All articles are from the Guardian,
Headline : Dead coral found at Great Barrier Reef as widespread bleaching event unfolds
March 18th
Due to global warming, coral bleaching is a concern. When coral dies, it bleaches and you can see a transparent flesh and a white skeleton, and the algae around it are darker. The Great Barrier Reef is experiencing a severe bleaching event, the worst of which was observed in Townsville and covering 2,300 km of reef.
Headline : Great Barrier Reef hit by sixth mass bleaching event, leading coral scientist says
March 19th
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) confirmed monitoring flights to control the progression of coral bleaching. They confirmed that this is the sixth mass bleaching event since 2020, (after 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2020) there are more and more bleaching events these past years. Bleaching is due to heat stress, that means it is due to records of hights temperatures, corals are pale or white in mid-March and only gain their color in January. The problem is that bleaching affects now vulnerable corals, and if the heat stress is too severe corals can die.
Headline : Microplastics found in human blood for first time
March 24th
Exclusive: The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs
Analysis of the blood of 22 anonymous donors revealed the presence of microplasticS in 17 of them. These particles came from drinks bottles, food packaging , plastic face masks … and are small as 0.0007mm (→ micrometer). A study found that microplastics limit the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen, and that they can spread rapidly to the heart, brain and other organs. NGOs, scientists and MPs are asking the UK government to allocate £15m to research the impacts of these microplastics on human health because plastic production and plastic pollution are increasing sharply and may have consequences in the future.
April 7 th
Headline : Microplastics found deep in lungs of living people for first time
In March, scientists found microplastics in the blood of several patients. This time particles of plastic were found in the lungs. 13 Patients had a tissue sample taken during surgery and scientists found microplastics in 11 of them, espacially polypropylene a packaging plastic. They were surprised by the particules sizes they found because they were lodged deeper in the lung, and the scientists epected them to be filtered out by the body before.
April 12th
Headline : Sunscreen chemicals accumulating in Mediterranean seagrass, finds study
Pollution due to human activity reveals that there are more sunscreen lotions on the Mediterranean seagrass. The consequence of this is that sunscreens are made with a lot of chemicals to make an ultraviolet filter to protect the body from cancers. The marine environment (water, turtles, alguae) is impacted by these chemicals and can be led to harmful effects.