Latest news with #UniversityofMontana
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Mountain roads and coal mines cut grizzly bears off from habitat, study finds
A new study found that grizzly bears have had to change their movements across the Canadian Rockies, becoming more constrained over time as they avoid human development like coal mines, highways, large reservoirs and towns. Analyzing 20 years worth of GPS collar data from over 100 grizzly bears, the research, published in Conservation Science and Practice, found that humans have had a significant impact on the way bears move across an 85,000 square kilometre landscape in southern B.C. and Alberta. "There already has been quite a bit of connectivity loss for grizzly bears in the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains," said Eric Palm, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Montana. Any new coal mines, towns or highway roads would create more barriers for grizzly bears to move around and find food, he said — potentially having bigger ramifications down the road. "Since that baseline is already pretty high, any additional losses could eventually have population-level effects for grizzly bears," he said. In January, the province lifted a moratorium on coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, opening the door for suspended projects to resume. More human development on the horizon — like new and resuming coal mine projects — could further threaten bear habitats, Palm said. "In B.C. and Alberta there are a lot of proposed coal mine expansions of existing mines, and then there are also some new mines that are being proposed," he said. "Building new coal mines in each one of these areas … expands the footprint of human infrastructure [which] can affect connectivity by usually inhibiting animals moving from one habitat patch to another." Looking for food, finding trouble Using computer simulations to predict how more development will impact bears in the future, the study found that those habitat patches would be further disconnected, restricting movement. Palm explained that grizzly bears in the Canadian Rockies rarely venture out into the prairies, staying confined to the mountains. But there, bears are more constrained, as humans typically develop infrastructure in valley bottoms where some food sources thrive. The researchers found that when food was scarce, both male and female bears risked coming closer to roads to search for it with forest along roadsides being home to attractive foods such as grasses, flowering plants and buffaloberries. Tal Avgar, a wildlife ecologist and assistant professor at the University of British Columbia who contributed to the study, said a "grizzly bear that wants to live a long and happy life needs to avoid humans as much as possible." The most recent count in Alberta shows 235 grizzly bear mortalities were caused by humans in the period between 2013 and 2022. Most known grizzly bear deaths in the province are caused by humans. In May, two female grizzly bears were killed by trains in separate incidents in Banff National Park. "Sometimes humans are associated with where the food is, but in general, we know that bears would like to avoid being close to humans. They would like to avoid being on infrastructure used by humans," Avgar said. A potential threat to bear populations "If genes are being inhibited from flowing from one area… eventually some of these populations could become more isolated from each other," Palm speculated. Though this study was limited in scope to the data on grizzly movements, Palm said there was room to further research the potential for new infrastructure to limit not just the bears' mobility, but also how that could impact their breeding. Although the threat of new development is concerning, Palm said much work is being done to help increase habitat connectivity in the Rockies, such as wildlife crossings over or under roads that help animals move across human infrastructure. "Now there is a lot of vulnerability between different species and how much they adopt using these crossings, and sometimes these crossings are very successful, and sometimes less so," Avgar said. While wildlife crossings are still helpful in building habitat connections, Avgar said, that solution is limited to roads. "There are definitely situations where we can't actually provide those crossing structures [such as] human settlement or a mine," he said. "We can't build a bridge above it. It's an area that the bears are going to avoid to some extent. "The main thing that we need to keep in mind is that when we plan development, we want to plan it at the large landscape scale, keeping in mind that we still allow populations of animals to move across that landscape, and if we blocked one path, maybe leave other paths open for future development."
