The loss of Australian threatened species habitat has doubled in the past year, with more than 57,000 hectares approved for destruction by the government in 2025, the highest in 15 years. This figure is over double the 2024 total and five times the 10,426 hectares approved in 2023, according to a study. Conservationists have described the development as 'deeply distressing'.
In a separate development, high-profile studies reporting microplastics throughout the human body have been cast into doubt by scientists. Experts say the discoveries are likely the result of contamination and false positives. One researcher dismissed a prominent study as 'a joke', while another chemist called the concerns 'a bombshell' regarding the validity of previous findings.
