Researchers have created an inexpensive hydrogel that can filter phosphorus from contaminated surface waters, drinking water supplies or wastewater streams to reduce phosphorus pollution and reuse the phosphorus for agricultural and industrial applications. In addition to efficiently capturing and releasing phosphorus, the hydrogels can be reused multiple times – making them cost-effective.

A new study published in the journal Annals of Epidemiology used a novel modeling method to link electronic health records containing data on in-home environmental exposures to housing and neighborhood location data for children with asthma living in low-income households. It found that children living in homes with greater chances of having cockroaches and rodents had worse lung function. As the majority of the children in the study were Black and lived in historically segregated neighborhoods, these findings highlight the consequences of longstanding racial inequities in housing characteristics and quality, borne by structural racism.