CBC
3 days ago
- Science
- CBC
Mountain roads and coal mines cut grizzly bears off from habitat, study finds
A new study found that grizzly bears have had to change their movements across the Canadian Rockies, becoming more constrained over time as they avoid human development like coal mines, highways, large reservoirs and towns. Analyzing 20 years worth of GPS collar data from over 100 grizzly bears, the research, published in Conservation Science and Practice, found that humans have had a significant impact on the way bears move across an 85,000 square kilometre landscape in southern B.C. and Alberta. "There already has been quite a bit of connectivity loss for grizzly bears in the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains," said Eric Palm, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Montana. Any new coal mines, towns or highway roads would create more barriers for grizzly bears to move around and find food, he said — potentially having bigger ramifications down the road. "Since that baseline is already pretty high, any additional losses could eventually have population-level effects for grizzly bears," he said. In January, the province lifted a moratorium on coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, opening the door for suspended projects to resume. More human development on the horizon — like new and resuming coal mine projects — could further threaten bear habitats, Palm said. "In B.C. and Alberta there are a lot of proposed coal mine expansions of existing mines, and then there are also some new mines that are being proposed," he said. "Building new coal mines in each one of these areas … expands the footprint of human infrastructure [which] can affect connectivity by usually inhibiting animals moving from one habitat patch to another." Looking for food, finding trouble Using computer simulations to predict how more development will impact bears in the future, the study found that those habitat patches would be further disconnected, restricting movement. Palm explained that grizzly bears in the Canadian Rockies rarely venture out into the prairies, staying confined to the mountains. But there, bears are more constrained, as humans typically develop infrastructure in valley bottoms where some food sources thrive. The researchers found that when food was scarce, both male and female bears risked coming closer to roads to search for it with forest along roadsides being home to attractive foods such as grasses, flowering plants and buffaloberries. Tal Avgar, a wildlife ecologist and assistant professor at the University of British Columbia who contributed to the study, said a "grizzly bear that wants to live a long and happy life needs to avoid humans as much as possible." The most recent count in Alberta shows 235 grizzly bear mortalities were caused by humans in the period between 2013 and 2022. Most known grizzly bear deaths in the province are caused by humans. In May, two female grizzly bears were killed by trains in separate incidents in Banff National Park. "Sometimes humans are associated with where the food is, but in general, we know that bears would like to avoid being close to humans. They would like to avoid being on infrastructure used by humans," Avgar said. A potential threat to bear populations "If genes are being inhibited from flowing from one area… eventually some of these populations could become more isolated from each other," Palm speculated. Though this study was limited in scope to the data on grizzly movements, Palm said there was room to further research the potential for new infrastructure to limit not just the bears' mobility, but also how that could impact their breeding. Although the threat of new development is concerning, Palm said much work is being done to help increase habitat connectivity in the Rockies, such as wildlife crossings over or under roads that help animals move across human infrastructure. "Now there is a lot of vulnerability between different species and how much they adopt using these crossings, and sometimes these crossings are very successful, and sometimes less so," Avgar said. While wildlife crossings are still helpful in building habitat connections, Avgar said, that solution is limited to roads. "There are definitely situations where we can't actually provide those crossing structures [such as] human settlement or a mine," he said. "We can't build a bridge above it. It's an area that the bears are going to avoid to some extent. "The main thing that we need to keep in mind is that when we plan development, we want to plan it at the large landscape scale, keeping in mind that we still allow populations of animals to move across that landscape, and if we blocked one path, maybe leave other paths open for future development."
National Geographic
07-07-2025
- Health
- National Geographic
It may be possible to detect Alzheimer's risk sooner—as early as your 20s
The accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles—like those illustrated here inside a neuron—is closely associated with cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer's disease. A recent study found that several biomarkers implicated in Alzheimer's are associated with cognitive decline as early as ages 24 to 44. Illustration by Hybrid Medical Animation, Science Photo Library Treating the neurodegenerative disease in its earlier stages is key to slowing cognitive decline. A new study offers hope for the future. More than a century ago, a German neuroanatomist noticed his patient acting inordinately confused. After she died, Alois Alzheimer examined her brain and discovered amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary 'tangles,' two key characteristics for what we now call Alzheimer's disease. Today we know when these plaques and tangles interfere with our normal brain functions, our neurons die. People start to forget, lose their memory. When Alzheimer's enters the later stages, it's irreversible. However, the damage may be slowed if caught early. Now a new study cautiously suggests it may be possible to detect signs of Alzheimer's risk even earlier than previously thought possible—in a person's 20s or 30s. Given the number of Americans with Alzheimer's is projected to double to 14 million by 2060, this could be a gamechanger. 'A neuron dead is a neuron gone…forever. You want to do preventive medicine,' says Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas, a professor at the University of Montana in the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, who was not involved with the new study but says its findings coincide with her team's research into early Alzheimer's detection. (Your eyes may be a window into early Alzheimer's detection.) 