Feature Channels: Environmental Health

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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.

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Americans waste nearly a pound of food per person each day, but the exact amount of food we trash differs by how healthy your diet is, new research finds. Annually, food waste corresponds with the use of 30M acres of land (7% of total US cropland) and 4.2 trillion gallons of water. Surprisingly, higher quality diets were associated with higher levels of food waste.

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Click here to go to the Food Science News Source

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Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have found an innovative and environmental-friendly technique to enhance building structures. The new method, which incorporates biochar recycled from saw dust into cement, improves the strength and water tightness of mortar and concrete, and offers an alternative use to the large volume of wood waste produced in Singapore.

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Articles on personal care product chemicals; PBPK modeling; 2D vs 3D for drug-induced liver injury; zebrafish and drug discovery; glutathione restoration and acetaminophen; high-throughput screening for thyroid hormone T4; and genetically engineered food crops featured in new Toxicological Sciences.

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Researchers at Penn State have developed a water filtration system that removes contaminants and reduces toxicity in hospital wastewater.

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A research team led by Associate Professor He Jianzhong from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at NUS Faculty of Engineering has found that a natural bacterium isolated from mushroom crop residue can directly convert cellulose to biobutanol, a biofuel.

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The guidelines cover everything from planning, design and construction of the courses to water quality and quantity used. They also cover nutrition, integrated pest management, pollinator protection and energy management, said Bryan Unruh, a UF/IFAS professor of environmental horticulture.

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Click here for the latest research and features on Children's Health.

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Dining out more at restaurants, cafeterias and fast-food outlets may boost total levels of potentially health-harming chemicals called phthalates in the body, according to a study out today.

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UNC School of Medicine researchers create a new screening technique to show that e-liquids are far from harmless to human cells and contain ingredients that can vary wildly from one type of e-cigarette to another.

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A new study finds these stakeholder groups actually share many of the same concerns, notably risks to public health and the economy, while also acknowledging the potential ecological benefits. This means that both groups may be receptive to similar appeals for oyster restoration projects in the future.

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Flint children’s blood lead levels were nearly three times higher almost a decade before the year of the Flint water crisis, new research shows.

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Click here to go directly to Newswise's Obesity News Source

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A new study lends further evidence to a suspected link between abnormal breast growth in young boys—called prepubertal gynecomastia—and regular exposure to lavender or tea tree oil, by finding that key chemicals in these common plant-derived oils act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The study results will be presented Monday at ENDO 2018, the Endocrine Society’s 100th annual meeting in Chicago.

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Infants who consumed soy-based formula as newborns had differences in some reproductive-system cells and tissues, compared to those who used cow-milk formula or were breastfed, according to a new study. The differences were subtle and not a cause for alarm, but reflect a need to further investigate the long-term effects of exposure to estrogen-like compounds found in soy-based formulas.

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A member of the Baldwin Wallace University public health faculty is helping to lead an international research project to investigate how variations in climate are affecting Southeast Asia’s susceptibility to deadly mosquito-borne illnesses, particularly dengue fever, the fastest spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world.

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A five-year, $2.7 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will help researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago answer basic questions about the role of arsenic in the development of diabetes and examine the mechanisms by which selenoproteins – found in the human body in 25 different forms – counter the effects of arsenic.

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Infusing foods with smoke can impart delicious nuanced flavors, but could also come with an unwelcome side of carcinogens. To reduce the carcinogen content of smoked foods, researchers took a lesson from the automobile industry, running the smoke through a zeolite filter to remove harmful compounds. It worked, and with a happy bonus: superior smoke flavor.

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Analysis of research from 1991 to 2015 on talking on the phone while driving can inform lawmakers in crafting driver safety legislation.

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Toxic substances linked to a range of adverse health impacts can be present in carpets sold in the European Union (EU), the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) warned today following a new study by Anthesis.

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The Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) announced the launch of five new multi-disciplinary teams aimed at tackling global issues including water quantity, poverty, sanitation, livestock disease, and drought.

