Feature Channels: Environmental Health

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In a significant advancement for plant biology, researchers have discovered that manipulating miR159a, a key microRNA, enhances drought tolerance in poplar trees. By boosting water-use efficiency and minimizing stomatal opening, this study could revolutionize forestry management in arid regions, offering new strategies for breeding drought-resistant trees to tackle water scarcity challenges.

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A newly published study sheds light on the intricate relationship between the 2024 M 7.6 Noto Hanto earthquake and a significant earthquake swarm that began beneath Japan's Noto Peninsula in November 2020. This research, conducted by a team of international experts including Professor Zhigang Peng and his student Phuc Mach at Georgia Tech, Dr. Xinglin Lei at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan, Dr. Qing-Yu Wang at Université Grenoble Alpes, France, and other researchers in China, Japan and France, offers a detailed analysis of the seismic activity leading up to and following the devastating earthquake.

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Traditionally, Black Americans have faced a significantly lower risk of suicide compared to their white counterparts. But increasing factors like bullying, community violence, and “neglectful” parenting are contributing to a broader trend of mental health crises among youth in disadvantaged communities, according to a new study led by Case Western Reserve University.

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The strategy group will draw from California’s research and higher education communities to recommend a new, publicly accessible data source to predict future wildfire losses. This effort will support California’s goals of building safer communities and expanding access to insurance coverage.  “We can’t keep our Department and Californians in the dark ages when it comes to the use of technology and climate science.

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A recent study has uncovered a significant link between chronic exposure to air pollution and an increased risk of various arrhythmias, representing a pivotal advance in environmental health research.

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In a pivotal advancement for environmental conservation, researchers have pioneered piezoelectric techniques to efficiently degrade organic pollutants in water. This green approach converts mechanical stress into catalytic action, offering a sustainable and efficient method for water purification without relying on external energy sources.

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Groundwater serves as a vital resource, yet dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) contaminants pose a significant threat to its quality. New research delves into how the 3D microstructures of porous media influence DNAPL migration and the efficacy of surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR), offering promising solutions for subsurface clean-up.

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A team of international scientists alarmed by the loss of biodiversity across the world due to climate change has proposed a new approach to managing vulnerable landscapes, focusing on sites that are least impacted by changing weather.

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Amid southern california’s recent record-breaking heat wave and fast-moving wildfires, public health officials reported the third locally acquired case of dengue fever in the los angeles area. Although the events seem unrelated, they actually are connected—and for troubling reasons.

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We’re living much longer than our ancestors, but is that always a good thing? With many people living well into our late 70s or beyond, more of us are also spending a greater portion of our lives—sometimes a decade or more—saddled with physical and mental health conditions that can make it challenging to accomplish the tasks of daily life.

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Florida State University researchers at the Coastal and Marine Laboratory and the School of Communication are working to educate the public and help clean up Wakulla Springs, thanks to funding from the Florida Legislature.

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As Utah’s Great Salt Lake shrinks, exposing more of its playa, concerns grow about the dust the dry lakebed emits. University of Utah scientists find sediments in the exposed lakebed show elevated 'oxidative potential,' indicating greater risk to human health.

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Research by the University of Pittsburgh shows that state and federal appropriations allowing Pennsylvania to treat abandoned mine drainage works to both successfully and cost effectively clean up acidic water. But their research also shows funding is insufficient for long-term treatment for mine drainage and other abandoned mine hazards

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In thousands of simulations, STRIDE produced much more accurate travel times than the standard slope-only models. STRIDE also chose to use established roads and trails to avoid patches of forest or dense vegetation. In contrast, the slope-only model sent rescuers through dense vegetation, dangerous scree fields and forested areas.

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Multiyear study finds that high levels of toxic metals in urine lead to high blood sugar

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A new USDA-supported project based at Iowa State University will create an encyclopedia of livestock species' genetic regulatory regions, a DNA netherworld that could be useful in breeding for improved animal efficiency and health.

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For the last decade, people who use drugs in Quebec have been partially sheltered from Canada’s drug overdose epidemics. But since 2020, the picture has changed.

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Mega ocean warming El Niño events were key in driving the largest extinction of life on planet Earth some 252 million years ago, according to new research.

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Avian influenza A(H5N1) virus, which spread to cattle and infected 14 people this year, was detected using virome sequencing in the wastewater of 10 Texas cities by researchers at UTHealth Houston and Baylor College of Medicine.