Although PCBs have been banned in the United States since 1979, University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine researcher Maryse Bouchard has found that higher levels of the toxin was associated with lower cognitive performance in seniors.
A new study identified which of 15 published heat wave definitions were most closely associated with non-accidental deaths and pre-term births found in Alabama vital records, along with what those definitions had in common.
A new paper from members of the HEAL (Health & Ecosystems: Analysis of Linkages) consortium delineates a new branch of environmental health that focuses on the public health risks of human-caused changes to Earth’s natural systems.
Residents of major cities with high levels of air pollution have an increased risk of dry eye syndrome, according to a study presented at the world's largest ophthalmic conference, the 117th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, in New Orleans. Study subjects in and around Chicago and New York City were found to be three to four times more likely to be diagnosed with dry eye syndrome compared to less urban areas with relatively little air pollution.
Highlight
• Among first responders at Ground Zero following the 9/11 tragedy, those exposed to high levels of particulate matter experienced significant kidney damage.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center-led study has found that two organochlorine pesticides are associated with an increased risk of endometriosis, a condition that affects up to 10 percent of reproductive-age women.
Microbes in tap water are mostly harmless, with a few exceptions. A Virginia Tech research team is investigating four harmful pathogens that have been documented in tap water and suggest a natural, probiotic way to deal with dangerous germs.
A new analysis by Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future (CLF) finds that the Administration and Congress have acted “regressively” in policymaking on industrial food animal system issues.
Antibiotic resistant (ABR) pathogens are an emerging, critical human health issue. ABR has been found in soils dating back for millennia. Current research illustrates the need for considering natural, background resistance in soils in any scientific study examining the effects of antibiotics on the environment.
A class of flame retardants that has been linked to learning difficulties in children has rapidly declined in pregnant women’s blood since the chemicals were banned in California a decade ago, according to a study led by researchers at UC San Francisco.
Approximately 30 million pounds of fumigant pesticides are used each year on soil that yields valuable California crops. Determining whether these pesticides are as safe as possible falls to one state entity, the Department of Pesticide Regulation. But in 2010, a neurotoxic, carcinogenic pesticide called methyl iodide was approved for use with strawberries. The science was incomplete, the approval was rushed, and while it stayed on the market, lives were endangered. A case study has been conducted by UCLA's Sustainable Technology and Policy Program that details the flaws in the system, and makes recommendations to prevent this from happening again..
After more than four decades of research, strong evidence now shows that Kawasaki disease has a distinct seasonal occurrence shared by regions across the Northern hemisphere.
In an editorial published in Endocrinology, a journal of The Endocrine Society, endocrine experts agreed that endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) pose a threat to human health and to the ecosystems of the earth. The editorial comes in response to a commentary (Dietrich et al. Chem Biol Interact) signed by a number of editors of toxicology journals that dismisses the state-of-the-science on EDCs and argues for the status quo in the regulation of these hazardous substances.
For the first time researchers have found an association between living in proximity to high-density livestock production and community-acquired infections with MRSA. Their analysis concluded that approximately 11% of community-acquired MRSA and soft tissue infections in the study population could be attributed to crop fields fertilized with swine manure. The study is the first to examine the association between high-density livestock operations and manure-applied crop fields and MRSA infections in the community.
Microbes that live in rice paddies, northern peat bogs and other previously unexpected environments are among the bacteria that can generate highly toxic methylmercury, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center have learned.
In a recent article, Eng et al. (2013) found that higher levels of bisphenol A were associated with several measures of obesity in children. Specifically, children exposed to higher levels of bisphenol A had increased odds of having a body mass index in the 95th percentile (i.e., greater than 95% of all children) and a waist circumference to height ratio (WC) greater than a value of 0.5. However, several other measures of obesity were unaffected, such as abnormal body fat percentage, BMI and WC thresholds below 95th percentile, and other laboratory measurements of cardiovascular disease and diabetes (e.g., total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, fasting triglycerides, insulin resistance, and fasting glucose).
Sandia National Laboratories scientists are building on decades of sensor work to invent tiny detectors that can sniff out everything from explosives and biotoxins to smuggled humans.
University of Michigan researchers today released seven technical reports that together form the most comprehensive Michigan-focused resource on hydraulic fracturing, the controversial natural gas and oil extraction process commonly known as fracking.
The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), supports the introduction of S.1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), legislation that would for the first time require that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency review the safety of all chemicals in commerce.
After studying the functioning of the lungs of birds and the swim bladders of fish, scientists described how they created an improved method to capture carbon dioxide that acts like a reverse natural lung, breathing in the polluting gas. Their study on the best way to arrange tubes in a carbon dioxide capture unit was presented at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
Nature has provided the food industry with the perfect packages to imitate in the drive to embrace a new genre of sustainable packaging material, according to a presentation on the topic here today. Speaking at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, Sara Risch, Ph.D., said that new packaging materials must meet the criteria for being sustainable without sacrificing the security, freshness and visibility of the food inside.
