Biodiversity Research Institute Announces Publication of a Special Issue on Mercury in Ecotoxicology

To advance scientific understanding of mercury exposure in biota from around the world, an esteemed group of almost 200 scientists from more than 30 countries collaborated on producing 18 peer-reviewed papers that form a Special Issue of Ecotoxicology titled Assessing Global Environmental Mercury Exposure in Biota and Potential Impacts on Biodiversity.

Ancient Maya cities were dangerously contaminated with mercury

A new review shows that the soil in the cities of the ancient Maya are heavily polluted with mercury. As vessels filled with liquid mercury and objects painted with cinnabar have been found at many Maya sites, the authors conclude that the Maya were heavy users of mercury and mercury-containing products. This resulted in severe and dangerous pollution in their day, which still persists even now.