'The key is the age group: young adults,' Calderón-Garcidueñas says. 'Most researchers in the U.S.A. are focused on elderly populations.' Scientists have made leaps and bounds to diagnose Alzheimer's accurately and faster. After all, it wasn't until the 2000s that the disease could be diagnosed before death. Now it's generally accepted that brains demonstrate signs of Alzheimer's decades before symptoms emerge—a timeline that this research would push back even further. 'It kind of clicked for me that we really do need to be studying this earlier,' says Columbia University professor of epidemiology Allison Aiello, the new study's lead investigator. 'We did see some associations at these early levels. I was pretty surprised myself.' Why is Alzheimer's so hard to diagnose in younger brains? Today, diagnosis and risk detection typically hinges upon finding a core biomarker like neurofibrillary tau tangles and amyloid-beta plaques. That alone doesn't guarantee a person will become symptomatic, so clinicians also look for evidence of cognitive decline. Certain standard assessments—for example, having a person recall words from a list—can measure cognition. Additionally, there are multiple underlying causes and risk factors that can vary from person to person. To further evaluate dementia risk, clinicians use tools like Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Incidence of Dementia (CAIDE), which takes into account risk factors like body mass index, age, and education and grants a 'risk score.' Higher CAIDE scores point to higher risk. (The unexpected ways Ozempic-like drugs might fight dementia.) Because Alzheimer's primarily manifests in those 65 and older, there's historically been 'skepticism in the field [about] measuring cognitive function earlier in life,' Aiello says, especially before mid-life. But Aiello was curious and saw her opportunity to study the issue when she joined the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. This landmark study originally enrolled 20,000 middle-schoolers and high-schoolers in 1994 and 1995 and is still ongoing—making it one of the largest longitudinal studies in the U.S. In 2008, when participants were 24 to 34 years old, Aiello's team conducted thousands of tests, including assessing 11,500 participants' cognition and taking 4,500 blood samples. Approximately a decade later, the team again administered cognitive and genetic tests. The findings revealed early signs of cognitive decline by age 24, and some neurodegeneration biological risk indicators among people in their 30s. Specifically, researchers analyzed interleukin 6 and interleukin 8, biomarkers of inflammation, within the blood samples. When participants were aged 34 to 44, these biomarkers were associated with lower scores on the cognitive tests. The team also found higher CAIDE risk scores were associated with lower cognitive scores as early as during someone's mid-20s—decades earlier than mid-life, when risk factors are typically tested. 'The study is a big success,' says Tatjana Rundek, director of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Miami, who was not involved with the study. While effect size is small and associations are subtle, it still provides 'compelling molecular support for early neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration.' Study limitations However, some experts are more cautious. Despite its validation, Rundek says CAIDE isn't a sure-fire predictor of Alzheimer's disease, especially regarding diverse populations. Meanwhile, some of the biomarkers found are not exclusive to Alzheimer's, says Sharon Sha, a neurology professor and the chief of Stanford University's Memory Disorders Division. (What your biological age can reveal about your health.) Sha points out that the study measured 'total tau' instead of phosphorylated tau; while total tau can be an indicator of neurodegeneration, growing research finds phosphorylated tau to be more predictive of Alzheimer's specifically. Still, she says, 'I do find that the results they found are potentially risk factors for future cognitive decline, or cardiovascular and vascular cognitive impairment risk.' The data collection is also impressive, Sha adds. Conducting these studies is difficult because obtaining confirmatory data is costly and takes decades. 'It's hard to follow someone in their 20s, to say, their 60s or 80s, [to see] if they get a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.' Aiello also agreed more research needs to be done, and that's likely coming. Other scientists in the U.K. have conducted life course studies, Aiello says, and 'I think we'll see more of these types of studies in the future.' Her own team is continuing to follow this cohort to see how Alzheimer's risk changes over time. As participants enter the latest wave, when they are between the ages of 39 to 49, they'll take cognitive tests and measure physical and sensory functions like hearing or grip strength. The data is scheduled for analysis with results potentially forthcoming in 2026. Early detection can empower people. Those at greater risk can start changing their lifestyles—and some healthy interventions may prevent or slow up to 40 percent of dementia cases. Current Alzheimer's therapies like lecanemab also slow decline, though in milder stages. 'The earlier the better, right?' Aiello says. (Why this new Alzheimer's drug is eliciting both optimism and caution.) Consequently, early detection remains a hot research topic. In 2023, researchers published a study cautiously suggesting the eyes have potential for early Alzheimer's risk prediction. Another 2024 study published in Nature Aging showed an AI-trained model could predict Alzheimer's seven years before symptoms emerged, and identified surprising patterns and risk factors. The model suggested that osteoporosis may be an Alzheimer's risk factor for women. While this doesn't mean a woman with osteoporosis will definitely develop Alzheimer's, 'we see these relationships,' says Alice Tang, an MD/Ph.D. candidate at University of California, San Francisco, who led the study. 'And so that has led to a lot more questions being opened up and better studies down the line.' Ultimately, research avenues like these may soon be able to help scientists develop a more meaningful model for early Alzheimer's prediction. In her own work, Aiello is excited to see what Wave VI reveals. 'I think it's going to be really exciting for people to try to tease apart some of these associations much earlier in life, in a really kind of in-depth way.'
