Feature Channels: Environmental Health

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Colin Parrish, John M. Olin Professor of Virology at the Baker Institute for Animal Health in Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, an expert on influenza viruses and the spread of the virus in animals, says the highly pathogenic influenza strain currently infecting wild birds and domestic poultry in several European countries could be transmitted to birds in North America as migratory flyways of some European and North American wild bird species overlap in the northern reaches of Canada.

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In the microbial world, vitamin B12 is a hot commodity. It turns out that vitamin B12, a substance produced by only a few organisms but needed by nearly all of them, wields great power in microbial communities – ubiquitous structures that affect energy and food production, the environment, and human health.

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A highly toxic form of mercury could jump by 300 to 600 percent in zooplankton – tiny animals at the base of the marine food chain – if land runoff increases by 15 to 30 percent, according to a new study. And such an increase is possible due to climate change, according to the pioneering study by Rutgers University and other scientists published today in Science Advances.

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The later-in-life effects of early life exposure to inorganic arsenic, reducing the toxicity of cancer treatments, advances in organs-on-a-chip and other alternative test methods, how to translate in vitro research to real-world understanding, controversies in pesticide toxicology, and the reproductive and developmental effects of botanical dietary supplements are just a few of the cutting-edge scientific topics being explored at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) 56th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo.

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In humans, social factors may explain ‘missing heritability’ in complex diseases.

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Cornell University engineers have developed a new technique to test for a wide range of micropollutants in lakes, rivers and other potable water sources that vastly outperforms conventional methods. The new technique – using high-resolution mass spectrometry – assessed 18 water samples collected from New York state waterways. A total of 112 so-called micropollutants were found in at least one of the samples.

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Indiana University research reveals a pattern of companies strategically locating facilities where wind will carry pollution across state lines, which can allow states to reap the benefits of jobs and tax revenue but share the negative effects -- air pollution -- with neighbors.

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A new University of Washington study finds that one of Alaska’s most abundant freshwater fish species is altering its breeding patterns in response to climate change, which could impact the ecology of northern lakes that already acutely feel the effects of a changing climate.

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The impact of the chemicals in the plastic products used in pediatric intensive care units will be the focus of a new $1 million study led by Andrea Duncan, M.D., M.S.ClinRes, associate professor at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and an attending physician with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.

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Replacing biomass and kerosene cookstoves used throughout the developing world with clean-burning ethanol stoves may reduce hypertension and cardiovascular risk in pregnant women, according to new research published online, ahead of print in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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In a clinical trial in Nigeria that replaced biomass and kerosene cookstoves with clean-burning ethanol stoves, researchers were able to reduce by two-thirds the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease in pregnant women.

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It's the heat and the humidity, USGS-led study finds

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WCS reports that a poaching gang recently arrested for shooting wildlife in a well-known tiger reserve consisted of software engineers, environmental consultants, wealthy coffee planters, and a leading member of the Rifle Association of Karnataka State. Conservationists say the incident is particularly disturbing because the group consisted mostly of affluent and well-educated men.

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UF/IFAS researchers find two more non-native mosquito species in Florida that transmit viruses that cause disease in humans and wildlife. That makes nine new mosquito species found in Florida in the past decade.

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linked changes in social behavior with sublethal exposure to the neonicotinoid pesticide, imidacloprid.

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The January 9, 2014 Freedom Industries’ storage facility leak in Charleston, WV released a little-known chemical into rivers, threatening human and the environmental health. How can we be better prepared?

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Wintry weather can pack a slippery punch. While use of salt on roads and sidewalks can return surfaces to a safer status, too much salt can have long-term effects on soil. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) January 1 Soils Matter blog post explains how too much salt reduces soils’ ability to retain plant nutrients and water, and damage soil structure.

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Breast cancer researchers from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a novel approach for identifying how chemicals in the environment—called environmental estrogens—can produce infertility, abnormal reproductive development, including “precocious puberty,” and promote breast cancer.

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A new University at Buffalo pilot study found that 41 percent of scuba divers experienced dental symptoms in the water. Recreational divers should consider consulting with their dentist before diving if they recently received dental care.

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Through a Deep Carbon Observatory collaboration, Adam Makhluf of the University of California, Los Angeles’s Earth, Space and Planetary Science Department and Chris Tulk of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Chemical and Engineering Materials Division are using neutrons to study the fundamental role carbon dioxide plays in Earth’s carbon cycle, especially in the composition of carbon reservoirs in the deep earth and the evolution of the carbon cycle over time.

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Biology dictates that DNA creates proteins which create – among other things – metabolites, the outputs of metabolism. In organisms from fungi to humans, the relationship between these players is heavily influenced by our internal circadian clock, and responds to environmental influences (such as a prolonged day) with implications from industry to human health.

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The Endocrine Society expressed disappointment today in the European Commission's revised proposal on defining and identifying endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), citing unnecessarily narrow criteria for identifying EDCs that will make it nearly impossible for scientists to meet the unrealistically high burden of proof and protect the public from dangerous chemicals.

