Feature Channels: Environmental Health

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The summer months are upon us and people are beginning to spend more time outdoors, increasing their exposure to ticks and the diseases they may carry. Most people are familiar with Lyme disease, which if left untreated can cause an infection that spreads to the joints, the heart, and the nervous system, but what they may not know is that different species of ticks may bring different and less familiar health concerns.

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The Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University (Milken Institute SPH) today announced it has received a $3.1 million (£2.74 million) grant from the Wellcome Trust to study the impacts of California’s new legislation limiting the use of antimicrobial drugs given to livestock raised in the state. Wellcome awarded the grant to Lance Price, PhD, a professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and the director of the school’s Antibiotic Resistance Action Center (ARAC). This grant builds upon a pilot study funded by Wellcome in 2017.

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Building on what nature has provided, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have improved the efficiency of a leaf and branch compost cutinase that breaks down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the plastic used in clear and colored plastic water bottles and many other products.

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Oxygen photosynthesis has to be the greatest giver of life on Earth, and researchers have cracked yet another part of its complex and efficient chemistry. The more we know about it, the better we may be able to tweak photosynthesis, if it comes under environmental duress. It's also a great teacher of how to harvest sheer unlimited energy from the sun.

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A new study appearing online June 11 in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment considers which food type is more environmentally costly to produce: livestock, farmed seafood or wild-caught fish.

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Changes in diet have been proposed as a way to reduce carbon emissions from the food system. A new study provides the latest and most comprehensive estimate of greenhouse gas emissions generated by U.S. consumer food purchases, and assesses how those choices could affect diet and climate change.

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The Endocrine Society expressed continued concerns today that the European Union’s (EU’s) criteria for regulating endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in pesticides and biocides do not go far enough to protect public health.

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University of Adelaide researchers have created a laser that can “smell” different gases within a sample. Applications for the new device lie not just in environmental monitoring

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Foodborne illness is a serious and preventable public health problem, affecting one in six Americans and costing an estimated $50 billion annually. As local health departments adopt new tools that monitor Twitter for tweets about food poisoning, a study from Washington University in St. Louis is the first to examine practitioner perceptions of this technology.

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But for the last four years the trains, operated by the Utah Transit Authority, have done even more: They’ve become air-sniffing sleuths, mapping out where and when different pollutants are present along the trains’ route.

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A team of chemical engineers has developed a more sustainable way of making tape by using plants. The new process allows for the manufacturing of tape adhesive using a substance paper manufacturers throw away. Their invention performs just as well as at least two commercially available products.

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Wind turbines are a source of clean renewable energy, but some people who live nearby describe the shadow flicker, the audible sounds and the subaudible sound pressure levels as “annoying.” They claim this nuisance negatively impacts their quality of life. Researchers in Canada set out to investigate how residential distance from the wind turbines affects people’s health; they report their new analysis in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

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Copper exposure’s link Alzheimer’s disease, the effects of consumer microbials on the colon, a potential prostate-based activation of a carcinogen in cooked meat, and the impact of hydraulic fracturing mixtures on the immune system featured in latest issue of Toxicological Sciences.

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Children living in neighborhoods that are not conducive to walking are more likely to develop asthma and to continue to have this condition through later childhood, according to a new study published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

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Sandia National Laboratories materials scientist David Enos has been elected a fellow of NACE International, the chief professional society for corrosion engineering. He is the first Sandia employee to receive the honor.

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A new study that focuses on improving housing design to keep older people warm over winter and cool over summer, could help Australians live independently for longer.

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The latest research and features in cell biology in the Cell Biology News Source

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Researchers at Brazil's largest producer of antivenoms report a structural analysis of glycans modifying venom proteins in several species of lancehead viper. The snakes are among the most dangerous in South America. The report offers insight into the solubility and stability of toxic proteins from venom, and into how venoms from different species vary. Scientists are now working to map glycan structures back onto the proteins they modify.

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A coalition of nine doctor and health organisations has today joined the global Unmask My City initiative, calling for greater urgency in achieving clean air in Sofia. The Bulgarian capital is one of the most polluted cities in the whole European Union (EU).

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European Commissioner Vella has referred 6 out of 9 countries to the European Court of Justice for failure to keep EU air quality standards.

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Generations of Rutgers students and alumni have sung lovingly about the “Banks of the Old Raritan,” but the 90-mile-long waterway is awash in microplastic pollutants, a problem that plagues many freshwaters in New Jersey. In a recent study, researchers from Rutgers University–New Brunswick and other institutions found high levels of tiny pieces of plastic – often fragments from bigger items – in the Raritan and Passaic rivers. They later identified more than 300 organic chemical compounds that appeared to be associated with microplastic particles in the two rivers.