CNN
03-07-2025
- CNN
There's world-class wilderness in every direction, but Missoula is far more than a gateway
See More Videos The American West is full of towns that serve as gateways into the natural world. Launching points, if you will, that sit on the edge of the wilderness and offer the infamous three Bs — a beer, a burger and a bed — to those seeking refuge. But Missoula, Montana, is way more than a launching pad. Better to call it a basecamp, as one young college student working in a coffee shop put it, with plenty to do and see before you set out on your next outdoor adventure. Because Missoula is so remote, people often think there's no diversity or culture, he explained, and they don't realize how much is going on here until they come and see for themselves. MORE AMERICA'S BEST TOWNS TO VISIT 2025 1. Ithaca, NY 2. Missoula, MT 3. Asheville, NC 4. Bend, OR 5. Annapolis, MD See all 10 towns How we picked the Best Towns to Visit Share your picks for our top towns in 2026 Described as 'fairly alternative,' 'eclectic,' and 'quirky' by various locals, Missoula is home to about 80,000 residents and a large student population attending the University of Montana. With world-class wilderness in every direction, there are endless opportunities for outdoor recreation, especially when it comes to river activities, like fishing and boating, as well as hiking and mountain biking. Missoula was once an industrial lumber town, its ambiance haunted by black smoke and the buzz of saws. But today, things are different. Modern-day Missoula is outdoorsy, artistic and musical, with university roots that bring energy to its downtown. Prev Next Missoula sits at the confluence of four of the greatest rivers in the Western United States for fishing and recreation, according to Todd Frank, a local outdoor outfitter — the Bitterroot, the Blackfoot, the Clark Fork and Rock Creek. Fly fishing is ingrained into the local way of life, and you can take a guided fly-fishing outing to learn the ropes if it's your first time. Other ways to experience the serenity of the Montana countryside are hiking, camping and mountain biking, which are abundant in nearby wilderness areas, such as Lolo National Forest, Bitterroot National Forest, Flathead National Forest, the Bob Marshall Wilderness and many others. Todd Frank's outdoor gear business, The Trail Head, has handy recreation guides online to hiking trails and other activities around Missoula, including their difficulty and distance from town. Much of the appeal is that you don't have to go far to enjoy the outdoors in Missoula. Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness is just four miles from downtown, and in summer, the Clark Fork River, which runs right through the heart of town, comes alive with activity. The scenic 'M' trail that climbs to an overlook of Missoula leaves right from town. 'Five minutes outside of town you can be on a trail, and you don't even know there's a town there,' said Matt Lautzenheiser, executive director of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, a 32-acre park with various exhibits. The rivers are undeniably integral to the city's tourism and any visitor is bound to interact with them in some way. Frank recommends that first-timers go for a drink out on the deck of Finn Restaurant to watch the fly fishermen in action in the river below. For some low-key river time, rent a canoe, inflatable kayak, or tube and float a segment of the Clark Fork River, a locally-beloved way to spend an afternoon on the water, close to home. If you had arrived in Missoula prior to 1990, the center of town would have been a giant sawmill, tasked with the processing and transporting of logs. Long-time local residents can remember a time when a haze enveloped the town, wood pulp clouded the river, and the sounds of the sawmill could be heard from miles away. 'The air was bad and smoky, there wasn't really much going on,' Frank recalled about his arrival to Missoula in the early 1980s. 'When I moved here, no one went into the river. Generally speaking, all the businesses in Missoula had their back to the river. There really wasn't any fishing to be had.' A series of regulatory changes and efforts by environmental groups throughout the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s pushed out natural resource extraction industries. The local economy was hit hard as the mills closed down, but a popular Hollywood film helped kick off Missoula's new era in tourism. The 1992 film, 'A River Runs Through It,' starring Brad Pitt, introduced Americans to Missoula and to fly fishing in Montana, which, looking back, Frank described as a turning point. From there on out, Missoula's rivers began to take center stage. 