Future. And the bizarre plant life of New Caledonia. But first we head to the antarctic the fascinating eco zone around the south pole. One of the last bastions of pristine nature untouched by our Industrial Society or so you might think all the more worrisome to see what researchers have now discovered in antarctic waters. The Russian Research it could they make the call on board the antarctic expedition is ecologist peter ryan. So its kind of Old School Science there due to technical problems ryan has had to revert to working with a bucket and a rope. That gives the specialist in conservation biology and Marine Ecology a chance to move around a bit. Good exercise. His aim is to test the Water Quality here in the Southern Ocean theres very little Data Available for the antarctic to look so clean. The sample is taken directly into the Research Vessels lab there to improvise ation is the order of the day ryans operators is made of large plastic water containers a fine filter is concealed in the caps of the bottles. Theres nothing to be seen with the naked eye. Or. Sorry. For india. But the microscope reveals a different story. The water samples contain plastic fibers the filter has called the fine filaments there are up to five hundred of them in each bucket of water i really was this not expecting results or liar i threw the bucket in at the front thinking it was going to find nothing and to find someone was shocking so i just changes the way i think about things. Its widely known that there are a large quantities of plastic deb refloating in the worlds oceans but the spotlight of research is now increasingly turning to micro plastic fibers. Birds and other marine animals often die after ingesting larger pieces of plastic but the effect of small fibers needs more research what is known is that they absorb toxic substances like pesticides which are thus transported into the stomachs of marine animals affecting their ability to reproduce and weakening their immune systems. Micro plastic fibers come from various sources but clothing made of synthetic fabrics is one of the worst offenders a single fleece can lose up to two hundred fifty thousand filaments in a single wash the fibers are so fine they cant be completely filtered out by Water Treatment systems. Sylvia fryers director of science and education at the Marine Conservation organization ocean care what do they have to say about the results is everything it indicates that the problem is probably worse than we thought its incredible that such a small sample should contain so many fibers. It shows that plastics are making their way into the remotest of areas including the antarctic fibers that are very tiny and very fine for food and. Yet there are some Simple Solutions this laundry wash bag for example catches the plastic particles. And the residues can simply be removed after a few wash cycles or you can fit your washing machine with a special filter currently the fibers from millions of washing machines across the world are flowing into our sees. The Antarctic Research as didnt find any plastic trash floating in the ocean but they found micro plastic fibers in every single water sample they talk. Visible or knocks little in the worlds oceans is a huge problem. How can we prevent micro plastic particles from entering waterways like the rhine river. Researchers in switzerland think upgrading sewage plants could be the answer. Roberto frye is the technical manager of basel zz waste treatment plant. He leads us down into civilizations netherworld where an infernal stench greets us. The source of the smell is hard to miss the citys wastewater canals carrying everything a modern society flushes down its drains early in the morning the water carries animal blood from a nearby slaughter house. We get about eighty thousand cubic meters per day thats about one thousand liters per second. Of. This waste cocktail is made up of tens of thousands of ingredients from households agriculture and industry some of them highly toxic and no one knows exactly what kind of chemical compounds it contains manufacturers arent required to declare them still the plant has to clean the water the best it can. For massive spiral screw pumps carry up to ten thousand liters of waste water per second to the first treatment stage. Ten meters further on large pieces of debris are raced out of the sludge. Might have been such as toilet paper and other toiletries condoms leaves animal carcasses and anything else that ended up in the sewers then sand traps collected gravel sand and glass shards everything that cant be recycled and up in. The incinerator. At the end comes the biological purification stage in a well ventilated and heated environment microorganisms go to work decomposing the organic compounds into a mixture of water c o two nitrate bosphorus and sulphate. The cleaning is quite effective here theres hardly any smell. But the water is still contaminated with micro pollutants because current Sewage Treatment cant build throughout the micro particles. Thats set to change like switzerland many European Countries want to do more to protect the aquatic environment by introducing a fourth purification step that removes micro particles by either chemical or mechanical means. To calculate how effective this fourth stage might be researchers are studying fish and algae. Theyve seen positive effects in Laboratory Tests especially in the development of fish embryos. Experiments with tiny freshwater crustaceans show similar results and vertebrates like the gamma are vulnerable to micro contamination to find out how the tiny creatures react the scientists put them in a testing apparatus with their favorite food for three weeks in different types of water. Similar tests near Sewage Treatment plants have shown that crustaceans and conventionally treated wastewater have little appetite. But in significantly cleaner waste water they feed normally. With their research into this borth cleaning stage swiss scientists are pioneering methods of Water Purification that will be beneficial worldwide. Wastewater from basel which blows into the rhine river could soon be among the cleanest water in the world. On facebook we asked what measures you take to reduce plastic pollution. Lots of people said they do the same as pat kelly cobain. He does his shopping with a free usable cotton carrier bag. Thats what his grandfather did when he was little. Charlie all wrapped a right that he uses plastic bottles as planters for trees this is what one of his seedlings might look like. But maybe the plastic trash problem could be dealt with in an entirely different way researchers have discovered that the larva of the greater wax moth peat and digest certain plastics like these polyethylene bags perhaps that could be put to practical use. A big problem associated with