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The use of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) in new concrete production can minimize the environmental impact associated with the construction industry.

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A team of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology wondered whether federal regulators can persuade companies to abandon toxic chemicals by simply highlighting that information.

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A team led by researchers from the Technion and NYU Langone has successfully impeded the development of mesothelioma - a disease for which there is currently no effective treatment. Mesothelioma, a cancer that develops in the thin membrane that protects the internal organs of the chest and abdomen, is in most cases caused by exposure to asbestos.

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Typically made from crude oil, lighter fluid can emit compounds that leave an unpleasant taste and odor on grilled foods. The new product manufactured by ESCOGO, EcoGreen Charcoal Lighter, is made entirely from plant-based products. It is now available in Home Depot and Target stores nationwide.

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New research shows more than three-quarters of people (77 percent) are not aware that indoor air can be as much as five times more polluted than outside air. In addition, respondents significantly underestimate the amount of time they spend indoors.

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A new tool developed by researchers at the National Institutes of Health has determined, for the first time, how two distinct sets of neurons in the mouse brain work together to control movement. The method, called spectrally resolved fiber photometry (SRFP), can be used to measure the activity of these neuron groups in both healthy mice and those with brain disease. The scientists plan to use the technique to better understand what goes wrong in neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). The study appeared online May 3 in the journal Neuron.

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A recently released report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that since 2004, the number of people who get diseases from mosquito, tick and flea bites has more than tripled in the U.S., and that nine of these diseases have been discovered or newly introduced in the country. The following Indiana University experts are available to comment on how these insects spread, the diseases they carry and the relationship between pathogens and their hosts.

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April showers might bring May flowers, but they also bring the arrival of troublesome plants such as poison ivy and poison oak that can cause mild to severe allergic reactions.

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Every year, billions of animals migrate across the globe, carrying parasites with them and encountering parasites through their travels. Now, a team of researchers at the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology discovered that animals known to migrate long distances are infected by a greater number of parasite species than animals that do not migrate.

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New research led by scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health suggest that long-term exposure to traffic-related pollution significantly increases the risk of pediatric asthma, especially in early childhood.

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New research out of the University of Wisconsin–Madison has, for the first time, detected prions responsible for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in samples taken from sites where deer congregate.

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Canadian researchers say industrial sea fishing may be exposing people in coastal and island nations to excessively high levels of mercury.

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After decades of progress in cleaning up air quality, U.S. improvements for two key air pollutants have slowed significantly in recent years, new research concludes. The unexpected finding indicates that it may be more difficult than previously realized for the nation to achieve its goal of decreased ozone pollution, scientists said.

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Some potentially toxic chemicals in water may be created, ironically, during the water treatment process itself.

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Nathan Nieto's overall focus is the evolution of infectious diseases in wild animals and how that translates into transmitting diseases to humans. His current research looks at ticks that submit Lyme disease and relapsing fever.

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On World Asthma Day 2018, the National Institutes of Health stands with people worldwide to renew our commitment to advance understanding of asthma and develop effective strategies to manage, treat and ultimately prevent the disease. A new three-minute NIH video features asthma patients and doctors.

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Some bacteria not only escape being killed by bacteria, they turn it into food. Until now, scientists have understood little about how bacteria manage to consume antibiotics safely, but new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis illuminates key steps in the process. The findings, published April 30 in Nature Chemical Biology, could lead to new ways to eliminate antibiotics from land and water, the researchers said. Environmental antibiotic contamination promotes drug resistance and undermines our ability to treat bacterial infections.

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Gardening is a great way to get exercise and enjoy the outdoors, but to prevent injuries it's important to stretch your muscles before reaching for your tools.

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A new analysis investigates the role of health concerns in climate litigation since 1990 and finds that although health is cited in a minority of cases, it may have critical potential for protecting communities from the effects of climate change and coal fired power plants.

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In a huge blow to public health, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt announced a new rule that would only allow EPA to consider research studies for which the underlying data are available to the public, thus severely limiting the number of scientific studies that the EPA can use in setting health standards. The new requirements blocking the use of most scientific studies will help big polluters avoid regulations that protect human health.

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The Latest News On Marijuana Research

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The latest research and experts on Wildfires in the Wildlife News Source

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New research documents how chemicals and a certain gene activate an enzyme to increase the risk and severity of RA and bone destruction.

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Future answers to quickly testing and treating those who may have been exposed to chlorine gas may lie in chlorinated lipids, says a Saint Louis University professor.