'That movie shined a super bright spotlight on fishing in Montana,' said Frank. 'And it just blew up at that point, the number of people coming to recreate, we've been busy ever since then.' While the success story of revitalizing the rivers tends to take center stage, Missoula has blossomed in other ways, too. When Nick Checota moved to Missoula about 20 years ago, the historic Top Hat Lounge had seen better days. Nearby, The Wilma theater was not much better off — it, too, was rundown and lacked the musical infrastructure (i.e. stage equipment) to consistently attract artists. Where many saw stagnation, Checota saw opportunity. He went on to buy and restore the Top Hat as a 'passion project,' then later, in 2015, he bought and renovated The Wilma. Then, in 2017, he created something brand new: the KettleHouse Amphitheater, a 4,000-person capacity, outdoor venue on the Blackfoot River, built on a property that was originally the Bonner Mill, another former timber processing plant. ESSENTIAL MISSOULA EAT: At The Notorious P.I.G. BBQ or Biga Pizza and a sweet treat at Veera Donuts DRINK: Beer at Imagine Nation Brewing; cocktails at Plonk STAY: At Goldsmith's Riverfront Inn SEE: Montana from the river with Montana River Guides 'Nick was a game changer in our community,' Frank said. 'He has done a number of things in the community in the music scene that have really changed the face of what we have available to us.' Today, visitors to Missoula can enjoy the town's excellent music scene by bopping around these venues, plus occasional stadium shows held at the University of Montana. The KettleHouse has been especially beloved by visitors for its scenic, sun-soaked riverside vibes. Checota said that 67% of ticket sales in summer come from out-of-state zip codes, an admirable feat given Missoula's remote location. The ability to attract national acts is one obvious reason for the influx of visitors, Checota said, but he also thinks Missoula is becoming a destination for music lovers because of the deliberately and reasonably priced tickets. Lawn seats at the KettleHouse, for example, can be had for less than $50 for most shows — sometimes as low as $29.50. Prior to a show, you can hit the KettleHouse Brewing Company taproom adjacent to the amphitheater. Or check out the oldest microbrewery in Montana, Bayern Brewing, started in 1987 and serving classic Bavarian brews and German pretzels and brats. Missoula has more than a dozen craft breweries to explore. If you didn't have world-class ceramics on your Montana bingo-card, you'd be forgiven. But artists in Missoula turn out high-quality ceramics that rival the best the United States has to offer. 'People come and want to pinch themselves,' says Lisa Simon, co-owner of Radius Gallery and a former professor of English literature at the University of Montana. 'They can't believe [these ceramics] are here in Missoula, and not New York City.' Missoula owes its prowess in this ancient art to the Archie Bray Center, a renowned ceramics center located about two hours from town. 'People come from all over the world to visit 'The Bray,'' said Simon. 'A lot of fine ceramicists moved here to Missoula to be close to The Bray.' You can make a pilgrimage to The Bray for a two-hour clay class, though there are plenty of ways to experience the ceramic scene here in town. The Clay Studio of Missoula, for example, holds adult clay classes for all abilities, and Zootown Arts Community Center has a wide range of events and classes. Professionally-made ceramics can be found at one of the many downtown galleries, like Radius. There are also two art museums — the Missoula Art Museum and the Montana Museum of Art and Culture on the University of Montana campus. Missoula is also a place to explore a wide variety of Indigenous art, including a unique style of expression known as ledger art, which began in the 1890s and was revitalized in the 1970s. '[Ledger art] is based on a traditional art form that was practiced by Plains Indians, of which there were upwards of 30 different tribes,' Simon said. 