all those plastics in our everyday life is that they often contain harmful additives one researcher in germany is particularly concerned about the effects on children. The substances a found in potato chips and skateboards and shoes. Marie cocco loesser keeps a close eye on them. Children are in Constant Contact with things made of plastic and with the additives known as plus decides as are they also in the water we drink. Colossal is a toxicologist at germanys Environmental Protection agency u. B. A. And shes worried traces of plasticizers or plastic softeners often crop up in the urine and blood sample she analyzes in our bodies they act like hormones. Like its in our last study we made the shocking discovery that more than half the children had so many chemicals that come from plastics in their bodies that damage to their health couldnt be ruled out with any degree of confidence we also established that levels in children were three to five times higher than in adults thats especially bad because a lot more damage can be done to children as theyre still developing. But how do all these chemicals get into the bodies of children and adolescents and where did they come from. And her team launched an investigation do they come from clothing food substances drinks and which ones exactly. Theyre preparing bottles for some pools of tap water though theyre made of plastic these bottles do not leach any of the chemicals being studied into the water that would falsify the data. A lot so is obtaining samples and not just of tap water from across germany you need lots of data in order to determine which products are the key culprits in releasing plasticizers. Team members of visiting and inspecting more than two thousand homes in one hundred sixty seven towns and cities. Mark was nice but it is one of the softness sleuths and this is the fourth home hes visiting today. Straight away he finds a number of suspects there is so many plastic things in a household that could be releasing plasticizers electrical equipment. Of football. The particles join the regular household dust. Or the fine particular matter that can get into the lungs. And this all takes a sample of the air in the living room. And band of the water from the kitchen tap. Part two involves talking to the People Living here and asking them a standardized set of questions. Between how often have you eaten your fast food already made meals in recent weeks. If you maam much tap water do you drink. Or have you had a neon lamp shatter lately how often have you jewed gum in the past four weeks. Two or three times this or this fall and his fellow investigators ask more than one hundred questions in every household as they try to zero in on the offending foods and objects. Urine samples are also collected theyre called and taken for analysis to a mobile lab all the hormone mimicking substances that enter a persons body eventual end up in the urine but the levels differ from person to person and household to household so along with all the other data the samples can help identify the sources of those substances back at the u. P. A. In berlin the some pools of tap water in dust blood and urine from the children and adolescents around the lies for the presence of twenty different plastic softeners. If an unusually high concentration of a problematic additive is found in a sample the researches take a closer look at the answers in the corresponding questionnaire. To try to pinpoint its source. One of the kids with high levels of contamination eaten or drunk. Is on those who will find particularly high concentrations of plasticizers in the bodies of children and adolescents who eat a great deal of packets are processed food such as fast food chewing gum and ice cream this is the case even though the packaging may only contain minimal amounts of such substances. The plasticizers probably get into ready made meals in the factory bleached out of plastic hoses and machine parts. To wash in a separate study we found extremely high levels in a ready made lasagna for example way above the average person. Do the plasticizers also get into tap water. In one place of good news is that in germany its extremely unlikely that youll ingest plastic residues that act like mormons with your Drinking Water but were doing more tests to make sure and to protect public health. More and more products containing plasticizers are appearing on the market and more needs to be done to assess the risks they represent. Harmful substances also play a role in this weeks fewer question from india its about the possible perils of permanent body art. And her child or a from b r o wants to know. How dangerous are tattoos. Thank you women is like to paint our bodies for many reasons some people believe it drives away evil spirits others want to become living works of art or blend into the background but the paint or make up can usually be washed off with soap and water. The urge to decorate your face or body is motivated by the desire for transformation happiness poor beauty again these measures are usually temporary. But with tattoos its a different matter. They can outlive their owners as these historical exhibit show. But these days tattoos are everywhere the ink is injected to a depth of one to three millimeters into the skin thats dangerous it creates wounds and could even possibly transmit hiv or hepatitis through contaminated needles. And the inks dont stay put either the pigments migrating collect in the lymph nodes the consequences of that are not entirely known but its likely that tattooing are harmful to health some contain materials found in car body paint such particles like those created when oil is burned and nickel. All of these substances can trigger allergies and possibly cause cancer. There is however no concrete proof linking tattoos to Health Problems but you do have to decide whether looking cool is worth the risk. If you have a science question go to our website and send it in if we answer it on the show youll get our d. V. D. Featuring a lighthearted look at albert einsteins most famous theories. The most important thing is to never stop asking questions. And now heres a report that may astound you nature has come up with some remarkable ways of dealing with poisonous substances in the soil there are plants that flourish in an area. Is contaminated with heavy metals lets take a closer look at some of these unique species. They are native to the southwestern pacific on a group of islands called New Caledonia. The remote archipelago of New Caledonia has developed its own distinct plant world. Most of the species that grow here are unique. In the Tropical Forest of the main island cantera ecologist antony funder and is studying some plants with very bizarre properties. We have a really large individual a wiccan and record im an author