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The 2017 SOT Awards recipients have studied the role of pesticide exposure on neurodegenerative diseases, connections between chemicals and the susceptibility to allergies and asthma, risk assessment, alternative test methods and strategies, and more, in their efforts to improve public, animal and environmental health.

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Recent surveys by Australian scientists have identified an apparent significant decline in the numbers of trapdoor spiders across southern Australia.

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Research lays groundwork for large VA study on respiratory health in Iraq, Afghanistan Vets

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Using weather radar technology, scientists are tracking migratory birds, which may carry the avian influenza virus. They are exploring how to use the data to prevent a disease outbreak in the poultry industry. In 2014-2015, a U.S. bird flu outbreak led to the death of 48 million birds in 15 states.

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Most Americans envision healthy mustangs galloping free on the range when they think about the country's wild horse population. But UC Cooperative Extension rangeland advisor Laura Snell sees another image.

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Certain personality traits – such as disinhibition (a lack of restraint) and impulsivity – increase the chances of developing alcohol use disorders (AUDs).

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An Iowa State University veterinary research team has discovered the specific genetic mutations that make Campylobacter jejuni such a virulent strain of bacteria in ruminant animals such as sheep and cattle. The research could lead to a vaccine or new ways to control the bacteria.

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Traditional cigarettes pose a well-established risk to smokers' health, but the effects of electronic cigarettes are still being determined. Helping to flesh out this picture, researchers are reporting in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology what happens to e-liquid flavorings when they're heated inside e-cigarettes or electronic nicotine-delivery systems. The study found that when converted into a vapor, some flavorings break down into toxic compounds at levels that exceed occupational safety standards.

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A new testing methodology based on metagenomics could accelerate the diagnosis of foodborne bacterial outbreaks, allowing public health officials to identify the microbial culprits in less than a day.

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Tracking the speed of internal tides offers a cheap, simple way to monitor temperature changes throughout the world’s oceans.

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A new study finds that environment and genetics determine relative abundance of specific microbes in the gut. The findings represent an attempt to untangle the forces that shape the gut microbiome, which plays an important role in keeping us healthy.

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A team of researchers from the iDAPT labs at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network are dedicated to keeping Canadians safer this winter by offering evidence-based ratings on footwear that may reduce the risk of slips and falls on ice. The team has developed the first test of its kind in the world – the Maximum Achievable Angle (MAA) Testing Method – to validate slip resistant footwear on icy surfaces using real people in a simulated winter environment.

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“You may not notice the ways someone conserves, but they may already be taking action to not waste water by using good irrigation practices, and they may be open to some new ideas if you strike up a conversation about how you save water in the home landscape,” said Laura Warner, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of agricultural education and communications.

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New research suggests that Lake Champlain may be more susceptible to damage from climate change than was previously understood—and that, therefore, the rules created by the EPA to protect the lake may be inadequate to prevent algae blooms and water quality problems as the region gets hotter and wetter.

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Turning cattle out to graze in harvested fields was once a common practice. It’s something that researchers would like to see used again—and improved by planting cover crops, such as such as oats, sorghum, turnips, radishes or millet. These have the potential to improve the soil health and utilize any remaining nutrients, thus preventing runoff that pollutes lakes and streams.

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Automated teller machine keypads in New York City hold microbes from human skin, household surfaces, or traces of food, a study by researchers at New York University has found. The work shows that ATMs can provide a repository to offer a picture of a city’s DNA.

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The Zika virus is most commonly transmitted in humans as the result of a bite from an infected mosquito or from an infected human to another human. What is not well known is that the virus also can be transmitted via the environment if an individual is pricked with an infected needle or has an open cut and comes in contact with the live virus. While there are no known cases to date of the general public being infected with the Zika virus through the environment, there has been at least one documented case of laboratory acquired Zika virus infection.

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In 1952 a killer fog covered London for five days, causing breathing problems and killing thousands of residents. The exact cause and nature of the fog has remained mostly unknown for decades, but an international team of scientists believes that the mystery has been solved.

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By sampling the molecules on cell phones, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences were able to construct lifestyle sketches for each phone’s owner, including diet, preferred hygiene products, health status and locations visited. This proof-of-concept study could have a number of applications, including criminal profiling, airport screening, medication adherence monitoring, clinical trial participant stratification and environmental exposure studies.

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The latest research and features on Animals in the Wildlife News Source

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Scientists stress need for thorough research into flavored e-liquids.

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Mark Gregory Robson has been on a global health crusade for decades. The Rutgers professor has spent countless hours in Thailand, the Philippines, Liberia and other countries working on pesticide issues, education and training. He is Board of Governors distinguished service professor and professor of plant biology and pathology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

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Biologically, tropical bed bugs mirror common bed bugs in that they feed on human blood. So they’re likely to cause similar health problems if you get a severe infestation: fear, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, and itchy, blistery reactions on some people.

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The latest research and features on obesity in the Obesity News Source.

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