life in so many countries, causing heartbreak to communities on every continent,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a statement. “Tropical cyclones caused a terrible human and economic toll, most recently in the French overseas department of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. Intense heat scorched dozens of countries, with temperatures topping 50°C on a number of occasions. Wildfires wreaked devastation.”

For 2025, WMO will focus heavily on cryosphere preservation, or preserving sea ice, ice sheets and other frozen parts of Earth. As NASA reported in September 2024, both Arctic and Antarctic ice reached near record lows for 2024, with Antarctica experiencing low ice levels even in the coldest months of the year for the Southern Hemisphere.

Earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that for the first time in thousands of years, the Arctic was emitting more carbon than it was storing as a response to record-breaking temperatures, ice loss and wildfires.

Further, a recent report by the World Weather Attribution and Climate Central detailed severe impacts from climate change-related extreme weather events, which led to the premature deaths of at least 3,700 people and the displacement of millions of people in 2024. According to the report, climate change made 26 of 29 analyzed extreme weather events worse this year. Extreme heat in particular was made significantly worse by climate change, with an additional 41 days of dangerous heat in 2024, the report found.

Guterres has warned that countries will need to unite to protect people and the planet moving forward.

“In 2025, countries must put the world on a safer path by dramatically slashing emissions, and supporting the transition to a renewable future,” Guterres said. “It is essential — and it is possible.”

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In Barcelona, energy from train brakes that could otherwise be wasted is now being harvested to charge electric vehicles.

As part of Spain’s MetroCHARGE project, 16 subway stations in Barcelona use brake energy recuperators to redirect energy from the train brakes to EV charging stations on the streets, The Associated Press reported.

Regenerative braking is not a new concept, especially for trains. But the move to transport the energy from the brakes through cables to electric vehicle chargers is an innovative way to supply power to charging stations.

According to the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), the main transportation operator in Barcelona, the MetroCHARGE project uses a combination of the brake energy recuperators on select trains as well as five solar power plants and a combination of ultra-fast and semi-fast EV chargers to harness clean energy and create a self-sufficient EV charging network.

“We’re trying to take advantage of the power that’s already in the metro system and use that spare energy to feed EV chargers on the street,” said Marc Iglesias, head of sustainable mobility at Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona, a collaborator on the MetroCHARGE project, as reported by Grist.

In addition to the brake energy going to EV chargers, it also helps power nearby lights and passenger escalators, Grist reported. In total, the MetroCHARGE program meets all energy needs for 28 of 163 subway stations in Barcelona, The Associated Press reported. The project cost 7.3 million euros ($7.6 million), an amount that the program is estimated to recover in energy savings in about four years. The regenerative braking system is further expected to save around 3,885 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.

The regenerative braking project not only provides cleaner energy to EV chargers, but it could also lower charging rates for users.

“Since the recharging stations are installed nearby, the energy, instead of being put back into the general electric network, goes directly to the charging stations, and that allows the provider to potentially offer lower prices,” Alvaro Luna, a professor of electrical engineering at the Polytechnical University of Catalonia, told The Associated Press. “We can say that the innovation is one of urban planning, of being able to bring together energy uses within a city.”

About 2.3 million riders use the Barcelona metro system each weekday, The Associated Press reported, and locals and tourists take around 440 million trips on the metro system per year, according to Grist.

While the MetroCHARGE project is a step in the right direction for greener transportation and energy, there is more work to be done. As The Associated Press reported, Spain missed its goal of installing 100,000 EV charging stations by 2021, as it has only around 37,000 now. The country will need to ramp up installations to meet a growing demand for EVs. According to Statista, demand for EVs in Spain is expected to reach an annual growth rate of 14.94% through 2029.

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