'They did a sort of pictorial flattened art that told the stories of battles, what happened that year, marriages, and big events.' The tradition changed when the Native peoples were forced onto reservations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Instead of painting on, say, buffalo hides, the artform was adapted onto discarded ledgers, which were available in abundance from government officials, missionaries and traders. Today, ledger art remains an important part of Indigenous storytelling. Ask around for examples of ledger art at galleries in downtown Missoula. To discover more of the quirky and hipster side of Missoula, visit Rockin Rudy's department store or Rudy's Attic, where you can shop for Montana-themed gag gifts and nostalgic memorabilia. Or, take the family for a ride on the local carousel, which is one of the few fully hand-carved carousels in the country. In the center of town, where the old sawmill once stood, is the newest neighborhood in Missoula. Created in 2015 and known as the Old Sawmill District, it could be considered a historic district, thanks to the fact that it sits on close to 50 acres of prime riverside real estate that was once occupied by the mill. A walk through it reveals its modern ways, though, with a variety of brand-new apartments and condos, mixed-use commercial office space, and ground-level retail outlets. It is here that you will find a more modern version of Missoula taking root, perhaps even trendy at times — for example, behold the Montana-inspired French cuisine at Boxcar Bistro. But the area retains a laid-back feel despite its uptick in style. The neighborhood is home to many local ballfields, which are flooded with families on summer nights, and sits adjacent to the Clark Fork River and its riverfront trail, nice for evening strolls or bike rides. Like many smaller cities, Missoula's population saw a big increase during and after the pandemic. The popular show 'Yellowstone,' which was filmed in the Missoula area, also increased its visibility, as has the recent increase in travel to national parks. (Missoula has long been a stopping point for those road tripping between Yellowstone and Glacier). 'It's becoming more than just, 'I'll stay one night there on my way from Yellowstone to Glacier,'' Lautzenheiser said. 'It's more than just a launching pad,' he said. 'It's a place where people can spend a few days and really experience not only that kind of western culture [typical of Montana], but also that kind of quirky, interesting Missoula culture we've created.' 'These mountains are still here.'
Atlantic
29-06-2025
- Science
- Atlantic
Five Sunday Reads
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. This weekend, read about why cosmologists are fighting over everything, how to make the most of your professional decline, and more. The Nobel Prize Winner Who Thinks We Have the Universe All Wrong Cosmologists are fighting over everything. By Ross Andersen Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think Here's how to make the most of it. (From 2019) By Arthur C. Brooks Elon Musk Is Playing God The tech billionaire wants to shape humanity's future. Not everyone has a place there. By Charlie Warzel and Hana Kiros The Computer-Science Bubble Is Bursting Artificial intelligence is ideally suited to replacing the very type of person who built it. By Rose Horowitch The Questions We Don't Ask Our Families but Should Many people don't know very much about their older relatives. But if we don't ask, we risk never knowing our own history. (From 2022) By Elizabeth Keating The Week Ahead Jurassic World Rebirth, an action movie about a team that makes a disturbing discovery while on a mission to retrieve DNA from dinosaurs (in theaters Wednesday) Season 2 of The Sandman, a show about a cosmic being who controls dreams and finally escapes a more than century-long imprisonment (Volume 1 premieres Thursday on Netflix) Dictating the Agenda, a book by Alexander Cooley and Alexander Dukalskis about the resurgence of authoritarian politics around the world (out Monday) Essay America's Coming Smoke Epidemic By Zoë Schlanger For 49 straight days, everyone in Seeley Lake was breathing smoke. A wildfire had ignited outside the small rural community in Montana, and the plume of smoke had parked itself over the houses. Air quality plummeted. At several moments, the concentration of particulate matter in the air exceeded the upper limit of what monitors could measure. Christopher Migliaccio, an associate professor of immunology at the University of Montana, saw an opportunity to do what few have ever done: study what happens after people get exposed to wildfire smoke. More in Culture Catch Up on The Atlantic Photo Album An estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enter oceans each year, according to the U.S. State Department. These photos show how some of it accumulates in highly visible ways.