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Agricultural fields can be attacked by insects, disease, and weeds. How can growers defend crops? The February 22 Sustainable, Secure Food blog explains how the safe use of pesticides can maintain crop yields, feed the world, and keep our food supply sustainable.

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Significant amounts of toxic metals, including lead, leak from some e-cigarette heating coils and are present in the aerosols inhaled by users, according to a study from scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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With more than 6,500 individuals from around the world in attendance, the Society of Toxicology (SOT) 57th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo will feature leading experts from across the broad range of disciplines and specialties that inform and advance toxicology.

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Household cleaners, pesticides, paints and perfumes, now rival motor vehicle emissions as the top source of urban air pollution, according to a surprising NOAA-led study by researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and other institutions.

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A study by Indiana University researchers shows that excess emissions -- which occur with plant shut-downs, start-ups and malfunctions, and not just in connection with natural disasters -- can make serious contributions to overall air pollution.

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When it comes to avoiding Lyme disease, know your forest. That's the cautionary tale from a new study which found that ticks in urban parks in Delaware dominated by an invasive rose bush were nearly twice as likely to be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, as compared to ticks from uninvaded forest fragments.

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Professor Gordon Giesbrecht is well known for his unique approach to cold water research. So well known, in fact, that he is less referred-to by his real name than his nickname, Professor Popsicle.

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Based on a detailed statistical analysis of multiple datasets, the Flint Area Community Health and Environment Partnership (FACHEP) research team found that the majority of Legionnaires’ disease cases that occurred during the 2014-15 outbreak in Genesee County, Michigan

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High exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) in rodents resulted in tumors in tissues surrounding nerves in the hearts of male rats, but not female rats or any mice, according to draft studies from the National Toxicology Program (NTP). The exposure levels used in the studies were equal to and higher than the highest level permitted for local tissue exposure in cell phone emissions today. Cell phones typically emit lower levels of RFR than the maximum level allowed. NTP’s draft conclusions were released today as two technical reports, one for rat studies and one for mouse studies. NTP will hold an external expert review of its complete findings from these rodent studies March 26-28.

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Two local raptors made unexpected recoveries this month following exposure to common and deadly man-made toxins: lead and rodenticide.

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The National Toxicology Program (NTP) will hold a telephone press conference to summarize and answer questions about draft reports on the health effects of radiofrequency radiation exposure in rats and mice. The studies used radiofrequency radiation exposure levels equal to and higher than the highest level permitted for cell phone emissions today.

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The Endocrine Society called for European regulators to ensure that endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can be identified using practical, achievable scientific standards in detailed comments on a draft guidance document for implementing criteria for the identification of EDCs.

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Sixteen federal agencies partnered to develop a strategic roadmap that offers a new framework for the safety testing of drugs and chemicals, which aims to provide more human relevant toxicology data while reducing the use of animals. The roadmap was published Jan. 30 by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), a federal interagency program headquartered at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in North Carolina. NIEHS is part of the National Institutes of Health.

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UNLV Healthy Homes team will also examine homes for health issues such as asthma triggers, energy and fire problems, trip and fall hazards, pests, and mold.

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Scientists looking for jobs after completing their training may soon have a new tool that helps them evaluate various career paths. The new tool uses a method that was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH. The method differs from others in that it separates employment trends in biomedical science by sector, type, and job specifics. The creators hope this novel approach will be useful throughout NIH, as well as for academic and research institutions around the world.

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Writing in the prestigious journal Science, 30 global experts associated with the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) have presented an innovative new approach to obtaining benefits from nature.

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An international review led by the University of Queensland and WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) says that many native carnivores that live in and around human habitation are declining at an unprecedented rate – spelling bad news for humans who indirectly rely on them for a variety of beneficial services.

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Pharmaceuticals and other man-made contaminants are forcing fish that live downstream from a typical sewage treatment plant to work at least 30 per cent harder just to survive, McMaster researchers have found.