Two girls are found dead in New York after a fatal game of 'subway surfing,' authorities say
4 October 2025 - New York City police found two girls dead early Saturday morning in what apparently was a game of 'subway surfing' that turned out to be fatal, authorities said. ....'It's heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game,' New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said in a statement. 'Parents, teachers, and friends need to be clear with loved ones: getting on top of a subway car isn't 'surfing' — it's suicide.' (more)

Young girls are using anti-aging products they see on social media. The harm is more than skin deep
3 October 2025 - Girls as young as 8 are turning up at dermatologists' offices with rashes, chemical burns, and other allergic reactions to products not intended for children's sensitive skin. ...More than the physical harm, parents and child psychologists worry about the trend's effects on girls' mental health -- for years to come. Extensive data suggests a fixation on appearance can affect self-esteem and body image and fuel anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. (more)

Swiss glaciers shrank 3 percent this year, the fourth-biggest retreat on record
2 October 2025 - Switzerland's glaciers have faced 'enormous' melting this year with a 3 percent drop in total volume -- the fourth-largest annual drop on record -- due to the effects of global warming, top Swiss glaciologists reported Wednesday [1 October]. (more)

'It's dying in front of our eyes': how the UK's largest lake became an ecological disaster
14 September 2025 - The 400 sq km (150 sq mile) freshwater lough is choking on recurring toxic algal blooms that coat the surface, kill wildlife, unleash stenches, and make the lake all but unusable. ...The lough and surrounding watercourses are on course to record their worst year, with at least 171 detections of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) growths, according to a government pollution tracker. (more)

Smoke from Canada's wildfires killed nine-year-old Carter Vigh – and 82,000 others around the world
10 September 2025 - Tiny toxic particles spewed by Canadian wildfires killed 82,000 people in 2023, according to a study published in Nature on Wednesday [10 September]. The long tendrils of smoke choked towns not just in Canada and the US, but also across the Atlantic. The pollution was responsible for 22,000 early deaths in Europe alone. (more)

UK's largest lake faces environmental crisis as rescue plans stall
30 August 2025 - The UK's largest lake, Lough Neagh [in Northern Ireland], is on course to record its worst year of potentially toxic algal blooms to date, as rescue plans remain deadlocked. (more)

Humans inhale as much as 68,000 microplastic particles daily, study finds
28 August 2025 - Particles are small enough to burrow into lungs, says report, with health impacts 'more substantial than we realize'. Every breath people take in their homes or car probably contains significant amounts of microplastics small enough to burrow deep into lungs, new peer-reviewed research finds, bringing into focus a little understood route of exposure and health threat. (more)

YouTube secretly used AI to edit people's videos. The results could bend reality
24 August 2025 - YouTube made AI enhancements to videos without telling users or asking permission. As AI quietly mediates our world, what happens to our shared connection with real life? (more)