Feature Channels: Environmental Health

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Thousands are bitten by rattlers and other venomous snakes each year, and a new treatment may serve as a “bridge” to buy time until medical care is available.

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The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) unveiled a new video and classroom activity kit to help teach “The Science Behind Soap,” the theme for ACI’s exhibit at the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. ACI’s exhibit demonstrates for students the science behind the chemistries that help produce the safe and effective products that enhance our health and quality of life.

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In response to news of the first confirmed mortality of a Common Loon due to avian malaria in the Northeast, Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) has initiated a crowd funding campaign to investigate the scope of the finding.

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Decreases in ambient air pollution levels over the past 20 years in Southern California were associated with significant reductions in bronchitic symptoms in children with and without asthma, according to a study appearing in the April 12 issue of JAMA.

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Dramatic improvements in air quality in U.S. cities since the 1990s may not be enough to ensure normal lung function in children, according to new research published in the April 15 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, a journal of the American Thoracic Society.

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Firefighters who responded in the first two days of the World Trade Center disaster and those who worked at the site for six months or longer are more likely to need sinus surgery than firefighters whose exposure to the site’s caustic dust was less intense or shorter term, according to new research published in the American Thoracic Society journal Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

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Climate change is a significant threat to the health of Americans, creating unprecedented health problems in areas where they might not have previously occurred, according to a report released April 4 by the White House.

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More walkable neighborhoods, parks and public transit could all reduce your chance of becoming one of the 600 million adults who battle obesity worldwide, according to researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. The study, recently published online in The Lancet, found a neighborhood’s design plays a critical role in physical activity and could help reduce non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

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Use of a common nonprescription antimicrobial, triclocarban (TCC), during pregnancy and breast-feeding may alter the offspring’s composition of intestinal bacteria and other micro-organisms, called the gut microbiota, a new animal study finds. Presentation of the results will take place Friday at the Endocrine Society’s 98th annual meeting in Boston.

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A new culture system that tests the role of chemical exposure on the developing mammary gland has found that bisphenol A (BPA) directly affects the mammary gland of mouse embryos. The study results, to be presented Friday at the Endocrine Society’s 98th annual meeting in Boston, show that these changes to embryonic mammary tissue occur at a dose comparable to that of humans’ environmental exposure to BPA.

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When most people think of Earth Month they think of recycling bottles and choosing paper over plastic. But these activities are just a small piece of the sustainability puzzle that Florida State University researchers are helping to solve.

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A new mathematical model shows how fertility goes down as the cost of achieving social status goes up.

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While it took nearly three years of waiting, the American Thoracic Society is pleased that OSHA has issued its final rule establishing a more protective standard for occupational silica. The new more protective standard will greatly reduce exposure to this known and potentially deadly occupational hazard.

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University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law hosts 'Green Infrastructure, Resilient Cities: New Challenges, New Solutions'

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Endocrine-disrupting chemicals may contribute to reproductive health problems experienced by hundreds of thousands of women, costing European Union an estimated €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) a year in health care expenditures and lost earning potential, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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Exposure to a substitute chemical often used to replace bisphenol A in plastics can encourage the formation of fat cells, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s journal Endocrinology.

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Large-scale changes to agricultural practices will be required to meet the goal of reducing levels of algae-promoting phosphorus in Lake Erie by 40 percent, a new University of Michigan-led, multi-institution computer modeling study concludes.

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Daniel Deocampo, associate professor and chair of Geosciences at Georgia State University, will attend the White House Water Summit today (March 22) to share his plans for bringing new technologies and workforce development to the water economy of the southeastern United States.

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Key factors that can combine to produce a Zika virus outbreak are expected to be present in a number of U.S. cities during peak summer months, new research shows.

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Residents of Baltimore’s low-income neighborhoods who believe rats are a big problem where they live are significantly more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms such as sadness and anxiety, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

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A new study quantifies the public health costs of polluted air from existing coal-fired power plants in the Western Balkans at up to 8.5 EUR billion per year.

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“If you live in flammable countryside, you’ve got to work with fire. You can’t make it go away,” according to professor Mark Cochrane, a wildfire expert and senior scientist at the Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence. That means moving from the notion that fires are unnatural and toward a managed approach that involves reintegrating fire as a vital landscape process and building communities that are resilient to fire.

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Rising temperatures worldwide are changing not only weather systems, but — just as importantly — the distribution of water around the globe, according to a study published today (March 14, 2016) in the journal, “Scientific Reports.”

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Low levels of pesticides can impact the foraging behaviour of bumblebees on wild flowers, changing their floral preferences and hindering their ability to learn the skills needed to extract nectar and pollen, according to a study co-authored by a University of Guelph professor.

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The human microbiome, a diverse collection of microorganisms living inside us and on our skin, has attracted considerable attention for its role in a broad range of human health issues. Now, researchers are discovering that the built environment also has a microbiome, which includes a community of potentially-pathogenic bacteria living inside water supply pipes.

