Feature Channels: Environmental Health

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Consuming soy regularly may protect women who are undergoing infertility treatments from poor success rates linked to bisphenol A exposure, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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Harvard Chan School’s Philippe Grandjean, an expert in how environmental pollution impairs brain development, says that Flint, Michigan’s water crisis could have been prevented, given the United States’ long experience with lead contamination—and how to prevent it.

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New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine suggests that prenatal exposure to flame retardants and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) commonly found in the environment may have a lasting effect on a child’s cognitive and behavioral development, known as executive function.

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Exposure to high levels of small particle air pollution is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth – before 37 weeks of pregnancy, according to a new study published online in the journal Environmental Health.

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Adults with long-term exposure to ozone (O3) face an increased risk of dying from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, according to the study “Long-Term Ozone Exposure and Mortality in a Large Prospective Study” published online ahead of print in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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New research from the University of Southampton indicates that the public are being exposed, without their knowledge, to airborne ultrasound.

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Researchers at the University of Hawai'i - Mānoa (UHM) developed an array of highly innovative experiments to allow scientists to safely test first-aid measures used for box jellyfish stings - from folk tales, like urine, to state-of-the-art technologies developed for the military.

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UMD-led study indicates “biomass burning” may play larger role in climate change than previously realized.

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University of Utah lab experiments found that when temperatures get warmer, woodrats suffer a reduced ability to live on their normal diet of toxic creosote – suggesting that global warming may hurt plant-eating animals.

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While Dungeness crab captured headlines, record levels of the neurotoxin domoic acid were found in a range of species, and the toxin showed up in new places.

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Critically ill patients who are exposed to higher daily levels of ozone are more likely to develop acute respiratory disease syndrome (ARDS), according to a new study published online ahead of print in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. ARDS is a life-threatening inflammatory lung illness in which patients fail to obtain enough oxygen to the lungs. While previous research has shown a clear association between cigarette smoke and ARDS, the study “Long-Term Ozone Exposure Increases the Risk of Developing the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome” by Lorraine Ware, MD, of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and colleagues is the first to demonstrate a risk related to ozone.

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In an analysis of more than 1,000 chemicals in fluids used in and created by hydraulic fracturing (fracking), Yale School of Public Health researchers found that many of the substances have been linked to reproductive and developmental health problems, and the majority had undetermined toxicity due to insufficient information.

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Epidemiologists at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that persons residing at higher latitudes, with lower sunlight/ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure and greater prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, are at least two times at greater risk of developing leukemia than equatorial populations.

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Scientists from the Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore at the National University of Singapore have discovered the universal building blocks that cells use to form initial connections with the surrounding environment. These early adhesions have a consistent size of 100 nanometres, are made up of a cluster of around 50 integrin proteins and are the same even when the surrounding surface is hard or soft. Deciphering the universal nature of adhesion formation may reveal how tumour cells sense and migrate on surfaces of different rigidity, which is a hallmark of metastasis, the devastating ability of cancer to spread throughout the body.

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An NCAR-led team of scientists is launching a series of research flights this month over the remote Southern Ocean in an effort to better understand just how much carbon dioxide the icy waters are able to lock away.

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University of Georgia research has found that inorganic mercury, which was previously thought to be a less harmful form of the toxic metal, is very damaging to key cell processes.

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A team of researchers from Stony Brook University, led by Yusuf Hannun, MD, have found quantitative evidence proving that extrinsic risk factors, such as environmental exposures and behaviors weigh heavily on the development of a vast majority (approximately 70 to 90 percent) of cancers.

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Rituals, war paint, beauty, and health common uses of soils

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The function and behavior of microbial marine systems will determine how the global ocean responds to broader environmental changes, according to a new review article published in the journal Science by University of Georgia marine scientist Mary Ann Moran.

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New fossil evidence shows that Australia’s fire-prone shrubland open vegetation originated at least 70 million years ago – 40-50 million years earlier than previously thought.

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A pesticide used prior to the early 1980s and found in milk at that time may be associated with signs of Parkinson’s disease in the brain, according to a study published in the December 9, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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If you think interior design is all about paint colors, fabric swatches and furniture styles, think again. Students in an Iowa State grad studio have propelled interior design to a place it's never been before: the 21st century combat outpost. They created environments that support combat soldiers' mental health and help alleviate PTSD.

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Metal grate developed by a University of Iowa engineer will improve efficiency of primitive wood-burning cookstoves in developing countries.

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Another reason to worry about climate change: Expanding areas of arid land, air pollution, and greater exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation all present potential health hazards to your eyes, according to Sheila West, Ph.D., vice chair for research at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University. In October, West discussed these hazards at a symposium on the health consequences of climate change.

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Two studies by Dartmouth researchers and their colleagues shed new light on mercury pollution in the waters of the northeastern United States.

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In October, Macy's joined a growing list of major retail stores that have pledged to stop selling furniture containing flame retardants, which research suggests could cause developmental problems. Despite the trend, however, it could take years before widespread exposure declines. And now, a study in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology has revealed more bad news: Infants could potentially be affected the most. The report also looks at potential exposure routes.

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A method of cleaning drinking water with light is being tested and developed at The University of Alabama with the hope of creating a product available for homes and businesses.

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Current El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean have created high water temperatures that are seriously damaging coral reefs, including those on Christmas Island, which may be the epicenter for what could become a global coral bleaching event.

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What do mercury levels in dolphins say about mercury levels in humans? Quite a bit, according to a new study by scientists at FAU Harbor Branch, which sheds light on the potential dangers of consuming locally caught seafood. This is the first time that researchers have closed the loop between marine mammal and human health, by taking findings from their research and applying them to explore the potential risks facing humans living in the same region.

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A larger portion of Africa is currently at high risk for malaria transmission than previously predicted, according to a new University of Florida mapping study.

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While Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Paris hammering out the details of the global fight against climate change, a new study out of the University of Montreal and the Trottier Energy Institute shows that Canadian attitudes are somewhat ambivalent.

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Women’s equality is essential for the health of the environment and our future wellbeing, according to a new book launched by Friends of the Earth on 24th November.

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In a study published in Science today, PNNL scientists and their colleagues show that nations’ pledges to reduce greenhouse gases have the potential to reduce the probability of the highest levels of warming, and increase the probability of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.

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Colorado State University’s Diana Wall and coauthors make the case to integrate soil biodiversity research into human health studies in a paper published online in Nature November 23.

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If you want to keep away blood-sucking insects, DEET products are your best bet according to a recent study from New Mexico State University. Researchers also discovered a certain perfume performed better at protecting against mosquitoes than some commercial insect repellents.

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Discovery greatly expands the known distribution of the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome, which has decimated bat populations in North America

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To understand and harness the capabilities of Earth’s microbial ecosystems, nearly fifty scientists from Department of Energy national laboratories, universities, and research institutions propose a national effort called the Unified Microbiome Initiative.

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Researchers have published the first study of levels of parabens in human cord blood samples. The researchers found that a cohort of pregnant women in Brooklyn predominantly of Caribbean- and African-American descent had the highest level worldwide of methyl paraben and propyl paraben.

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Studying mice with a variety of viral infections, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine​ in St. Louis have demonstrated a way to dial up the body’s innate immune defenses while simultaneously attacking a protein that many viruses rely on to replicate.

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L.A's CicLAvia, one-day events in which neighborhood streets are closed to motor vehicles so that people can walk and cycle freely, significantly reduces air pollution along the route and even on other streets in the communities where the event is held. Events like this could benefit other cities.

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In polluted environments, diesel fumes may be reducing the availability of almost half the most common flower odours that bees use to find their food, research has found.