Honey bees should be on everyone’s worry list, and not because of the risk of a nasty sting, an expert on the health of those beneficial insects said here today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society. Despite years of intensive research, scientists do not understand the cause, nor can they provide remedies, for what is killing honey bees.
“Biofuel” is a global buzzword, with cars and trucks powered by fuel made from corn, switchgrass and waste cooking oil, envisioned as a way to stretch out supplies of crude oil and cope with global warming. A symposium being held here today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society considers: What are the health and environmental effects of alternative fuels, and how do they compare with conventional fuels?
In an advance toward providing mosquito-plagued people, pets and livestock with an invisibility cloak against these blood-sucking insects, scientists today described discovery of substances that block mosquitoes’ ability to smell and target their victims. The presentation was among almost 7,000 scheduled this week at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
Carbon monoxide (CO) from external sources can easily penetrate gypsum wallboard (drywall) commonly used in apartments and houses, potentially exposing people indoors to the toxic, odorless, tasteless gas within minutes, concludes a study conducted at Virginia Mason Medical Center.
Children who have higher levels of Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical previously used in many products for kids, like baby bottle and plastic toys, had a higher odds of obesity and adverse levels of body fat, according to a new study from University of Michigan researchers.
By determining the three-dimensional structure of proteins at the atomic level, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered how some commonly used flame retardants, called brominated flame retardants (BFRs), can mimic estrogen hormones and possibly disrupt the body’s endocrine system. BFRs are chemicals added or applied to materials to slow or prevent the start or growth of fire.
Employees who work long hours with high job demands are more likely to develop depression, suggests a study in the August Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
With blue-green algae contaminating lakes nationwide, a Kansas State University toxicologist warns pet owners to understand the bacteria's dangers for their pets and for themselves.
Exposure to perfluorinated chemicals is linked to changes in thyroid function and may raise the risk of mild hypothyroidism in women, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
A special section in the Journal of Environmental Quality details the challenges China faces today in managing nutrient losses from crop and livestock production, and how the country must shift from a sole focus on food security to a triple emphasis on food security, efficient use of resources, and environmental protection.
New research conducted by Texas Tech University scientists has found that low doses of arsenic and estrogen – even at levels low enough to be considered “safe” for humans if they were on their own – can cause cancer in prostate cells.
A mother's prolonged use of antibacterial soaps containing the chemical triclocarban may harm nursing babies, according to a recent study from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
A research team led by UCSF scientists has found that exposure in infancy to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a component of motor vehicle air pollution, is strongly linked with later development of childhood asthma among African Americans and Latinos.
A new study links fetal exposure to a common chemical pollutant, bisphenol A (BPA), to defects of a testicular hormone in newborn boys with undescended testicles. The results, which were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, suggest yet another potential harmful effect of BPA, which is widely used in many plastics, liners of food cans and dental sealants.
New research suggests that fetal exposure to the common environmental chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, causes increased inflammation in fat tissues after birth, which can lead to obesity and metabolic syndrome. Results of the animal study were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
A mother’s exposure to triclocarban, a common antibacterial chemical, while nursing her babies shortens the life of her female offspring, a new study in rats finds. The results were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
A study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has for the first time found that a mother’s higher exposure to some common environmental contaminants was associated with more frequent and vigorous fetal motor activity. Some chemicals were also associated with fewer changes in fetal heart rate, which normally parallel fetal movements.
Analyzing soil lead in an urban garden plot is important and sampling approaches may involve tradeoffs between finding ‘hotspots’ versus looking at the average amount of lead when checking for safe levels.
New technology that creates a personal, portable, and wearable air pollution sensor, developed under the My Air, My Health Challenge, was announced today at the Health Datapalooza in Washington, D.C. The grand prize of $100,000 was awarded to Conscious Clothing.
In 2012, Nicholas Fisher a distinguished professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University and postdoctoral scholar Zosia Baumann, working with a colleague at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, reported that they had detected radioactivity in Pacific bluefin tuna swimming off the California coast. The source of the radioactivity was Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi powerplants, which were damaged by the strong earthquake and subsequent tsunami on 11 March 2011 and released large quantities of radioactivity into the Pacific Ocean. The news prompted widespread media interest and speculation as to the possible risks to seafood consumers posed by the levels of radioactivity found in the tuna.
A large analysis of more than 100 studies from around the world shows that exposure to pesticides, or bug and weed killers, and solvents is likely associated with a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. The research appears in the May 28, 2013, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.