New research highlights the importance of improving air quality in homes for employees who continue to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just a handful of facilities that emit unusually high levels of toxic chemicals account for the majority of industrial pollution year after year.

"The optical tweezers allow us to ... directly probe the dynamic evolution of all these critical properties of atmospheric particles and how they feedback on each other as each particle continues to evolve."

Auto emissions are key to the creation of "ultrafine particles," which have been linked to health problems and birth defects, researchers say.

3D printers produce particles that can negatively affect air quality indoors, make the air toxic, and potentially harm respiratory health.

"Some people call this higher concentration of pollutants around the human body the personal cloud... we call it the 'Pig-Pen Effect.'"

The developers of a nonthermal plasma method for killing airborne viruses hope it can one day replace the surgical mask.

"We're basically saying: 'Hold on, don't worry. Things might look like they're getting worse, in some places, but overall they should get better.'"

Diesel exhaust from heavy truck traffic contributes to air pollution, which has been linked to asthma, lung diseases, and heart disease.