A new peer-reviewed study finds that using a multi-contaminant approach to treat drinking water could prevent over 50,000 cancer cases over a lifetime in the U.S. Published in Environmental Research, the study analyzed data from more than 17,000 water systems and found that arsenic and hexavalent chromium, two cancer-causing chemicals that often appear together, can be treated with the same technologies. By reducing arsenic levels alongside chromium-6, systems could prevent up to four times more cancer cases than targeting chromium-6 alone. The findings challenge the long-standing practice of regulating one contaminant at a time and highlight the health benefits of treating co-occurring pollutants simultaneously.

MSU researchers found that sea lampreys — a parasitic fish considered an invasive species in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. — follow a clear pattern of staying in the deepest parts of a river. These findings are important for informing sea lamprey management strategies, conservation of fish species native to the Great Lakes and protecting the region’s $7 billion fishing industry and the 75,000 jobs it provides.

New research led by a Northern Arizona University researcher points to the idea that under some conditions plants can “curate” their microbiomes—selecting good microbes and suppressing harmful ones—to adapt to their environments. The findings have significant implications for sustainable agriculture and offer a greater understanding of how complex ecosystems adapt in a changing environment. 

Researchers from MIT have shed light on how lanthanides move through and operate within plants. These insights could help farmers optimize their use to grow some of the world’s most popular crops.

MIT chemists showed they can greatly boost the efficiency of a bacterial version of rubisco, a key enzyme in photosynthesis. Using directed evolution, they identified mutations that could boost its catalytic efficiency by up to 25 percent.