Harvard Public Health Magazine • 25th April 2024

The children of Flint, ten years later

Dionna Brown calls herself a survivor of the Flint water crisis. Ten years ago, in April of 2014, the city switched its water supply to the Flint River. The move happened under an emergency manager, appointed by the state of Michigan to help the beleaguered city find its financial footing. But the river water was corrosive, awash with chloride from road salt runoff, and the city failed to add corrosion inhibitors to the water. Aging pipes began to leach iron and lead.

Undark Magazine • 28th December 2023

The Toxic Sands Threatening Fish in Lake Superior

Chris Peterson reels in a net from the side of his fishing tug as it glides along Lake Superior, on the western edge of Keweenaw Peninsula. The skies are gray, and the warm air smells like rain. Wearing orange waders and a knit cap, Peterson stands 6-foot-1, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

The Graduate Center • 1st March 2023

It’s True. It’s Getting Harder to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep plays an essential role in maintaining optimal physical and mental health. It allows the brain and body to reenergize, restore vital functions, and reset our internal body clocks. Our sleep is regulated by circadian rhythms, the physiological changes that follow the 24-hour light cycle. But, more and more, researchers find that this natural process is being interrupted by modern life. “The modern light environment acting on our circadian rhythms is chronically sleep-depriving a lot of pe

Audubon • 13th December 2022

As Salt Coats Snowy Roadways In Winter, Freshwater Ecosystems Pay a Heavy Price

The titanic Whiteface Mountain looms over the Village of Lake Placid, a light snow dusting the peak by early October. The smooth surface of Mirror Lake reflects the tranquil autumn scene, but beneath is a problem that’s weighed heavily in this densely-forested upstate New York region. Come winter, crews cover streets with road salt, which, sooner or later, washes into the lake.

EverydayHealth.com • 18th August 2022

Guide to PFAS and Reducing Your Exposure

Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated substances, called PFAS for short, are a large group of man-made chemicals now found in almost every corner of the planet. These chemicals are used in so many consumer products, they virtually fill our closets and pantries.

The Graduate Center • 13th July 2022

The Stunning Science of the James Webb Space Telescope

The world was awestruck this week with the first-ever images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope peered into never-before-seen corners of the universe, revealed by light that had traveled across space from 13 billion years ago.

Gothamist / WNYC • 6th April 2022

How climate change is sapping maple syrup production in NY, NJ

On a cold, February day in the hills of the Finger Lakes, thousands of leafless maple trees stood dormant, waiting patiently for the kiss of spring. Armed with a hammer and drill, Aaron Wightman trudged through deep snow in the Arnot Teaching and Research Forest.

Washington Post Magazine • 14th January 2022

Indigenous tribes around Lake Superior depend on fishing to survive — but the fish are contaminated

A mass of gray clouds loomed over a panorama of humid wetlands in late summer on the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin. Carpets of bright-green grass blanketed the glassy surface of the water, accented here and there by clusters of purple loosestrife, a spiky invasive plant, as an aluminum skiff glided silently over the water.

FRONTLINE / PBS • 1st June 2022

Un(re)solved | FRONTLINE | PBS | Home

Say their names. Know their stories: A multi platform experience examining a federal effort to grapple with America’s legacy of racist killings.

Gothamist / WNYC • 4th November 2021

Canadian Renewable Hydropower Is Heading To New York City

New York City is on track to receive a mega load of renewable electricity from Canada. The Champlain Hudson Power Express project will send hydropower hundreds of miles from Quebec via transmission cables to a converter station in Queens.

Gothamist / WNYC • 19th August 2021

New Bill to Restrict Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' Could Help Heal Hudson Valley Water Supply

Lawmakers took a major step last month to curb toxic chemicals that have polluted the water of cities and towns across America. If it passes in the U.S. Senate, the new bill will usher in a federal law to regulate “forever chemicals” in air and drinking water.

FRONTLINE / PBS • 17th June 2021

Last Responders — Coroners, Funeral Workers and Others — Say They Faced Risks as COVID Spread

The first body arrived on a mild Saturday in March 2020. Stephanie Simon, an embalmer at Rhodes Funeral Home in New Orleans, had been dreading the day since hearing of the deadly, flulike virus that had landed on the East and West Coasts.

FRONTLINE / PBS • 24th March 2021

Cremation Is on the Rise in Black and Latino Communities During COVID-19, Funeral Professionals Say

The way Black and Latino communities in the U.S. mourn their dead is changing. Burials, a cherished cultural tradition among these groups, have declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, funeral professionals say.

Chemical & Engineering News • 1st March 2021

Malika Jeffries-EL is using synthesis to find a better blue OLED

Malika Jeffries-EL is on a mission to find a better blue. Her medium is not paint or pastels but organic light-emitting materials found in cell phones, TVs, and other electronic devices.

Chemical & Engineering News • 16th September 2021

Andrés Manuel del Rio

In 1801, Spanish-born chemist Andrés Manuel del Río discovered the only element to be unearthed in Mexico. But it took 30 years before he was credited for finding vanadium, a silvery transition metal and number 23 on the periodic table.

NOVA / PBS • 1st March 2021

Toxic synthetic 'forever chemicals' are in our water and on our plates

It was the start of the 2016 growing season when the farmers were told their water was contaminated. Susan Gordon and her husband had run Venetucci Farm for ten years. It was there, against the backdrop of the majestic Rocky Mountains, they had raised their two children.

FRONTLINE / PBS • 30th April 2020

Blood Plasma Provides Possible Therapy for Covid-19 Patients

Convalescent plasma has shown enough promise against COVID-19 that hundreds of hospitals around the country have put it to use.

NOVA / PBS • 21st January 2020

Anatomy professor uses 500-year-old da Vinci drawings to guide cadaver dissection

Five hundred years after Leonardo da Vinci’s death, his anatomical drawings are as powerful and poignant as they were in his time. Their beauty is breathtaking, their accuracy a testament to the genius of an artist willing to go to extremes to depict the human form.

Vice • 21st January 2020

The New York Water Crisis That Nobody's Talking About

Charlie Parker stood at the edge of the pond, his fishing rod in hand. He cast his lure into the air, landing it about 30 feet away in the dark water. His fishing rod made a clicking sound as he reeled the lure back to shore. If he catches a fish, he’ll have to throw it back, he said.

FRONTLINE / PBS • 13th March 2020

Who’s Responsible for Defective Products Sold on Amazon?

Who is responsible when something goes wrong with an item purchased on Amazon? For consumers, the answer isn’t always clear.