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UCR study shows biomass grown in areas of poor air quality releases more pollutants when burned than biomass grown in clean air.

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The American Thoracic Society applauds the collaborative effort of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to reduce methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change.

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Alternative methods to animal testing, how epigenomic exposures impact health, safety of toxic metals in foods, effects of exposures to nanoparticles, generational effects of environmental exposures, and the toxicological effects of manmade and natural disasters are the topics of some of the more than 170 scientific sessions being conducted at the 55th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo of the Society of Toxicology (SOT), March 13–17, 2016, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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Terrestrial biosphere is contributing to climate change because of human activities including agriculture.

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A new method to detect a wide range of pesticides could help save bee populations.

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More people live close to sea coast than earlier estimated, assess researchers in a new study. These people are the most vulnerable to the rise of the sea level as well as to the increased number of floods and intensified storms. By using recent increased resolution datasets, Aalto University researchers estimate that 1.9 billion inhabitants, or 28% of the world's total population, live closer than 100 km from the coast in areas less than 100 meters above the present sea level.

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Scientists looking for environmental and occupational health risks are less likely to find them if they have a financial tie to firms that make, use, or dispose of industrial and commercial products, a University of Illinois at Chicago researcher has found.

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Groups of 2 or single individuals less likely to be caught in an avalanche than larger groups, according to a new report in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine.

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Heavy city traffic contributes significantly to air pollution and health problems such as asthma, but University of Texas at Dallas researchers think another kind of traffic — data traffic — might help citizens better cope with pollution.

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Salmon have an ace up their sleeve -- or in their gills -- when facing challenging conditions that could affect their hearts, according to a study led by a University of Guelph researcher. The researchers found that carbonic anhydrase (CA) can help improve delivery of oxygen to the heart.

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DETROIT – Wayne State University announced today that it has formed the Flint Area Community Health and Environment Partnership (FACHEP). The research group, led by Wayne State researchers specializing in environmental engineering and public health, will conduct an independent study to evaluate the possible association between changes in Flint’s water system and public health, specifically the recent Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. The first phase of the investigation is set to begin March 1, with FACHEP researchers engaging with the community to set up enhanced disease and environmental surveillance in Flint and Genesee County. Shawn McElmurry, an environmental and civil engineering professor in Wayne State’s College of Engineering, will lead FACHEP’s efforts, along with epidemiological investigator Dr. Paul Kilgore from Wayne State’s Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. “Our number one goal at this early stage of the study is to connect with the people of

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Higher food prices, a significant boost in greenhouse gas emissions due to land use change and major loss of forest and pasture land would be some results if genetically modified organisms in the United States were banned, according to a Purdue University study.

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Five exceptional early career scientists will receive new grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. The awards, totaling $2.5 million, are part of the Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) program.

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University of Saskatchewan researchers working to protect the environment from oil and mining contamination and improve nuclear power technology have received a $1.5 million boost from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

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Figure this: Asian and Formosan subterranean termites cause about $32 billion in damage annually, worldwide, when you combine harm to structures and measures to control them. UF/IFAS entomologists estimate half the structures in South Florida will be at risk of infestation by subterranean termites by 2040.

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Thanks to a close collaboration between the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), SR Technics and the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), Switzerland is setting an international benchmark by developing a method for measuring emissions of fine particulate matter from aircraft engines. The Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recently approved a preliminary standard governing the emission of particulates by aircraft engines.

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Extreme heat can pose several health risks, such as dehydration, hyperthermia and even death, especially during sustained periods of high temperatures. However, a uniform definition of a heat wave doesn’t exist. As a result, public health agencies may be unsure of when to activate heat alerts, cooling centers and other protective measures. A University of Missouri School of Medicine researcher has developed a uniform definition of a heat wave that may help public health agencies prepare for extreme temperatures.

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The Aliso Canyon natural gas well blowout released more than 100,000 tons of the powerful greenhouse gas methane before the well was finally plugged Feb. 11, according to the first study of the event, to be published Feb. 26 in the journal Science. The results confirm that it was the largest methane leak in U.S. history.

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The Aliso Canyon natural gas well blowout, first reported on Oct. 23, 2015, released over 100,000 tons of the powerful greenhouse gas methane before the well was sealed on Feb. 11, according to the first study of the accident published today in the journal Science. The results confirm that Aliso Canyon is the largest methane leak in U.S. history.

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Environmental scientists at the University of Virginia have found that surface ozone, an abundant chemical known to be toxic to many species of vegetation and to humans, does not necessarily inhibit the productivity of natural ecosystems.

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On 25 February 2016, a group of scientific societies, companies, research institutes, and governmental agencies launched the Phytobiomes Roadmap presenting a new vision for agriculture to increase health, productivity, and sustainability of our current cropping and forest systems.