Dusting for prints… in midair?!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Catching airborne polluters isn’t easy. We literally have to parse out WHERE molecules came from. And that changes, well, on the fly.
But! Lingyun Peng and team from Shenyang Agricultural University are on the case!
They developed a method that prevents air molecules from changing DURING sampling by TRAPPING them in acid inside closed chambers.
And? They maintained more than NINETY PERCENT of their original composition! Now we can determine whether the molecules came from pollution or not.
This marks the next step in the field of emission monitoring.
Looks like the truth really is out there – I mean – in midair!
Reference: Peng, L., Ti, C., Bai, X., Li, M., Wang, X., & Yin, B. (2026). The effect of acidic solutions on the determination of the natural abundance of nitrogen isotopes in ammonia. Nitrogen Cycling, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.48130/nc-0025-0017