here. Which is famous all around the world for containing a blue sap blue green sap that has twenty five percent nickel in. The green color you can see from the sap is actually the color of nickel in the strangest biological eclipse known to man that is really quite extraordinary to think theres so much metal content into separate living healthy tree. Nicholas usually extremely toxic to plants and animals including humans so strictly speaking this tree shouldnt exist yet pick a number is only one of several plants here that contain nickel they absorb the heavy metal directly from the soil and it simulates in the plant tissue. The species are known as hyper accumulators funder and preserve samples in liquid nitrogen so we can examine the more carefully in the lab we start systematically by screening plants from all different families from all across New Caledonia and measure the amount of nickel in the leafs and by doing that we can then subsequently collect them grow them and potentially fall. And the ultimates across. New caledonia is probably the best place in the world to study hard to commit plans because say a career in many different families is over sixty five species that we know today which makes it unique globally. These remarkable plants have developed here due to the geological makeup of the island. The soils here contain so much nickel and other heavy metals that most plants wont grow but the hyper accumulators do very well. New caledonia is so nickel rich that mining the metal is a major part of the economy and has left a huge scars in the landscape of the islands. And the Mining Companies have now begun to invest in Environmental Programs here the idea is to restore the land around the mines with the help of selected hyper accumulators. One hundred even these super plants have a hard time in the denatured areas the soil is so full of iron and nickel that its hard as stone the workers need special drills to make the holes for the plants. Its a very harsh environment. This is about. Sixty to seventy degrees in summer. So you can cook an egg on it. At a plant still persist and the plants still persist in a Pretty Amazing as visible here are not soluble here all there is three percent corn there is some nickel in not going to. It no nutrients at all no nutrients at all. I. Basically they improve the soil quality theres some that fix nitrogen theres some that accumulate metals but by sickly stabilise the soil because this area we were. Say five meters are right in per year. And they will reduce the erosion in this area the plants are about four year old and they will probably cover the surface of the ground in about three to four years. Were on our way to another mine one of the largest in New Caledonia. The or is mind using open cast methods that involve removing entire mountain tops. That leaves behind piles of refuse full of poisonous heavy metals the free searchers are now testing a fascinating idea in the mind theyre planting hyper accumulators here not just to help detoxify the soil but to harvest the leaves that have absorbed the metal in order to extract the nickel from them. Down here weve been a phobia i mean from the nickel down in economic interest suit. Has set up this trial here. And propagating nickel hype you might apply all mining waste here and on and waste them. And you can see theyre doing quite well this plant a nickel so we are interesting in collect the nickel from the leafs we try to find the best way to obtain the biggest buy a must for economy but they should we try several for two lies as we try also to plan we order all the plants and also we try to develop the plantation with all the plants as we do a restore ation point of view not only planned this spaces but plant all the species and after you can leave it like this and nature would make you swear and restore maturity. This technology is known as fight to extraction mining using plants if it works Mining Companies would probably invest in the super plant to both turn a profit and help clean up some. Of the environmental destruction theyve caused however phyto extraction would not replace conventional mining the yield is much too low. Trying to mining is more a a top up star gene that you can use a spot of the rehabilitation off to the mining has already happened its in a mining obviously only extracts the very highest resources so generally only go off so its always i can say more than one percent nickel whereas hypercube medical plans can do the same at concentration at ten times as low. This means that the ravages of nickel mining are likely to go on for some time to come Mining Companies will continue to strip off soil and rock to get at the valuable metal or deposits below but the nickel absorbing super plants could help at least alleviate some of the damage done to the landscape. For more from the world of science and Technology Head to our website and get in touch on twitter and facebook we love hearing from you. Next time we look at the future of our computerized Society Whats the best way to store digital data long term with d. N. A. According to some researchers to find out how that could work join us next time c. N. N. Globe. The boat. Going. To block. The bullies at full speed the lead. The way but always on the move the buddy today and in the future. Trucks thirty minutes douglas is. The wrong spelling to slow. The studies in some good its all about George Chance to discover the world from different perspectives. Join us to do sponsored by distinctive instagram or years ago. W. Story the two topics each week on instagram. They make a commitment they find solutions. They inspire. Africa on the roof. Stories of both people making a difference shaping their nation. And their continent of africa on the move to stories about motivational change makers taking their destinies into their own hands to w. s new multimedia series for. D w dot com africa on the move. My first boss like was the sewing machine. But an icon for all women are balanced by this. Something as simple as learning how to write a by side isnt. Since i was a little girl i wanted to have them by sight the lost my home but it took me years to been there. Finally they gave up inventions by me and by psychos but returned people slowly machine sewing i suppose was more appropriate for girls than writing about and no i wanted to reach out to those women back home who had bone to buy their duties and social rules and inform them of oded besides write. My name is the about of people and a war thats due to. This is due to every news coming to you live from berlin and brushing off position later alexina volney is calling for a boycott of a president ial vote next year that after the countrys Election Commission bored him from running against president putins el spoken hooten critics have only is valid