As we do more and more research on PFASs and their impact on humans, it helps to imagine the situation from the biggest scale to the smallest. On the smallest scale, we know that PFASs affect cells and genes. On the biggest, we find correlations between PFAS exposure and various health issues. For example, a recent study by the Keck School of Medicine of USC showed an increase in the rate of certain cancers that are correlated with exposure to PFASs.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-01-links-pfas-contamination-range-rare.html
How much of an increase? Between 2 and 33 percent. And that’s without being able to measure the actual exposure and using a binary, yes/no, for PFAS exposure. Which is useful information but the problem is we’re still figuring out the stuff in the middle.
How much exposure is necessary to cause actual harm versus simply passing through the body without any major effect? No idea. How does a PFAS affect an individual and through what mechanisms? Still not totally clear.
Part of the problem is that it’s hard to get specific measures because our methods of sensing organic pollutants are crude. But a study by some scientists at Northwestern has shown that there’s a possible solution to that.
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-amplification-toxin-sensitive.html
By tweaking a sensing platform that’s being used to measure toxins in water, researchers have been able to measure chemicals at low enough concentrations to have use outside the lab. The tweak involves a little circuitry to amplify the signal. Sort of like how Dylan went electric and why Spinal Tap went to 11.
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-reverse-osmosis-membrane-biofouling.html
Measuring these pollutants is the first step. Removing them is the next one. And researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences are working on that one too. Recently, they developed a dual-functional reverse osmosis (RO) membrane with enhanced antibacterial and antiadhesion properties. The reason that’s so cool is that while RO is an incredibly wasteful and problematic method of filtration, it’s pretty much the only game in town for removing particularly stubborn things, like salt. But the current line of membrane technology all have a problem with increased energy consumption and operational costs caused by membrane fouling. Biofouling, when microbes and bacteria and other living things grow on the membranes, accounts for over 45% of the problem.
But, if the membrane itself is antibacterial and prevents adhesion, or stickiness, then these new membranes bypass that entire issue.
Another interesting trend in new technologies involves turning trash into treasure. For example, a team from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, found a way to make ethylbenzene—an additive that improves sustainable aviation fuels—from polystyrene, a hard plastic used in many consumer goods.
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-team-sustainable-aviation-fuel-additive.html
But let’s not hang our hats on new technology to be the solution to every problem. A macroanalysis from Kaunas University of Technology showed 5 key challenges to plastic recycling.
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-microplastics-macro-impact-expert-plastic.html
To quote the lead researcher, Artūras Torkelis, "Focusing solely on improving recycling technologies or finding new methods without considering economic, environmental and legal aspects would be a mistake. This approach won't just fail to solve the problem, it could also lead to shortfalls when considering other aspects,"
So while science keeps working on how PFASs affect humans, how to make saltwater into freshwater, and even how to turn trash into treasure, we have to remember that it’s a process. Learning how the economy, the environment, and the law could solve the problem more thoroughly than technology is also part of the process.
Science never offers easy answers, but the scientific method is still the best way to figure out the world around us and our place in it. But it’s up to us to figure out the best way to work together and make a better world for us all.
(if you'd prefer this as a newsletter/podcast: https://therightfilter.substack.com/s/drip-feed)