Sixteen different PFAS compounds have been discovered in the feathers of Antarctic penguins, demonstrating that the insidious spread of "forever chemicals" now reaches the most remote wildlife on Earth. Feathers make an unusually good PFAS record because they're built from keratin, a protein that many PFAS compounds bind to readily. All three species tested positive, with Emperor penguins carrying the highest concentrations, followed by Gentoo, and then Adélie penguins. Until recently, she added, researchers had assumed the region was too remote for the chemicals to reach at all. “We don't have anywhere on this planet where we don't have these chemicals.”